Wasabi Japanese Sushi & Cuisine — Restaurant in Jacksonville

I want to rate higher. Maybe next visit. We arrived a little before 8:30 pm. They close at 10:00pm. We were escorted to a table in a hidden corner where one seat is the window seat slightly elevated from the other chair, with a jenky pillow. There were other empty tables, where others were sitting. My companion was okay sitting in the window box seat, so I couldn't complain. It felt weird. Once the food arrived, my friend ordered a mild meal, but, he gasped and coughed, saying the food was "too spicy" once he got a hold of himself. The waitress came over and affably shared "the cook is learning to moderate his use of spices." That explanation felt weird. I ordered sushi, and I also began coughing and gasping, my eyes teared uncontrollably for a minute. It wasn't the Wasabi. That was strange. My friend liked his food, eventhough he felt that it was inappropriately considered "mild." My meal included 6 sushi that appeared to have just rice an avocado. Maybe that's what I ordered, the descriptions of the food on the menu were unexpectedly miniscule. I was given, soy sauce, ginger, and wasabi, I couldn't request the sweet liquidy sauce that normally comes with sushi (it incorporates rice sake) because I couldn't remember the name. My bad. Anyway, the fish was really good without the sake dip. We were hungry and at a normal to fast rate. At 9;39, the waitress came to our table and stated, "Unfortunately, we are closing, and asked what we would like to take home. I continued to eat. At 9:55 pm, as we were finishing, she repeated herself and said they like to close early and began to discuss the conditions of the bathroom after a long. day that precipitates them closing earlier than advertised. I took my last bite a few minutes before 10 (the fact that I had that level of awareness of the time is significant). I would say service appeared to be affable. All staff were attentive. Food was good. Just a few weirdnesses that tell me to try again in a few months, arrive earlier next time,...

I've been there in the past. Its consistent. The owners are super nice. I went with friends who were familiar with them. The restaurant was packed when we got there, but we got a seat relatively quick. Its not a huge restaurant so we were glad they could accommodate us.

I was a front of the house manager for a successful Japanese restaurant where I live. So I do have high expectations when it comes to service. Service was a miss tonight. The server who we received doesn't seem well trained in Japanese food. A minor pet peeve of mine is when sashimi or nigiri is presented and nothing is explained. I know my fish, but not every client does. We were sharing everything but no individual plates were offered. Waters were refilled, but I did not notice her checking if I needed a tea refill. She was friendly.

Wakame is a very generous. The green tea is pricey but it does come in a nice cast iron pot which is good for pictures. (The pots are pricey). However, the tea served was warm and not hot. Miso soup was also served warm. (not piping hot) I'd skip the Jalapeno sashimi. Roll prices for those sizes were quite acceptable. They are quite large in most cases and were stuffed generously. I have not experienced the entire menu, but many of the items had similar sauces. You do not need soy sauce for most of the rolls as they have their own which give them plenty of flavor. I did feel the sushi and sashimi combo was a good price for what you got. Tonight, their snapper wasn't as fresh as I'd like, but their salmon and toro was good. The white tuna was average. I would have liked a bit more variety. They did 3 pieces of 4 kinds of fish. I think just for aesthetics, it would have looked nicer if there was some Tako, hokkigai or hotate gai served along wtih it. As well since you received a lot of repeats with the nigiri, I ended up not eating my entire meal at the table for lack of variety (We packed it to take home and someone...

Update: We still go to this place once every few months and they always have excellent service! They always make us sit pretty quick which I appreciate! This is one of the places where me and husband go to during date night! My husband recently had their sizzling teriyaki chicken. I highly recommend it, it is sizzling when they serve it and it was still warm while hubby is eating it!

I was finally able to try this place to see what it’s all about since it has such a high rating, and I can see why. They definitely deserve the ratings, I’d say it’s one of the best Japanese restaurants I’ve ever been to here in Jacksonville. Let me start of with the environment, very clean and cozy. It’s not really a big restaurant but it’s a perfect place for date and eating with your friends. Like any other Japanese restaurants, it is a bit pricey but it’s WORTH IT! We didn’t really have a wait time when we came in, however they can be pretty busy. I tried their yellow tail and shrimp nigiri, I don’t know why but the sushi melts into your mouth. The yellow tail had its flavor as well not like buffet nigiri where the taste of the fish is bland. We went here for lunch so we got bento box as well. The bento box was worth it! It’s enough to make your stomach full. It came with California rolls and again the sushi melts into your mouth, I am definitely going back to try their other sushi. We actually came back for dinner and I got the Yaki Udon, it was perfect! Very tasty. My husband got chicken Katsu again and he loved it! There’s something different about their chicken Katsu that I can’t pinpoint but you can definitely tell that it is freshly made. Their sauce for chicken Katsu is great as well, it tasted like a sweet bbq sauce. Can’t wait to try more...