Five friends and I stopped by Samurai Blue after having a good time at the David Choi concert. It was around 11:30pm so the place wasn’t busy. We were seated promptly. It took about thirty minutes to get through putting in our orders because the waitress kept going into the back…after that it took about twenty more minutes to get some water. We ordered a variety of rolls on their menu, I ordered an Endless Summer Roll ($8.50), Salmon Roll ($4.25), and California Roll ($4.95).
The sushi finally came about thirty minutes later. The waitress disappeared before we could inquire about soy sauce and it took a frustrating wait until she decided to re-appear for us to finally get our soy sauce. I found this to spoil my meal a little, because my fresh sushi was just sitting there while the waitress was missing and the restaurant was by no means busy. If the sushi didn’t taste so good it would have been a real issue because the waitress charges us gratuity at 18% for having a party of 6.
Samurai Blue’s Hawaiian Roll ($9.50) (coconut shrimp, cream cheese, asparagus and cucumber, inside out with mango and avocadoes, topped with macadarnia nuts) was delicious! The combination sounds weird but it actually is one of those things that tastes great. It’s sweet and savory.
The Samurai Roll ($8.50) (I might be wrong about the name) is an excellent roll, especially with the dip it comes with and the presentation of this roll is pretty awesome. I don’t think I have seen sushi presented this nicely before.
My California Roll and Salmon Roll both tasted fresh and were better than average. The masago tasted great and the rolls didn’t taste too salty.
The Endless Summer Roll (tempura banana, grilled eel, inside out with avocadoes on top) was fantastic. Each part of the roll has its own distinct taste and doesn’t overpower each other when you’re tasted the roll. The sauce goes great with it as well.
The Tiger Eye Roll ($8.50) (salmon, crab, avocado and smelt roe, wrapped with squid, then baked) was my favorite of the night. It has a totally different look to it and tastes great.
Overall, the sushi at Samurai Blue was great and really saved this meal because service was sub-par at best. I would come back to try some of the sushi chefs sushi, but maybe next time I’ll sit at the sushi bar and tip them instead. There are some great, creative rolls here though so Samurai Blue is worth a try.
Restaurant Name: Samurai Blue
Address: 1600 E. 8th Avenue, #C208 Tampa, Florida 33605
Phone #: 813-242-6688
Website: http://www.samuraiblue.com/sb/
Foursquare: http://foursquare.com/venue/354435
Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/samurai-blue-sushi-and-sake-bar-tampa-2
Carlos Eats 