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Wasabi Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar
Categories: Restaurants Japanese Restaurants Sushi Bars Japanese, Sushi Bars [Edit]
41 Clarence StOttawa, ON K1N 5P4
(613) 241-3636
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Dinner
15 reviews for Wasabi Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar
15 reviews in English
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Review from Spike D.
3/15/2011
In a choice between Kinki and Wasabi for lunch, I rank Wasabi slightly higher.
Sushi is consistently fresh and well presented. Bento box lunches have a good variety.
Usually has a busy enough lunch trade to indicate nothing dodgy going on in the kitchen Staff is personable and professional.
Downside - prices are fair for the region but they don't do coupons like Kinki does. -
Review from Cal Z.
5/7/2012
It's a very large restaurant with outdoor seating. It was very quiet when we dropped in for dinner on a Sunday night. Only a total of eight people including ourselves were dining there. Food could have been better, but it could have been much worse too. We ordered the salmon teriyaki, chicken udon, and a donburi. Restaurants are quite expensive in Canada on the whole with Ottawa not being outdone. It sure beat The Fish Market nearby though.
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Review from Erik M.
11/22/2011
Great place to have Sushi. The sushi boat come with a great selection, and the bento box is a cool meal, but I do prefer the Sushi over all.
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Review from Coy W.
4/14/2011 4 Check-ins Here
The decent sushi choices are few and far between in Ottawa. You have the all you can eat places which is horrendous or the sushi restaurants which are slightly better than horrendous.
I had a chance to drop in to Wasabi recently and it was ok sushi for anywhere which means it's good for Ottawa! There seems to be a serious lack of decent Asian places in town.
We ordered spider, unagi, spicy tuna, volcano rolls and some edamame.
I started off trying the spicy tuna roll and unagi rolls. The spicy tuna rolls were pretty fresh...but there was no spice.
The unagi rolls were up next. I really couldn't taste the unagi but again it tasted fresh.
I moved onto the spider rolls. They were a little large but they were actually pretty good! I was happy as this is usually one of my favourites.
The volcano roll was next and that was ok. These came in massive pieces!
I think this might be my sushi place in Ottawa if anyone wants to get some in the near future. -
Review from C E.
Port Moody, BC
1/22/2011
After a long day and a disappointing meal at another Byward Market restaurant the night before we decided on Wasabi Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar.
Great place to go if you don't have reservations at any of the areas other well rated restaurants.
Large menu, good service and a decent meal. -
Review from Jonathan W.
Calgary, AB
7/25/2010
Sushi in the market is really a bust.
This place has been around for a long time and because of its location, it really draws in the tourists but then reality sets in.
Just poor quality food, ingredients. Portions are large but you really don't want to finish it. Large dining space but your craving won't be satisfied. -
Review from Matt M.
Ottawa, ON
10/9/2009
Having lived in Japan for a couple years I can easily call this the best Japanese restaurant in Ottawa, hands down. In fact, it's one of my favorite places to eat anywhere in the city. I've eaten here probably 20-30 times in my life.
The owner is always present, doting over and attending to customers. He really makes every effort to make people feel comfortable. The staff at this Japanese restaurant are predominantly Japanese which in my experience is a BIG plus (if you know why then you understand why I mention this).
The food is authentic and very skillfully prepared and presented and i've never had anything close to a bad experience with staff. They are polite but not bubbly. Just as it should be in this style of restaurant.
If you value authenticity then this is the best Japanese restaurant in the city. Yes, that means the starter salad is quite simple consisting of a few fresh, simple ingredients (mostly lettuce) and a delicious sesame or ginger dressing. There are very cool things on the menu that aren't often found in Japanese restaurants outside of Japan, e.g. Jellyfish! (i'm not saying its the most delicious fish to try, i'm just saying the fact it's on the menu says alot about the confidence and creativity of the chef!).
The litmus test for a quality Japanese restaurant for me is always the tempura. Take one bite of the tempura at Wasabi and you know you are in the right place. It's always kari-kari (crispy) and occasionally, though not always, prepared using traditional vegetables including Daikon (lotus root).
I give it 5 stars for service, food, ambience, location and price. -
Review from Ted A.
Toronto, ON
Found the menu selection to be more limited and more expensive than other Japanese places I've been to, but it's in a hot location and is a large and nice atmosphere, so go in as if you're paying for the whole experience, buy a bottle of wine, and enjoy yourself.
We did just this, and splurged on the delicious (and expensive) Sushi boat for two. This is about $64 and has a large arrangement of sushi for two people to share. I highly recommend it, it's some of the best sushi I've had. Usually when I have sushi, I don't find myself very full, but this will fill you up as well. The presentation is great too, everyone will look and smile when they see the boat of sushi come out (check out the pic I posted!)
That's all we had, but the dishes at other people's tables looked great too, and everyone was enjoying themselves. The staff were very friendly and offered to move us to a patio seat when one became available without us needing to ask, and they were very patient with how long it took us to order and our questions about the menu.
Overall a great experience, but a little pricier than it should be, even for a nice place, so it loses one star. -
Review from Azim A.
Ottawa, ON
10/7/2008
Wasabi is cute place in the market area, often a lunchtime favourite for nearby downtown office workers. The decor and atmosphere is inviting particularly during the evening dinner hours, when its not as bustling and hectic.
The food is decent, though not outstanding. The Maguro, Salmoe Roe, and Sawara good sushi selections. But be careful of the Orangle clam or Tri Maki unless you have a very strong stomach!
Wasabi has a pretty solid selection for vegetarians, if a little bland. The Yasai Maki mixed vegetables are worth trying.
The staff is helpful, though a bit slow. -
Review from Gizzie D.
5/18/2011
Meh, I've experienced better really sums it up. I got the sushi and sashimi plate. It was mediocre. I really have doubts as to how fresh the fish was too. So I spent the 2 hours after dinner worrying about whether or not I am going to get food poisoning in Canada. It may be my paranoia however I do think that Ottawa may not be the best place for Japanese food - judging by some of the other reviews...
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Review from Matthew M.
10/21/2009
I have been to Wasabi twice and both times enjoyed myself immensely. Traveling can be a solitary trek at times and Wasabi is comfort. You can dress nice or down, go alone order a wonderful martini and feast on fresh-mouth-watering sushi. When going to Ottawa I always look forward to going to Wasabi.
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Review from R R.
1/15/2011 1 photo
There do not seem to be good sushi options in Ottawa. This place, however, was the exception. I had the Jungle roll which was the best unique roll I have ever had. The Jungle roll has banana, mango and avocado. The jungle roll went very well with their special spicy salmon roll (or any other spicy roll I would imagine).
Update: I just tried Sushi Umi and it takes the prize of best sushi in Ottawa, in my opinion. -
Review from C G.
Montréal, QC
5/26/2010 3 photos
Wasabi is a really nice place to hang out and chill with friends. They have outdoor seating and inside the restaurant they have nice decor and ambiance, feels like in a bar.
The korean fried noodles for me is just mediocre but I totally love the tempura sushi. -
Review from Katcho M.
Edmonton, AB
8/19/2010
We stumbled on Wasabi on a stroll through the market and we were so glad we did! Somewhat slow service due to how busy it was, but worth the wait. Salmon dinner (maki and sushi plate) was fresh and tasty. Vegetarian bento was excellent. Came with a superb miso soup, smoky garlicky watercress, an innovative seaweed and shitake stuffed maki, agedashi tofu perfectly executed mmmmmm..... The garden salad that came with the bento was obviously filler, but everything else was top notch. Great ambiance and friendly host.
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Review from Eric B.
Ottawa, ON
3/19/2010
Can't say I was particularly impressed by this sushi restaurant. The spicy tuna maki was not very fresh and a bit chewy. The shrimp sushi was dipped in tempura batter which overwhelmed the taste. Worst of all, the service was extremely slow, with the sushi taking over 30 minutes to serve.
