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If you look back over the different Inkwatu food posts, you’ll notice three St. Pete restaurants I’ve covered that have sushi bars:
- 2009/01/31: BKK Thai Cuisine and Sushi Bar
- 2008/09/13: The King and I
- 2008/05/10: Ichiban Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar
Today’s post, Hook’s Sushi Bar and Thai Food, adds a fourth to that list. Interestingly, all four restaurants are Thai owned, but have Japanese sushi bars. Although their sushi is quite good, I tend to think of BKK and The King and I more for their Thai food and not so much their sushi. Ichiban’s and Hook’s are my favorites for sushi and where I head when I’m in the mood for that.
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Owner, Hook Atsavinh, has a motto for his restaurant: “All Fish and No Bull!” That’s very apt. This is a serious sushi palace. (Please the comments section below for information on Mr. Atsavihn’s recent, unexpected death.) My favorite at lunch is the Maki Combo, but occasionally, I venture out into some of the more extravagant rolls. The photos of his sushi “boats” prepared for large parties are impressive. Hook’s website posts both their lunch and dinner menus online. They are so extensive, I would suggest studying them before you go. Plan ahead so you’re not overwhelmed and just order your habitual dish (which is what usually happens to me). I also recommend stopping by to pick up a copy of their takeout menu. Hooks does a very brisk takeout. His menu, including takeout, includes some Korean, Americanized-Chinese, and a number of Japanese tempura dishes. Like, Ichiban, Hook’s is one of the places I go to eat eel: he serves up a very good Unagi Don (barbecued eel on a bowl of sushi rice, topped with eel sauce).
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Hook’s is located at 1210 9th St. N., St. Petersburg, FL 33705 (727-898-4665 Fax: 727-898-4606) and is open 11am to 2pm, Monday thru Friday, for lunch, and 5:30pm to 10pm for dinner; Saturday thru Sunday, dinner only, 5:30pm to 10pm. Be sure to check out Hook’s Wednesday night $1.00 sushi special! You can get a single piece of sushi (from a selection o sixteen different rolls) for only $1.00. Not only is that a good deal, economically, it’s good for experimentation. For instance, if you’ve always wanted to try conch but didn’t want to commit to an entire roll, you can have just one piece. Hook’s also has a large assortment of Asian salads and appetizers. Often, that’s all I want at lunchtime, just something light. Other times, I’m ravenous. Pictured below is what was left of my Maki Combo by the time I remembered I want to take a picture of it!
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I think Hook passed away recently, so you might want to change the article in parts where you refer to him, like “Owner, Hook Atsavinh, has a motto for his restaurant”. Anyway, yeah a good sushi bar. The Wednesday dollar sushi is not a good deal as they serve tiny pieces of sushi and the quality seems lower than regular days. Also, they have decent korean food if you ask for it. Or maybe it’s still on the menu.
Thank you, Eric. Yes, you’re correct. I just checked and Hook died recently. Here’s the link to his obit: http://www.tampabay.com/news/obituaries/article971517.ece. I was just there and had no idea. I’m very sorry to hear this. I hope the restaurant continues, but he was definitely the heart of it. Thanks again for letting me know.
i would just like to say that there is much significance in this in reading this. For me, it was kind of emotional reading this article, because Hook was my uncle, and i loved him very much. id also like to point out that Atsavinh was misspelled in the second paragraph, but no harm done, barely anyone can say my name, let alone spell it. nice work writing this. also, Hook had many underlying health conditions.