Wakaba - Japanese restaurant — Restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City

Been there few times, the food is quite ok, but the service has alot room for improvement. So I went back last week with a client, they delivered the wrong dish(i ordered grilled fish head) and told us because they ran out of so they gave another dish instead. We were not informed at all in advance and the waitress said if we do not believe in her, we can check with the chef. (???)

They charged you for wasabi, which was not informed in advance. This is the first time I was charged by a Japanese restaurant on wasabi... the waitress said it's because we ordered sushi, so they will charge wasabi for it.

It seems this restaurant only speaks Japanese and Vietnamese... English is not workable here, perhaps this is why there is a mis-communication.

If you want original Japanese cuisine, Wakaba is still an option in HCMC, however, there are many other options I rather go. And for their service, please try your luck.

** The waitress was only 17, so I can't really blame her because she was young and not properly trained obviously. However, the overall experience that day was just awful.

** Perhaps your experience would be better than mine... I suggest you speak fluent Japanese or Vietnamese to...

(2022 Apr) I came with high expectation after reading how this restaurant was ranked one of the best Japanese restaurant in HCM. Decor was nice and staff was reasonably professional. One odd thing I noticed was how they hired a few (maybe 5 or so?) waitress standing just against the wall facing the sushi counter. They couldn't understand me either in English or Japanese. Perhaps they were new. I am not sure. Eventually the sushi chef took my order. Oden seems to be their specialty, so I ordered that. It was honestly not good. I would like to say it is bearable but sorry, it wasn't. The soup was pretty bland. I have lived in Japan many years, and I have never tasted anything quite like that in Japan before. The Katsudon was passable. It is very possible that this used to be a great restaurant. I noticed they still have very high ratings, perhaps in areas that I didn:t experience? 2 stars for Oden and 3 stars for everything else. ...

We were the first customers in the restaurant. There were two chefs In front and 4 servers behind me. We would’ve had a great time if all they didn’t forget half of our meal. We waited and extra 15 minutes in the middle of our meal wondering if the rest of it would come. We were missing our oysters and mackerel. I literally saw them crack up the oyster the moment we wonder where the rest of our food was. Then the server told us it would take an extra 15 minutes for the mackerel. Nope. There’s no reason to forget customer’s orders when there was only 3 tables.

The quality of the food is just not worth the effort of coming here again. Go to Morico - Contemporary Japanese Lifestyle Restaurant Cafe instead!...