Sukothai - New Tampa, FL

Date: 01/05/09
Time: Evening
Type: Restaurant
Where: 18101 Highwoods Preserve, New Tampa, FL
Party: 2 persons (1 female, 1 male)

Immediate Impression:
Secluded and intimate, especially if you sit on the floor - I didn't my jeans were too tight. The color scheme is very neutral, you immediately feel relaxed. Relatively small place, good for a small dinner party.

Service:
Good, however, we were 1 table out of 2! We sat across from the Sushi bar, we weren't difficult to miss. Prompt service of food, but slow on the removal of empty dishes.

Menu/Food:
A fusion of Sushi and Thai, various specialty rolls - I was please not all of them included Shellfish. I had Thom Buk HOT (Thai spicy chicken/lemongrass soup) which was OK,it really wasn't that hot, there was only one LARGE piece of chicken which required a knife to cut, and the broth was overwhelming. However, my friend ordered the Spicy Beef with Sprout soup, which was fantastic! The broth was had just the right amount of flavor, the sprouts seemed to absorb the broth and the meat was tender.

For our appetizer, we shared a bowl of Edamame. It was plentiful and they put the salt on the side, which I particularly liked. My friend and I were able to chose our own level of sodium overdose.

For our main course, we shared a platter of rolls (Red Dragon and a Salmon Rice Roll) and sashimi (tuna and Salmon). There were phenomenal!! The fish was ultra fresh and cold, the rolls were well made and didn't fall apart in the soy sauce. The Sashimi slices were HUGE and plentiful (3 of each).


Price:
I found the pricing to be high for a sushi restaurant in the New Tampa area, however, once I ate, it seems fair due to the high quality of the fish. Their alcohol prices - I had wine, my friend had sake - are reasonable and not out of line.

Final thought:
Excellent! I will definitely return and this time I might just sit on the floor for the full experience!