nama (west)

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the soft opening of the new Nama location in Bearden. It's in the building formerly known as Cha Cha.

I love Nama, especially since it's conveniently located a stone's throw from where I live. A great, easy place to grab a drink or a snack. The problem is, I only ever eat at the downtown Nama at odd hours (either very early or very late) because it's very tiny and is always packed.

Gregg White has made great use of a larger space while maintaining the brand's aesthetic. The space is cozy and inviting, and dare I say trendy. It's properly lit, too - a good mix of "mood lighting" and "I can see my friends while they're talking to me lighting." Both important considerations (for me, at least) when choosing a dining spot. I love the green walls (like Nama Originale), and the larger bar, and the cozy lounge area. The patio was packed and we didnt get a table out there, but it looked fun, if not terribly close to the side of the road.

Last night's menu was limited, but the choices we had were all on par with Nama's high standards. Sweet mother of mercy the warm shrimp and crab dip must be made with angel tears and smack; it is soooooo good. Sinful, but disgustingly good. We got the rainbow roll and the maui wowie among a few others. Everything was delicious.

A perk of this Nama location is the full bar, and Gregg's offering a full list of drinks. Not my bag, but there are definitely a lot of fun cocktails on that list.


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Often I daydream of turning it all in and becoming a server at Nama. (I love the restaurant industry and was a damn good server/bartender/manager back in my day). Thing is, I just dont think I'm cute enough or trendy enough to work at Nama. That's a big lot of happy, attractive people right there. With sexy black outfits.

And speaking of servers, the service was surprisingly really good for an opening, which means that Gregg and staff have their system down. Things'll be a little slower than usual for a while, but that's to be expected; and like I said, things ran much more smoothly than at a typical first night.

New Nama opens tonight for regular service. Have at it.

(oh, and selfishly, I'm sort of hoping the new Nama might free up some space at my neighborhood location...).

Oh, I've got to give it some wigs. 10 wigs. Take that!
(Add those wigs, CK!--thanks!)
[there ya go- ck]