Wasabi's Bistro — Restaurant in Kachemak City

Being in homer we wanted to try out what a local sushi business could do with the fresh local fishing that the town has going on. Wasabi's Bistro from reviews and pictures looked like the best place to do so.

The seating was by reservation only, and they seemed to be social distancing tables which was fine by us.

We decided on a table out on the deck so we could get a great view of the ocean. Though the deck did not feel like it was in great condition as the paint was peeling with obvious parts of the deck having rotting issues. Anytime someone would walk out on the deck the whole thing would shake making me very nervous to be on the deck.

To my surprise even though the restaurant looks like its advertised as a Japanese sushi restaurant there were no plum wine options nor options for traditional meals only rolls. I wanted to chalk it up to being pandemic related and having a limited menu but there was no notes on the menu and no advice given from the waitress other than you had to pick rolls.

Some wait staff had masks on while others did not which concerned us and those who didn't have masks on came very close which concerned us as it seems they advertise as a higher class restaurant and I would figure they would standardize and place more emphasis on safety even if only perceived. Our waitress at first was slightly short with us and forgot about our drinks so we ended up getting them only slightly before the meal came out and as the sun was setting and the air was getting slightly chilly we hoped to get our hot drinks a little sooner.

The rolls are pretty expensive and they advertise something like 12 pieces for some of their rolls but they are cut in half from what you would normally get so they are smaller slices of a roll. I believe their price would of been more fair if the slices were more of a normal size. I requested gluten free soy sauce which is always a toss up on whether a restaurant will have it or not which Wasabi's Bistro did however it was several years expired and they brought out the whole quart of it instead of putting it in a smaller vessel.

I have eaten sushi from many places across Alaska and on both coasts of the lower 48 and would not agree that this sushi restaurant is the best in Alaska, sadly I cannot say whether it is the best in Homer as we did not try any other sushi restaurant in Homer (we will next time).

Maybe Wasabi's Bistro was once a great place to get sushi but their outdated decor, aging building, and offering mostly sushi rolls would suggest that they need to rethink and re-energize...

So let me begin that we did arrive at the end of the day (within last hour of closing) and we were seated and taken care of with great service. The food was awful. The black cod tasted like herring from a can. And the burger was cooked rare while it had a char thick enough on one side to be peeled off by finger in chunks and was so strong nothing else on the burger had any flavor but bitter burnt meat. Fries were perfect.

The wait staff was very friendly and accommodating and offered to have something else prepared. I refused as to not keep the back of the house any later on a Saturday and as a result, there was $10 taken off the check. I want to be clear front of the house was fantastic. The back of the house dropped the ball. This might have been a 1 off but felt warranted...

Why one star you may ask well here are a few reasons, as some one who enjoys quality sushi I had high expectations after reading other reviews. This sushi was... well let’s say it was one step up from gas station sushi it just wasn’t very good. Their salmon sushi was sockeye for heavens sake, everyone knows for salmon you use king or silver. The role I ordered was below sub-par also the miso soup was very watery and lacked seaweed. The way you order was also very confusing, if you come here you mark your order on the menu with a pen, there now you know cause they won’t tell you. If you want good quality sushi in Alaska don’t go to Wasabi’s bistro go to Fuji in Fairbanks Alaska. In my conclusion a bar is a good thing they have cause drunk is the only way the sushi...