Wagaya is absolutely the BEST Japanese, potentially best Asian, restaurant I've ever been to!

Most of the Japanese restaurants I've come to enjoy in my area are Chinese owned. Surprisingly enough, this was the first time I had found a Japanese owned Japanese restaurant. The description we read about it got us super excited to visit while we were visiting Georgia during a monthly Sweet Hut and Great Wall Supermarket trip.

It 230% lived up to our expectations and imaginations. Odd number, I know. My entire party loves Japanese culture and cuisine so to find an authentic Japanese restaurant was a huge deal. We read the menu items and had expectations of how they would be, it was even better. The ONLY downsides to this restaurant was (1) they were currently out of the Matcha IPA - we were most excited to try this and (2) the location is kind sketchy at night. Being from such a small town, it was hard to navigate and feel comfortable leaving my vehicle in a place I couldn't hear or see it and it wasn't the most exquisite end to an almost perfect experience as we passed a man going down the steps to our car who stopped two stairs behind us to start urinating on the stairway.

Regardless, we cannot resist going back (though we may plan to stop during daylight hours). Next time I will also bring a fully charged phone for more photos.

We tried the Choya Plum Wine, Hitachino Ginger Ale and Anbai Ale, a Kyoko beer, Salmon Onigiri, and a dinner set that included White Rice, Gyoza, Karaage, and Tonkatsu Ramen. I'm not much of a drinker so I only tried sips of the "suds" and am unable review them. The food though... The Salmon Onigiri was absolutely perfect and I was unaware I liked pickled radish until last night. It was also my first time trying Karaage - it was so shockingly juicy yet crisp! The Gyoza and Rice were also hot and delicious! The pork in the Ramen was cooked so wonderfully - it was tender and flavorful and paired perfectly with the creamy broth! I wish I could have eaten more.

I cannot stress enough how excited yet upset I am over this establishment. Excited to go back and try more menu items, but upset that this restaurant is so far away from me. If it wasn't a 5 hour drive, Wagaya would be a staple part of my diet.