Kobe's Japanese Steakhouse

Typically going to an eatery on multiple occasions, testing out their different cuisines and encountering various personnel would be a great way to gauge an accurate overview of that establishment.  Many food critics today take this approach and if I had the time and resources of said critics I too would indulge a little more when it comes to reviewing.  That being said, I feel that a restaurant is only as good as your last visit, or many times your first.  I have been to Kobe’s on a few other occasions so I am bending the rules for this review.  However, I am basing their performance off this one visit so sit back relax and enjoy the sake!

Appearance: Remodeled from an old Bennigan’s restaurant (oh how I miss the Monte Cristo), Kobe’s exudes the idea of modern Asian design from the partitioned/ room divided walls, warm colors and low lighting  to the water feature in the walk way, filled with various types of coy fish.  Around the restaurant were numerous dining areas (table grill and seats) as well as a private dining area for parties.  The waiting area is a little cramped when more than a couple of parties are waiting to be seated but Kobe’s offers a bar area towards the back of the establishment with plenty of room and caters to all of your alcohol and sushi needs.

Atmosphere: Located off of State Road 60 in Brandon, Kobe’s is right off of Interstate 75 and easily accessible from either direction.  We had a group reservation for 9:00 and we were seated shortly thereafter.  Reservations aren’t needed but recommended, especially on Friday or Saturday evenings.  The general mood was laid back, and although most people were dressed casually, a few patrons just wore t-shirts and jeans.  Either way, no dress code was strictly enforced.  Staying with the Asian theme (and I am not sure if it is a requirement or not) the table chefs were all of Asian descent although some were definitely American born. 

Service: We were greeted by the hostess at the counter when we first walked in and informed her of our reservations.  We waited ten-fifteen minutes and were promptly seated.  We had a large party so they fit us with a back to back grill table as so we could all see each other and interact.  A server was there quickly to take down our food and drink orders as well as orate their specials (one of which we decided to get).  I’ve been trying to eat alternatively whenever I’m out as it is harder to find healthy choices.  For my main meal I requested “American style” no soy sauce to save on the sodium.  I also asked for extra veggies instead of rice and noodles and usually when ordering differently then pre arranged menu items, I am greeted with a “ok we’ll do it but next time just make it easy and order off the menu.”  The server was more than happy to oblige my order, special or not. 

The great thing about Japanese steakhouse’s is that service can make or break your experience much like anywhere else however, the chefs that prepare the meal in front of you really have a chance to put on a show and entertain.  Our personal chef for the evening re-read our orders to us and began cooking.  He was able to keep our attention with his dazzling utensil swirling, onion volcano trick and joking nature while allowing us still to feel free to chat amongst each other.  My food was prepared correctly however, my requested double veggie order was not fulfilled but was taken off the check without question.

Food & Drinks:  Between the sushi, steak, chicken, salmon or shrimp dinners Kobe’s has a variety of choices.  Onion soup and ginger salad are served before every meal.  I opt to double up on the onion soup and trade someone my salad but I will say the soup is excellent, not too salty or over powered with onion flavor.  For starters we ordered the large shrimp, normally a $7.99 value on special for $1.99.  The grilled shrimp was delicious when paired with the ginger sauce the house provides although if it wasn’t on special, the $7.99 seemed a little high for the amount that we received.  Chicken was up next for me on the main course.  To fill our plates while the meat was cooking, the chef had already started preparing the veggies, rice and noodles.  The carrots, cucumbers and onions were nice and melt in your mouth succulent.  Even without the traditional soy sauce they tasted great.  Although I did not ask for rice and noodles I was rewarded the extra helping left over to take home for later. 

When my chicken was ready I tried it with the ginger sauce also and found it to accent the spices used while grilling it. The meat was tender and juicy, not overcooked or dried out. I also tried a bit of my partners salmon and mushrooms and too was quite sated with the quality of the fish and the way it flaked right off the fork.  Prices for these meals range fromabout $12 to $20 but there is a special $32 meal (steak, chicken and shrimp) for two people.

To wash your meal down, Kobe’s offers the usual Japanese beers (Kirin, Kirin light & Sapporo) as well as a few American domestics.  We ate during happy hour which meant drafts were 2 for 1.  You can also try out hot sake (a personal favorite) plum wine and various other mixed drinks.  While the beer is somewhat limited, there seems to be a fun drink for just about everyone on the menu.

Extras:  Celebrating a birthday?  Just let them know and after your meal is over they will come to you table and sing you a song while you blow out the candle on your complimentary cupcake.  Want some more gifts?  Take home a souvenir mug when you order a drink.  There are pandas, Buddhas and cats to choose from.  Kobe’s also offers an early bird menu as well as a happy hour menu. 

Conclusion:  Although there was a mix up in my order concerning the veggies, the service still met all of my expectations, the food was tasty fresh and prepared right in front of us and Kobe’s impressively handled our large group well.  As I have before, I will return again (usually on special occasions) and be happy when I leave.  Check out their website I have posted the link to on my homepage to see all of the other food offerings and specials.  As far as Japanese steak houses go, Kobe’s is clean, friendly with great food and service.  4.5 out of 5 stars. 

Still to Come:

The Laughing Cat, Babe's and The Bungalo.

The Pub Tampa

I usually try to stay away from chain style restaurants for many reasons (bland food, mediocre service and unfortunately the beer isn’t always cold) but when I read about the Pub Tampa I thought I would give it a shot.  To me it doesn’t seem very “chainy” but there are locations in various states and other cities.  Here’s how it went:

Appearance:

This restaurants name holds true to its theme inside and out.  Upon arrival the outside area of The Pub looks reminiscent of an English style bar.  The inside had such décor as an old red London phone booth and a huge Union Jack on the ceiling.  There was plenty of seating around the establishment including the huge open bar although many seats were taken up.  The bathrooms were upstairs which seemed a little odd and out of the way but I could not complain about the cleanliness and up keep of them.  Upstairs there was even more seating and a sweet self serve bar that I will touch on later.

Atmosphere:

The Pub is located in the International Mall eatery section.  Accessible from the interstate it only took me 30 minutes or so from Riverview to arrive.  No reservations were needed and we had just a 15 minute wait during the lunch hour.  Although the mall area is somewhat known to be a more “classy” *cough, cough* expensive place, there were all walks of life sitting down eating and drinking.  The dress code from what I could tell was causal (I had on a Rays polo and jeans).  Adding the theme, servers and hostesses were all wearing plaid kilts and yes that included the men.  There are many other bars and restaurants within walking distance as well as the mall.  Parking was available with a valet option.

Service:

 When we put our names in the get a table the hostess seemed a little distracted but quickly took down our names and even asked if we would like to have our phones texted when our table was ready.  During our wait we found some room at the bar and had a drink from one of the many beers they had on tap.  The bartender had a good sense of humor as he carded us and commented on my nice haircut (on my ID I have hair but I keep it shaved now).  After we got the ok that our table was ready our server came up soon after and went over the menu with us explaining any thing we had questions on.  He was there every time we needed a re-fill and was good about keeping an eye on us without being a pest.  The appetizer and meals came out in a timely manner.  The only flub our server had was at the very end when he brought us the wrong check and although it was way cheaper than the bill we had accumulated I didn’t want to be a victim of karma so I notified our guy when he came back around.

Food & Drinks:

The Pub offers traditional “pub fare” as well as many other items including soups and salads.  There is a page consisting mainly of paninis and of course you can still order your favorite burgers and sides.  Since we were in the spirits of the English style restaurant we chose to order Sheppard’s pie and fish and chips as our main entrees.  While we waited on those we also ordered stuffed mushrooms to tide us over.  They came out quickly and definitely sated us until the main course came out.  The stuffed mushrooms seemed fresh and baked to a tasty cheesy perfection.  Soon after we devoured the app our main meals arrived.  Both were well prepared and served at a nice temperature as they must not have been sitting under a heat lamp waiting for us.  The fish had a nice battered breading to them and the portion was plentiful.  The shepards pie was a decent sized portion as well.  The veggies used in it tasted fresh and the seasoning was nice.  Now I would not boast that this was the best food I’ve ever tasted but it sure hit the spot and I wasn’t disappointed.  During our meal I ordered a litany of brews from a Small Batch 471 (a deliciously strong seasonal IPA) to Flying Dog’s Raging Bitch (another strong beer whose bark was worse than its bite).   The beer portion of the menu was broken down by countries, draughts and bottles.  If you couldn’t find a beer you enjoyed you didn’t search hard enough.  Beer prices ranged between 4 and 7 dollars while the food was around $10 to $15 a plate. 

                 

Extras:

 I mentioned before an upstairs that had a self serve beer wall.  This was the main point I wanted to travel to this place and check it out.  There are 20 taps divided into four sections each with an IPad above them displaying the information for each beer.  All we had to do was get an electronic card from the hostess upstairs (which actually took a little longer to find than we were anticipating) and swipe it in front of the pad to access the beer.  The whole system keeps track of how many ounces you pour and tabulates what your total is as you go.  You only want to try a little bit?  Just pour a few ounces.  Already know you like a beer?  Pour a full glass.  It is truly up to you how much and of what beer you will drink.  A lot of the beers as 34 cents an ounce and it was at this point that I was glad the restrooms were indeed located upstairs.  A few other extras were the upstairs and downstairs outside seating.  There were a few TV’s scattered through the place but it wasn’t a very heavily themed sports place so I wasn’t expecting too many.

Conclusion:

The Pub provided good service for being located in a slew of other eateries and bars.  As a beer enthusiast I was most excited for the selection and beer wall upstairs but wasn’t let down by the food or people.  Our meals were decent although one could argue a little bit over priced due to the area and the fringe things that may have drawn the patrons in.  I would definitely come here again maybe just to grab lunch or probably even just to knock back a few and try out a few more beers.  For more info check out their link I have provided in the Restaurant Sites section.  My overall experience was 4 out of 5 stars.

Comming Soon:

The Bungalow, Babe's Pizza & The Laughing Cat

The Garage Bar and Grill

This Bar and Grill dubs itself  "The Ultimate Sports Bar."  With one week left in the NFL regular season (and one last abysmal Panther's game to struggle through) I decided to drop in and put their quote to the test.

Appearance:

Located off of Kennedy Blvd. in the Channelside district, Garage Bar was pretty easy to find and parking wasn't that big of an issue.  There is, of course, the Channelside parking garage but we opted to park in the 2 hour limit street parking.  The inside of the establishment was spacious with ample seating and a wide open circular bar. The walls were mostly plain and warmly colored. Conditions were very sanitary as an eating establishment should be.  Large concrete pillars and a chain linked liquor cabinet helped add to the garage 
motif. 

Atmosphere:

The dress code seemed pretty casual as many patrons were wearing sports gear from their favorite teams while watching one of the many flat screens posted up on the walls.  There is a bit of a "night life" scene here as described in their website but the Sunday afternoon crowd was pretty laid back as people were stopping in and out the whole time we were there.

Service:


As soon as we walked in, a gentleman dressed in a Bucs polo greeted us and recognized I was sporting my Panthers tee so he ushered us to a table with a good view of the game.  That is about where the good service ended.  Our server came to get our drink orders after we had already been sitting for 5 minutes.  I got a Yuengling which only came in bottles.  I also tried a Blue Moon draft that tasted a little flat.  As soon as the drinks arrived we put in our appetizer order which came out in a decent amount of time.  Our server, who wasn't mean or snooty but seemed somewhat distracted the whole time, took our entree order.  Unfortunately this did not come out in an acceptable amount of time.  After delivering the food to the wrong table then bringing it back to the kitchen only to have it redelivered to us cold, we decided to eat it anyway.  At this point we had not seen our server since she had taken our order and we had drinks that needed refilled.  We found another employee and asked for our check.  She sincerely obliged and apologized that it was getting "hectic."  I am still unsure as to what she meant by "hectic" as there was maybe only 1/3 of the place filled up.  She brought our tab and also two free drink vouchers for our next visit.  I had originally planned on staying the length of the game but we ended up leaving shortly after half time.



Food:


Menu prices were around $8 to $15 a plate.  The appetizer we ordered were crab rangoons.  I love Chinese food and I was a little skeptic about ordering them at a sports bar but this is exactly why you do not judge a book by its cover.  The crab rangoons came out lightly fried in a golden wonton wrapping but the explosion of taste really occurred when the shredded crab and cream cheese goodness touched my pallet.  They came with a sweet and spicy sauce to dip in which added to the rich texture.  By far these tasty treats were better than any other rangoon I had ever had.  Next up were the wings.  What sports bar visit is complete without the wings?  They came in quantities of six so I got six sweet and spicy wings and six hot.  Other than not being "fresh out of the kitchen" the sauces were decent, the wings were meaty and for once the 'hot' flavor was actually pretty spicy.  Lastly we ordered nachos.  These were doomed from the start due to their late arrival to our table.  The ground beef was a tad over cooked and the cheese was akin to a melted, congealed block of Velveeta cheese.  The taste wasn't terrible and there was one bonus as the plate came garnished with black olives, my favorite.  As far as good pub fare goes though the nachos were a let down.




Extras:


As I mentioned before there were a fair amount of TV's around the place but as I was taking care of business I happened to notice that there were flat screens at each stand up in the restroom.  Indeed this was a neat idea but 15" of screen 3" from your face is somewhat not enjoyable.  There was outside seating available and there is a rewards card available for those who frequent the establishment.  The menu features a wide variety of foods (quesadillas to burgers) but the most unique part of the food experience would have to be the sushi bar.  Check the web site (linked in the Restaurants side section) for hours and daily specials.

So in closing the food was relatively descent but the service was lackadaisical at best.  Perhaps the crowd and service would be different during the week and later at night but for my experience I give Garage Bar and Grill 2 out of 5 stars. 



Up Next:

The Pub Tampa on Westshore