03/23/09

Terrible service

by wilsondebl

When I asked some locals for a good high-end sushi spot in Venice, they pointed me to Wabi-Sabi. When we first walked in, it looked nice. It was all down hill from there. There were 5 of us and they crammed us in a table too small, and eventually took our drink orders. More than 15 minutes later, we finally got our round of drinks- and that was the last time we saw the drink girl. We were there for over an hour and a half and no one ever offered us another round. We ordered food and they messed up our order. Whne food finally arrived, it was just so so. For the price of this place, the service should have been impecable and the food extraordinary. It certainly was NOT. I have no problem payng for good service and good food. Didn't get either here. Would never go back. Go to casual Hama instead.

• Pros: Food was adequate, good location in Venice
• Cons: Abysmal service, waitstaff was incompetent

11/19/08

great sushi spot in Venice

by nic_331

I really enjoy eating at Wabi-Sabi. The sushi is always fresh, the atmosphere is always lively and the presentation is beautiful (even on to-go orders). When I order food to go, it is always garnished with little orchids or some other colorful flower, so I just take it out of the box and have a gorgeous meal to serve. I also think the service is consistently friendly and quick. I definitely recommend going here for dinner or calling in a to-go order. It's a little bit more pricey than other sushi spots in the area, but not by much and it's definitely worth it.

• Pros: really fresh sushi, nice atmosphere

09/26/08

I expected more

by laShadi

I usually go to Hama Sushi, but last night I decided to try something different. Everyone always raves about Wabi-Sabi; so many of my friends prefer it over Hama. Granted, it is a lot nicer and they have a full bar. But the food at Hama is so much better. First, I was disappointed by the small sake list. However, I happily found my favorite, Kikusui. We ordered a sashimi special, Halbuit with spicy lemon salt. This dish was amazing, the Halibut was so tender and the flavors were great. Then, our Tuna Tar Tar came, which was also delicious. However, the taste of the fish was covered by sauce and the sesame chips it came with seemed stale. Next, we ordered some sushi and a Spider roll. I could just tell that the quality of the fish wasn't very good. I feel like Salmon is the safest thing you can get at a sushi restaurant, and even that was tough and flavorless. My friend agreed wtih me about the quality of the food; he also thought that Hama was better.

I can say that the presentation of the dishes were nice, and I did like our waitress. The place does have a nice ambience, but I think I'll stick to Hama. I'm always happy when I eat there.

• Pros: Full bar, friendly service, nice ambience
• Cons: Bad quality fish, slim sake choices