Great Sushi at JPAN of Sarasota

Last Friday was a cool, breezy evening, perfect for outdoor dining at JPAN’s north restaurant.  JPAN’s north location, The District at UTC, has a large covered outdoor dining area, perfect for casual dining and people watching. This is the second location for JPAN, their first is located in Paradise Plaza in Sarasota. 

Since this is a popular restaurant, I recommend making a reservation if you want to eat on a weekend night.  I made our reservation through opentable.com.  Even though we came for dinner around 8 PM, the restaurant had quite a few guests and more were being seated.  

Have you had a favorite restaurant that you either moved from or no longer exists?  No matter how you search for a replacement there just doesn’t seem a place that comes close to your old standby?  I had my favorite sushi bar in my old city that was always the go-to place when I didn’t want to cook but wanted something healthy.  So, every time a I try a new sushi restaurant, I wonder…Could this be it??

Since this was our first visit to JPAN, my husband and I asked our server David for a few recommendations.  David suggested a shrimp appetizer, and the lobster roll.  We went with David’s suggestions and also ordered a small seaweed salad and a Kamikaze Roll. Low carb dieters who want a sushi roll will not be disappointed and neither will vegetarians.  JPAN’s menu offers a great variety.  They also have a nice selection of cocktails, beer, wine and sake. We choose a white wine for Friday’s dinner.The seaweed salad and the appetizer were delivered quickly but we didn’t feel rushed at all.  The lobster roll was delivered next and wow, talk about a presentation!  I have never seen such a pretty dish.  There were bitesize lobster pieces served on top of the roll with a light sauce.  The Kamikaze Roll was served next. This roll is a shrimp tempura with asparagus, topped with spicy tuna.  It was crunchy and the spicy tuna added a nice kick.  I was so surprised how quickly our food was served since the restaurant was busy. 

The service was exceptional and our server David really made us feel welcome. JPAN is a locally chef owned restaurant and you can sense a true pride of ownership. If you haven’t tried JPAN, put it at the top of your list.  I think I have found my new “go-to” restaurant.  The best part, it’s not far from home and super easy to get to.  You can find the location across from Blaze Pizza. 

Online ordering is available at jpanrestaurant.com for carry out. Next time, I think I’ll try the Udon Soup. 

Photos courtesy of JPAN website.