Noôsh Brings Persian Delicacies to Nashville | Eating Critiques

It’s greatest to belief a information once you’re in unfamiliar territory — that may be a map, or a trusted supply, and even your personal senses. Use all of those at Noôsh, a brand new fine-dining spot on White Bridge Highway the place meals come collectively simply round heat Persian stews and glistening kebabs.

Small jars of tangy, crimson sumac sit on every desk, complementing the gem tones all through the split-level eating room. Palette matches palate for proprietor Naz Kiani: Heat shade and wealthy spice tie collectively each merchandise on the two-page menu, which takes diners from smoky blended eggplant to butter-yellow saffron ice cream.

Noôsh’s success comes from a cautious stability between the advanced, the straightforward, the recognized and the unfamiliar. Whereas fesenjan, a thick stew of walnuts and pomegranate, is a uncommon discover in Nashville, it’s a fundamental staple of one among humanity’s oldest cuisines, developed over millennia throughout the once-vast Persian Empire. Geographic attain and customary components allowed Persian delicacies to affect (and be influenced by) the meals of North Africa, Turkey, the broader Center East and the Mediterranean. Noôsh does its greatest to showcase the dishes that make Persian meals stand out. 

At dinner lately, a server informed our desk that many regulars have already picked up on one of the best path via a dinner right here — the three-course contract labeled “Feast,” tucked underneath a paralyzing alternative of fish, lamb, rooster, beef and vegetable kebabs. It’s a framework for shared dips, 4 kebabs, stew, rice and saffron ice cream that may fulfill not less than two diners for $88. Offers that good would possibly run Kiani out of enterprise.

A great meal right here facilities on the blazing oven seen behind a glass wall. Juicy kubideh (floor lamb) and flaky salmon, brightened by the short squeeze of a charred lemon, are to not be missed. Rice comes dotted with lentils (adas polo), lima beans (baghali polo) or barberries (zereshk polo), excellent as a kebab touchdown pad or testing floor for floor sumac, which hits like salty-sour fruit and goes effectively with every little thing.

A brief drink record riffs on basic cocktails with assist from Persian staples like apricot, sumac, rose and, in fact, pomegranate. The Home Doogh — a skinny, craveable yogurt drink — deserves not less than one journey across the desk. With minimal tweaks, the menu’s foundation in rice, greens, legumes and spices simply accommodates vegetarian, vegan, alcohol-free and gluten-free diners.

Noôsh’s solely disappointment was just a few false guarantees introduced by the Friday evening rush. A scarcity of hummus meant we as an alternative received each eggplant spreads: the smokier mirza ghasemi and the savory kashk-o-bademjan, thickened with drizzled whey. Bought-out chenjeh, Noôsh’s sirloin kebab, opened up house for a succulent shrimp skewer. The recent rooster kebab has been struck from the menu altogether, primarily a blow to our curiosity.

Noôsh comes on-line as a part of an actual meals renaissance for the world. It bodily changed pizzeria Porta Through, and for now, it appears to depend on the same West Facet clientele: older {couples} eating in even-numbered pairs consuming wine; grownup youngsters assembly up with dad and mom for a weekly evening out. But it surely nonetheless has empty seats. West Finish Avenue and Hillsboro Pike have traditionally lagged behind culinary scorching spots like Germantown and East Nashville, and Noôsh — together with lately introduced expansions for Two Ten Jack and Soy Cubano, in addition to a Dalt’s makeover from Strategic Hospitality — would possibly assist higher set up the world’s eating scene, the place nationwide chains like Elevating Cane’s, Chipotle and Chuy’s outnumber just a few beloved stalwarts (Sonobana, Sperry’s, a revamped Caffé Nonna).

Simply across the nook from Noôsh, the brand new Belle Meade Village will carry a close-by provide of individuals and cash, a much-needed lifeline for a restaurant located inside an in any other case sleepy industrial plaza.