Wabi Sabi — Restaurant in West Hartford

Wabi Sabi isn't a place one visits just for a unique, flavorful meal or a dazzling cocktail (or mocktail). Wabi Sabi is one of those rare restaurants that delivers an immersive experience. With a screened off middle room that filters and diffuses the light from outside, hand crafted playlists of mellow, fresh international music, and a warm, textured, harmonious interior, the space itself is transportive. Little touches like the perfectly crisscrossing strings of flags and the artisanal paper lanterns, traditional Japanese wood menus and other art pieces on the walls, and fresh table flowers show the intentionality and high end design choices that went into the space. The interior is appreciative rather than appropriative of Japanese culture and for me that is an important distinction. But forget all that. I went there to eat Japanese food and be spoiled with craft cocktails. And boy was I. Here are my unfiltered thoughts on this little gem in West Hartford.

Food: I had the tomato skewers, bean curd skewers, king oyster mushroom skewers, miso soup, and vegetable fried rice.If I hadn't had a flight to catch at BDL, I'd have tried yet more options. I work with oyster mushrooms weekly and am a bit of a snob about mushrooms in general (for some people it's steak, for me it's 'shrooms). These ones were delightful. Cut, sauced and grilled to perfection. Three bites of delight. The tomato skewer was an unexpected delight: fresh and bursting with flavor. The bean curd skewer balanced sweet and salty with a firm texture and a sauce that grilled up into a glaze. I had to try the miso soup because that is not only my favorite soup, it is also one of my favorite foods in general. I appreciated the portion size- it was satisfying and that silky salty warmth one expects from miso, but not so much soup as to make me too full for cocktails and fried rice. I like a white rice fried rice. This one was that. Simple, fresh, showcasing broccoli and onion. Nostalgic. I could have eaten a lot more of it but I had already had all those skewers (note: cannot speak to the egg as I have an egg allergy so the chef accommodated by leaving it off).

I'd go here just for the food.

But, I did not stop with food. I also had to try the cocktails. And, as someone who generally prefers to be the designated driver (though not today), I wanted to try the mocktails too. I don't know where he learned his stuff but the bartender is an artist. I've never had such creative and refined cocktails outside major cities like NYC, Berlin, London, etc. The gin shiso sour was made with a vegan foam (and not aquafava; hallelujah!) it was like drinking a lemony cloud. The milk punch? Unreal. I won't try to describe it. Just get it. I always judge a place based on its version of the old fashioned. In this case: smooth, refined, very creative, the words "hot damn" came out of my mouth for the first time since the 'oughts.

If you do not consume alcohol, Wabi Sabi gives you so many different options to be absolutely indulged. Cloud shatter? Mila sour? These are mocktails that you'll not find anywhere else. I would drink a cloud shatter daily if given the opportunity- that dash of nutmeg on top. 10/10.

Overall, I appreciated the ambiance: intimate, chill music, unique interior design features with textures, woods, and Japanese art... and it was the cleanest restaurant I've ever been in. More than that, though, I appreciated being able to eat a meal I'd normally have to go into the city for, just outside of Blue Back Square in West Hartford. Do yourself a favor and grab a drink (or a few) and some skewers, hand rolls, or other meals or snacks here. I feel it is the kind of place that would lend itself well to a business lunch, celebratory drinks and dinner, and/or a delicious night out with family...

I see a lot of biased reviews and will do my best to give an unbiased and fair review:

First off, the atmosphere is very nice. I see where they spent the money at a first glance. Clean flooring, well spaced tables, and tasteful decor. 4 stars only because the light bulb that was directly on top of the tables too bright/close. So close to the point where it was irritating to the eye. Perhaps the owner can use lower wattage bulbs?

Food was mediocre at best. We had the chicken and beef skewers. They only give you 2, 3 small pieces of chicken/beef each so be prepared to order multiple. Note that the beef we had was cold when it came out. The main entry was ok and soup was not bad. The takoyaki was the best out of everything we ordered; I give it 8 out of 10.

Service was bizarre. I took one zip of the water and was ask if I wanted more water. My glass was about 80% full. Told them i was ok for now and they came back two minutes later and asked again. This went on a few times and they interrupted my conversation with the wife just to ask if I wanted more water when I had 70% left in the glass. There was no communication between servers as we were asked the same thing 3, 4 times within 15 minutes. I usually give them the benefit of the doubt being that this is a newish place and they probably needed more time to work the kinks but this is beyond strange. They over zealous on making sure the water is 100% full at all time is beyond me. We went there to have a nice meal as a family not to be taken aback every 2...

Where to start with this absolute gem of a restaurant? Food - amazing! You can tell they really care about quality and presentation. It’s a little journey down delicious Japanese cuisine as each plate comes out the kitchen. Two ways to eat here, order an app and a bowl OR go my fav route which is a lots of assorted skewers and a side of rice. Go crazy and order more than you think you need and DO NOT sleep on the unagi (eel), in fact order three and thank me later. Don’t forget pickles and peanuts to start as the perfect palate warm up. Moving onto drinks, I’m not sure what deal was done with the cocktail gods but the owner and bar manager Andy worked something out because there are no misses. Also they have an awesome mocktail menu that’s not just some throwaway remove vodka from the lemon drop and call it a mocktail bs I’ve seen places try to get away with. Try the seasonal specials, last time I was in the server suggested the most perfect rose infused gimlet. Service is great and the staff stays busy but not intrusive. Not to mention that they do happy hour on Saturdays and Sundays (get the yakisoba with pork belly) I really cannot say anything bad about this spot, it has become my go to spot for date night and...