There was something sort of hopeful and freeing about the food pop-ups that popped up during the pandemic. Yes, they were born of necessity and some of panic, and the circumstances either encouraged or forced folks to put things on the menu that they might not have tried otherwise. That was the situation for Leina Horii and Brian Lea. Alums of some of the city’s best restaurants (including Husk Nashville, Le Sel, The Catbird Seat and Bastion), the couple thought that eventually, when they opened their first restaurant together, it would feature Japanese fine dining. Lucky for all of us, during the pandemic they started selling Japanese comfort food such as onigiri — seasoned, filled rice balls — at farmers markets, The Patterson House and other locations. The wild popularity encouraged them to focus the menu at Kisser, their lunch-only spot with Strategic Hospitality, on those foods. The anticipation for Kisser to open in 2023 was real, and the team lived up to the hype. Named as an homage to kissaten, Japanese neighborhood hangouts, Kisser is exactly what the Nashville food scene needed.
Make your way to Highland Yards on the East Side and wait in line with others for the doors to open. Then you’ll take a seat amid the small, bright, minimalist Japanese-Scandinavian decor, which is stylish and comfortable, but allows the food to be the star. The open kitchen, though, offers a peak at the culinary stars behind the scenes. Bring a friend (or two or three) if you can, so you can reasonably order more of the menu, such as the aforementioned onigiri, chicken katsu and other sandwiches, noodles, yellowtail and breakfasts (the latter on weekends only). Many of the recipes are derived from foods Horii ate as a child, including inari, a dish made of tofu skin and rice, seasonal vegetables and seafood. Udon is made daily, and if you’re there on a day with curry udon on the menu, consider yourself lucky and order it. The miso crème brûlée is the dessert must. (Feel free to put in your dessert order when you place your lunch order if there’s something you really don’t want to miss.) The menu is focused but not sparse, and there are plenty of options for those who eschew gluten and meat. Beverages include sake, beer and nonalcoholic drinks such as locally beloved High Garden teas. And because the menu is so seasonally focused, it changes often and therefore provides an excuse to go back often. Kisser doesn’t take reservations, and waiting for a table in the vibey Highland Yards space feels like a communal experience of anticipation and joy.
