While the newly-opened Dang Dude at Sparkman Wharf is a homage to Asian street food that you can eat with a beer in one hand, its new neighbor, modern Japanese restaurant Noble Rice, focuses on the finer things in life.
Located at 615 Channelside Dr. in Tampa, this highly-anticipated restaurant will start dishing out ramen, sushi and sake starting Tuesday, April 5.
According to its Instagram, future customers can start making reservations on the Noble Rice website. All reservations require a $15 deposit per person, whether you want to sit at the sushi bar or grab a table in the 100-seat dining room.
Fresh seafood is the star of the Noble Rice menu with options ranging from fresh sashimi platters, caviar and small plates to unique sushi rolls, like it's “Negi Torro” with fatty tuna, scallions, Kewpie mayo (which used egg yolks, not the whites, and adds a hint of sweetness via apple cider vinegar), fermented chili paste and black garlic shoyu.
Desserts include a matcha crumble cake, coconut gelato and vanilla-cured foie gras with curried coconut nougat and dark chocolate. And while Noble Rice will boast a full-service bar with all of the expected cocktails, it will focus on speciality sake and Japanese whiskey.
And if you've noticed the three dollar signs when making a reservation at Noble Rice, it's probably because this new sushi-focused eatery imports Omakase Fish directly from the Toyosu Market in Tokyo. A two-ounce strip of Waygu beef and a sashimi platter cost about $80 each, while Noble Rice's small plates range from $15 to $30.
The word "omakase" literally translates to “I’ll leave it up to you,” but according to michelin.com it usually refers to a chef-curated and typically menu-less sushi experience.
Noble Rice’s original location in Hyde Park closed in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, and owners Eric and Adriana Fralick renovated the space to open Koya— an intimate tasting-menu-only experience that focuses on fresh, seasonal flavors.
According to the Koya website, reservations for spring 2022 will open after its team gets Noble Rice’s new Sparkman Wharf location up and running.
Starting this week, Noble Rice will be open from 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 5 p.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, and closed Sunday-Monday.
For the latest information on Tampa’s newest Japanese restaurant, follow its Facebook at @NobleRiceCo or Instagram at @Noblerice.
