Wasabi — Restaurant in Bluffton

Wasabi in Bluffton is in a great location near to Publix and also Station 300. Parking is ok and the restaurant itself looks clean and inviting. The menu seems quite large and hard to pin down just one thing that I wanted to try so I’ve been there a few times to eat different items.

My first experience there was an unagi eel bowl the quality and taste fell somewhere between high end sushi and Publix sushi. Publix no longer serves eel so I would order this again if I were craving it.

Next time was a soft shell crab deep fried and some mixed tempura. Soft shell crab was a little soggy but flavor was good. Mixed tempura was oily and not crispy, definitely a disappointment.

Most recently I called the restaurant to place my order of shishamo curry. The young man on the phone politely told me to hold while he asked the chef if they had that. He came back on the line and said yes we have shishamo curry. I was excited to hear it because shishamo was a favorite treat growing up! Opening up my lunch plate I didn’t see beautiful whole bodies of lightly fried smelt fish with all its beautiful roe instead I saw filets of panko breaded white fish (which is also on the menu by the way). Instant disappointment. The rice was perfect consistency and good amount was given. Curry had great flavor and the root veggies in it were nice and tender but the curry itself was a little too runny.

I called Wasabi and spoke with the person in charge about the fish mistake. She insisted that was shishamo that she had served me. I told her I knew the difference between white fish and shishamo ,which is smelt, but she insisted that I was mistaken. We went back and forth for a bit as she insisted shishamo and whitefish were the same thing and also that her regular customers know how to order. I was offended, disappointed and upset that she didn’t just apologize and try to smooth it over ;)

Overall the sushi is good but similar to other places in the area, other food I have tried is not worth the price, atmosphere appears pleasant, and customer service from front staff was great, but the customer service from the manager/owner/person in charge leaves something to be desired. It’s a bad sign when the head of an establishment denies and deflects a mistake instead of having integrity by being apologetic and honest about the...

After reading the article online from the island packet my wife and I had to check out Wasabi. I stopped in for lunch during the week to get a poke bowl Togo and was not disappointed very very reasonably priced and very full of fish.

I returned tonight with my wife the restaurant wasn’t very busy however they were only serving their sushi menu which was perfectly fine with us. We learned that they were set to open the around the time that the hurricane rolled through and the people that were being hired could not wait for them to open thus them being understaffed. I have no doubt that once staffed they will become a hotspot for the local area.

We sampled the sashimi, nigiri, and multiple sushi rolls. As well as beef tataki and pork gyoza. Everything came out fresh and reasonably quick. The fish was very fresh which is more then I can say for other local spots. The fried rice was delicious. And even being understaffed we were constantly waited upon.

To the owners keep pushing forward we look forward to making this a regular...

This little place just opened next door to Subway in the Publix strip mall and we thought it was excellent! We went at 3 on a Saturday afternoon. The waitress Yumi was very nice and attentive. My wife ordered the honey ginger tea which she liked a lot and I even saw Yumi chopping the fresh ginger to put in the tea. I tried an order of unagi (eel) nigiri sushi and it was perfect, fresh with just the right amount of sauce.

We had the jalapeño bomb for an appetizer and again, very fresh, excellent presentation, lots a flavor but not spicey per se.

My wife had the chicken katsu lunch box and I had the filet mignon hibachi lunch, again, both excellent.

They’re just getting started, so be patient because they’re still trying to staff up.

The decor is really nice (especially when compared to Hong Kong Cafe next door bless their hearts, take out only for that place), the phrase intimate Asian bistro comes to mind.

Give it a try and support your local mom and pop restaurants! (The...