Wasabi House

Reviews 3

ER

Eric Lemley

--Hibachi-- If you choose to sit at the Hibachi tables (where the chef cooks in front of you), know that the chefs experience and skills are varying. One time, you might have an exciting, skilled chef. Another time, you might get little more than a grill guy. Also, be aware that the chefs are considerate to families with young children. Some little ones might be a bit frightened at the action [as was my 6yo girl on our 1st visit]. In this case, the chef may tone-down his performance. I cant help but to feel that the other patrons at our table were a little cheated out of a show. --Sushi/Sashimi-- The sushi and sashimi were about what you would expect as decent quality in a country where these types of fare dont enjoy the mainstream popularity that they do in East-Asian cultures. Everything was packaged neatly. And the food was fresh. But, it lacked the skillful expression of a true artist. --Appetisers/Main Course-- Again, expect a Westernized approach to traditional Japanese fare. As with most imported dishes, sauces and flavorings were sweetened up a bit. And traditional spices and ingredients were substituted with local offerings, to fit American palates. The overall food culture respectably attempted a reasonable Nihon experience. However, (as all successful foreign restaraunters know) a 100% accurate representation would result in poor sales, and a failed business. The overall food quality, while acceptable (and likable to most), certainly left something to be desired. The coconut shrimp had a good flavor, but was bit too chewy (although, its not meant to be a crispy dish). And the Yaki-Tori was tasty. The veggies were good (and pretty authentic tasting). But the chicken was a tad over-done and tough. I would recommend the Gyoza to anyone [even my Chinese wife liked them]. The Hibachi Main Dishes [Chicken, Shrimp, & Steak... w/ noodles, veggies, & fried rice] were above par, when compared to the Asian cuisine at your local mall. But they werent anything that Id really rave over, honestly. All of the dishes had an, overall, similar flavor [since they used similar seasonings]. And nothing really stood out as being impressive. The flavor-level of all of the dishes was, what I would describe as weak. Everything tasted like it needed salt, pepper, and/or spices of any kind. I added some salt to my leftovers, at home, and it didnt help. There was no flavor to enhance with the salt. It just tasted salty. I kept telling myself: "Were here for the experience, not to find great food." --Price & Value-- For 2 adult hibachi dishes, 2 child hibachi dishes, and 3 side dishes, my familys total bill was $107 [or about $50 above what our family usually spends to eat out]. Then, add the tip to that. --Note: Roughly, about $24 per adult, $10 per kid, and $8 per side (plus beverages). The portions were large. And all 4 of us ended up taking half of our food home with us (which was a dream come true for our cat, who cleaned up a lot of the leftovers). --Takeaway-- We left the restaurant feeling full. In fact, we arrived at 2pm for lunch. And my wife and I still feel heavy and bloated at 11:30pm. [While this is kind of normal for this type of food, this particular experience is a bit much.] --Recommendations-- I would describe my familys personal experience as slightly above so-so. However, we have many friends (and their kids) who really like this restaurant! Everyones taste is different. Some may be unimpressed, while others will rave for ages. I would say: "Go, at least once, for the experience. But dont hold high expectations. This way, you wont be disappointed. But you might be pleasantly surprised!" If you like Sushi, Sashimi, and Maki: This will be a pleasant experience [unless youre a connoisseur.] If you like novel experiences: Take a trip here. [It makes for an interesting 1st date, or b-day meal.] If you want authenticity, or a laudable food experience: find a hole-in-the-wall restaurant owned and run by an immigrant family.

AS

Ashley D.

I made a reservation for 8 people for New Year’s Eve about a month prior to the day. Unfortunately, a week before New Year’s Eve one of my friends found out that she had to work an hour later. I called to see if there was any way to move the reservation from 6pm to 7pm; the manager Paul told me I could not and that I was “lucky to even have a reservation during the prime time”. I said I would just keep the reservation as it was and he replied that it was “a good idea”. This manager was rather rude and condescending but I decided I would try and make the best of things. The next day my mom suggested I call back and see if there had been any cancelations so I did. When the woman on the phone told me there had not been I asked if she could take my number and call me if there was a cancelation. She put me on hold for a moment and came back to let me know she spoke to the manager there (a woman this time) and this manager was able to get us in at 7pm. I thanked her profusely and took the reservation. Come the day of New Year’s Eve, my fiancé and I left for the restaurant when I realized I left my phone at home so I had to take the back way that I knew to get to the restaurant. This caused us to arrive at 7:04pm, 4 minutes late; however, the other six people in our party were already there. We walk in and my sister-in-law tells me that the manager Paul had threatened to give away our reservation because of this! They would not even sit the other six people of our party until we got there! I could not believe the audacity that Paul was threatening to give away our reservation when we were only 4 minutes late while the majority of our party was there! So, we get seated and try not to let this ruin our night. The chef was entertaining and the waiter was polite. We did have several issues with the food. The chicken half of us ordered was extremely dry and tough; no amount of yum-yum sauce could make up for this. My fiancé had ordered steamed rice but they gave him the fried rice instead; we waited for the waiter to come back to have this fixed but it took him too long and so my fiancé just dealt with it. Finally, the lobster tails that came with my parents’ meals were quite obviously not fresh but frozen and tasted fishy. For the amount that dinner here costs the food should be fresh and never frozen. This experience was simply abysmal. Sadly, Wasabi has lost the business of 8 people because of this. I hope they take this as an opportunity to learn from their mistakes and retrain their manager Paul to be more customer-oriented. If we want to experience a Hibachi in the future, we will take our business elsewhere.

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chad curtis

From a friend of ours today. This chain is officially off our list. They are ignorant! We wont be visiting this restaurant again! Well, last night we went to Wasabi Japanese Steakhouse in Fairlawn for dinner. The chef came to our table looked at us and eyed up the kids. He said "did you buy them online"? I shook my head no and looked down. He proceeded to say "3 Asian kids, did you buy them online"? I said "no we adopted them". He could tell I was mad. I got up went upfront and told the assistant manager what had happened. I was crying and she was crying too as she was a Korean adoptee. She said she was very so very sorry and she said she wanted to talk to the manager and come back and talk to us. I wanted to get up and leave at this but I was so upset I felt frozen and the kids would have all been so disappointed to have to leave. So, we were stuck there with this man who finished cooking our food. My stomach was so sick. Yin Bai looks up at me and says "Why did that man say you bought me online". I am so heart broken for my kids, how unfair that they cant ever go out to eat without hearing horrible stuff like this. And to top it all off the manger came by and offered us free dessert, "I said, no thank you, we dont want to stay here any longer than we have too". I really still cant believe this happened today, and still puts my stomach in knots thinking about it. I wish we would have just got up and left, but I was so in shock. My kids never asked for any of this yet they have to pay the price. Kristy