Small Nashville restaurant makes big impact, named among best in US

Locust has had its fair share of accolades since it opened in 2020, from being named Food & Wine's Restaurant of the Year for 2022, followed by a James Beard nomination in 2023, the same year the Tennessean staff placed it at No. 1 on our annual Top 25 list.

This week, Locust has made national news: Along with 46 other restaurants, the 12 South restaurant was included in the 2024 USA TODAY Restaurants of the Year list.

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What makes Locust stand out 

Executive chef Trevor Moran, whose restaurant credits include Noma and The Catbird Seat, originally set out to open a dumpling, noodle and Japanese kakigōri den. But what he ended up creating at his airy 36-seat restaurant was so much more.

Locust is set in the high-energy 12 South neighborhood. It's full of blonde wood and clean lines, though it's hardly spare. At the heart is an open kitchen where the chefs seem in perpetual motion. Regardless, they'll stop long enough to shout a boisterous hello when you walk through the doors. Thanks to expansive windows, every seat has a view of the bustling pedestrian traffic along 12th Avenue.

The menu changes often enough that there's really no way of knowing what will land on your table once you score a seat at this in-demand restaurant (it's only open three days a week). You might find a whole Dover sole, tuna belly ham and pristine oysters. You might find big steaks with showers of black truffle. Choose wisely.

But about those dumplings: they're impossibly thin, nearly translucent, yet almost too crushable to be elegant. Often, they're filled with pork so luscious with fat that they nearly burst like soup dumplings. They might come with chili oil, though on one occasion they've arrived stuffed with lamb and tossed in a yeasty bread sauce. That's part of the fun of Locust; expecting the unexpected.

What you can expect, though, is to have fun, that is if you're flexible enough to enjoy phenomenal food against the backdrop of loud metal, punk, or who-knows-what. That is if you're adventurous enough to do what the servers, who are also your chefs, recommend. That might mean springing for an outrageous amount of caviar. You're not here to pinch pennies. You're here for the ride.

What to order at Locust

Dumplings. The perfect bite of food, the kitchen's most excellent dumplings usually arrive in a steam basket. No trip to Locust is complete without an order of these.

Tartare. It's hard to get tired of the beef tartare here, which may be the only thing that doesn't seem to change. This is a next level version of what's elsewhere become somewhat cliche. You'll receive a packet of toasted nori, aioli with a kick, freeze-dried capers and instructions on how to eat it. Follow them and prepare for greatness.

Kakigori. The composition of this Japanese shaved ice dessert changes, but the ethereally light texture does not. Passionfruit and sweetened egg yolk are a perfect combination. Who knew?

Seafood. Whether it's oysters, butter-poached lobster, clams or shrimp on toast or cod, you should order it. Though Locust is not a seafood restaurant, the kitchen handles seafood with an expert touch.

Details: Locust; 2305 12th Ave. S, Nashville, Tenn.; No phone, locustnashville.com.