Isn’t the first rule of opening any business “location, location, location”? Despite being so close to Highway PD and Seminole Highway, Namio’s Sports Pub is set back behind other buildings and consequently is hidden from the road.
That may explain why in my three visits the place was dead. Once, for lunch, I thought the place was closed. Another, at 10:30 on a Saturday night, it felt odd to be drinking in such a large space with hardly anyone else around.
Despite the lack of patrons, Namio’s actually has pretty good food. You can’t go wrong with the steak burger ($7.99), for example. The flavor was wonderful and further enhanced by the cheddar I added, and the kaiser bun was soft yet strong enough to support the juicy patty. The accompanying sweet potato fries had the perfect ratio of crunchy exterior to soft interior.
I also was impressed by the fried fish (available beginning at 5 p.m. Friday), especially the crisp and light breading that was used. It did need just a hint of salt, though. I chose the hash browns with fried onions as the side and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Regarding the “sports pub” in Namio’s name, I hate that bars use the term so liberally. There are a few flat panel TVs scattered throughout the space, but I wouldn’t go here to watch a game unless I was too lazy to go downtown (or even BW3s just down the street).
Namio’s is open for lunch, dinner and carryout every day, with daily happy hour and nightly drink specials.
By my count, you can order sushi in at least six restaurants downtown–Osaka House, Red Sushi Grill, Restaurant Muramoto, Soga, Takara, Wasabi and 
Sushi is divided into special rolls and regular rolls, so I of course chose from the former list. The delicious Volcano roll ($12) is made from tempura spicy tuna and generously topped with red tobiko. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a roll this beautiful. The spicy mayo was a nice touch.
Like Crave, T Sushi does have a robust martini list. I have yet to encounter a bad lychee martini, and the Lily’s lychee martini here is no exception, although it didn’t come with a full lychee in it. A warning that the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake martini is like drinking pure sugar.
