First look at new Tampa rooftop lounge Maru, a high-end spot with great views

TAMPA — A high-end rooftop lounge overlooking Tampa’s Bayshore Boulevard brings a new spot to indulge in champagne and caviar. Maru, which opens this weekend, is the first Tampa foray by the Indigo Road Hospitality Group , a Charleston, South Carolina-based hospitality company with more than 30 restaurants across the Southeast. The company is bringing two innovative dining concepts to Bayshore Gardens at 2909 W. Bay to Bay Blvd. There will be cocktails with a view at Maru, where they will serve small plates inspired by both Japanese and Peruvian tastes. And opening later this year in an adjacent building will be O-Ku, a modern Japanese concept that Indigo has launched in more than a dozen locations across the South. Maru, which has 124 seats inside and outdoors with a view of Tampa Bay from the seventh floor, is a brand new concept for the company. It focuses on culinary traditions that emerged from Japanese immigration to Peru in the early 20th century, in a “Nikkei”-style setting.“I don’t want to call it ‘fusion’ because that leads to con-fusion,” chuckled Indigo’s culinary director, Masatomo “Masa” Hamaya, who oversees all of the company’s locations. “Nikkei,” the term used to refer to Japanese emigrants and their influence on communities outside of Japan, provided the base for his vision, Hamaya said. Ceviche, Peru’s famous appetizer, is prevalent on the menu, like the Ceviche Classico ($18) made with halibut, Peru’s classic leche de tigre (tiger’s milk) as the marinating liquid, cilantro and the Andean corns cancha and choclo. There’s also a lobster roll ($19) with Kewpie mayo and the luxurious Golden Osetra caviar in a bao bun. And there are a range of black sesame cornets ($13-$16), the small, cone-shaped edible shells filled with savory elements like tuna, caviar and trout roe. Masa, who was head sushi chef at the James Beard-winning Texas restaurant Uchi and the Michelin-starred Ame in San Francisco, is also overseeing the opening of O-Ku, the high-end restaurant opening later this year that promises a fresh take on Japanese cuisine and sushi.The food at Maru is all on the lighter side to set the stage for the cocktail menu, said Vonda Freeman, Indigo’s head of beverage programs, to make a relaxing backdrop for a date night or happy hour with friends. There is a strong focus on champagnes and sparkling wines, Freeman said, with 25 different bubbles sold by the bottle and at least six different champagnes and sparkling wines sold by the glass. “People are drinking less these days but what they are drinking is higher quality,” Freeman said. “They have been making wines in the Champagne region for 1,500 years and we think it shouldn’t just be consumed on a special occasion. We think it should be consumed anytime because it’s beautiful and special.” But Freeman said they also focused their cocktails (which range from $16-$23) on the mixed theme at Maru. You’ll find tropical ingredients like lime and coconut and cocktails that make use of Peruvian Pisco, a grape brandy considered the national spirit of Peru, plus Toki Japanese whiskey.“You won’t find them overly sweet with simple syrups but more nuances and the actual spirit that may be infused with pomegranate or something like that,” Freeman said. There is a lot of construction going on around the building, so it may be hard to spot the entrance, which is next to chef Jeannie Pierola’s Counter Culture on Bay to Bay Boulevard. But once on the seventh floor, the wide windows capture a view of the sparkling bay. The inside design is sleek, with comfortable seating in shades of yellow, gold and earthy tones. There’s a row of small cocktail tables along the balcony outside and a heavily landscaped outside bar with cozy lounge furniture criss-crossed with patio lights. Steve Palmer, founder of the Indigo Road Hospitality Group, said the idea for the space, which does not take reservations, is as a place to start the night with a cocktail and shared plates at sunset. “There’s an ease and elegance to the space that feels right at home on Bayshore,” Palmer said, “and we’re so excited to join such a lively community.”

First look at new Tampa rooftop lounge Maru, a high-end spot with great views

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