Zpan Hibachi & Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Riverview

If you want to define a bad day - think of changing cell phone companies as an example of medieval torture. :-) So late for lunch because of it, we staggered into Zpan.

A crazy time to go. The place was empty. On the door, it said that they closed at 3:00 pm for an hour. A quick time check on our new phones; 2:40 pm.

No worries. We sat at their bar and ordered the Sushi lunch special (5 pcs of sushi, a California roll, and a salad; or soup). Seconds later, the salad arrived (washed down with an ice-cold Sapporo). I like ginger-based salad dressings, very nice.

Ah! Calm descended. The sushi was outstanding. And I mean outstanding, White puffy clouds of rice with fresh and generously cut fish. The California rolls were spot on. The fact that we saw them being made added to their flavor for some reason.

Overall, the menu is what would expect. Nothing to disappoint, nothing to scare you off. The range of chef special rolls speaks to a reasonably adventurous chef. The Samurai roll sounds delicious, the Sexy Girl incongruous, and the Hicksville a passing reference to Apollo Beach, perhaps?

There was a steady stream of takeout customers, and the friendly staff seemed happy to see them.

There are quite a few places to get sushi in Apollo Beach, including the food stores. But Zpan has something a little special; a sense of culinary style and a connection to the grand traditions of a Japanese restaurant of old.

It’s easy to park in the Publix parking lot, and access is suitable for wheelchairs.

Try it you won’t be...

We live in Ruskin and have been waiting for this gem of a sushi restaurant to open for what seems like an eternity, but OH MY was it ever worth the wait! Last night, my husband and three sons and I enjoyed the first of what I'm sure will be many family dinners at Zpan--in fact, the sushi and sashimi were so fresh and delicious, we're planning on going there for New Year's Eve as opposed to some established place in Tampa or Sarasota. We started our meal with warm, nutty edamame; then, we tried the hamachi kama--grilled yellowtail "collar"--which is a specialty that very few Florida restaurants can do well. Zpan's hamachi was perfectly cooked--tender and moist, in natural broth (not deep fried!), and as fresh as can be. It was the best we've ever tasted, even including the offerings at NYC and LA restaurants. One of us ordered the shrimp tempura, which arrived quickly and was both intensely flavorful and cloud-light and non-greasy. The presentation was lovely, too--each dish was adorned by orchids and fresh greens. The pièce de résistance was the sushi-sashimi dish for 3, served on a boat (photo below). Every buttery slice of tuna, yellowtail, and whitefish and every flawless roll vanished in no time. Icy Kirins and a glass of merlot for Mama complemented the meal. And service was efficient, polite, and perfect. (That hamachi, though...mmmmm. So excited about that.) We truly look forward to...

If I could rate it 0, that's what it's worth! Couldn't even walk out with carry out food as it was RECYCLED. See, they gave my order mistakenly to the wrong person. So they began making it new (so they say). 10 minutes later the person with the wrong order appeared and returned the incorrect food and was given a new order instantly. Meanwhile I watched them carry those bags back to the see through double doors. Began to inspect the food, and as I witnessed it I stated I do not want brought back food and I see them bringing back those bags with half the food that was "said" to be replaced in the other hand. I asked where's the old of the rest of the foods replaced. As well If those were the old ones, there incorrect as it says white rice and those are fried. They tried to sneak and trick food brought back from who knows who, what was touched, opened, what type of hygiene they had. For the place just opening, and our first time, it was just such an awesome experience. Ricky the main guy nor the lady up front we're kind at all, at the situation they screwed up on. My money wasn't good...