Hard Rock Sushi
Tampa, Florida, USA
Dined in July 2016
By Sean Overpeck (CFE)
The night started with a concert at the MIDFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre, which my wife and I left early on due to some very rude and hostile concert goers in front of use, and the refusal of the Amphitheater staff to do anything about it. So we drove across the street under the I-4 freeway to the Seminole Hard rock Hotel and Casino, to gamble and eat some sushi at the Rock ’N Raw Restaurant, one of eight restaurants at the hotel.
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From the Rock and Raw home page:
If you're looking for a unique taste of the East, all you gotta' do is roll with it, baby. Fresh and fabulous, this sushi joint prepares everything swimmingly. Featuring everything from sushi to noodle soups, dim sum and traditional Asian dishes. With three menus to choose from, it's easy to see why Rock 'N Raw is at the top of the charts. Located on the second floor next to Fresh Harvest.
Main review:
My wife and I spent a few hours gambling, wining then loosing, but that is the nature of the game. We were getting hungry, and decided to stop into Rock ’N Raw for a bight to eat. It was later in the evening and the main dining room was already closed, but the sushi bar was open, along with offerings of the entire menu.
I had come to the Hard Rock once before many years earlier for my fathers birthday, promising him a nice dinner that he could choose. He mentioned hearing about the Council Oak Steakhouse from some friends, and it ended up being a very nice evening, with a funny story of an older man playing slot machines, smoking a cigarette while being attached to an oxygen tank. The Rock ’N Raw menus were broken down by:
- Small Plates
- Soups
- Seafood
- Pork
- Beef
- Poultry
- Chef Specialty
- Vegetarian
- Rice & Noodles
- Sushi
- Desserts
We started off with a few small plates beginning with the Red Oil Dumplings ($7)红油饺子 stuffed with pork, cilantro, crispy onions and scallion. The dish came with five dumplings to the order and assorted dipping sauces. Other pork dishes included Wok fry dumplings ($7), and BBQ Pork ribs ($9).
Our second starter dish was the tamarind wings ($7) 酸子鸡翅 Cánh Gà Rang Me, lightly battered and fried, then dipped in sweet and sour tamarind sauce. It had a wonderful flavor.
With these starters my wife had a glass of the house chardonnay, and I had a Japanese beer called Asahi ($5).
For the entree, we shared from the sushi menu, where you could order regular sushi or sashimi, house speciality rolls, maki rolls, or combination platters. We ordered from the house special rolls, where the surf ’n turf was too good to pass up. Japanese wagyu beef, king crab meat, and asparagus topped with spicy ponzu sauce, spicy mayo and micro green herbs made for one of the best sushi dishes I have had.
A brief look at the wine list:
Rock ‘N Raw - like most of the restaurants in central Florida want to cater to their clientele when it comes to wine, and most of those clients unfortunately have an uneducated basic table wine style palette. I was there as well, but my wife is helping me to expand mine. It is hard for us to find places that offer boutique wines, which are sometimes cheaper then the mainstream, and have a better taste and quality. This area is held captive by large corporate alcohol vendors like Empire and Southern Wine & Spirits. So you are always going to see your typical basics like Yellowtail, Robert Mondavi, and Beringer.
Though some of these wines are good flavor and decent quality, all of them are mainstream from the big vendors. I compare it to a Walmart and the Target coming into town offering cheap asian sweat factory products, putting the small guys with better quality out of business. The big stores make you think you have a better product, with an expensive brand name, but in the end is it worth it? Hopefully one day this will change and the restaurants will open up to expanding their wine portfolio’s and educate their clients to help expand their palettes, which will only bring more business and greater appreciation there way. Once the client is informed, then the restaurants can open up to a fantastic world of wine, making more money by selling more, and keeping the client happy at the same time. Now is the restaurant bad for offering only mainstream?……No, they are just stuck because the client only knows mainstream. I was a California cab and basic brand name Cotes du Rhone drinker for decades, and fell into the same mainstream category, now my palette is expanding thanks to my wife. I’m not condemning the restaurants for this, only trying to make the client aware so hopefully over time, they can educate themselves like I have been.
So, with the meal and interview complete, and our culinary appetites fulfilled, lets see how Rock ‘N Raw rates overall shall we. Here is how my rating system works….
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5 stars
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is Extraordinary
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4 Stars
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is Outstanding
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3 Stars
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Exceeded Expectations
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2 Stars
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is Above the Average
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1 Star
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is an Average Dining Experience
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No Star Rating
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The Restaurant is Basic, Poor, or Appalling
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Rating Breakdown And Analysis:
On Wine, Dine, and Play, I have an overall star rating scale of six levels with the lowest being a poor or appalling experience (zero stars), up to an extraordinary experience (five stars). This rating scale is formulated by braking down individual experiences such as (1) wine selection, (2) plate presentation, (3) ambiance, (4) “wow” factor, (5) customer service, plus (6) food quality and combines them on a separate scale of zero to ten, with ten being the best. In the next paragraph, I brake down how and why I come to the conclusion of the rating numbers listed in the overall review chart below.
The overall star rating from Wine, Dine, and Play that I give to Rock ‘N Raw is a three, meaning that they not only stand above the average to dining experience of other restaurants, but exceeded my expectations. I also believe that with the 20+ years of dining across the world, I set my expectations to a higher standard compared to some other reviewers out there. So to receive more than 2 stars from me says a lot about your establishment and how you “wowed” me. I came to this conclusion based on all the other factors listed above and how they rated. I came to this conclusion based on all the other factors listed above and how they rated.
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Overall Star rating by Wine, Dine, & Play:
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3 of 5
Exceeded Expectations
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Ambiance:
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7 of 10
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Quality of the Food:
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8 of 10
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Plate Presentation:
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7 of 10
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Customer Service:
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5 of 10
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Wow Factor:
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4 of 10
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Wine Selection:
(See the full list below)
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? of 10
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INDIVIDUAL QUALITY RATINGS:
I rate ambiance on several factors from the most important being cleanliness of the dining room and restrooms, to organization and flow. I look at the atmosphere, character, the tones, artwork, and the design styles to see if they match the themes of the food. During the daylight hours natural lighting versus electric is also a strong enhancer of enjoying a meal, and of course the styles of furniture, or if it is inviting and comfortable.
A wonderful atmosphere, sophisticated, clean, and upscale catering to all crowds giving them a rating of 7 out of 10 points.
The quality rating bases the essential or distinctive characteristics that the food offers, or if I see that it is of a higher grade, superiority, or excellence. Also important is the taste. Did the chef pair or match distinctive ingredients together, and did he send my palette on an adventure?
Great tasting food, perfectly prepared, locally sourced products, with an art to prepare the food to the best of the chef’s ability giving them a rating of 8 out of 10 points.
The plate presentation is based on the art of how the food is put together and displayed as it is brought out. Does it look unique, molecular, or have interesting garnishments, or built action style at the table? Does it make you look twice and go “wow”? All of these attributes help add to this rating.
Garnished to perfection, well presented, sauces to match, and an enticement to the eyes gives them a rating of 7 out of 10 points.
Customer service can make or break a restaurant. You can have the best quality of foods, and plate presentations that put Escoffier to shame, or the most beautiful ambiance, and fantastic wine or bar list. However if you have a service staff that is not attentive to the needs of the guest, or has an unclean uniform, smells like a cigarette after returning from a break, does not act professionally, or lacks knowledge on the menu, food, and restaurant, then you have a major problem. On the other hand a great server can bring a customer back over and over again even if the food is mediocre. People go to restaurants for the show. They think they are experts because they watched a reality tv show on the Food Network, but what needs to be understood is that as amazing as a kitchen staff and Chef’s may be, the front of house is just as great.
The restaurant was about to close, and the one server was busy doing other things, so the sushi chef presented our food, and refilled our drinks, so with that they get a lower customer service rating of 5 out of 10 points.
The “wow” factor as I like to call it is a quality or feature that is extremely impressive. It can be something that is seen or done that is funky, surprising, or pleasing. It is something that just makes me go “wow”. This rating is also the hardest to get high marks for. The wow factor is a combination of ambiance, quality, plate presentation, customer service, and wine or mixology that goes above and beyond what you would expect from a restaurant.
Normally I rate the “wow” factor at most of the restaurants I’ve reviewed at a 2 or 3 point range with a few exceptions to that rule. Several central Florida restaurants that we have dined at have varied on the point scale from 2-4 points. This is not a bad thing and a lower score does not decrease the overall restaurant score, but a higher wow factor will help to raise it at the same time. I rate the Rock ‘N Raw at a “wow” factor of 4 points out of a possible 10. The sushi was incredible.
This rounds up the review and rating for Rock ‘N Raw, and from this experience, I would compare our experiences here this evening to a few other places either I or my wife and I have been to in the past such as Osaka Sushi Thai in Seminole, Florida, where we had one of the best local sushi plates, Morimoto Asia in Disney Springs, Orlando where we enjoyed some Perking Duck, Ambrosia in Key West, Florida, which was okay, Basil Asian Bistro, in Canton, Ohio which had some historical significance to the building, and Zuma, at the DIFC, Dubai.
Other Tampa reviews on Wine, Dine, and Play:
Council Oak Steakhouse, at the Hard Rock Casino
First Flight Wine Bar, at the Tampa International Airport
Food Prices
(excluding, alcohol, taxes & gratuity)
$£€¥ - Under 50.00
$£€¥ x 2 - 51.00- 99.00
$£€¥ x 3 - Over 100.00
$£€¥ x 4 - Over 200.00
$£€¥ x 5 - Over 400.00
**Currencies chosen reflect the world’s major travelers and restaurant connoisseur’s**
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My food bill:
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Currency:
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Price chart:
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$46.00
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United States Dollar (USD)
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$
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$60.00
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Australian Dollar (AUS)
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$$$
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£38.00
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Great Britain Pound Sterling (GBP)
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£££££
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$61.00
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Canadian Dollar (CAN)
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$$$
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¥309.00
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Chinese Yuan (CNY)
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¥¥¥¥
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€42.00
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European Union (EUR)
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€€€€€
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Rates as of October 2016
Alcohol Prices:
$14.00
***
Customary starting gratuity for restaurants in the United States begins at 15%
Of your total food bill and increases or decreases based on the level of service you received.
In most parts of Europe, Australia, Africa, and some Asian countries it is not
common to leave any gratuity as it is already included into
the check, but you may feel free to leave extra anyway. Alcohol gratuity
is calculated by a separate 10% or higher gratuity if you wish.
***
Review basics:
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Restaurant style:
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Casual or Conservative
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Reservations:
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Not Required
Walk-Ins:
Accepted, but not guaranteed
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Child policy:
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The Restaurants reviewed on this site may have a child’s menu or cater to them; however for full enjoyment of food and wine, it is recommended for children not to be in attendance, unless they have been trained in proper etiquette.
Hire a Babysitter!
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Dress code:
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Casual, or Conservative attire
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Cuisine style:
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Contemporary, Bistro, Modern, Lounge, Seafood, Asian-fusion, Japanese, Vegetarian
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Experiences:
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Place for foodies, Trendy, Lounge, Business parties, Romantic, Hot spot, Great bar, Beautiful décor, Tourist grabber, and a Neighborhood gem.
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Payments:
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Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express
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Parking:
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Valet, & Garage
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Wifi
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The restaurants reviewed on this site may have Wi-Fi, but do not require you to go online, because the excitement of the food and wine alone will keep you too entertained instead of checking your social media and emails.
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Noise level:
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Medium,
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Smoking:
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Nonsmoking restaurant
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Patio:
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No
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Rock ’N Raw:
5223 Orient Rd,
Tampa, FL 33610
GPS Coordinates:
27.992900 Latitude
-82.372179 Longitude
Contact Information:
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Maître d or host:
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+1 866-388-4263 |
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Restaurant website: |
Rock ’N Raw |
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Serving hours: Eastern Standard Time (GMT - 5:00) |
Tue, Fri-Sat 11:30 am - 12:00 am Sun, Mon, Wed, Thur 11:30 am - 10:00 pm |
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Email or webpage contact: |
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Social Media
&
Accolades:
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Facebook link |
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Twitter @SHRTampa |
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Pinterest |
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Instagram |
****
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Reviewed by:
Sean Overpeck (CFE)
Picture below was taken in San Francisco in 2013
About Sean:
I am based out of St. Petersburg, Florida working in the food service industry for the past twenty years, and am currently with the American Embassy as the Executive Chef in Basra, Iraq. Formally I have worked with groups contracting in Afghanistan, and Antarctica, also working in restaurants in and around Atlanta, Georgia prior to the wars. I have also owned a catering company and served proudly in the United States Army Food Service Program. The idea for Wine, Dine, and Play started in late 2012 after a trip to Jordan, when I was asked by friends to write down the experiences from a few Jordanian restaurants, wine from the region that I tasted, and locations of interest such as Petra. Since that time, over 250 articles have been written on restaurants, including fifteen from the worlds top 100 lists of San Pellegrino and the Elite Travelers Guide. There are articles on exotic world locations such as Victoria Falls, and South African Safari’s; food recipes & Grand Food Dictionaries; ethnic country cuisines such as Afghan, and Peruvian; tasting tours of world cities like Charleston, Cape Town, and Dubai; and of course wine from vineyards in California, Oregon, the Carolina’s, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia, with much more to see and write about.
Who is John Galt?
“Culinary perfection consists not in doing extraordinary things,
But in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.”
-Angelique Arnauld (1591-1661)
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TTFN
