Wabi Sabi

03/23/09

Terrible service

by wilsondebl at Citysearch

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 at Citysearch

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 at Citysearch

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

08/07/08

Great cooked dishes

by foodielover12 at Citysearch

I love my local sushi spot. The sushi is really good but I love the cooked dishes even more. The mushroom wontons, black cod, garlic spinich, and crab cakes are all amazing. I even had a friend I took here from Maryland and he said they were some of the best crab cakes he's had. The service is always friendly and efficient. You should make a reservation or you have to wait sometimes, or you just sit at the bar! Great local neighborhhod spot!

07/26/08

GOODBYE WABISABI !

by jsantamonica at Citysearch

I use to love this place. It was my goto sushi joint on the Westside. The food was always good, the staff always friendly and the atmosphere was always chill. Unfortunately all of that has changed. I went there with my girlfriend last night. When we arrived, we asked for a table however, we were told we'd have to eat at the sushi bar. No problem even though there were a few tables open the entire time that we were there. I knew we were in for a bad experience right from the get go when the waitress took our order and was acting extremely rude b/c god forbid we ask a question about the sake menu prior to ordering a $30 - $40 bottle. In addition, I think the waitress had been drinking or on something b/c she was slurring her words and was practically incoherent (something along the lines of a space cadet). After she brought out the sake, we ordered a beer. It took a while for her to bring the beer only to begin serving it to the group next to us. She eventually realized her mistake and brought it to us as well as the entire table by spilling it everywhere. The hostess tried to help clean up by putting a napkin down and dabbing the mess expecting me to clean it up. Then to top things off, I had to shout "excuse me" to the sushi chef as he'd been ignoring us for at least 20 minutes to order our first dish and continued to ignore us through out or stay. It's not like they were understaffed or extremely busy last night. Needless to say, the only time we saw our waitress after the beer shower was when it was time for our bill. It would have been nice for her to check in every now and then but she couldn't pull herself away from her indepth conversation with the couple next to us. In all do fairness, the food is still decent for the price however, after being treated like this and having spent thousands of $'s there every year, I WILL NOT BE BACK. GOODBYE WABISABI.

• Pros: Ambience
• Cons: Horrible service and rude staff

11/02/07

so rude

by mushroom5 at Citysearch

Foods were mediocre, and both the owner and one server were so rude and aloof when I complained about their mistake. I will NEVER go back there again, but if you go there, check what you ordered and your receipt very carefully. Their server may not admit that she brought $40 drink instead of $8 one( she may also get mad at you for not noticing her mistake and drinking it). And the owner wouldn't say "Sorry," but would say "oh, I will give you credit, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHY I DO IT!" Because they were so rude, I didn't go back and get credit. Why would I want to eat their stuff again? There are lots of better REAL Japanese restaurants that know how to hundle their mistakes, and have nice workers. Wabi-Sabi has the worst customer service for sure. Just go to other restaurants and actually have a good time.

07/27/07

Horrible Attitude, snooty service

by tmaile at Citysearch

I used to love this place. But the last three times I have eaten there I have been treated rudely... Hostess, and server both acted as if they and their restaurant didn't need my patronage. Is it because of the restaurants success? What a shame. I will never be back.

02/20/07

a vast array of Japanese fusion flavors

by jazzrider2 at Citysearch

I had very high expectations for this place going in because they'd been recommend by a friend of mine who is a fusion connoisseur. I personally tend to prefer more authentic Japanese food. What I found at Wabi-Sabi was actually more on the authentic side than I had expected. The menu showed (in my opinion) a lot of respect for authentic Japanese food, offering mostly authentic Japanese dishes with slight fusion twists. Even though I hadn't planned on eating much sushi, I did decide to try some, and it was as good as I had expected after reading rave reviews here. Of the other dishes we got, the rock shrimp tempura was my favorite, but it was all good. The service was also all around very good, from the moment we walked in. It was a Monday night, so we only had to wait about five minutes for a table for two.

• Pros: great variety, beautiful presentation, friendly service
• Cons: you'll be spending upwards of $50 per person before you know it

02/07/07

Mmmmmmmm

by monkeyboyrit at Citysearch

This place is awesome. Nice vibe and the sushi is great. Thumbs way up for the skirt steak and garlic mash taters. Looking forward to dining there again and I would definitely recommend this place.

Wacky name aside, this funky East-meets-West fusion restaurant is serious about dining.

by Contributor at Citysearch

Part sushi joint, part chic Asian bistro, Wabi-Sabi exemplifies the eclectic character of its boho-chic Abbot Kinney Boulevard location. Japanese in concept, fusion in flavor, it melds industrial decor with a casual atmosphere and personable service. While there's an extensive choice of top-quality sushi, there's more to a menu that pairs such items as battered onion rings and a sweet pumpkin puree with grilled beef filet.