Samurai Sushi has been one of the best and most reliable sushi restaurants in Nashville for 20 years, and that remains true today. The shop is small and not particularly modern, which is just how locals like it—it’s a rare treat to walk into a place today that has not been deeply glitzed-up by some designer with “Nashvegas” syndrome. The crunchy, fruity Happy Roll—soy paper, fried shrimp, cream cheese, avocado, strawberry, nut, eel sauce—is a delicious combination despite the fact that it sounds, on paper, most foul. Skill and creativity are typical of Samurai, and they also nail classics like smoked salmon nigiri. Sit at their tiny bar with a bottle of sake and a platter of fresh, beautiful fish and you may forget you’re hundreds of miles inland.