Many, many years ago, I spent six months in Ito, Japan. I discovered sashimi, sushi, gyoza and sake. Lord knows I drank enough sake to sink a ship. The dance troupe I was with stayed at a hotel on the side of a mountain and we were shuttled back and forth to the hotel at the harbor where we performed each night. Many times, several of us would ask the driver to drop us off in downtown Ito and we’d sidle up to an open-air counter where they served gyoza and sake. We’d stuff ourselves.
Although I don’t drink alcohol at all any more, I still appreciate nice Japanese fare. So when I saw an Asian fusion restaurant in Tampa with all of my favorites, I had to try it out. It’s located in downtown Tampa, about a block from the historic Old Tampa Theatre. If you wanted to make an evening of it, you could have dinner at Haiku and follow that with the ghost tour that starts in front of the theatre. It’s a mile and half walking tour so you’ll easily work off your dinner.
I liked the unique decor. Who doesn’t appreciate a zen-looking statue and pink flowers?
And then there was Ace, an unusual welcome dog. Ace was very friendly but, it turns out, the wait staff wasn’t particularly pleased to have him indoors. I asked my waitress what Ace’s purpose was (thinking perhaps he was the owner’s dog and there every night) and, unsmiling, she said, “Who knows? We’re not allowed to ask.”
His owner, a patron, was having a drink at the bar, he wasn’t close enough to disturb anyone’s dinner and, hey, I love animals in any location. The wait staff may not have been thrilled with him and who knows what the other patrons thought? I, for one, gave him plenty of attention.
But, okay, back to the food. I started with the gyoza appetizer (I could’ve easily ordered another one and made it my main course). I had a choice of fried or steamed. Upon the server’s recommendation, I went with steamed and they were perfect – steamed to perfection but not soggy.
If you’ve never had gyoza, they’re little dumplings filled with pork and vegetables. The dipping sauce is usually soy and vinegar with perhaps a touch of chili and sesame oil. Delicious!
I followed this up with my favorite sashimi, yellowtail, and then shrimp fried rice. The sashimi, thank goodness, wasn’t teeny, weeny prosciutto-thin slices. As you can see, they were thick enough that you felt like you got to taste something for your money.
The fried rice was perfect. The rice kernels weren’t dripping in oil and the vegetables weren’t limp. Even so, I was so taken with the sashimi that I followed up with a second order. Rather than feel guilty about it, I decided it was my dessert.
Haiku has a lovely menu with salads, bento boxes, fried rice, ramen and, of course, sushi and sashimi. If you don’t like their list of Sake choices, you can easily order a cocktail of your own preference or a mocktail. And even though I commented to my server that they probably didn’t have much in the way of dessert since the Japanese aren’t (according to my standards) big on sweets, they have managed to cater to American tastes with four delectable choices. Since I’d had my “dessert,” I declined.
I enjoyed this restaurant a lot and will be back. I highly recommend it.
- 808 N. Franklin St., Tampa, Florida
- 813-644-5787
- http://www.haikutampa.com
- Hours: Monday/Tuesday – Closed; Wednesday 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM & 4:00 PM – 10:00 PM; Thursday 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM & 4:00 PM – 10:30 PM; Friday 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM & 4:00 PM – 11:30 PM; Saturday 5:00 PM – 11:30 PM; and Sunday 12 Noon – 3:00 PM & 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM
- If you can find metered parking on the street, it’ll cost you a lot less than opting for one of the parking lots. I couldn’t find any convenient street parking and paid $12 at the nearest lot.
Lisa Browder 
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