Locust — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

I've had a lot of good meals in my life, great meals, life altering food I shall never forget. But during my travels to 79 countries and all seven continents, I've been lucky to have a few culinary moments that were much mere than meals, they were an experience. A Michelin-starred restaurant overlooking the French Riviera outside of Monaco, a 15-course meal in a Japanese ryokan in the shadow of Mount Fuji, and yes, lunch at Locust in my own backyard! The critical acclaim, the James Beard nomination, the honor of best new restaurant in the United States, notching a spot on America's best restaurant lists in both the New York Times and USA Today, all that hype is backed up by a five-star meal with superb combinations of flavors, meticulous culinary creations, and tremendous attention to detail. Even the way the chefs methodically clean the open kitchen speaks to a higher calling, a dedication to absolute perfection.

It's almost impossible to put into words what I experienced at Locust, a secretive restaurant in a nondescript building amongst the popular spots of the 12 South neighborhood. You'll find no signage other than small yellow lettering on the door if you know where to look, the gateway to an exclusive club that anyone can join. There isn't a sign board displaying the daily specials or someone beckoning passersby to give them a try. Their bare minimum website is a no-frills window into this opportunity. But Locust doesn't need gawdy signage, or publicity, or a slick website. Because the only way to get here is to have done your research, studied up on Nashville's greatest dining experience, and made your mandatory reservation well in advance with a $100 down payment intended for those who are serious about snagging that coveted table for precisely 1.5 hours on one of the three days they’re open! Their reputation speaks for itself. And running just over $150 per person including tax and tip, this is far more affordable than similar experiences I've had around the world. And when they recently ditched their dinner menu in favor of only offering their famous dumplings, when one reader asked why Locust retorted "Why not?". This is not your typical eatery by any stretch of the imagination. And Nashville is truly lucky to have Irish chef Trevor Moran - from the world's most heralded eatery Noma (Copenhagen) - gracing our city with his culinary genius, creating unimaginably clever collections of flavor and texture.

It's difficult to describe the experience of Locust's ever-changing menu. Just imagine placing ground beef tartare, sticky rice with a delicate horseradish, and dried capers on seaweed, rolling it up, and savoring a mind-bending amalgamation of flavors. Picture an enormous mushroom the size of your fist with a light tempura batter that even this self-professed mushroom hater devoured with enthusiasm. Imagine a foamy soup with large bits of seafood and crisp cheesy potatoes in a rich broth like you've never tasted before. Attempt to comprehend a tower of finely shaved ice heavily dusted with an intense raspberry powder with delicate flecks of shaved sea salt impossibly balanced atop a thick cream. And then you bathe the remaining shaved ice with a caramel cookie flavored sauce that hardens into brittle bits of sugary magic. This is only a glimpse into what you'll experience at Locust. And I concur with the experts that it is easily the best...

Locust felt like visiting a group of talented and worldly chefs’ passion project; a passion that comprises of a fervent drive for perfection of Asian steamed dumplings, and kakigori styles never previously concocted. But to call it just a ‘dumpling and shaved ice place’ is far too simple a generalization. The exceptionally short 6-dish menu constantly changes based on ingredients and probably the chefs’ mood. Being a passion project, the restaurant is only open 3 days a week (the chefs spend the rest of the time experimenting). The result are seemingly simple but exceptionally well thought out dishes, every single thing truly delicious. We start with the Tuna ham crisp: two thin slices of tuna - a fatty belly and a leaner cut - are placed on top of a fried dumpling crisp, with a layer of light mayonnaise wasabi to flavor. It’s the perfect first bite that eventually gets a bit queasy but not overly so. The tuna curing process resembles ham to provide a slight oily mouthfeel. Regardless, the dish exemplifies the best of tuna. The beef tartare is served in a DIY-sushi roll, except the rice has wasabi creme in it along with some freeze-dried capers. The tartare is quite simple, there’s a subtle mustard oil but that’s it. The cream rice is much more overt in flavor so it leaves the beef tartare more for texture and a subtle beefy taste. It’s a very well balanced roll. The shrimp toast is the special ‘Sunday item’. It is served on an excellent brioche like toast, while the shrimp paste is very soft and homogenous within the bread. The toast lacks a bit of flavor by itself, instead a ginger-y sweet hot sauce dominates the initial flavor that is reminiscent of Chinese American food. The cucumber comes with a cumin lime salt dip. It opens up the appetite and probably can go with anything. Saying the dumplings are perfect does not do it justice. They’re unique yet very familiar, as if a foreigner went to Asia and cooked dumplings for 10 years before going back to create their own perfected product from a foreign view. Compared to Chinese dumplings, the filling has more chive for texture and a less sweet but more savory flavor, but the skin is where the technique shines through. The chive is fresh, the meat is a good balance and granularity between lean and fat, and the skin is unbelievably thin. In fact it’s a mystery how it’s cooked with such a thin yet glutinously chewy skin but pork cooked through. The two thoughtful dipping sauces completely alter the flavors in a welcome way: a sesame chili oil and a kombu vinegar that has strong mineral and salty hints of the ocean. The kakigori is really special. It is made with ice, but topped with a super fluffy earl grey mousse and powdered raspberry, with honeycomb and candied kumquats inside. The raspberry powder creates a sharp tart aftertaste while the mousse adds a contrast in mouthfeel. The kumquat and honeycomb are fun random additions inside, as well as the fresh cream inside too. This makes the actual ice an icy and neutral mediator between all the...

I found it very easy to give this 5 stars based solely on the food and not taking into account the atmosphere or prices.

The initial experience - it was very easy to make a reservation online (required) about a month in advance. You pay $20 for the reservation but that is taken off your final bill once you eat at the restaurant. We were seated quickly.

The menu is very succinct. The printed menu has 4-5 items while the main seafood items are written on a board above the kitchen. With how small the restaurant is, almost every table can see this board.

The first item we got was a small cup filled with an extremely tiny amount of a soup you could drink in less than a sip. It was very garlicky, oily, and delicious. Small pieces of white truffle were laid on top of this foamy mixture that tasted exactly like really good garlic bread.

We then got fried scallops. 3 good sized scallops were served on a shell. Covered in panko and fried, these were served with a spicy, vibrant sauce made out of roe. It was extremely tender, juicy, and a good juxtaposition of flavors.

Talking about juxtaposition, the tuna belly was served next. 8 small pieces of incredibly tender tuna were served with a little horseradish dip surrounded by seaweed oil. The tuna itself was sweet, fatty, and melted immediately in your mouth. With the spicy and aromatic horseradish, it left you wanted much more.

Then came the grilled mackerel. A small half mackerel was served with a dried chili on top that is meant to be crushed and spread. It was served with an oyster sauce.

We then got the beef tartare. Yes it is raw beef. This was served with sushi rice, freeze dried capers, and 4 pieces of nori. You take some nori, add some rice, beef, and capers, then roll and eat. It was really really delicious and flavorful.

The dumplings were solid. 10 pork dumplings served with a spicy chili oil were served in a steamed bamboo basket.

The shrimp rocket was a crispy fried bread filled with shrimp. The outside was then glazed with what I can only describe as a sweet habanero sauce. To me, it tastes exactly like the mango habanero sauce at Buffalo Wild Wings. Either way, I really enjoyed having this after the other dishes.

Finally, we had dessert. This shaved ice dessert is served with a heap of marzipan, a salted caramel drizzle that is added tableside, and the center is a passion fruit custard. This was arguably my favorite part of the meal. 1 of these can easily feed 2 people!

Price-wise, expect to spend a good amount. It was $180 for our entire meal for 2.

Ambience is pretty good as well. It is a little loud and it feels like the tables are closed together than they should be, but that’s what you get for the small area.

I would definitely come back here in the future and try many of the same dishes as well as some new...