Restaurant Review: Miyako Sushi Bar & Hibachi Grill

Miyako Sushi Bar & Hibachi opened just a few months ago on Ulmerton Road in Largo in a Publix plaza. When I found the restaurant while driving up Ulmerton Road, I was not expecting to find such a hidden gem. Upon entering the restaurant I decided to sit at the sushi bar. It is my belief that if you converse with your sushi chef, it creates goodwill and enhances your experience at a Japanese restaurant.

When I sat at the bar I looked at the fish behind the counter and was excited to see that all the fish was very colorful and clearly fresh. This tends to vary around Tampa Bay, but from appearance it was clear to me that Miyako only wants the best quality of fish in their restaurant.

I took a look at their lunch menu and saw they have a lunch special of 3 sushi rolls for $10, an awesome deal that I have not seen since the closing of Joy of Tokyo in New Tampa. Lunch prices were available until 3 p.m., which allows for someone who eats a little later in the day to still enjoy great prices. I decided to order the California Roll, Salmon Roll with added avocado, and the Eel Avocado Roll. 

Upon further inspection of the menu, I found their lunch hibachi prices to be too good to resist. Hibachi steak with mushrooms and rice was just $6.95. I decided to order that as well. For my beverage I chose green tea with no sweetener. I enjoyed the pot of green tea throughout the meal, it wasn't a sencha green tea, but a step up above the norm.

I conversed with my waitress and chef throughout my stay and found a great bond between them and myself. They told me stories about their homes in Asia and I told them about my past experiences with sushi in Japan and South Korea and I learned the chef has over 10 years of experience with making sushi. 

It was not long before my miso soup and ginger salad arrived. The miso soup was one of the best I have ever tried in Tampa Bay. The wakame seaweed was very fresh and tasty and the soup was lite yet enjoyable. The ginger salad also had fresh vegetables and the ginger sauce was the right consistency, not chunky but not watery.

The hibachi steak came next and they were very generous with the portions of rice and steak. The hibachi sauce was great and similar to what you would expect to have at a Japanese steakhouse, such as Kobe, Yamato, or Behihana. The mushrooms and rice were also enjoyable. This lunch entree could be enough to fill you, but of course I couldn't leave without trying some of their sushi.

My rolls came next and came with some fresh ginger and wasabi. The salmon avocado roll was my first taste and it was excellent. They weren't cheap on the salmon and it featured a high-quality taste that you normally cannot have without ordering a sashimi cut of the fish. The eel avocado roll was topped with a great eel sauce, however in the future I think I would order their eel nigiri-style in order to fully appreciate the freshness of their eel. The California Roll was just what I expected and left no room for any disappointment with this meal. 

The size of the rolls were a little smaller than some places, perhaps due to the lunch special and roll choices, but was still enough to feed a hungry patron at an affordable price. I would like to try some of their special rolls in the future, in addition to some of their Japanese noodles.

Miyako has truly done a great job on quality and service that will certainly bring them much success in Largo and from the traffic of customers I witnessed, I forsee a happy future for this sushi bar and hibachi grill. 

Miyako Sushi Bar & Hibachi 10439 Ulmerton Road Largo, FL 33771 (727) 581-0982