A high-end new Japanese restaurant is preparing to open its doors in Sarasota’s Rosemary District, at 1525 Fourth St. Called Hanami Japanese Fine Dining & Lounge, it’s a sister to Lakewood Ranch’s Tsunami Sushi & Hibachi Grill.
The menu at Hanami promises to mirror the one served at Tsunami in Lakewood Ranch. Tsunami offers sushi rolls like the Alaskan King (king crab, lobster, avocado, tuna, salmon, spicy mayo) and the Electric Avenue (tempura-fried eel, wakame salad, avocado, cucumber, topped with benito flakes). There’s also a variety of dinner entrees, including Yakisoba, Japanese curry, Gal Be (Korean BBQ short ribs, kimchi, steamed vegetables, jalapeño, white rice), and more.
“The location will feature a huge bar downstairs,” owner Sam Ray told What Now on Wednesday, describing the two-story space. “It’s a really neat building. It turned 100 last year, so it’s been a little bit of a challenge to renovate, but it’s a great, historic space.”
The space also features a large mezzanine that will eventually be available for seating. Given the considerable size of the 7,500-square-foot location, Hanami plans to roll out its full space gradually. It will open with seating for 135 guests, but once the mezzanine launches, that number should top 200.
This is a similarity in layout to the Lakewood Ranch restaurant, which opened about two years ago to a reception that Ray says surpassed all expectations.
“We have a mezzanine there as well, which were expecting to use for private parties and office space, but we ended up needing the space for more tables!”
The bar at Hanami will be considerably larger, however, with a great variety of drink possibilities—including sake on tap. There will be cocktails like the Lychee Martin (Vodka, house lychee blend, grapefruit, bubbles), the Kuono (Blood-orange vodka, passionfruit, fresh lemon juice, club soda), and the Shinsu Sour (100-proof bourbon, fresh lemon juice, sweet peach, red wine float), along with wines, Japanese beers, and more.
A change in the brand towards a somewhat more high-end experience is reflected in the name—in contrast to the energetic Tsunami, Hanami, in contrast, is the name for the Japanese custom of viewing cherry blossoms in full bloom: think, then, of beauty, the sublime, serenity.
Meanwhile, excitement is building as Hanami Sarasota documents its opening process on its Instagram page. You can keep up with the opening by following @hanami_sushi_srq on Instagram.
