Today Rawbar Sushi introduced a new menu of sushi, cooked dishes and bento boxes, for lunch and dinner. Owner James DeVito also announced the hiring of chef James Lee, Rawbar’s new executive chef. Chef Lee, a Tampa local, has served sushi in Tampa for over 30 years. DeVito describes the transition from the prior menu as bittersweet, “Former chef Nao Higuchi is very talented with experience at the highest caliber of restaurants such as Nobu, but for various reasons, it just didn’t work out. Keeping a kitchen staff was a challenge and that limited us from offering a full and flexible menu.”
DeVito admits, “We had a complicated opening but in this business you have to move fast. In six months we’ve identified opportunities to improve, acted on them and persevered. Our new menu is here, we are open for lunch offering $10 bento boxes, takeout and catering are now available, and we have an aggressive happy hour Tuesday to Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. offering a $4 bar menu, $5 martinis and $3 draft beers. 777 N. Ashley Dr., Tampa; (813) 422-5220.
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