Green Pagoda Rolls its way in to North St. Pete

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Green Pagoda Rolls its way in to North St. Pete

In the former EBI Sushi, which was in the former Hooks on 4th St N, the visionaries behind Mangosteen in downtown St. Pete bring you Green Pagoda.

Green-Pagoda-Exterior
Green Pagoda Exterior

If you’re not familiar with the location, Green Pagoda serves north St. Pete along 4th Street at 80th Avenue. If you know the area, you are likely aware of the void of quality restaurants. You basically only have Noble Crust. While Noble Crust is always a good go-to, there is definitely a need for more quality, and thankfully Green Pagoda has filled that void.

Needless to say, as a resident of the northside of St. Pete, I was very excited for the opening of Green Pagoda, especially after having tried Mangosteen. I decided to check it out on a Sunday night after a long weekend, when sushi is usually just what I need to fight the Sunday scaries.

Upon arrival you quickly notice the beautiful deep green interior décor with gold accents. The décor gives a sultry, sexy vibe while also being slightly casual. We decided to sit at the bar and were kindly greeted by our bartender, Patrick. Patrick was knowledgeable about the menu, but even more knowledgeable about the drinks and you could tell he knew what he was doing behind the bar.

Cocktails
Elephant in the Room Cocktail and Low Hanging Fruit Cocktail

Before ordering any food, we chose our drinks. I decided to order the Low Hanging Fruit, which was a combination of vodka, peach, lime and ginger beer. It was well balanced, refreshing and not too sweet. My friend ordered the Elephant in the Room, mixing tequila, elderflower liqueur, cucumber, Thai basil, lime, dry vermouth and spritz. It was also very refreshing, not too sweet and a light drink.

We decided to start off with a few appetizers to get the tastebuds going. We ordered spicy shrimp dumplings, veggie spring rolls and tuna tartar.

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Spicy-Shrimp-Dumplings
Spicy Shrimp Dumplings

Green Pagoda offers three different fillings for the dumplings: veggie, pork and spicy shrimp. We decided to try the spicy shrimp and requested them pan seared for a little crisp. The dish was served with a spicy soy based dipping sauce and the dumplings were perfectly seared with a spice level that left a little burn on the tongue but not too overwhelming.

Veggie-Spring-Rolls
Veggie Spring Rolls

Like the dumplings, the springs rolls also have three different options for fillings: veggie, chicken and pork. We decided to go with the veggie rolls. They were so crispy and flavorful and served with a mix of sweet chili sauce and a sweet mango sauce for a sweet and sour effect.

Tuna-Tartar
Tuna Tartar

The tuna tartar was stacked with seaweed salad, large chunks of tuna, avocado, crispy crab, tempura flakes, sesame seeds and roe. The dish was perfectly balanced; slightly sweet, slightly spicy, crunchy, fresh… I could keep going, but this dish is one to experience for yourself. It was just… perfect!

Sushi-Rolls
Sushi Rolls

Next was on to the sushi. We were told by Patrick that their sushi chef has over 20 years of experience and pays extra close attention to detail, especially when it comes to cooking the rice just right.

From top to bottom, we ordered the crispy salmon roll, Pagoda roll and the seared beef roll.

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While my friend and I typically don’t prefer tempura fried rolls, we decided to try the crispy salmon roll at Patrick’s suggestion. The roll comes filled with salmon, eel, asparagus, cream cheese, masago, sesame seeds, and scallion then tempura fried and topped with sriracha, shrimp sauce and teriyaki. And while that might sound like a lot of flavors that could overwhelm one another, it was a delicious, well balanced (big) bite.

The Pagoda roll is a seaweed outside, tightly wrapped roll with tuna, salmon, escolar, snapper, crab, asparagus and cream cheese then topped with tobiko, scallion and teriyaki. The combination of all the raw fishes made this roll refreshing, with the teriyaki adding a slight tang on top.

The seared beef roll was the simplest of the three rolls with spicy tuna, avocado and cucumber inside then topped with seared beef, tobiko, peppercorn, sesame seeds and chili oil. The chili oil added a good spice while the beef added a bit of earthiness.

All of the rolls were well sized and I enjoyed the unique sauces that were used, as opposed to your typical spicy mayo or eel sauce.

Lobster-Risotto
Lobster Risotto

We couldn’t leave without trying an entrée, and I had been eyeing the lobster risotto since I first found the menu. The risotto was creamy and had edamame and tomato mixed in then topped with a curry sauce and a perfectly grilled lobster tail on top. This was a flavor bomb. My first bite nearly knocked me off my seat it was so delicious. It was a combination of sweet, spicy, umami and flavors I don’t even know how to describe. The rice was slightly overcooked, but the flavors were so good that it distracted.

Green Pagoda is bringing just what we need to north St. Pete and with it being so close to where I live, this will be my new local hangout.

Green Pagoda
  • Readers Rating
  • Rated 5 stars
    5 / 5 (12 )
$$
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  • Green Pagoda
  • (727) 827-2133
  • Sushi, Asian Fusion, Dinner
    • Mon - Fri 11:00am - 3:00pm
    • Mon - Thu 5:00pm - 10:00pm
    • Fri - 5:00pm - 11:00pm
    • Sat - 12:00pm - 11:00pm
    • Sun - 12:00pm - 10:00pm
  • View menu
  • 7900 4th St N, St. Petersburg, FL 33702,

Asian Fusion and Sushi in North St. Pete

DISCLAIMER: Kevin, Lori, Abby, Haley, Lindsey & Mahika do not dine anonymously (this would be impossible) and we sometimes get free food (though never expected). However, we dine with the locals and we support our own. You will always get honesty in a respectful manner. We do not include any large national or regional chains in our ratings and reviews. We focus on independent locally owned eateries exclusively.

PLEASE NOTE: Reviews reflect a certain moment in time. Some restaurants stay extremely consistent over many years, and some change for the better or worse. Some things that may change are: chefs, recipes, food suppliers, ingredients, philosophies, ownership, etc. We always hope that you have the same good, or great experience we had.
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