Nama Sushi Bar has reigned as the premier Knoxville sushi location for first-timers and connoisseurs alike for almost a quarter of a century. Consistently voted number one for sushi in Knoxville, it’s grown into three brands with five locations. Knoxville City Lifestyle was curious where Knoxville’s sushi pioneer is headed next.
Q. What is Nama’s history?
Nama Sushi Bar was established in 2004 with a 38-seat location on the 100 Block of Gay Street. In 2011, demand led to doubling seating by moving to our current location at 506 South Gay Street. We didn’t stay a downtown dining brand, opening locations in Bearden on Kingston Pike and North Peters Road in the Cedar Bluff area.
Harvestopened next to Nama Sushi Bar in Bearden. A departure from Nama brand cuisine, Harvest offers a fine-dining experience with our chefs creating seasonal menus from locally sourced ingredients, a Wine Spectator award-winning wine list, weekend brunch and weekly live jazz.
Q. What is the concept behind Nama Izakaya?
Japanese cuisine takes on many different styles influenced by season, region and cooking methods. Four of the best-known are sushi, teppanyaki, omakase and izakaya. Sushi is vinegared rice; teppanyaki is similar to hibachi or stir-fry; omakase is a multi-course small-plate meal chosen by the chef; and izakaya is more of a Japanese tavern experience, serving cocktails and pub food.
A few years ago, while planning our 20th anniversary, we decided to incorporate these other Japanese styles into our Nama restaurant group. We started integrating all four styles into the Nama brand (Nama Sushi, Nama Omakase, Nama Izakaya and Nama Teppanyaki). We discussed different brands in different locations versus integrating the different styles into current locations.
Nama and Harvest chef teams began official collaboration in a small place on Clinch Avenue. The omakase project was ideal, giving us freedom to do multiple types of Asian food and cooking methods. Omakase traditionally has the chef changing menus on a daily basis. We branded this Nama Omakase project Koyo (“elevated”) as an omakase research and development kitchen with 38 seats … exactly like our original 2004 Nama location.
We committed to a year but stayed almost three years developing elevated menu items for the future of Nama. October 2025, we rebranded as Nama Izakaya and relocated to the 100 Block of Gay Street next to the original Nama location, as a great way to celebrate and honor Nama Sushi Bar’s 20th anniversary.
Nama Izakaya, a sushi bar and Japanese tavern, focuses on Japanese pub food but mirrors Nama Sushi Bar’s sushi and sashimi menu, including our half-price sushi on Monday and Thursday evenings. On the first Wednesday of every month, we create a seated omakase experience at the bar.
The menu changes every couple of months, featuring three or four items from other Asian countries, so far showcasing cuisine from Korea, Thailand and the Philippines. Through the end of the year, we’re exploring different regions of China, culminating with our version of a Chinese New Year in December.
Q. What’s next for Nama?
The first twenty-plus years have flown by, and the culinary journey continues to evolve, now expressed as monthly omakase dinners, traditional sushi at Nama-branded locations and Nama Izakaya Japanese Tavern fare. All this Asian exploration may well lead to a teppanyaki/hibachi experience at Nama Cedar Bluff for our 25th anniversary. Stay tuned.
NamaIzakaya.com.