It’s been a little more than a month since Noko opened on 701 Porter Road in the former space where Pomodoro East operated for years, and crowds have definitely discovered their new neighbor. As my colleague Margaret Littman shared in her exclusive announcement of the concept in the winter, the name of the restaurant derives from the Japanese term nokoribi, which loosely translates to “embers.”
Japan, wood and fire are focal points of the cuisine at Noko with an open-fire grill on full display in the open kitchen with chefs grilling, roasting, smoking and searing many of the proteins and vegetables that appear on the menu of shareable plates. They even incorporate fire to toast ingredients and garnishes that show up in the cocktail program. The manager told us that 80 percent of the menu has some fire component involved in preparation, so that’s some serious dedication and creativity.
The menu is cleverly broken down into flavor profiles, with “fresh and bright” dishes like salmon carpaccio, tuna crispy rice and the ubiquitous charred shishito peppers; “rich and savory” offerings include wagyu tartare, crab fried rice and bone marrow. Wood-fired dishes showcase a rotating market fresh fish catch, a massive tomahawk ribeye and a simple and decadent dish of Gifford’s bacon. The final section of the menu is “smoked,” featuring some real highlights like smoked fish dip, wagyu brisket and “burnt ends” lettuce wraps.
Diners-about-town might recognize several dishes that seem inspired by other restaurants, not that there's anything wrong with that. Good food executed well is the goal. The tuna crispy rice with serrano chiles reads a lot like the avocado crispy rice at Butcher & Bee, but what appeared was actually closer to the crispy sushi at Drusie & Darr in execution. The wagyu tartare reminded me of the amazing tartare at Locust, but the rough cut of the beef wasn’t nearly as precise or enjoyable as the original. Crab fried rice is reminiscent of the popular main at Xiao Bao, but the addition of wagyu fat at Noko is a great idea, so I’m not mad about it. E3 Steakhouse has been serving a bacon app for years, but they use Benton’s instead of Gifford. Again, I’ll allow it, happily! And like I already said, shishito peppers are everywhere.
The space is intentionally spare, like a zen Japanese farmhouse set off by a log wall and other natural wood accents. A variety of seating options are available for different sizes of parties, including a few select spots at the chef's bar in front of the grill. Unfortunately, all those hard surfaces make for an extremely loud environment as the bustling crowd enjoyed each other’s company on our Friday night visit. You know it’s noisy when it’s halfway through a song before you recognize it as “Brown Sugar” by the Stones.
If you don’t mind speaking up to be heard, the vibrant atmosphere is a natural consequence of the high-energy restaurant where tables turn pretty quickly as small plates arrive from the kitchen as ready instead of as a composed meal. Eat, drink, enjoy and free up those seats for the next wave of neighbors! That schedule did mean that the mixed plate of vegetables we asked for to accompany our very meat-centric order didn’t arrive until we had finished everything else on the table. While the sir-fried veggies were delicious, we would have preferred to get them earlier since you have to work to include some vegetables besides edamame and shishitos into your meal.
Standouts among the dishes we sampled were the salmon carpaccio, cut much thicker than expected, but with a really nice mouthfeel and spike of ponzu and wasabi. The DIY lettuce wraps are definitely a must-order — crispy cubes of pork belly served with honey-hot BBQ sauce and pickled vegetables is always a winner.
Desserts at Noko feature their neighbors at HiFi Cookies, who have created a special flavor just for the restaurant and their version of the iconic Disney Dole pineapple whip.
Another nice thing about Noko is that they have made a special emphasis on treating their employees correctly, supporting them and focusing on quality of life. Employees are offered an extensive employee betterment program, which includes four-day work weeks, two weeks of paid vacation, family meals provided daily, a yearly travel stipend and bonus program, access to an online therapist, a paid gym/yoga membership, health insurance, and other benefits. They also donate 1 percent of net profits to a local non-profit, Nashville Children’s Alliance, an organization committed to providing healing and support for children who have been abused or exposed to violence.
Open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday, Noko plans to add brunch service soon.
