Roy’s Restaurant

We went to Roy’s for the first time just determined to try a new place. From the moment we arrived and left, the presentation and service was excellent. My husband and I had the short ribs, salmon, lobster bisque, and comp edaname.
Also, making reservations online was quick, easy, and user friendly. Forgot to mention, cocktails were excellent. Lastly, I would like to thank Chad, one or the manager that night. He made sure everything was on point with our visit. Thank you again Chad! Yes, we will be back!

Once again, Roy’s delivered a top-​notch dining experience — from a warm, «Ohana» welcome to exceptional service and delicious cuisine. We mentioned that we were celebrating my wife’s birthday (was not trying to make a big deal) — but Kal Harris (Managing Partner) and Peter (Floor Manager) took it upon themselves to make it a truly memorable experience! From perfect, custom-​made martinis to a complementary dessert — it was an A+ experience. Also — thanks to Chelf Lan for the delectable Blackened Hamachi — one of the best things we have ever had! Thanks to our friends at Roy’s Tampa! And — if you are on the fence debating where to celebrate a special occasion or just enjoy a first-​class, subdued dining experience — go for Roy’s!

My husband made reservations online for my 35^th birthday (he happened to mentioned on the reservation that we were celebrating my birthday). When we got there they had sprinkled the table with confetti and had a framed birthday message on the table — nice surprise.
Our food and drinks were amazing. I ordered a side salad and the beef short ribs and he ordered sushi and the steak and shrimp combo. The manager then brought over a complimentary appetizer from the chef for my birthday — filet mignon and Gorgonzola bites in
an egg-​roll like crust — AWESOME. All of the food was great.
For dessert we ordered the pineapple upside down cake which is made to order and came out so warm and delicious. In addition to that they added a complimentary key-​lime tart to our dessert plate for my birthday, wrote happy birthday on the plate in chocolate, and added a candle — nice surprise. Our server came over and took our picture and then put it in the frame that was already on our table for us to take home. What a great way to make you feel special. We loved this added touch.
Our server (Tanya) was awesome. She explained everything on the menu and made us feel very welcomed. All the staff was great. This was our first time going there and we will definitely be back! They exceeded our expectations!

By far the best restaurant I’ve eaten at in Tampa. Started off by both host and server calling me by Mr. Lee. Very professional a first in my dining experience. The only thing I will knock and it’s minor but very common — The martini was not filled to the top — I understand it’s because it has to be carried — But many places I’ve gone will top it off at the table. Again minor. Tonya was my server and was very pleasant and professional. I had the 8oz filet and shrimp with the Yukon mash and vegetables. Food arrived nice and hot but ready to eat. Filet was a perfect medium, sauce was tangy and had a nice bite. I had the calimari app with cilantro lime sauce — they were very rich tasting and the sauce was a nice touch. Had the pineapple turnover with ice cream and a brown sugar crust. Rich warm and wonderful. I will not be eating very much tomorrow. A really nice experience overall. Everyone was attentive and overly professional. And I didn’t get a crappy table which is often the case when I dine alone. A lot of places will stick you in the back corner or next to the restroom. Thanks to Roys for a wonderful night cap.

Thank you for an incredible 10^th anniversary dinner for my wife and me! We could not have asked for a better experience, our server David was just awesome!
For anyone reading this review, I totally recommend the ribeye steak. It was absolutely perfect and cooked just the way I asked. My wife’s Chilean Sea Bass was delicious. Also the Ahi Poke was an amazing appetizer. Finally, if the chocolate soufflé is available you have to get it!
Overall, a fantastic night!

Cool place to get together with friends as a leisure event. Nice hang out spot. The food is average. But not bad. I would go back.

Good quality meal, but a bit overpriced in my opinion.
Wait staff was awesome and very patient with our group of 15.

I would not recommend this place to anyone. So many things were wrong. So I sat in the bar area which I totally understand will not be the same a dinning. However there was nothing but horse play, bad language (by employees) and then a few waiters would take out drink orders and no one ever put the order in. It was a complete joke. Then food came, it was plated very nice but the food was horrible, the worst I have ever taste. I had the trio all the fish was cooked too long and dried out. By boyfriend had the ribeye, wasn’t the best we had but was better than my fish so I ate his food. The only thing that was okay was the crab fried rice, but again it was not worth the money at all.

Good sushi for sure! We came for happy hour on the way to the airport. Had some beers and rolls and got out with about $ 20 per person.
Next time we are in Tampa we will check it out for dinner for sure. Hoping the rest of this menu is as good as what we had today.

We came during the Prix fixe deals, which is the best I could find in Tampa. So I’ve been there at least 10 times, the manager even knows us. He is a cool and friendly dude, always comes up to us if he see us.
The food is amazing. My husband had the best lobster bisque here (he likes to think hes a lobster bisque expert) It has a Asian twist (coconut milk and curry paste I think) which makes wonderful flavor. Sushi is also amazing, or my husband says so coz I dont eat sushi (yes, I am ashamed as an Asian) However, I strangely love their sunrise roll. Its cooked and fried. Its so good that I forgot its sushi, they cheated a little by the drying lol. I love the rib so much but its definitely messy, not for a first date. Our favorite is the lobster tempura, which is discontinued. Its not just goood because it is lobster but more about the aioli/​sauce and black sesame. Afterthat, nothing is the same again. They have beautiful presentation.
For entrée, we tried the Sampler Trio, Bone in Ribeye, Filet Mignon, and Lobster. Our favorite is the ribeye with truffle mac and cheese with BACON. The best dessert is hand down the soufflé. It is not quite the same as other soufflé I have. Its more like lava cake and very chocolatey. The rasberry sauce and vanilla bean compliment the dish so well. I burned my tongue twice because I was too excited and ate the hot lava as soon as it oozes out.
Fortunately, the third time I was about to do it again my husband stopped me coz he knows too well. My husband loves the pineapple upside down cake too. Oh, and the 1980 is so good, it doesnt taste too much alcohol, which could be quite dangerous lol

Yeap 3 stars!
I came on cinco de mayo thinking it’s going to be a slow nite. Bad idea on my part. It was little busy but got seated within 20 mins of waiting. The waitress was sweet but the food did take some time to arrive.
I checked out the menu online and wanted to get the pork chop entrée. To my amazement, they don’t carry it at anymore (sad face). **Management! Please update your website** My waitress recommended the braised short rib with mashed potatoes and brocollini. Since it came with such high recommendation, I opted for that as my entrée.
25 mins later, I’ve realized no one came by to check on me and I was still waiting on my food.
Finally I got my food and it was not what I was expecting. Damn! The meat itself was very fatty, so disappointed. It coated my mouth with this oily greasy coating. I loved the brocollini, simple preparation.

Amazing food, fantastic service, and great atmosphere!!! Come for prix fix dinner for $ 36.95 which includes appetizer, entrée, and dessert and changes quarterly! Fun happy hour aka aloha hour with snappy cocktails and yummy appetizers.

All Roy’s are not is the location of my first Roy’s experience at the Inn at Spanish Bay but the tuna is the same no matter the view.
From the insanely tasty edamame to the reasonably priced wine list and superb sushi, Roy’s never disappoints.
Get the Tuna. Always. Get the tuna.

Great atmosphere! Managers were very friendly and attentive as well.
Food was far below par… Not even close to the Hawaiian Roys as far as quality, presentation and taste. The buerre blanc tasted like pure butter as did the sesame buerre blanc. All the servings were small and they skimped on the sauces. Seriously if you ever go to Hawaii, any island, its 100% better food. This left me extremely disappointed… On the other hand.
It was my birthday and they printed a card for the table. They took photos for us and offered a complimentary desert so i gave 2 stars, i wanted to give 3, but the food was average at best. Great job by management and staff.
Poor effort by Chef and kitchen.

Roy’s used to be my very favorite restaurant. Birthday, anniversaries, work… I chose Roy’s. Over the last few years I have become less and less impressed. I just don’t think they’re keeping up with the other fine dining options in Tampa.
My husband and I went this past weekend because we had several bonus cards that we earned for buying gift cards for customers over the holidays. When purchasing the gift cards ($ 300 worth) I specifically asked the bartender if I would be able to use all three of the bonus gift cards at once. I assured me I would. When I attempted to pay my bill this weekend, using the three bonus cards, the manager came to our table to tell me that I could not use all three. I explained to him that I made sure it would not be a problem prior to my purchase. He didn’t seem to believe me. I offered a copy of my receipt, which I still have for expense purposes and should have the bartenders name on it who helped me, but he declined. He went away and the server brought the bill back with the three bonus cards credited. If I had not been as adamant about it as I was (and I was pretty adamant and pretty aggravated), I don’t think it would’ve been resolved in my favor. This was an annoying thing to deal with when trying to have a nice dinner with my husband.
On to the dinner: I asked our sever to describe one of the signature wines on the menu (indicated by an «R» on the menu) and she couldn’t. She knew nothing about it. She went to ask someone and came back with a nice description, but I was disappointed that she knew absolutely nothing about one of their standard wines. She seemed very inexperienced, in general. She never did introduce herself. I had to ask her her name. And she spoke so softly that I had to ask her to repeat herself a couple of times. The dining room at Roy’s is not quiet. We both were straining to hear her every time she spoke. The service overall was fine. Not great. Fine.
The food? I ordered the prix fixe menu with some sort of filet wonton appetizer (really good) the salmon, (nice presentation but was kind of dry) and the chocolate soufflé (always amazing). My husband had the Thai style chicken, which he said was good. We enjoyed the dinner, but we didn’t leave dying to go back.
I had to ask for a new wine glass because food was stuck on the inside of mine. When the server brought the appetizer out he put it down on the table and walked away neglecting to observe that we didn’t have appetizer plates. We had to wait to eat our appetizer until someone brought them, which took longer than it should have. The wine took a long time to arrive. It just seems like the bar has been lowered at this place. There are too many other great options to spend this much money on dinner and not have an excellent experience.

#300
Hooray for me!!! 300 reviews. My 300^th review should be special and I can think of no more special place or review than our dinner at Roy’s.
Daughter was visiting from the other Bay Area and wanted her B-​Day dinner at Roy’s. Great choice.
We had reservations and were seated immediatly. Right from the start service was spectacular. The girls started with some kind of sushi roll and since I’m not into that they brought me a very fresh mixed greens salad. It was an awesome starter. Dressed with their house vinagarette I loved it. Seasoned endame is provided also.
I choose the seared scallops for my entrée, daughter the mixed seafood trio and wife had the swordfish. Everything was absolutely incredible.
I know I sound like I’m gushing but the food really was remarkable. My scallops were cooked perfectly, barely cooked thru, sweet, moist, full of flavor. Along with the scallops were mashed potatoes topped with pieces of pork belly that was cured with applewood and I mean you could taste the apples. The girls raved about their meals as well.
We shared a pineapple upside down cake with fresh fruit and vanilla ice cream for dessert. Again, spectacular!
Our server, Jeff, was professional, curteous and was just downright awesome.
Roy’s is not cheap, but if the night is special and you want a special place, my first choice would be Roy’s. Easily five stars, more if I could.

If I could give Roy’s more stars I would.
This place was fantastic. Took daughter here for her birthday dinner. It felt like we were all celebrating our birthdays.
Our waiter, Jeff was the best. From his service, to his personality, to taking photos for us, we could not ask for any better. Cudo’s Jeff!!!
I will talk only about my dinner experience since Terri and Frank will write about their own. It all started with alcohol! Drinks all around. Then a basket of edamame. Nice little snack. Then the manager brought over a dish of 3 lobster rangoons, cuz it was Terris birthday (on the house). Terri and I started with an order of crab sushi with beef and tempura asparagus !! Wonderful. Then our meals arrived. A dish of truffle mac & cheese to split. (the only item I wasn’t crazy about, a bit too dry for me) I got swordfish with red potatoes and baby bok choi. First bite of that fish and I swooned, easily the best I ever had. Potatoes were creamy and bok choi, mmmmmm. Dessert was a pineapple upside down cake with pineapple, strawberries and blueberries sprinkled around the cake, oh a a dollop of vanilla ice cream. (Once again, on the house) We were stuffed, but the three of us split the dessert .And I just had to add a coffee with Tia Maria in it. Heaven!
That’s it, for that hour and a half or so, I must have died and gone to heaven. Only explanation for such an outstanding meal. And while there an angel took a picture of us and put it in a frame and gave it to Terri!
Now I haven’t even seen the bill yet, and I’m cheap, but this meal was not. Roy’s is pricey, but well worth the cost. You won’t hear me say that too often. We had an awesome time, a fabulous meal, and a surprise gift card put in our check wallet!!! Perfection!!!

This was my first time at Roy’s. I thought the customer service was great. Our waiter made some great suggestions and he was very nice. He was also very knowledgeable about the menu. As far as checking on your table and asking how you’re doing, you won’t have to worry about that here. They have someone filling your glass after every sip and asking how you’re doing after every bite.
The restaurant seemed very clean from where I was sitting.
As soon as they bring your drinks over they bring over edamame. That was a nice touch. The sushi roll that we shared as an appetizer (Auntie Lei’s Aloha Roll) was okay. Nothing special but it wasn’t bad. My Butterfish was good but I would try something else next time. The texture was a little off for me. I did like that it came with more than one side (small portions of rice, kimchi and bok choy). The soufflé was okay. The macadamia tart was my favorite. A little more ice cream with that would’ve been great: D

An absolute let down. My boss raved about this place as he’s been to the one in Maui and at the end of the meal we were both just stunned.
The service was horrendous, we actually never got half the apps we ordered. Which when our entrees came out we asked and they offered to hold our plates in the windo and retire our apps. We passed as I don’t need my entrée to sit under a heat lamp while I wait for stuff we ordered for apps.
My entrée was very bland, no flavor, they forgot the sauce on my fish. And the shrimp was overlooked and chewy.
We had to flag the manager just to get our check after waiting 20 minutes of not seeing our server.
I’m disappointed and wish I had more positive things to say but the whole thing wasn’t good.

Roy’s is my favorite place to go anytime my family has a special occasion to celebrate. The servers truly go above and beyond to make your experience top-​notch and personalized. We celebrated my dad’s 75^th birthday at Roy’s, and I mentioned the occasion when making the reservation. When we were taken to our table, we opened our menus and found that the inside cover was replaced with a large paper that said «Happy Birthday Ken!!» — we were so surprised and it made our night.
The service at Roy’s is really just the icing on the cake. The food is what makes t his place 5 star.
To start:
We love to begin with the Lakanilau Roll (Wagyu Beef, Snow Crab, Tempura Asparagus, Avocado, Sesame Miso, Truffled Greens) — can’t go wrong here. The Shrimp & Pork Gyoza appetizer and the Lobster Potstickers also top my list of favorite starters.
Entrees: I’m a sucker for salmon so I typically get the Hibachi Grilled Salmon and it’s magnificent. I also recommend the Seared Sea Scallops with the pork belly, and potato purée.
Dessert: If its a special occasion, chances are they will surprise you with a dessert (I think they still do this). If not, be sure to ask what desserts are being served, because they are always decadent and delicious!