When reservations for Koya’s first month sold out within minutes, Eric and Adriana Fralick knew they had a hit on their hands. But Koya’s success wasn’t always as clear as it is today. Before selling out month after month, Koya was uncharted territory. Being Tampa’s first omakase-only restaurant, the dynamic duo knew they had their work set out for them.
“At the time, there was not a single tasting menu only restaurant,” explains Eric who prepares and serves each piece behind the counter. “We approached the concept as if we were headed into the wilderness. When we looked at that definition of wilderness and its Japanese translation (Koya) we knew it fit perfectly.”
The power couple’s goal, Eric tells me, “was to break the stereotypes of Japanese food that most Americans, especially in Florida, were used to.”
So, what exactly does this mean? The first thing was the ingredients. “We want to provide our customers with a meal using the best ingredients that we can source,” Eric adds. To achieve that, the team recruited the help of Yamayuki-san, the world famed “tuna god” of Japan. Hand selected every day by Yamayuki-san and his team at Toyosu Market, the fish is then flown directly to Koya.
The second thing was eliminating American Japanese staples like edamame or miso soup, and instead replacing them with unexpected dishes like chutoro hand roll with wasabi guacamole and the nori wrapped smoked salmon in an activated charcoal macaron. “My wife and I have a shared passion for sweet and savory courses,” Eric explains. “Adriana works her magic on our dessert/pastry elements, and I try to find creative ways to weave them into the tasting menu. We are constantly bouncing ideas off each other, and we truly have a great chemistry when it comes to nailing down a dish.”
The result is a menu with a unique combination of Eastern and Western influences that is luxurious yet unexpected. Adriana’s favorite? The vanilla bean poached Hokkaido scallop, topped with a white chocolate and yuzu beurre blanc, paired with a Maximin Grunhaus GG Reisling. “It’s a match made in heaven,” describes Adriana who advises guests on their wine and sake pairings.
“We wanted to show that Japanese food was more than just the usual cream cheese and bang bang sauce sushi roll,” Eric remarks. And with dishes like the saikyo salmon chawanmushi, it's hard to say there isn't.
It’s been almost three years since Koya first opened its doors. From Covid-19 to the closing of Noble Rice’s original location, a lot has happened. But among all those changes, one thing has managed to remain constant. And that is the intimate 8-seat tasting-menu-only experience that is Koya, is still on top of Tampa’s omakase world.
Hero image: Keir Magoulas/Koya
