Rawbar Sushi

What a weird place. One weekend night we walked by and it was closed. One weeknight we walked by and it was so completely packed that there was a velvet rope and a bouncer. The next night, a weekend, we went to eat and were the only people in the place. Well, the only people besides all of the awful contemporary furniture that looks as if it might get up and walk away.
I had a gin martini, and it was pretty good. The sushi was not that great, but I did get some little wonton things that were good. The prices were excessive for the quality.

After 2 lunch experiences I’m willing to say that this place is not half bad. They’ve got a good atmosphere, the hand rolls were great and the wine list is above average for what I’ve seen in Tampa thus far. They need to work on their sake selection and they sashimi left much to be desired.
The service was friendly, but clearly they need to find some servers who have a clue about sushi, both times I was there the servers had to have me translate what I was asking for from the menu!
It’s got a lot of potential, but still needs some work if they expect to continue charging well above Tampa standard prices.

I am not a fan of this place at all. Although it looks cool inside the place lacks the basics for a good dinner. The waitstaff seemed overwhelmed that we were there and actually ordering food and she was no help in the ordering of food as she had never eaten any of it. I would say that that is a big indication of how the food is if your waitstaff wont eat there. The sushi is not traditional and there is not a lot of variety of what they do serve. I would consider this a «fushion» place at best. It took me a while to decide what to try and what I got was not great. I appreciate the chef’s credentials but it was not reflected in what I ordered.
If you are looking for a sushi experience, this is not it. If you are looking for a cool place to hang out and have a drink downtown you should go next door to Taps. See my review of it!

Some of the most unique rolls and flavor combinations you’ll find in Tampa… we ordered six different rolls and each was superb… upscale trendy décor… the chef is from Miami’s Domo/​Nobu and has brought a glimmer of hope to sleepy downtown Tampa