With his stellar résumé and extensive international experience, Ryan Poli could have written his own ticket to captain any kitchen in the world. Instead, the Chicago native chose Nashville — where he gained local attention and acclaim during his three years at the helm of The Catbird Seat — to open Iggy’s with his brother Matthew Poli, who oversees beverages and front-of-house. The two took a vacant space on the street level of a former industrial building in Wedgewood-Houston and turned it into a swanky yet approachable trattoria with multiple seating options, including a bar overlooking the busy kitchen. That’s where diners will find Chef Ryan, who merges a hands-on approach with a K.I.S.S. culinary ethos that results in a succinct menu regularly refreshed by seasonality, availability and imagination. Meals start with an introduction by four or five starters — led by the famous Iggy’s garlic bread — and the entrees are built upon fresh pasta made daily in its own glass-enclosed room. From that base, Poli creates elevated executions of Italian home-kitchen standbys like spaghetti pomodoro and rigatoni Bolognese and masterful interpretations of classics like cacio e pepe, fettuccine Alfredo and gnocchi. His stuffed pastas — tortellini and agnolotti — are otherworldly. Poli regularly posts short cooking demos on the restaurant’s lively Instagram account. A recent one captured over a pot of boiling pasta offers this sage advice: “Here’s the point where everybody asks me how long to cook it. ’Til it’s done.” Ryan Poli, Nashville’s best — and least assuming — chef.
Best Chef
