First off, let me confess to a little personal hypocrisy. I’m on record (loudly in private and quietly in public) saying that I have concerns about the huge number of “experiential” bars and restaurants that have taken up valuable investment funds, premium spaces and diner dollars in Nashville. I’m primarily talking about gargantuan chain incursions from faraway cities like Chicago, Detroit and Vancouver, and given my druthers, I’m just not that excited to write about those at the expense of local, independent restaurants who need support.
However — hypocrisy alert! — I admit that when new restaurants and bars have roots in cities like New Orleans, Atlanta or Charleston, or happen to be run by global humanitarian future Nobel Peace Prize winners, I tend to be much more gracious. I feel like those towns understand the Nashville vibe better and feel more like sister cities rather than land-grabs trying to wring the last steakhouse dollars out of conventioneers.
This is all to say that sometimes I miss covering a new restaurant opening by accident, and sometimes it’s at least slightly intentional. So I need to apologize to Postino, a cozy neighborhood wine bar that has been open within walking distance of my house since November of 2024. I knew that there were almost three dozen locations of the restaurant across seven states, so I figured it was probably just another cloned restaurant dropped into a neighborhood based on population density and average household income estimates.
But recently, I received a very polite invitation to visit, long after most restaurants would have given up on trying to grab my attention. It just happened to fall on a night when my girlfriend and I just couldn’t muster the energy to shop for anything, cook anything we had in the house, or even scrape together some leftovers. We needed some self-care, and Postino seemed to be an easy option.
After finding a parking place in 12South that was actually closer to my house than to the restaurant, we ducked out of the rain into a warm oasis. I couldn’t believe this was the former Taqueria del Sol space, because it has been completely reconfigured. The quirky decor of old televisions and radios covering the main wall made no sense, but it made me smile to see.
Offered the choice of covered patio, booth or dining room seating, we opted to be in the middle of the action where I could see all three areas. A helpful server walked us through the menu and explained a bit about the concept as we made our choices. I knew Postino was a wine bar, but I didn’t realize that most of the wines on their list were made specially for the restaurant. That explained why the prices were so reasonable, particularly with $6 glasses before 5 p.m.
I also wasn’t aware of their cocktail program, including some fun new spring drinks like a watermelon spritz, a peach whiskey sour and a Violet Femme, a lavender-infused twist on the classic Bee’s Knees. The bar showcased a small whiskey selection, but whoever was doing the buying must have a great relationship with Sazerac, because I saw high-end options like Eagle Rare and Blanton’s on the top shelf and Buffalo Trace in the well.
I settled on a nice 2023 Malbec while we put in an order for something off Postino’s “snacky things” section of the menu and constructed one of their signature “boards.” Our snack was an order of grilled petite filet and chicken skewers served with a Sicilian garlic yogurt sauce. The meats were seared hard until they were crispy, but not dry, and the slight bite of the sauce was a nice complement to the flavors of the grill.
The protocol for creating a board is to pick four different (or all the same if you really like one) bruschetta toppings from a list of options ranging from traditional brie, apple and fig combos to more adventurous choices like mushroom and mascarpone. We quite enjoyed the smoked salmon and pesto along with some delightful boquerones, and we were surprised how filling the small board was.
Best of all, we didn’t have to lift a finger on an evening when we just wanted to enjoy each other’s company. Contrary to common belief about the life of a food writer, I cook 85 percent of the dinners we eat. Could I have whipped together those skewers and that board and popped open a couple bottles of wine? Sure, but that would have involved a lot of shopping and chopping on an evening when we just couldn’t.
That hour I would have spent board building was instead all the time it took to enjoy a lovely meal at Postino and get back home in time for our pups to do their nightly puzzles, and sometimes that’s exactly the experience we’re looking for! Apologies to Postino for not getting there sooner, but we’ll be back again sooner rather than later.
