TAMPA, Fla. — A Japanese izakaya opened Monday in downtown Tampa in the spot where Gen X Tavern spent seven years serving up 1980s and 1990s nostalgia.
Nagi by Soho Sushi has 180 seats and a Japanese whiskey lounge at 103 E. Jackson St. Burton Holdings, which owns both the new restaurant and the longtime South Tampa favorite Soho Sushi, closed Gen X Tavern on July 4 to make room for a more upscale idea. The company bought Soho Sushi in 2022 and is led by owner Dave Burton.
Soho Sushi got its start in 2005 as a 10-table spot with a seven-seat sushi bar on South Howard Avenue and moved to Kennedy Boulevard three years later. The downtown offshoot leans on the izakaya model, a Japanese-style tavern built around small plates meant for sharing.
One draw is tableside sushi. A custom cart rolls up so chefs can make nigiri, rolls and an omakase meal right at the table, offered by reservation for an added charge. The kitchen also turns out wagyu, pork belly fried rice, skewers, bento boxes and steamed buns, while the lounge pours sake, Japanese whiskey and house cocktails.
Lunch and dinner are served on weekdays, with dinner only on weekends. Late-night hours running to 1 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, with a local DJ, are set to start in late November.
Ahead of Monday’s debut, Nagi held a friends-and-family night and then took guests by reservation only for previews that began Oct. 19 and wrapped up Nov. 1.
Burton said in an email that the restaurant is meant to offer a trip into Japanese hospitality with a modern polish, and a company release called the opening the end of a long road. For downtown diners, it adds another late-night option a short walk from the Jackson Street corridor.
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