Present Tense is back.
The restaurant officially reopened March 6 in a new 40-seat space in Nashville’s Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood, and the move feels less like a reboot and more like a reset button — one that leans into intimacy rather than expansion.
From the beginning, Present Tense was meant to feel immediate and personal. The restaurant’s previous 120-seat layout eventually revealed something important: bigger wasn’t necessarily better. What they really wanted was a room where the energy could stay focused and the experience could feel a little closer.
The new space does exactly that.
Inside, there are just 40 seats, along with what might be one of the most lively patio setups in the neighborhood. The interior blends warm wood with raw concrete — still minimal, but softer than before. And at the center of it all sits a JBL-powered hi-fi sound system with vinyl spinning every night.
Here, music isn’t just background noise. It helps set the rhythm of the evening.
The space itself was designed by owner Costanza, from the earliest drawings to the lighting and sound design. Builder Jacob Keiser, a friend of the restaurant, helped bring the vision to life. The result is a room that feels intentional and personal rather than polished and overproduced.
“We weren’t trying to be bigger,” Costanza explains. “We were trying to get closer.”
The kitchen is taking a similarly focused approach, offering around a dozen dishes that can be ordered à la carte or experienced through an $88-per-person omakase.
Returning favorites include grilled seaweed bread topped with raw tuna, several variations on Japanese sweet potato, and the restaurant’s now-signature miso white sesame soft serve.
New dishes lean into the restaurant’s Paris-meets-Japan style. Expect things like Parisian-style gnocchi, koji rice risotto with chanterelles, sake with white asparagus, pristine oysters, and rotating sashimi selections that may be dry-aged or served at peak freshness depending on the day.
The cocktail program is led by Mario Salas, whose résumé includes time in both Miami and New York. He helped shape bar programs at spots like Saxon & Parole and contributed to the Broken Shaker during its run on the World’s 50 Best Bars list. More recently, he also helped open the bar program at Soho House Nashville.
His approach leans toward precision and restraint, with a strong eye for design — a natural match for Present Tense’s overall philosophy.
At its core, Present Tense is still both a restaurant and a listening bar. Most nights focus on dinner service with vinyl setting the tone. But once or twice a week, the space shifts into a DJ-driven listening room where the sound gets louder and the room gets a little more kinetic.
It’s not a nightclub transformation so much as a natural evolution of the vibe already happening inside.
Another interesting wrinkle: Present Tense now sits right next to Flamingo. The two spaces actually share the same hallway — including the same bathroom corridor — which creates an easy flow between them. Guests can start the evening with dinner at Present Tense and drift over for cocktails, or begin at Flamingo before settling in for a late table.
The relationship feels intentionally symbiotic, with each spot feeding off the energy of the other.
There are even subtle collaborations happening behind the scenes, including occasional vegan dishes developed by the Present Tense kitchen making appearances on Flamingo’s menu.
For a restaurant that once tried to do more with more space, the new version seems to be proving the opposite.
Sometimes smaller really does mean better.
For more information, follow Present Tense on Instagram.