04/19/08

Traditional sushi at its best (with a couple of fallbacks)

by cikei2000

Alright, first off note all the bad service reviews other people have said. They are not far from the truth. One guy I know described the chef as the Soup "Natsi" of Sushi.

Also, it is expensive. I've gotten bills well above $50/person at the bar.

Now for the HUGE pluses. I've been to my fair share of sushi bars, and this is by far the best is terms of freshness of ingredients and quality of dishes. This is straight up traditional sushi. You get what the chef puts in front of you, which every once in a while can be quite exotic. It has been an experience every time I've been there, since I always try something new. Yes, you don't get to really choose what the chef puts in front of you, but that is what makes the experience. (If you don't get that, then traditional sushi service is simply not for you.)

• Pros: best sushi, always something new
• Cons: limited seating, expensive

01/13/08

Refused Service

by scdemandred

My wife and I went to Sushi Wasabi at around 7:15 PM on a Saturday night. We wanted to try it based on the abundance of rave reviews on Yelp and elsewhere. The exterior is unassuming to say the least, but we've had great sushi in holes-in-the-wall before, so it wasn't the strip-mall but the 'Closed' sign that perturbed us. The lights were on and the place was packed, so we opened the door. We were greeted not with 'eratshamase,' but 'sorry, we're closed.' According to the posted business hours, they had closed about ninety minutes early.

In my experience as a restaurant-goer, I understand that a Saturday-night walk-in at such a popular place might mean a long wait to be seated. However, I have never in my life walked into a serving establishment and been refused service upon entry. According to at least one other review I've read on Citysearch, this happened before on one of their visits. The unlucky diners were told the restaurant was out of fish - at least they got a reason - despite there being fish present in the counter-top refrigeration units. I now wish I had looked to see whether they were blowing us off as this other group was done, but I really don't care. Ikko in Costa Mesa is a fantastic sushi restaurant that serves amazing sushi and does not refuse service to its customers.

We will not offer Wasabi our patronage in the future; being turned away once was enough.

• Pros: Don't know
• Cons: Refused Service

02/20/07

Please tell me this is NOT Orange County's best sushi!!

by larryowens221

Many consider this the best sushi in OC. Based on glowing reviews from locals, I expected greatness. The simple fact of the matter is Sushi Wasabi is vastly overrated. The quality is respectable, but it does not qualify as top tier given the vast wealth of Japanese sushi masters found in Southern California. Unfortunately, Wasabi is frequented by loudmouth, nitwit urban professionals who swear no better sushi can be found on the face of the earth. Japanese clientele is rare, a sure warning sign for anyone seeking out truly authentic Japanese sushi or sashimi. My review is based on three different trips. Each time, I sat at a packed omakase-only sushi bar. The itamae worked alone behind the bar that served about 15 customers. Service was extremely slow and served in a mass produced mechanical fashion. There was virtually no interaction between itamae and customer. The quality of the fish is good, portions on the small side and prices on the high side. I know of 15+ sushi bars in LA with similar quality fish and most at lower cost. That being said, Sushi Wasabi is a step below the 10 or so upper tier sushi bars found in the LA area. On my last and most likely final visit, I noted a disturbing situation. A patron walked in at 12:45 PM and was denied service. Lunch hours end at 1:40, but the hostess informed him that there was no more fish. She made this ridiculous claim when it was clearly obvious plenty of fish remained in the refrigerator unit above the sushi bar. The simple truth is this: Sushi Wasabi is understaffed and ill prepared to serve more than the smallest groups. Katsu-san seems content to serve decent fish without any passion or flair in drab ambiance with little or no human interaction. To make things worse, the Sake selection is pathetic. In total, I find very little to recommend about Sushi Wasabi.

• Pros: Decent Quality Fish
• Cons: Overcrowded, Understaffed, Slow Service, Expensive, Weak Sake Selection