The Lonely Hour

A Friday Evening at Kae Sushi is… Filling but Quiet

By Lizzie Wilcox

December 2019

While we usually rave about happy hour in our beautiful city, not all establishments can draw a post-work crowd like Tarpon Bend used to.

It was the first Friday in November, meaning that Giralda Under the Stars was back for the first night of the season. While the rest of the pedestrian walkway was crowded with families and patrons, Kae was deserted. We sat down inside, but quickly moved outside with our half-off glasses of wine to avoid the awkward silence of being the only customers. Their saving grace, however, was the food.

With a two-for-one deal on traditional rolls, wine and beer from 4 – 7 p.m. on weekdays, you can easily spend under $20 for a sushi dinner (or late afternoon snack). The two rolls of our choosing were the Dragon and the Spicy Tuna Crunch. The latter consists of spicy tuna, avocado and crunchy flakes with sriracha on the side for dipping. The former was our favorite, made with shrimp, asparagus, avocado, eel sauce and spicy mayo. While cream cheese in a roll doesn’t normally tickle our fancy, here it just worked. While not a part of the happy hour special, the pork gyozas deserve an honorable mention.