Cult-favorite Charleston-based Asian comfort food restaurant Xiao Bao is still set to open in East Nashville sometime in the near future, but in the meantime, you can get a taste of the menu at the Dickerson Road blast-from-the-past Dive Motel. And it’s worth the visit, if only for chowing down on shrimp fried rice, hand-pulled noodles with chili cumin beef, and Xiao Bao’s signature okonomiyaki just hits a little different underneath the spinning disco ball.

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.

In 2021, the historic Hermitage Hotel announced that legendary chef and restaurateur Jean-Georges Vongerichten was tapped to revamp the hotel’s entire culinary program, from top to bottom, while the hotel also saw design updates throughout. Drusie & Darr opened in mid-November, serving true Jean-Georges style, signature plant-based offerings, oven-fired pizzas, and classic cocktails in a stunning setting.

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.

The 121-year-old former train station-turned-hotel recently got a facelift, and with it, a gorgeous new breakfast, lunch, and dinner destination overlooking Broadway. Chef Sean Foley is dishing out contemporary takes on European and American favorites like flat-ironed steak frites with herb butter or half-roasted chicken winter vegetables, foie gras powder, and chicken jus.

The new self-coined “American izakaya” at Sylvan Supply is churning out a variety of options for lunch and dinner. There are lots of choices for maki lovers, alongside a steak-topped “tiger tear salad”, several cold vegetarian-friendly options, and excellent Korean waffle fries.

Chef Rooney and his talented noodle squad are back in business on the west side of town, taking over the kitchen seven days a week at Sylvan Supply’s Bearded Iris Brewery. On the menu, look for familiar things like hellfire tonkotsu and garlic bomb shoyu bowls alongside a new vegan ramen and rotating specials.

Move over Whataburger and giant Buc-ee’s. The popular Dallas-based taco mini-chain Velvet Taco opened in Midtown in January, bringing a rainbow of crave-inducing quirky tacos and queso to the neighborhood — all available late at night and via drive-thru. For those who dine in, there are also solid margaritas on offer, plus a fun heated patio for people-watching.

The Hart, a tropical new restaurant and bar, opened in Nashville’s Chestnut Hill neighborhood in late November. Kimchi fried rice, a katsu sando, and a colorful selection of yakitori kick off the menu, but people are raving about the whole smoked duck and grilled fish preparations, as well as the one-pound KLD beef kalbi with all the fixings.

Chef Egidio Franciosa and partner Jannah Franciosa recently gave their popular mobile pizzeria a permanent location in Wedgewood-Houston, serving up Neapolitan-style pies like the diavola, topped with pomodoro, fior de latte, and calabrese salami. The menu doesn’t stop at pizza, though, folks are also raving about the restaurant’s carpaccio, antipasto spreads, and pasta features.

One of the most exciting openings of the year is the reemergence 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.