Madante's Review: Wa's Sushi

[pinoyhero]

Just north of 16Ave on Center.

Food: 2.5/5
Service: 3/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Value: 2.5/5
Tilt: 2/5

Total: 13/25

I heard a few good things about this place from some member's of this board and thought I'd give it a shot.

The food was nothing special by any means, it was actually pretty plain and the portions were small given the prices. Just your typical run of the mill sushi.

The service was decent, again noting spectacular. Since the servers didn't speak the best english I had to resort to writing down the numbers of the menu items we wanted, this cheapened the experience. I wrote down the wrong number for an item (got tempura eel rather than tempura shrimp), and when it got to the table I told them I meant to order the shrimp. The brought my order back to me with the menu to prove me wrong rather than allow me to change my mind. I know it was my error but at times places will allow the switch and hence get a better raring.

Ambiance was (hate to say it again) just plain. A small place which made it slighty intimate and the chef's where right out in the opne which was cool. However the miss painted trim and overall aged tone of the place made it pretty bland. A clean enough place to eat in but your not gonna impress anyone in this joint.

For my girl and I, the bill can to $55 (after tax before tip), and we had only tea to drink. We finished everything we ordered but since it wasn't that great I was kinda left eating the last bits due to hunger not because I liked it. You can get the same sushi quality elsewhere for a better price or better quality for the same price at many places.

I tilted this thing just below average (2 vs. 2.5) because I had high expectations for the place but my date and I left wishing we would have spent that money on better sushi, or better food for that matter.

I do not recommend Wa's suhi.

[Maxt]

I am gonna say this, for a Canadian review to what you expect to have in Canada as a Canadian eatery, you may be right..

However as far as "authentic" Japanese eateries go, wa's is the closest and the best thing I have had here in Canada, what you will notice to be the main difference between Wa's and other places,here in town, is there are mostly Japanese customers eating there... People are expecting to get wowed off their feet with spices and herbs in the food it seems here, Japanese food is traditionally pretty bland, it might be classified even as salty at best, thats why I like Japanese food, I can't stand spicy over herbed dished, it makes me burp for hours afterward, I find people comment on Japanese food, as "well thats it? All I could I tasted was the tasted of the meat", thats the aim of good Japanese cooking...


I had to resort to writing down the numbers of the menu items we wanted, this cheapened the experience.

This has the opposite effect on me, since it gives me small chance to practice my Japanese..

If you didn't like tha ambience of the place, all I can say is don't bother going to Japan, pretty much every independent family run restaurant is like that in Japan, all its missing is the Daikin air conditioner humming away... I am not sure how you spent 55.00, we ate there yesterday and left totally stuffed for 21.00 including tax ...
If you are looking for a place like Cilantro's , Wa's isnt for you, if you are looking for a place like Hasegawa's bento, on the other hand, Wa's is pretty damn good...Maxt

[1badPT]

I haven't been to wa's but it sounds similar to Tokyo Garden - would you say its better or worse? We usually order the sushi boat there and leave completely stuffed for about $45 (incl tip and tea for drink).

[pinoyhero]

Originally posted by 1badPT
I haven't been to wa's but it sounds similar to Tokyo Garden - would you say its better or worse? We usually order the sushi boat there and leave completely stuffed for about $45 (incl tip and tea for drink).

Taking into account the response posted by Maxt, I would say that for me, Tokyo garden is overall a better restuarant. However, if you are looking for traditional Japanese food then Wa's would be better. If you are looking for sushi that's a little more like what Canadians are used to then I suggest Tokyo Garden. If you want to step up a few bucks I recommend Zen8, by far the best sushi in town. I will write up a reivew on Zen8 soon.

[Fuji]

Originally posted by pinoyhero


Taking into account the response posted by Maxt, I would say that for me, Tokyo garden is overall a better restuarant. However, if you are looking for traditional Japanese food then Wa's would be better. If you are looking for sushi that's a little more like what Canadians are used to then I suggest Tokyo Garden. If you want to step up a few bucks I recommend Zen8, by far the best sushi in town. I will write up a reivew on Zen8 soon.


Personally I thought Zen8 tastes like crap. Peoples tastes are different I guess tho. I like Wa's its very good, so is Kawa.

I am not directing this at you in particular, but a lot of people don't know what to look for in sushi so it's tough to realize what is good and what isn't.

[t-im]

I personally think Zen 8 is gross too, but many seem to like it

[Skyline_Addict]

Maxt knows his stuff. Japanese cuisine's emphasis is all about the natural taste of foods, using herbs, natural oils, etc. That's why tempura tastes so bland.
Many asian restaurants in Canada strive to impress westerners by making dishes catered to their needs. eg: ginger beef - not an authentic chinese dish, but created to suit westerners...and they love it.

[abyss]

I love sushi, but I didn't like Zen 8 at all. I've never been to Wa's although I have the same sort of tastes as Maxt, so I will definately try there. I was only in Japan for 2 weeks, but god do I miss the food there.

[dragonone]

no kidding
there ain't no super-sized combo 5 at wa's lol
it's pretty creative and gd food, better than ur typical california/alberta roll
tokyo garden blows btw
never been to zen 8 but looking at this thread and the things i hear i'm not trying it

[k_dawg]

Thanks for the review, I was thinking about going but wasn't sure if I really wanted to.