Locust
If you were obsessively refreshing the time.gov website at 9:58 on the morning of Feb. 1 trying to score a reservation at Locust (like I was), you might have been surprised (like I was) to discover that only midday reservations were on offer for March. Previously, Locust offered lunch and dinner service by reservation Friday through Sunday, with an early window from noon until 2 p.m. and dinner served from 5 to 8:30 p.m.
However, if you were cruising Instagram on Jan. 30 (which I was decidedly not), you might have seen that Locust made an announcement ahead of opening up reservations for March.
While discontinuing reservations for dinner service might seem like a step backward, it’s actually an ingenious reimagining of the already outstanding restaurant, named the No. 1 dining spot in America by Food & Wine in 2022. Lunch always had most of the same core menu as dinner except for a special dish or two that recently named James Beard semifinalist chef Trevor Moran and his staff added to the evening meal.
Some diners have wondered why such a popular restaurant would choose to be open only three days a week when they could keep the reservation books filled all week long. The simple answer is because they can — but don’t think the kitchen is dark at Locust Monday through Thursday. I’ve often walked by during the week and noticed plenty of kitchen staff with their heads down prepping for a meal that was still days away.
Dumplings at Locust
Now Locust's team will be able to concentrate on three longer services with the same menu, and diners will actually have an extra hour of reservation slots each day, an 18 percent increase in seating inventory. More importantly, the second half of the announcement is a real win for those who can’t always be hovering over the “submit” button on Locust’s reservation page on the first day of the month. (Pro tip: As of this writing, there are still a few midday slots open for March.)
The prestigious culinary nonprofit will announce its finalists April 3
Evenings at Locust have become fully democratized by eliminating reservations and offering walk-in service for dumplings and drinks from 6 p.m. until closing! Imagine the joy of being able to walk to a neighborhood restaurant with the vaunted reputation of Locust and sitting down to some of Moran’s transcendent dumplings along with a cocktail or a Guinness. Sure, you might have to get in line at 5 p.m., but the people-watching in 12South is nonpareil anyway.
I, for one, am going to start blocking out some time on my Sunday calendar, because I guarantee that no matter what I would have planned to cook for dinner, there’s no way it could be better than an order of lamb dumplings and an Irish gin-and-tonic. Nashville dining is fixin’ to get even better with this change!
