🍽️ Restaurant Run of the Week: Virago

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If you know Saint Anejo and Kayne Prime, you already trust the M Street group. They know how to build a restaurant that actually works, and Virago on McGavock Street in The Gulch is no different. Progressive Japanese cuisine, creative sushi, robata grilling, and cocktails that actually deserve your attention. It's one of those spots that feels tucked away even though it's right in The Gulch, and that intimate vibe is a big part of what makes it special. The kind of place you feel like you discovered even if it's been there all along.

The menu is not your standard sushi restaurant situation. Virago is doing creative, progressive Japanese food that you genuinely aren't going to find anywhere else in Nashville. There are dishes on this menu that make you stop mid-bite and think about what just happened, and that's a rare thing. The cocktail list is built to match that same energy, so don't sleep on it.

The atmosphere inside is intimate and moody in exactly the right way. It feels like a real night out without being uptight about it. The room has energy, the service is on point, and it's the kind of dinner where you look up and realize two hours have gone by without noticing. They bring it every time.

Virago doesn't get talked about as much as it should given how good it is and who's behind it. Get a reservation, go with someone you actually want to spend a few hours with, and try something you've never had before.

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• 📍Location: Gulch

• 🍴Recommendation: Wagyu fried rice

• ⭐️ Highlight: Atmopshere, unique dishes

🔎 Last Eaten Review: Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice

This is the one you tell people about after. Spicy tuna on crispy rice is already a great dish but Virago throws Pop Rocks into the mix and it becomes something else entirely. The crunch of the rice, the heat of the spicy tuna, and then out of nowhere that little fizzy burst from the Pop Rocks kicks in and the whole table reacts. It’s one of the most unique dishes I’ve had in town.

🍱 Check them out: https://www.viragonashville.com/

Have a great day!

Hueston Nelson | Publisher | The Nashville Grapevine