Sake House

When this arrives on your table, sizzling and steaming, all is quiet in the restaurant. While Sake House of Tampa has a lot of hit or miss rolls that are accompanied by mayo or cream cheese, this teriyaki wonder is one to come for. It's the Tofu teriyaki and it comes with the steamed white rice, miso soup, and ginger salad. The tofu falls apart like perfectly cooked fish and is cooked, skin and all, in the teriyaki. The dish has a delightful amount of mushrooms and a decent amount of broccoli but make sure to ask for extra veggies to get this much (as I did). Underneath all you see is a thorough layer of sliced onion, contributing significantly to the over-all flavor of this sweet and flavorful dish. Worried the rice won't be enough? Trust me; it is-- especially since the tofu you are given probably equals a whole package of tofu.

I mentioned that their rolls or hit or miss and, indeed, they are. When they are hits, the flavors are very similar-- probably due to their foundation of mayo and/or cream cheese. The Spicy Tuna is more like a tuna mash with spices in it than the nice strip of tuna and spice. The Baked Salmon Roll (cooked fish), however, is a nice savory surprise. The eel sauce and asparagus make this unique roll one to add to the list of ones you should try.

Over all, this restaurant is nice, and it's really close to campus (right across from Einstein Bros and MOSI). Lunch specials are good but not as good as Koizi, the endless sushi & habachi restaurant down Bruce B Downs in the Tampa Palms plaza. I think Sake House has the one up because of it's proximity to campus. At night time, the atmosphere is appropriate for an intimate night out but even during day time this would be the case because of the dim lighting in the main/front dining room. Service is OK but not the most welcoming. Both times I've been here, Alex and I have felt like a bother to the staff instead of a welcomed customer.
If you're looking for new places to try in Tampa, this would be a good place to add to your list but don't expect too much more than showiness. Some dishes are amazing while others lack significant difference and texture from others. If you're looking to get the most for your buck and you value quantity a bit more than quality, head on over to Koizi. Lunch special is $9.95 per person for as much as you want of anything on the menu. Sake House's lunch special is more around $8/95 for two rolls from a specified group.