Chicago's Boka Restaurant Group expands to Nashville

Boka Restaurant Group, which has long been a cornerstone of the Chicago restaurant scene, has expanded to Nashville.

The group last week opened three concepts in Nashville’s Wedgewood Houston neighborhood. Two are Tennessee outposts of existing concepts in Chicago, and the third is a sophisticated cocktail bar developed to serve as a bridge between the two restaurants.

All three are side-by-side at an 18-acre mixed-use development by AJ Capital Partners. The three concepts represent Boka’s first venture into the Nashville market.

“For years, we’ve hoped to bring restaurants to Nashville, but we were committed to finding the right neighborhood for the right concepts,” said Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz, Boka co-founders, in a statement. “Wedgewood Houston checked every box — it’s filled with creativity, deep-rooted hospitality, and a genuine sense of community. We’re honored to become part of the fabric of this neighborhood.”

In Chicago, Boka is known for its stable of acclaimed chefs behind a growing group of concepts. Among them is Stephanie Izard (Girl & the Goat, Cabra, and more); Michael Solomonov (Laser Wolf); and Brian Lockwood (Gingie and Midōsuji).

Momotaro in Nashville, for example, is a second location for the concept created with chef Gene Kato. It first debuted in Chicago’s Fulton Market in 2014, and it was the first Japanese concept for the group at the time.

The Nashville location, however, will have some unique menu items, like the Hot Chicken Mapo, as well as a dedicated temaki program featuring made-to-order hand rolls. The menu will also feature dry-aged seafood, with product flown in several times a week from Tokyo’s Toyosu Market.

But the Nashville Momotaro will also include some of the signature items Kato is known for, like Uni Spaghetti, Yakitori Don, Scallop Motoyaki, and a robata grill program.

The Italian concept Alla Vita was developed by chef Lee Wolen, who is also the chef of the group’s Michelin-starred namesake concept Boka in Chicago.

Alla Vita, which also first opened in Chicago, is known for more relaxed dining, with hand-made pastas, wood-fired pizzas, and dishes like Chicken Parmigiana, designed for sharing.

Between the two restaurants is the cocktail bar Middleman, which was designed to bridge the two restaurants but also serve as a stand-alone concept. Middleman is led by Ashley Santoro, the group’s director of beverage, and it draws on Southern flavors. There’s a Gran Turismo martini with pickle brine and green tomato, for example, along with Tennessee whiskeys, vintage liqueurs and off-menu pours.

This is not Boka group’s first move outside Chicago.

The group includes restaurants in Los Angeles and Brooklyn, New York. The Nashville expansion comes on the heels of Boka’s growth in Chicago, where the group recently opened The Ives, a grill room by chef Lockwood at the recently renovated Chicago Athletic Association, along with the hand-roll concept Midōsuji.