Albany Wasabi — Restaurant in Town of Colonie

Summary: food is passable. Would rate it a 3 or 3.5, bumping up to 4 because it is AYCE and I received reasonably responsive service. I would not consider it "authentic".

Pros: Selection at lunch is reasonable Hot apps appeared to be cooked to order and came out quickly Staff were prompt and polite Yakitori-esque items are less common in the Capital region

Cons: Sushi is very light on the seafood Rice was an odd combination of chalky and slightly gummy, like it was made too far ahead of time and refrigerated Minced fish and "crunch" is always a little bit of a red flag for me

Interior shows age with worn menus, tables, and seating. I did not get drinks.

I sampled various items: miso soup, age tofu, chicken and squid yakitori, hand rolls (including spicy shrimp), a spider roll, and nigirizushi (salmon, tuna, spicy salmon, shrimp, red snapper, masago, "tofu skin" - their version of inari, and egg cake).

The place was busy for a Wednesday lunch (12:30-1:15), but I was seated immediately. Good staff coverage kept things moving efficiently.

Unfortunately, all yakitori items and the fried tofu used the same sauce. The grilled items were also dusted liberally with Japanese red pepper. With too much of the same sauce and shichimi, they had no personality. The single portion of squid was large, but just small chunks on a plate. The tofu was disappointing - just skillfully-fried tofu chunks with sweetish sauce instead of the bright, refreshing appetizer it should be (no green garnish, dashi or grated daikon).

The sushi tasted good and was plated nicely. Service was quick and logical. The nigiri had a poor rice-to-topping ratio due to thin-cut fish, and portions were small - understandable given the AYCE format. Apologies for the used chopsticks, but you can see size and topping thickness in one of my attached photos. The rice texture was dense, and the spider roll seemed more fried coating than actual crab. Hand rolls were better options, though options that relied too much on minced ingredients with added "crunch" were low-lights. The tamago was better than some local places - does not appear to be freshly made, but decent.

Nothing was 'bad,' but adhering more to traditional preparation methods would elevate their food from passable to truly good. After trying lunch, I'm still curious about their dinner menu, but probably won't return often as I prefer more authentic Japanese cuisine with specific ingredient or flavor contrasts and more involved execution. For me, Japanese food is about elevating the ingredients with simplicity and understated flourishes - and Wasabi doesn't check that specific box. I think some extra care or attention from the chefs could punch up their food. Perhaps dinner offers a better experience!

That said, this could be a good casual izakaya-esque option with friends - I'd totally be into more items in this category given that it's basically nonexistent around here.

Despite my critique, I left satisfied overall (hence the 4-star rating). For AYCE sushi, this place offers reasonable value considering the format and price point challenges.

Thanks for...

This used to be one of my favorite places to eat at on special occasions. The food was always great and the service was usually good. Last night, I went to dine out with a few friends and we chose to go to Wasabi. We were sat very quickly during a busy time of night, which was a very nice start to the night. We ordered our drinks and rolls to start, and everything seemed fine. My group of friends and I can eat a good amount of food, and that’s a big reason why we like this place to eat. At this point, we had collectively eaten 12 specialty rolls. However, when we went to place a second order of food, our server was quite rude to us, mind you, this is an “All-You-Can-Eat” establishment. Upon hearing that we wanted a second order of food, our server exclaimed, “Oh, you’re going to do more? You guys are some serious eaters. Including the ones you’re about to order, you guys will have eaten 15 rolls. That is so much, it’s got to be close to a record.” Before he left our table to put the order in, my friend asked the server for the check. To which, our server replied, condescendingly, “Oh yeah sure, after this one you’ll be done, after this one.” as if to show even more disgust at how much we have eaten. Once he brought our second order to the table, he said to us, “I better get out of here, before something happens. You guys are some serious eaters.” This was very off-putting for us, as we were just trying to enjoy our meal, not to be harassed over the amount of food we were eating. We were planning on ordering another plate of rolls, but our server definitely made us decide to leave early. We asked for our check, and prepared to leave.

There is no way that was that much food for 4 people, but it also should not matter. We are paying customers in an ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT establishment. We should not have been ridiculed for doing what is expected in a restaurant. This has been a very disappointing experience, and my friends and I have come to the conclusion that we will not be returning to Wasabi...

SUMMARY: Be on time—only a 10 minute window for reservations. Reservations don’t mean a promised table. Long wait times on weekends for walk-ins, decent enough sushi.

I’ve been here a total of twice. Last year & this year. Both times I made a reservation, both times when coming up to the front desk waiting 5 minutes to be addressed. Last year, it took about 5 minutes for us waiting directly in front of the front desk to be addressed, another few minutes to be seated, then the overall meal went fine enough. Fun enough concept to make me want to come back for a special occasion.

This year, it also took 5 minutes to be addressed. I’m not impatient, I can wait! No biggy at all. Half of my party was there by the time of our reservation & by the time we walked up to the desk. After the 5 or so minutes of us politely waiting, we were told that if our entire party hadn’t come within 10 minutes of our reservation time, they could only serve the people who showed up. So, after consuming 5 minutes of our time, they said the rest of our party only had 5 minutes to show up to dine at our RESERVED table. I understand that if they’re busy they can’t promise us a table for walk-ins, but I had made a reservation earlier in the week. Why would you accept a table but not be able to guarantee a spot for all the guests to sit? I had a party of 6. A larger party, sure, but not an unheard of number. Additionally, if you had a 10 minute rule, WHY didn’t you say anything on the phone so we were made aware?

Food was probably worth ~4 stars, but man the reservation issues are just something that particularly bothers me. Overall, I...