Wow wow wow! What a hidden gem! My fiancé & I had a perfect date night at Present Tense!! The food was amazing, the atmosphere is unmatched, and the service was fantastic.
We learned near the end of our dinner that one of the servers was sick, so the person who served us was actually the owner, Rick! He was phenomenal & extremely kind!
Cannot recommend this place enough! It’s a must-try!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Shauna Casale
I went to Present Tense with a friend for the first time a couple of weeks ago and I was blown away at the quality and presentation of everything we ordered as well as the service! We enjoyed: Karaage Fried Chicken, Yellowtail Hand Roll, Chicken Thigh Yakitori, A5 Wagyu Strip Skewer, Squid Ink Pasta, Orchid Mist (cocktail), Habanero Gold (cocktail), Blood Orange Soft Serve and Japanese Chocolate Mousse. Plus, they greet you with complimentary popcorn which I thought was so fun! I'm not exaggerating when I say I absolutely loved everything we tried, but if I had to narrow it down to "must-try" items, I would choose the Karaage Fried Chicken & Japanese Chocolate Mousse. I think about those dishes often haha! Thanks for a lovely experience Present Tense team, I can't wait to come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lisa Dempsey
Visiting from California and was in need of top shelf food that could accommodate my (many) food allergies. Present Tense delivered! The food was so incredible!! Every staff member was aware of my allergies and made me feel at ease. The sake is out of this world good, and cocktails are as amazing! This will for sure be the spot for food or even just drinks with friends. The restaurant is such a vibe.
Try Pure Land Sake & the Andorra cocktail! Also the Miyazaki Wagyu was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten.
For reference I’m Gluten Free and allergic to peanuts and shellfish.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Steak
Meg Warren
The lamb was really tasty. The potatoes were also very good. The music was way too loud and a weird vibe for dinner setting. It felt like a night club more than an intimate vibe and I could barely hear my friend from across the table. Our server also would go 15-20 minutes without checking on us which made me have to go to the bar a couple times just to order a drink and ask for our check. Not sure if we’ll return. Food wasn’t bad though.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 2
Matthew Tyndall
Hiramasa Sashimi was the star of the show. Citrus was just the right amount to pair with the fish. The broth it sat in was a nice visual and pairing.
Bluefin Tuna on grilled sourdough with wagyu fat - the portion of tuna was generous. Good tasting fish. The bread was nearly burnt, but still edible. The wagyu fat was undetectable, which is fine - it should be more of a hint. The dish overall felt like it was missing something as the taste kind of plateaued with no dimension.
Squid ink noodles - these are pretty spicy, which is nice, but the n’duja ragu absolutely does not work with this dish. I love grilled squid, and this sauce overpowers the squid and the noodles. Even if it did pair well, it felt over sauced.
Karaage chicken - this is probably the least crispy karaage I’ve ever had. From what I could tell, the yuzu was marinated into the chicken. Somehow the breading masked the yuzu which was only detectable when eating a piece with the the breading removed. The weird green goddess dressing did not pair with it well.
Hokaido scallop - this was great. Good texture and flavor. I just didn’t realize it was only one scallop.
The Andorra cocktail - a twist on the manhattan. Tasted fine, but the cucumbers, and what I assume was oyster sauce or hoisin on the rim were not a welcome addition, nor were they on the menu.
Atmosphere is a like mix of hygge and that club from the first Blade movie. An interesting mix, not unlike some of the dishes.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Matthew Battrick
Qwerky place with Japanese inspired food, wine and cocktails
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Bob Pate
This food was next level. Each course, Outshined the course before. The service was great and the vibe was electric. I will definitely be back!!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Gracie Moses
my partner & i went here for valentine’s day & could not have been happier with the entire experience. the valentine’s set menu had all the restaurants staples, along with some fantastic seasonal items. ingredients were authentic & unique to japanese cuisine, but the food was beyond creative & non traditional in the best way. the service was amazing, everyone was so on top of keeping our table clean & well cleared & were quite swift about it too, our waitress described all of the items perfectly, & we were so pleased with all of her suggestions. the dim lit (but not too dark) atmosphere & attention to detail added so much to how romantic & special this date was for us. some of our favorites were the miso radicchio caesar, the hokkaido scallops, the seaweed gnocchi & the living coral cocktail with gin! the blood orange yuzu soft serve sake float was also to die for — this is such a creative & beautifully curated spot in nashville, & we will definitely be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Vickie Haberbosch
The food was horrible, miniscule portions, highly overpriced. Robbery. Go somewhere else.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 5
Blanca Hernandez
My boyfriend and I celebrated my birthday here, and it was absolutely wonderful. The atmosphere of the restaurant was beautiful and soft, the hostess was very friendly and informed us on our wait process, the server went ABOVE AND BEYOND, noticing it was a special night, popped in at the perfect time to check on us. My boyfriend and I both said we would stop here every time we would come to Nashville from now on! Everything was amazing. Thank you guys for the great experience.
Where should I start. 7 PM reservations and home at 8:30 on NYE 15 minutes away. $356 later, by the way. We were railroaded into our first two courses that were done by 7:15. The salad was a block of cabbage with virtually no dressing or seasoning. The opening cocktail was a poorly made martini. The servers would remove the dishes of the food but not the actual plates we ate off of. Main course was steak. Clearly sous vide hours before because it was cold and covered with wilted broccolini. Dessert was good, but then we were served a glass of horrible bubbles that we couldn't drink. $356 for a 4 ounce cold steak and 1 glass of decent red wine. Nothing (NOTHING) remotely Japanese served in this meal, either.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Tavia Sons
Great atmosphere and drinks. Our bartender Katherine was super cool and very helpful. Definitely will go back!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Jordy
One of the best restaurants and bars in Nashville. I would recommend to anyone visiting.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Natasha V
We went to this spot cause it was listed on the NYT Best 25 restaurants in Nashville. The food was 100% good, but the whole vibe was off. Bao buns were served with four portions of meat, but three portions of bao buns. Only one bartender to serve the whole restaurant. We sat at the bar and felt bad every time we ordered a new drink/app. We live in the neighborhood and were excited to check this place out. Auto gratuity of 20% on all parties made the whole experience of subpar service feel even worse. Won't be going back unfortunately
Wow wow wow! What a hidden gem! My fiancé & I had a perfect date night at Present Tense!! The food was amazing, the atmosphere is unmatched, and the service was fantastic.
We learned near the end of our dinner that one of the servers was sick, so the person who served us was actually the owner, Rick! He was phenomenal & extremely kind!
Cannot recommend this place enough! It’s a must-try!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I went to Present Tense with a friend for the first time a couple of weeks ago and I was blown away at the quality and presentation of everything we ordered as well as the service! We enjoyed: Karaage Fried Chicken, Yellowtail Hand Roll, Chicken Thigh Yakitori, A5 Wagyu Strip Skewer, Squid Ink Pasta, Orchid Mist (cocktail), Habanero Gold (cocktail), Blood Orange Soft Serve and Japanese Chocolate Mousse. Plus, they greet you with complimentary popcorn which I thought was so fun! I'm not exaggerating when I say I absolutely loved everything we tried, but if I had to narrow it down to "must-try" items, I would choose the Karaage Fried Chicken & Japanese Chocolate Mousse. I think about those dishes often haha! Thanks for a lovely experience Present Tense team, I can't wait to come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Visiting from California and was in need of top shelf food that could accommodate my (many) food allergies. Present Tense delivered! The food was so incredible!! Every staff member was aware of my allergies and made me feel at ease. The sake is out of this world good, and cocktails are as amazing! This will for sure be the spot for food or even just drinks with friends. The restaurant is such a vibe.
Try Pure Land Sake & the Andorra cocktail! Also the Miyazaki Wagyu was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten.
For reference I’m Gluten Free and allergic to peanuts and shellfish.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Steak
The lamb was really tasty. The potatoes were also very good. The music was way too loud and a weird vibe for dinner setting. It felt like a night club more than an intimate vibe and I could barely hear my friend from across the table. Our server also would go 15-20 minutes without checking on us which made me have to go to the bar a couple times just to order a drink and ask for our check. Not sure if we’ll return. Food wasn’t bad though.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 2
Hiramasa Sashimi was the star of the show. Citrus was just the right amount to pair with the fish. The broth it sat in was a nice visual and pairing.
Bluefin Tuna on grilled sourdough with wagyu fat - the portion of tuna was generous. Good tasting fish. The bread was nearly burnt, but still edible. The wagyu fat was undetectable, which is fine - it should be more of a hint. The dish overall felt like it was missing something as the taste kind of plateaued with no dimension.
Squid ink noodles - these are pretty spicy, which is nice, but the n’duja ragu absolutely does not work with this dish. I love grilled squid, and this sauce overpowers the squid and the noodles. Even if it did pair well, it felt over sauced.
Karaage chicken - this is probably the least crispy karaage I’ve ever had. From what I could tell, the yuzu was marinated into the chicken. Somehow the breading masked the yuzu which was only detectable when eating a piece with the the breading removed. The weird green goddess dressing did not pair with it well.
Hokaido scallop - this was great. Good texture and flavor. I just didn’t realize it was only one scallop.
The Andorra cocktail - a twist on the manhattan. Tasted fine, but the cucumbers, and what I assume was oyster sauce or hoisin on the rim were not a welcome addition, nor were they on the menu.
Atmosphere is a like mix of hygge and that club from the first Blade movie. An interesting mix, not unlike some of the dishes.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Qwerky place with Japanese inspired food, wine and cocktails
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This food was next level. Each course, Outshined the course before. The service was great and the vibe was electric. I will definitely be back!!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
my partner & i went here for valentine’s day & could not have been happier with the entire experience. the valentine’s set menu had all the restaurants staples, along with some fantastic seasonal items. ingredients were authentic & unique to japanese cuisine, but the food was beyond creative & non traditional in the best way. the service was amazing, everyone was so on top of keeping our table clean & well cleared & were quite swift about it too, our waitress described all of the items perfectly, & we were so pleased with all of her suggestions. the dim lit (but not too dark) atmosphere & attention to detail added so much to how romantic & special this date was for us. some of our favorites were the miso radicchio caesar, the hokkaido scallops, the seaweed gnocchi & the living coral cocktail with gin! the blood orange yuzu soft serve sake float was also to die for — this is such a creative & beautifully curated spot in nashville, & we will definitely be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food was horrible, miniscule portions, highly overpriced. Robbery. Go somewhere else.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 5
My boyfriend and I celebrated my birthday here, and it was absolutely wonderful. The atmosphere of the restaurant was beautiful and soft, the hostess was very friendly and informed us on our wait process, the server went ABOVE AND BEYOND, noticing it was a special night, popped in at the perfect time to check on us.
My boyfriend and I both said we would stop here every time we would come to Nashville from now on!
Everything was amazing. Thank you guys for the great experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Where should I start. 7 PM reservations and home at 8:30 on NYE 15 minutes away. $356 later, by the way. We were railroaded into our first two courses that were done by 7:15. The salad was a block of cabbage with virtually no dressing or seasoning. The opening cocktail was a poorly made martini. The servers would remove the dishes of the food but not the actual plates we ate off of. Main course was steak. Clearly sous vide hours before because it was cold and covered with wilted broccolini. Dessert was good, but then we were served a glass of horrible bubbles that we couldn't drink. $356 for a 4 ounce cold steak and 1 glass of decent red wine. Nothing (NOTHING) remotely Japanese served in this meal, either.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Great atmosphere and drinks. Our bartender Katherine was super cool and very helpful. Definitely will go back!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
One of the best restaurants and bars in Nashville. I would recommend to anyone visiting.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We went to this spot cause it was listed on the NYT Best 25 restaurants in Nashville. The food was 100% good, but the whole vibe was off. Bao buns were served with four portions of meat, but three portions of bao buns. Only one bartender to serve the whole restaurant. We sat at the bar and felt bad every time we ordered a new drink/app. We live in the neighborhood and were excited to check this place out. Auto gratuity of 20% on all parties made the whole experience of subpar service feel even worse. Won't be going back unfortunately
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
TERRIBLE service !!
Never try here.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
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