Oldie but Goodie

Shintomi
2184 Bandywood
Nashville, TN
615-386-3022

UPDATE: Sadly, Shintomi has closed its doors. It has been rumored that one of the long time employees has been stealing thousands of dollars per year instead of paying the taxes, and drove this business into the ground.

bento box

There really are not any good Chinese, Indian or Japanese restaurants in this town. There are only passable facsimiles, and only one that is more passable than the rest. Shintomi is the one Japanese restaurant in Nashville that seem to be better than the rest. Is it ever going to be Nobu, or Sushi Roku, nope. Will it ever be a Shoji, nope, but Shintomi is a nice and friendly little get-away in Green Hills that does a lot of things right.

special sushi roll

The sushi chef at Shintomi trims the fish well, so you have that smooth melt in your mouth feel. The sushi construction is of a Japanese tradition with manageable sized pieces of fish and rice balls. The rice balls here are packed just right, neat, a little airy but at the same time carrying structure for the piece of sushi. There is an art to making a good sushi rice ball. The food presentation here has more finesse and artistry that I associate with Japanese food, than any other Japanese restaurant in Nashville. You can judge for yourself by comparing Shintomi to others in this town. Shintomi is going to win hands down.

udon

So, on this day, I went to Shintomi with my Japanese American friend who always has one weekend lunch at Shintomi. My friend is a regular, and it was fun to be a part of the regular's table. The Bento Box lunch is a great deal, less than $10 for a box containing a protein and a variety of other yummies in the box. The sushi may seem expensive compared to other places in town, but it is of better craftsmanship than the others and completely worth it. And I know that I could make udon at home for less than $1, but I always enjoy having a nice restaurant make for me a steaming hot bowl of udon that I did not have to make. It always seems to taste better at Shintomi than my house.