{"id":57031,"date":"2026-11-13T18:58:10","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T18:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/57031\/"},"modified":"2026-11-13T18:58:10","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T18:58:10","slug":"california-mexican-restaurant-puesto-has-opened-in-nashville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/57031\/","title":{"rendered":"California Mexican restaurant Puesto has opened in Nashville"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">Puesto started in San Diego in 2012 as a walk-up taco stand. Today, the Mexican restaurant counts eight full-service locations across California and has a few concession outposts in stadiums. On October 23, the concept expanded outside of California for the first time, opening in Nashville Yards, a 19-acre mixed-use development in Downtown Nashville.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">The family-owned restaurant was founded by brothers Alex, Eric, and Alan Adler, and their cousins Isidoro and Moy Lombrozo.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">\u201cWe chose Nashville to be the first Puesto outside of California because we fell in love with the city and its people,\u201d Co-founder Eric Adler said, adding that Isidoro has loved the city since he attended Vanderbilt University there. On top of that, he said the city\u2019s hospitality scene keeps getting stronger.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-testid=\"content-image\" data-component=\"image\" class=\"ContentImage-Image ContentImage-Image_align_left\" src=\"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/2._Puesto_credit_Puesto_Nashville.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"2._Puesto_credit_Puesto_Nashville.jpg\" title=\"2._Puesto_credit_Puesto_Nashville.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentImage-Link\">Grilled branzino is one of the local exclusives. | Puesto Nashville<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">\u201cWhen we started looking at markets across the country, Nashville felt a lot like San Diego,\u201d Adler added. \u201cWe kept meeting people who had moved there from San Diego, and they made us feel at home. Add in all the growth, the companies moving there, and the fact that it\u2019s truly the music capital, and it\u2019s a really unique city. We felt confident Nashville would embrace Puesto.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-component=\"related-article\" class=\"RelatedArticle\">Related:Gibsons Tavern is scheduled to open in Chicago&#8217;s Fulton Market Nov. 17<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">The restaurant\u2019s design is meant to evoke Mexico City. Powell, a local interior design firm, created the lively space with lots of vibrant colors, Aztec-inspired woodwork, textured artwork, and sculptural elements. It seats up to 380 guests across multiple dining areas, an outdoor patio, and a big bar.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">Puesto is known for Mexican staples like made-to-order guacamole, ceviche, esquites, enchiladas, and carne asada. Tacos are served on blue corn tortillas that are hand-pressed in house and include options like filet mignon, chicken al pastor, and Baja seafood.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">\u201cWe like to tailor our menu to each location and the guests we\u2019ll be serving,\u201d Adler said. \u201cNashville has several items we created especially for the city, specifically with group dining in mind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-testid=\"content-image\" data-component=\"image\" class=\"ContentImage-Image ContentImage-Image_align_left\" src=\"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/3._Puesto_credit_Puesto_Nashville.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"3._Puesto_credit_Puesto_Nashville.jpg\" title=\"3._Puesto_credit_Puesto_Nashville.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentImage-Link\">The restaurant serves grilled meat on lava stone tablitas. | Puesto Nashville<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">Those include lava stone tablitas, bone-in short rib barbecue birria, premium hand-cut steaks, branzino Zarandeado, and a banana cream sundae.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m extremely excited about the bone-in short rib barbecue birria,\u201d Adler said. \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly tender, and you can savor it on its own or turn it into incredible tacos. The chicken al pastor taco with crispy melted cheese will always be my favorite taco. It\u2019s so flavorful, sweet, and spicy, with fresh pineapple.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">He counts the Pink Cadillac, made with guava and fresh lime juice, as his favorite Margarita on the menu. And he also likes the fresh churros, which he describes as \u201cpuffy, melt-in-your-mouth doughnuts,\u201d served with coffee dulce de leche and vanilla bean cream dipping sauces. He said that these dishes are a perfect representation of what Puesto is about: bold, unique flavors rooted in Mexican tradition.<\/p>\n<p data-component=\"related-article\" class=\"RelatedArticle\">Related:James Beard Foundation makes 40 years of menus accessible in partnership with Google<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">As the Puesto team looks forward, they\u2019re excited to continue growing the concept, but they\u2019re not tied to any particular market.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">\u201cInstead, we look at the city, its demographics, and the specific real estate projects and opportunities available,\u201d Adler said. \u201cUltimately, we need to feel confident that a market is the right fit for the Puesto guest.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Puesto started in San Diego in 2012 as a walk-up taco stand. Today, the Mexican restaurant counts eight full-service locations across California and has a few concession outposts in stadiums. On October 23, the concept expanded outside of California for the first time, opening in Nashville Yards, a 19-acre mixed-use development in Downtown Nashville. The<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57032,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[268],"tags":[557,558,559,560],"class_list":["post-57031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-spanish-restaurants","tag-spanish-tapas-bar","tag-spanish-tapas-bars","tag-spanish-restaurant","tag-spanish-restaurants"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/vive.im\/@dnc\/117610666003713734","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}