Sean Brock’s June, opened in East Nashville’s McFerrin Park neighborhood in late July, might just be one of the most exciting new restaurants to hit the city this year. It’s poised as a culmination of the famed chef’s career, a return to the grand tasting menus that he originally became famous for more than a decade ago. The dinner menu, set to change twice a season, is composed of 20 or more courses over two to three hours. Dishes like snow crab, freeze-dried buttermilk, and parsnip pudding, and a savory beignet with smoked hollandaise and caviar are divided into five “acts”: canapes, water, land, dessert, and petit fours.

James Beard Award-winning chef RJ Cooper doubled down on Germantown with the opening of Acqua in March, right next door to his swanky American restaurant Saint Stephen. Acqua offers a considerably different atmosphere and cuisine from Saint Stephen, delivering an Italian-style progressive tasting menu of 14 to 16 courses that are all seafood (aside from one) served in a bright, minimalist space. Reservations are required for Acqua’s pricey, fine-dining format ($150 per person), but ties are not.

Acclaimed chef and restaurateur Vivek Surti has reopened South Asian-American supper club restaurant, Tailor, in a new Germantown soace, resuming the high-touch, multi-course meals Tailor is known for. The August-September opening menu of rice and lentil dhokla; sabudana vada; black bass three ways; and peach lassi cake is served twice per night, Thursday through Sunday.

New York transplant and Spanish tapas spot Boqueria landed in Nashville in late February, bringing a famed menu of pan con tomate, grilled octopus, patatas bravas, paella de mariscos, and large-format sangria to downtown’s behemoth dining and retail destination Fifth + Broadway. It’s huge, seating 150 not including a spacious patio facing 5th Avenue, with an industrial chic vibe.

Admittedly designed to be social media and bachelorette-friendly, Layer Cake Social club is a four-level mix of restaurants and bars, with each floor and space aiming to provide distinct settings and experiences. The ground floor is a bar with a pub menu and occasional live music, and on floor two is a full-service dining room serving a hodgepodge of cuisines. After your meal the idea is to head up and up to the clubby rooftop, lit up by neon signs and string lights and offering bottle service, or request VIP table service at the private cocktail bar, the Cherry Lounge (customers can inquire about VIP table service by texting a phone number).

The Electric Jane is Nashville’s newest hype spot, claiming to deliver modern, collaborative dining; live entertainment experiences; breakfast boards; and a “high energy power brunch.” The various menus match the luxury vibe of the clubby venue: dinner options like tuna crispy rice, steak tartare, and Parisian gnocchi; with a caviar-topped French omelet, soft shell crab eggs Benedict, and ube cinnamon rolls as highlights for brunch. The late night menu may be best of all — Detroit-style pizzas, a Gifford’s bologna sandwich, and a a cannoli-crowned espresso martini to top it all off.

Dark, loud, and fun is the vibe at this new all-day neighborhood bar and cafe, with subs, salads, and tavern-style pizza to accompany the atmosphere. It’s homey, funky, and eclectic, a nice reprieve from the hyper-chic, stylized establishments nearby (think Soho House). This is the best new spot to grub on satisfying, carb-filled nosh, cold beer, natural wine, and excitingly, frozen drinks.

One of the most exciting openings of the year is the re-emergence of the much-missed International Market — the Myint family’s longtime Nashville mainstay. Now open in the former Blvd space right across the street, look for familiar favorites alongside new offerings like Burmese tomato relish with shrimp powder and shrimp paste — served with prawn crackers and pork rinds for dipping.