CUAISRITNE
A GREAT NEW CONCEPT
Saki – Endless Sushi
and Hibachi Eatery
By Margaret Word Burnside and Aaron R. Fodiman
Photography by Gram
This beautiful presentation of a California roll at Saki
tasted as good as it looked.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 | TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 171
One of the pleasures
of cruising is the
ability to order
anything on
the menu at no additional
charge. You don’t have to
choose between steak and
lobster, as you can order
both. You can even order
one of each dessert, if that is
what you want. This concept is the basis for
Saki, which has three locations – Tampa,
Clearwater and Palm Harbor.
The stylish, comfortable décor and
friendly service is much different than
the usual all-you-can-eat buffet restaurants
that you may have visited. At Saki, you
get an extensive menu that you order from
as you go from dish to dish. We began
with items from the appetizer list, such
as spring rolls, vegetable tempura and
edamame. Each was prepared to order
and served to the table fresh from the
kitchen. Next, we ordered wonton soup
and avocado salad, which were so good
that we ordered an extra serving of each
before moving on to teriyaki chicken and
shrimp from the hibachi. There were many
offerings of teriyaki and hibachi styles
of preparation. From here, we went to
entrées such as General Tso’s Chicken,
Ice Cream, Tempura Banana
and Sweet Dough; and then
we ordered another round
just because we could. These
were not skimpy servings.
Each Tempura Banana was
an entire banana.
Normally, we don’t
discuss prices, but we believe
that the reasonable prices
are what make this concept particularly
attractive. The menu for lunch is slightly
smaller than the dinner menu, but there
is more than enough to satisfy anyone.
Adults from 12 to 59 years of age pay
$11.99 for lunch and $18.99 for dinner.
Children from 4 to 8 years of age pay $4.99
for either lunch or dinner. Children 9 to 11
years old pay $7.99 for lunch and $8.95 for
dinner. For those over 60, lunch is $11.99
and dinner is $14.95. This is a delicious
bargain that is hard to refuse. 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: Saki restaurants are
located at 35927 U.S. 19 N. in Palm Harbor,
(727) 351-5615; 2643 Gulf to Bay Blvd., Suite
#1560, in Clearwater, (727) 726-3937; and at
11921 N. Dale Mabry, Suite 12, in Tampa,
(813) 961-1711.
Mongolian Beef, Coconut Shrimp and Stir
Fry String Bean. We didn’t try any of the
side orders, such as fried rice, Japanese
noodles and chicken nuggets, because we
wanted to save room for their Maki Rolls,
Signature Rolls, and Sushi and Sashimi.
The tempura shrimp roll and California roll
were beautifully presented and contained
top-quality ingredients. From the wide
offerings of 17 signature rolls, we chose a
Crunchy 2 in 1 roll with salmon tempura,
avocado, spicy crabmeat and crunch flakes,
a Volcano Roll and a White Dragon Roll
of cucumber, avocado, shrimp tempura
and Escolar. Each was wonderful. Their
sushi and sashimi selections range from
Red Snapper Tai to Flying Fish Roe Tobiko.
We kept ordering, and they kept serving
as much as we could eat.
With almost no room left in our stomachs,
we ordered all of their desserts: Green Tea