Wabi Sabi Salon — Restaurant in Melbourne

I felt conflicted about leaving this review, wary of spreading negativity, but this needs to be said. I don’t want to bottle it up & I need the closure to move on from this.

My experience began with awe at the amazing retro aesthetics & lively atmosphere. After a 10min wait for a table (peak hour), the waiter at the door gave us a 3 seater table. Another waiter asked us if someone had seated us there, as if we weren’t supposed to be there. We didn’t think much of it, & said the first waiter directed us there. A waitress gave us menus & took our orders at 1:10PM, based on the timestamp on my screenshot of their Insta.

I was chatting to my friend (both of us were one of the few Asians there at this point) when we were asked to move to the upstairs bench so a group of 3 could be seated there instead. We carried our own water, napkins & cutlery upstairs. We lost track of time chatting until it was already 2PM; 50 minutes had passed since we first ordered. We should have checked after 30mins, but making sure they had our order was not our responsibility.

My friend checked on the order, stating that about 1hr had passed since we ordered. The waiter replied, “what did you order? I’ll look into it”, & later to his credit as she was walking away, “sorry for the wait, our kitchen is really backed up at the moment”. Good hospitality practice would have been to apologise sincerely & fast track a forgotten order to the start of the queue. Depending on restaurant protocols, complimentary drinks or a discounted meal would have been a reasonable goodwill gesture.

Upstairs, a pair of white-presenting girls had just been seated & asked me if they go downstairs to order. I told them we had been waiting for 1hr; they should go downstairs to order if they want food. To our shock & dismay, both of them got their food within 15mins, while we were still empty-handed. The white-presenting trio we were bumped from our first table for were already halfway through their meal.

This demonstrated that our wait wasn’t simply an issue of kitchen inefficiency. It wasn’t that the food was not being cooked, they had just chosen not to serve us. I am still in disbelief about the blatantly selective hospitality existing in Australia in 2025.

What is disappointing to me as someone who has had 8 years of hospitality experience is not just that they lost our order — but more importantly how they handled it. It happens, but the way a place responds shows their integrity. As a place that calls itself Japanese, there was a startling lack of Japanese hospitality — it was saddening to see the nonchalant attitude, dismissiveness & lack of proactivity in solving our issue apart from, “its coming soon”.

By 2:30PM (1hr 20min later), we had tried to remain as positive by laughing the situation off & listing things we were grateful for in life, but it was becoming too much so we decided to leave. On the way out, she told the waiter we were leaving, to which he replied casually, “oh they haven’t given you your food yet?” — no further apology or investigation on what actually went wrong. It took us until after 2:37PM for us to get a bite, from Huxtaburger instead.

Seeing Reviews, it made sense the extended wait time was a regular occurrence during a busy lunch hour. What didn’t make sense was, the majority of customers who had a 40-60min+ wait time were non-white. Surnames like Yang, Hutama, Jang, Teh, Yun, Yen, Singh, Ding, & Tangtanawit. Whatever the reason, this reads like discrimination; other reviewers have pointed out, & isn’t a good look, especially at an Asian eatery partially staffed by Asians.

Am I wrong to feel indignant about yesterday? There are worse things in life than what happened. This review is not intended to be vindictive. While these events won’t hurt the business, they’ve repeatedly hurt customers. I hope this prompts them to improve their practices, so these issues are minimised & managed well when they do occur. While I have lost 1.5hrs of my life I will never get back, this doesn’t have to happen to others. Wabi Sabi,...

Wabi Sabi Salon sits above Smith Street like a little Tokyo apartment, all paper lanterns, mismatched ceramics and shelves of lucky cats peeking out from wooden beams. Low lighting and indie jazz create a cosy hush, yet the open kitchen still lets you catch the sizzle of karaage hitting hot oil and the thrum of “irasshaimase” each time the door opens. It feels instantly transportive without tipping into theme‑park territory.

Food strikes a smart balance between comfort classics and seasonal specials. We started with house pickles and gently smoky miso eggplant, followed by an oden pot that arrived steaming with daikon, tofu and a soy‑dashi broth perfect for Melbourne winter nights. The sashimi set was impressively fresh, slices of kingfish and salmon fanned like origami across hand‑thrown plates. Chicken karaage delivered the ideal crunch‑to‑juicy ratio while a vegan katsu curry swapped meat for panko‑crumbed pumpkin and did not feel like a compromise. Portions encourage sharing which lets you sample more of the menu, and the sake list ranges from crisp junmai to rich nigori if you want to explore beyond standard pours.

Service is warm and attentive without hovering. Staff happily explain unfamiliar dishes, check spice and gluten needs, and top up water before glasses run dry. Bookings are wise on weekends; the narrow staircase and intimate dining room fill fast, though takeaway trays slide neatly into the footpath crowd when the wait list grows. Prices sit in the mid‑range for Collingwood dining and feel fair once you factor in the evident care taken with produce and presentation. Wabi Sabi Salon offers a mellow pocket of Japanese hospitality that rewards both quick weeknight drop‑ins and slower celebratory dinners.

A ten out of ten in my personal...

Having lived in japan and eaten many teishoku sets there, here in Melbourne and even made at home....I find it difficult to say but here is was not enjoyable for me at all. The prices here are very overpriced and expensive...and to have my favorite ito en can of green tea for $6 is the most expensive I've ever bought dine in anywhere. I feel like my meal had been sitting awhile before being served as the miso soup was cold, rice just going from room temp to cold, salmon was just warm. The star of the sides was the agedashi tofu with mushroom which was the only thing I enjoyed. The zucchini and pumpkin was OK but the two Beetroot sides were bland and I disliked the curried cauliflower. The Tan tan ramen was pretty much like any other tan tan in Melbourne, nothing special. It was worth it to see the hype. The atmosphere is beautiful and staff seem nice even though the guy who took our order didn't understand I wanted lemonade as he looked over and over on the menu before saying they didn't have until I pointed the lemonade it in their drink fridge. Even $5 for a can is very expensive. This is not me recommending coming herd. I'm sure people do love the food but for me very disappointing. My feedback might be to train staff on knowledge of drinks, maybe keep some of the teishoku side dishes Traditional as I suspect it's very experimental and maybe look at lowering the prices of your drinks. At the current moment unfortunately I will not be a current returning customer. Wishing all the best.

If anyone is wanting a great teishoku set I highly recommend Ima Asa Yoru in Brunswick or Haiku...