Creative Asian cuisine with upscale ambiance at Sunda New Asian in Nashville.
Sunda’s arrival in Nashville brought delicious Asian fusion food that delights diners with their innovative dishes. The location and interior design is reason enough to come for a visit with its upscale vibe in a large downtown space. The restaurant is the perfect spot for a romantic date or night out on the town. I recommend getting a reservation if you want to go during peak times, but have also had luck getting a seat at the bar which is what I did on my most recent visit. They offer a great selection of cocktails and wines by the glass. I enjoyed a crisp, chilled white wine with my sushi, and they have a delicious Bordeaux blanc that I keep coming back to time after time.
As a landlocked state, it is difficult to find quality seafood, but Sunda has brought in a much needed product bringing joy to sushi lovers in the city. If you only sample one item on the menu, make sure it is the baked snow crab handroll. I cannot describe how uniquely delicious it is, but it somehow manages to be a perfect mixture of crab, spicy mayo, tempura crisp, and sesame without being too heavy and filling. It is so flavorful and it melts in your mouth. Too often a handroll is overwhelmingly rice heavy, but this one manages to be a perfect balance of all ingredients. While Brussels sprouts have been a bit over used in the past years in my opinion, Sunda has a new take on them. They shave the sprouts so they are in a salad form and mixed with red cabbage, red onions, carrots, chilis, fried shallots, minced shrimp, and tossed in a vinaigrette. They are lightly fried, but again, it’s somehow not too much. This is a trend at Sunda with all of their dishes. The sushi rolls are also exceptional and always fresh. The spicy “tail of two tunas” is a nice blend of spicy tuna, escolar, fried shallots, and just a touch of spicy mayo. A classically delicious roll that is consistently good.
If you are able to splurge a bit, the lobster wagyu roll is just as decadent and delicious as it sounds. It is served with creamy lobster, scallions, jalapeño, wagyu tataki, truffle foie, and wasabi aioli. It’s definitely a richer roll but it’s blend of flavors is pure bliss.
If you are feeling super adventurous, the Gambler is a unique way to test your luck. It is a platter of six rolls consisting of spicy tuna, kani, cucumbers, scallions, kampyo, avocado, and a hidden ghost pepper in one roll. The “lucky” winner who eats the ghost pepper is awarded the poker chip in the center of the rolls that is good for a free dessert on your next visit. I’m not sure if the prize is worth the pain of a ghost pepper, but it is a fun item to try if you are in a group. If you are not a fan of seafood, Sunda also offers a variety of meat, noodle and rice dishes to please everyone. Sunda is a creative culinary journey that is a memorable experience for all.