New sushi spot brings shareable plates to Lakewood Ranch. Take a look inside
A phone call helped spark some of the diverse menu inspiration at a new Lakewood Ranch restaurant that offers sushi and much more.
Daniel Dokko first met Brian Briones about five years ago, but it wasn’t until Briones called him in August looking for a job that the two got to know each other better.
After Briones made his grandmother’s pork spring roll recipe for Dokko, it was clear it needed to be added to the menu at Dokko’s newest restaurant in Lakewood Ranch.
“It was something that I immediately fell in love with,” Dokko said. “He made it, and I was like, ‘Oh, it’s gotta go on the menu.’”
Kurō Sushi recently opened at 8126 Lakewood Main St., Unit 102.
The food is a melting pot of Asian cuisine, featuring dishes such as spring rolls from Briones’ Filipino heritage and Vietnamese pho from another chef at the restaurant.
“It’s what I love to eat,” Dokko said. “It doesn’t really matter the country, it’s just what I love to eat. I’ll drive miles to eat pho … it’s stuff that we love.”
Menu spotlights sushi and more
The restaurant’s menu features a variety of sushi rolls in a nigiri, sashimi or maki style.
Nigiri has raw fish or other seafood on top of the sushi roll, sashimi is prepared as slices of raw fish, and maki are sushi rolls with rice and fillings wrapped in nori seaweed.
In addition to sushi, Kurō’s kitchen menu includes signature items such as Galbi ribs and tempura corn with a yuzu mayo.
Other food items include wagyu pho, crispy pork spring rolls, shishito peppers, edamame, koji steamed chicken, beef tataki and other assorted hot and cold plates.
Sushi typically runs $11-$25, with cold plates ranging in price from $17 to $22 and most hot plates from $6 to $14.
The restaurant also features an omakase experience at marketprice. Omakase means “I’ll leave it up to you,” in Japanese. It’s a multi-course culinary experience with each dish served one at a time and the chef selecting each one.
Kurō also has a full liquor bar, with a variety of sake, Japanese whiskey, cocktails, beer and wine.
Kurō brings new restaurant concept to Lakewood Ranch
It’s the fourth restaurant Dokko has opened in the area.
In 2008, he opened JPan Sushi & Grill in Sarasota. A second JPan location opened in 2016 at the University Town Center, and he also owns Korê Steakhouse, which opened in 2022, in Sarasota County’s Waterside Place.
Kurō is his first location in Lakewood Ranch.
“It’s different than JPan,” Dokko said. “We do small plates, so everything is meant to be shared. … The idea is to get six different (items) and then try different things.”
The restaurant seats 80 inside and 40 outside.
Kurō is open Monday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch service. Dinner service runs 4:30 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
For more information, visit KuroSushi.bar.
This story was originally published November 11, 2025 at 5:50 AM.
