Noble Rice, BurgerFi, Naked Farmer Restaurants Open In Tampa

TAMPA, FL — It's a sushi lover's dream, and now it's back.

Noble Rice has opened a new version of its popular Hyde Park restaurant at Sparkman Wharf.

The Hyde Park restaurant of the same name closed at the onset of the pandemic and the owners remodeled the space and opened Koya in 2020, a high-end omakase spot, in its place.

Noble Rice is a modern Japanese restaurant known for its focus on exceptional ingredients flown in weekly from the famed Toyosu Market in Japan.

Created by Chef Eric Fralick, the innovative menu offers fresh takes on classic Japanese meals including sushi, ramen, yakitori and the signature Omakase offering that initially put Noble Rice on the map as one of the premier sushi spots in Tampa Bay.

The new 100-seat space at Sparkman Wharf, 615 Channelside Drive, features outdoor seating as well as a full bar with a focus on Japanese whiskeys, sake and cocktails.

Menu items include maki cut rolls including kani with crab, avocado, cucumber and white shoyu and mango jack with kanpachi, mango, pear, avocado and lime.

Nigiri pieces include akami, a lean bluefin tuna; uni, sea urchin; and kanpanchi, amberjack.

There's also seasonal shun, sashimi plates, ramen and a caviar service featuring 1 ounce of golden Osetra served with Yukon gold mochi and citrus-herbed labneh.

Noble Rice also offers small, shareable zesai including scallop motoyaki with hokkaido scallop, lemon, miso, gruyere, shrim and nori chip; crab gallette with dungeness crab, yuzu buerre blanc and chive; and kamo crostini with bincho seared duck breast, pistachio butter, onion jam and shiso.

From the grill, Noble Rice serves saikyo miso salmon with soubise and ramp salsa; nasu, a tempura eggplant with ichiban dashi and scallion; and Japanese wagyu featuring a 2-ounce strip, Japanese sweet potato and Szechuan chimichurri.

Click here to see the menu.

Hours are Tuesday through Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m.

BurgerFi Opens 3 Tampa Restaurants

Established in 2011, BurgerFi is continuing its aggressive expansion with the opening of three new Tampa restaurants, bringing its total to 23 corporate-owned and 93 franchised restaurants.

BurgerFi is one of the nation's fastest-growing premium fast-casual concepts, named Fast Casual's 2021 Brand of the Year on the “Top 100 Movers and Shakers” list and the top fast casual better burger chain in USA Today’s “10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards” for 2021.

“As Tampa continues to experience rapid population growth, BurgerFi is making it more convenient for local residents to bite into a juicy all-natural burger,” said Patrick Renna, president of BurgerFi. “BurgerFi is beloved by Floridians and the opening of these new locations is proof of our company’s commitment to providing the best burger experience across the state and the entire nation.”

The new restaurants can be found at:

• The 1,650-square-foot Sparkman Wharf restaurant opened in December at 615 Channelside Drive.
• The BurgerFi at The Preserve Marketplace, a 2,030-square-foot restaurant, also opened in December at 16120 Preserve Marketplace Blvd., Odessa.
• BurgerFi at Westchase Village Square, a 2,050-square-foot restaurant at 10617 Sheldon Road, opened Feb. 28.

The new restaurants are open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and offer online ordering via the BurgerFi app or BurgerFi.com for pickup or delivery.

BurgerFi serves 100 percent all-natural Angus beef, crispy fresh-cut fries and beer-battered onion rings, which are hand-cut with house made sauces. Other favorites include a chef-crafted VegeFi (a spin on a veggie burger), CEO Burger made with premium American Wagyu beef, chicken, frozen custard, and local craft beer and wine.

The company is also committed to sustainability and has designed the restaurants to be eco-friendly with chairs that were made from recycled Coca-Cola bottles, 100 percent energy-efficient LED lighting and Number 2 pine lumber wood-paneled walls.

Click here to check out the menu.

Naked Farmer Opens 3rd Eatery

Naked Farmer celebrated the opening of its third restaurant location at 1001 Water Street in Water Street Tampa Feb. 26, joining its restaurants in St. Petersburg and Sparkman Wharf.

Naked Farmer owner Jordan Johnson has found a successful niche among those seeking locally sourced, farm-fresh foods prepared with a creative twist.

"Our real value is our role as a local connector between farmers and their local community," Johnson said. "Our restaurants represent the beginning of our mission to change the food game by building a better food system."

Fresh vegetables at the Naked Farmer are harvested as little as 24 hours before being served. The eclectic menu changes depending upon the vegetables in season.

"Our chefs handcraft super high-quality farm-fresh bowls from scratch, placing a heavy emphasis on our favorite thing ever—fresh vegetables," said Johnson. "We partner with farmers we know on a first-name basis to serve veggies harvested days, not weeks, ago. We work with producers who understand exactly where it comes from and the quality of life it's lived. Our cows are exclusively grass-fed for their entire lives. Our chickens roam freely."

He added that the food is prepared "the way nature intended. Without fluff or filler. A little salt, pepper, lemon and expertise. Our from-scratch, chef-driven kitchens were built by food-passionate people who celebrate locally and sustainably sourced goodness."

Made-from-scratch bowls are prepared with a base of farm greens with mint, farro with summer vegetables and brown rice with parsley followed by a choice of two harvest sides including roasted sweet potatoes, glazed heirloom tomatoes, mint watermelon and feta, pecan kale Caesar, charred broccoli with lemon and garlic, marinated English cucumbers and farmhouse mac & Cheese. Then they're topped with meat and fish including free-range rosemary-roasted chicken breast, Faroe Island salmon, seasonal grass-fed beef and portobello mushrooms with balsamic vinegar and garlic.

Click here for the menu.