Nashville is the capital of Tennessee and known for being the home of country music, music venues, and historic buildings, like the Grand Ole Opry House, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Ryman Auditorium in Downtown Nashville.
In addition to the music scene, Downtown Nashville is also home to Vanderbilt University and various bars and restaurants, making the city’s nightlife vibrant and robust. With a younger crowd and many visitors interested in heightened cuisines, the restaurant scene in Nashville has exponentially grown in recent years.Here are eleven of my favorite sushi restaurants in Nashville!
Virago
1120 McGavock St, Nashville, TN 37203
Phone: 615-254-1902
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Virago has served sushi and Asian fusion cuisine and has been open in Nashville for nearly twenty years. In 2019, the restaurant moved into a new space with semi-private booths perfect for date nights and entirely private dining rooms great for dinner parties or corporate events. The restaurant is open nightly for dinner service. Sushi Chef Himmi has been crafting sushi for sixteen years. Weekly, the restaurant offers “Maki-Sake Monday,” with half-priced maki rolls and two-for-one cocktails. Try the Smokey Heat roll with smoked salmon, jalapeño, cream cheese, and furikake. Another great option is The Bomb with tempura shrimp, asparagus, avocado, sriracha, and baked crab.
Samurai Sushi
2215 Elliston Pl, Nashville, TN 37203
Phone: 615-320-5438
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Samurai Sushi is a family-owned restaurant that is open in two locations: Germantown and East Nashville. The restaurant is open from 4:30 pm to 9:00 pm from Monday to Saturday. The Germantown restaurant is adjacent to the Capitol Complex and is parallel to the Cumberland River. The ChooChoo Roll with salmon, crab, eel, cream cheese, avocado, and eel sauce, and the Vandy Roll are popular menu items. I enjoyed the Iron Miss Roll with tuna, salmon, avocado, kiwi, mango, spicy mayo, eel, and wasabi sauce. Guests can also try a deep-fried sushi roll!
Sonobana
40 White Bridge Rd, Nashville, TN 37205
Phone: 615-356-6600
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Located in West Nashville, Sonobana is a great place to stop after a day of shopping or errands. The restaurant is open every day of the week for dinner between 4:30 pm and 9:30 pm. Except for Sunday, the restaurant is open for lunch between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm. The menu is filled with delicious options! Try the Deep-Fried oysters as an appetizer, but certainly, save room for a few rolls! For a spicy roll, try the Bank Roll with tuna, yellowtail, salmon, and wasabi. My favorite bite was the Cajun Roll. The Cajun Roll is two pieces of fried shrimp, cream cheese, asparagus, spicy sauce, and seaweed. If not everyone in your group wants sushi, try the seafood tempura dinner!
Sunda Nashville
592 12th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37203
Phone: 615-610-7566
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Sunda Nashville is inspired by the cuisine of Southeast Asia, named for the Sunda Shelf, a now-lost landmass once surrounded by Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, and China. The restaurant is open for lunch, brunch, happy hour, and dinner and offers menu selections that cater to vegetarian and gluten-free diets. For brunch, pair a mimosa with a Panda roll filled with shrimp tempura, tobiko, scallions, sriracha, cream cheese, tempura crisp, unagi sauce, and wasabi aioli. Try the Sake roll with salmon and avocado on the happy hour menu and pair it with a shot of sake. Dim sum and noodles are available for dinner, but the Lobster Wagyu roll steals the show with creamy lobster, scallions, jalapeño, wagyu tataki, and truffle foie, and wasabi aioli.
Eastern Peak
Multiple locations
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With five locations in Nashville, Eastern Peak is a popular destination for sushi in the city. The Bellevue location offers a dimly lit and hip vibe with purple backlighting and faux-stone walls. It was a great location to visit! The restaurant offers happy hours from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm Monday through Friday. I started my meal with the spring rolls and the steamed dumplings filled with pork and shrimp. Then, I ordered the J.B. Tempura Roll, a tempura-fried roll with salmon, cream cheese, and scallions, topped with eel sauce and sesame seeds. The Hamachi Sashimi was delicious and fresh. Also, try the Rainbow Roll or the Sunset Roll!
Two Ten Jack
1900 Eastland Ave #105, Nashville, TN 37206
Phone: 615-454-2731
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Two Ten Jack aims to offer Japanese-inspired foods with a Southern twist in a neighborhood-style setting. The restaurant is located in East Nashville and serves guests in a comfortable environment where locals and visitors can experience a casual dining experience. The restaurant is open for dinner between Monday and Saturday. My favorite maki rolls were the “Always Sunny” roll with smoked salmon, cream cheese, avocado, pickle, and the “Everything Bagel Furikake.” In second place was their Volcano Roll with cucumber, avocado, jalapeño, and spicy baked scallop. Other top menu items include spicy crab noodles and the poke with tuna and chili oil.
O-Ku Sushi Nashville
81 Van Buren St, Nashville, TN 37208
Phone: 629-900-0021
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O-Ku Sushi offers Asian cuisine with a fusion of southern dining. Chefs Eric Hill, Jack Fang, Michael Chanthavong, and Richard Fong have combined efforts to craft excellent menus. O-Ku locations span the country and have locations in Nashville, Charlotte, Atlanta, Washington DC, and Raleigh. In addition to the regular menu they also offer the Omakase experience chef’s tasting.The Spider Roll is an incredible maki roll with soft shell crab, avocado, cucumber, spicy aioli, and sweet soy glaze. The Wagyu Tartare is a chef’s special and has pickled root vegetables, herb aioli, fried caper, truffle olive oil, and a confit egg yolk. O-Ku’s Nashvegas roll is specific to the Nashville restaurant and includes crab, goat cheese mousse, avocado, tempura, spicy salmon, sweet soy glaze, and spicy aioli. It’s delicious!
Nomzilla! sushi et cetera
1000 Gallatin Ave Suite A, Nashville, TN 37206
Phone: 615-712-7409
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Nomzilla! sushi et cetera is in East Nashville and has a clear mission to blend cultures and culinary dishes to create an immersive fusion restaurant. The restaurant is open Monday through Friday from 11:00 am to 10:00 pm and on the weekends from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm. With dozens of specialty rolls, every option is fantastic. I would recommend the red-eye roll, the dancing eel roll, or the king cobra roll. The kitchen also whips up rice bowls, ramens, bao buns, so the “et cetera” portion of the restaurant’s name truly lives up to its hype.
Dear Sushi
557-A Stewarts Ferry Pike, Nashville, TN 37214
Phone: 615-471-6851
Dear Sushi is a straightforward restaurant offering sushi located near the Tennessee Art Institute. The restaurant is open from Monday to Saturday from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm, so whether you are craving sushi for lunch or dinner, Dear Sushi is the place to go. Popular menu items include the smoked salmon roll, the spicy tuna roll, and the tempura shrimp roll. Dear Sushi is an excellent option for take-out sushi too. The packaging is sturdy, and delivery is fast. I would also recommend the red or green dragon roll and the steamed shrimp dumpling.
Maru Sushi & Grill
1100 Fatherland St Suite 101, Nashville, TN 37206
Phone: 615-712-8115
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Maru Sushi & Grill is a family-owned and operated restaurant that focuses on building community. Located in East Nashville, the hip spot focuses on crafting delicious foods and cultivating a comfortable vibe. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner from Monday to Saturday. The edamame with garlic herb and olive oil is a great appetizer. The Avocado Ball is unique with spicy tuna wrapped in avocado slices, with yum yum sauce, eel sauce, and fish roe. The Hot Gabby roll is a deep-fried roll with jalapeno, cream cheese, spicy tuna, and avocado with white sauce. Classic rolls include the Philadelphia roll, the salmon skin roll, and the spicy tuna roll.
Acme Feed & Seed
101 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37201
Phone: 615-915-0888
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Acme Feed & Seed is a restaurant in a historic building that serves sushi and southern favorites to the Nashville community. The Acme building where the restaurant is located has held generations of various businesses like a grocery store and a feed store. Sushi is available between Thursday and Sunday. The Two Brothers Roll is the restaurant’s specialty and holds shrimp tempura, cream cheese, eel sauce, and spicy mayo. I enjoyed the poke bowl, with tuna served on rice with avocado and an umami topper. The sweet and spicy rice cakes are also incredible. Pair sake with your nigiri or sashimi for a fantastic experience.