Wabi-Sabi Sushi & Asian

I'm a Venice local. I live 2 blocks from Wabi. My friends and I used to go in at least once per week. Last time I ate there I left my jacket with a brand new pair of Ray Bans in the pocket by mistake. I called when I got home. They said they had my jacket. I told them I'd walk back over tomorrow and grab it. They assured me it would be in the office. I walked back the next day and asked the hostess to grab my jacket, she said, ""oh yes, I saw it in the office, I'll go grab it"". She was gone about 10 minutes. This place is very small. I then saw her speaking with a lady behind the bar. I sensed something was up so I walked back and said, ""hey, can I just grab my jacket and go"". The lady the hostess was speaking with introduced herself as the manager and said she looked all over and there was no jacket in the office. I asked her to look again because the person on the phone the previous night said it was there safe and sound, and the hostess even said when I walked in the door that she had seen it. The manager came back and said, I'm sorry I don't see anything. She asked for my number and said she was going to call the manger from the previous night and see if they put it somewhere and that she would call me right back. About 11pm that night I got a call from Wabi, this time from a male telling me he was the manager. And that they didn't have my jacket. I told him that two of his employees had admitted to both having, and seeing my jacket and that I was a regular/local and it was very discouraging. He said he was going to ask a few more people and that he would straighten things out and call me back. I never heard from them again. I have also never ate there again. One of the employees obviously took it home. I'm sure they asked around but who is going to admit to having taken it. They should have offered me a free dinner at least. But nothing. It was handled very poorly and I will never spend another cent there again. Totally bad business. Particularly for a local, regular who their wait staff know by name when we come in. more

i like the trendy atmosphere, and the food is really good. i love the tempura...but it can be pricey. more

One of my favorite date spots in Venice!! I go as much as possible! more

I had a great dinner here over the weekend. My friend and I ordered the shishito peppers to start and also split the bouillabasse which was a good idea as the soup turned out to be rather large. There were tons of shrimp, fish, scallops and these crispy rice cakes that I loved. Unfortunately, I didn't think much of my curry lobster rock shrimp noodles. I think some hot sauce would have helped. My friend had the lamb chops and the granita of lemon zest was really nice. Next time, I'd love to check out their sushi bar. Pros: great bouilabasse Cons: very loud and busy more

When I asked some locals for a good high-end sushi spot in Venice, they pointed me to Wabi-Sabi. When we first walked in, it looked nice. It was all down hill from there. There were 5 of us and they crammed us in a table too small, and eventually took our drink orders. More than 15 minutes later, we finally got our round of drinks- and that was the last time we saw the drink girl. We were there for over an hour and a half and no one ever offered us another round. We ordered food and they messed up our order. Whne food finally arrived, it was just so so. For the price of this place, the service should have been impecable and the food extraordinary. It certainly was NOT. I have no problem payng for good service and good food. Didn't get either here. Would never go back. Go to casual Hama instead. Pros: Food was adequate, good location in Venice Cons: Abysmal service, waitstaff was incompetent more

I really enjoy eating at Wabi-Sabi. The sushi is always fresh, the atmosphere is always lively and the presentation is beautiful (even on to-go orders). When I order food to go, it is always garnished with little orchids or some other colorful flower, so I just take it out of the box and have a gorgeous meal to serve. I also think the service is consistently friendly and quick. I definitely recommend going here for dinner or calling in a to-go order. It's a little bit more pricey than other sushi spots in the area, but not by much and it's definitely worth it. Pros: really fresh sushi, nice atmosphere more

I usually go to Hama Sushi, but last night I decided to try something different. Everyone always raves about Wabi-Sabi; so many of my friends prefer it over Hama. Granted, it is a lot nicer and they have a full bar. But the food at Hama is so much better. First, I was disappointed by the small sake list. However, I happily found my favorite, Kikusui. We ordered a sashimi special, Halbuit with spicy lemon salt. This dish was amazing, the Halibut was so tender and the flavors were great. Then, our Tuna Tar Tar came, which was also delicious. However, the taste of the fish was covered by sauce and the sesame chips it came with seemed stale. Next, we ordered some sushi and a Spider roll. I could just tell that the quality of the fish wasn't very good. I feel like Salmon is the safest thing you can get at a sushi restaurant, and even that was tough and flavorless. My friend agreed wtih me about the quality of the food; he also thought that Hama was better. \r \r I can say that the presentation of the dishes were nice, and I did like our waitress. The place does have a nice ambience, but I think I'll stick to Hama. I'm always happy when I eat there. Pros: Full bar, friendly service, nice ambience Cons: Bad quality fish, slim sake choices more

I love my local sushi spot. The sushi is really good but I love the cooked dishes even more. The mushroom wontons, black cod, garlic spinich, and crab cakes are all amazing. I even had a friend I took here from Maryland and he said they were some of the best crab cakes he's had. The service is always friendly and efficient. You should make a reservation or you have to wait sometimes, or you just sit at the bar! Great local neighborhhod spot! more

I use to love this place. It was my goto sushi joint on the Westside. The food was always good, the staff always friendly and the atmosphere was always chill. Unfortunately all of that has changed. I went there with my girlfriend last night. When we arrived, we asked for a table however, we were told we'd have to eat at the sushi bar. No problem even though there were a few tables open the entire time that we were there. I knew we were in for a bad experience right from the get go when the waitress took our order and was acting extremely rude b/c god forbid we ask a question about the sake menu prior to ordering a $30 - $40 bottle. In addition, I think the waitress had been drinking or on something b/c she was slurring her words and was practically incoherent (something along the lines of a space cadet). After she brought out the sake, we ordered a beer. It took a while for her to bring the beer only to begin serving it to the group next to us. She eventually realized her mistake and brought it to us as well as the entire table by spilling it everywhere. The hostess tried to help clean up by putting a napkin down and dabbing the mess expecting me to clean it up. Then to top things off, I had to shout ""excuse me"" to the sushi chef as he'd been ignoring us for at least 20 minutes to order our first dish and continued to ignore us through out or stay. It's not like they were understaffed or extremely busy last night. Needless to say, the only time we saw our waitress after the beer shower was when it was time for our bill. It would have been nice for her to check in every now and then but she couldn't pull herself away from her indepth conversation with the couple next to us. In all do fairness, the food is still decent for the price however, after being treated like this and having spent thousands of $'s there every year, I WILL NOT BE BACK. GOODBYE WABISABI. Pros: Ambience Cons: Horrible service and rude staff more

Foods were mediocre, and both the owner and one server were so rude and aloof when I complained about their mistake. I will NEVER go back there again, but if you go there, check what you ordered and your receipt very carefully. Their server may not admit that she brought $40 drink instead of $8 one( she may also get mad at you for not noticing her mistake and drinking it). And the owner wouldn't say ""Sorry,"" but would say ""oh, I will give you credit, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHY I DO IT!"" Because they were so rude, I didn't go back and get credit. Why would I want to eat their stuff again? There are lots of better REAL Japanese restaurants that know how to hundle their mistakes, and have nice workers. Wabi-Sabi has the worst customer service for sure. Just go to other restaurants and actually have a good time. more

I used to love this place. But the last three times I have eaten there I have been treated rudely... Hostess, and server both acted as if they and their restaurant didn't need my patronage. Is it because of the restaurants success? What a shame. I will never be back. more

I had very high expectations for this place going in because they'd been recommend by a friend of mine who is a fusion connoisseur. I personally tend to prefer more authentic Japanese food. What I found at Wabi-Sabi was actually more on the authentic side than I had expected. The menu showed (in my opinion) a lot of respect for authentic Japanese food, offering mostly authentic Japanese dishes with slight fusion twists. Even though I hadn't planned on eating much sushi, I did decide to try some, and it was as good as I had expected after reading rave reviews here. Of the other dishes we got, the rock shrimp tempura was my favorite, but it was all good. The service was also all around very good, from the moment we walked in. It was a Monday night, so we only had to wait about five minutes for a table for two. Pros: great variety, beautiful presentation, friendly service Cons: you'll be spending upwards of $50 per person before you know it more

This place is awesome. Nice vibe and the sushi is great. Thumbs way up for the skirt steak and garlic mash taters. Looking forward to dining there again and I would definitely recommend this place. more

I went here on a date and we were both starving at the end of the meal. First of all, the sashimi was absolutely AMAZING. It was so fresh that it simply melted in my mouth. It was awesome to be able to sit at the counter and watch the sushi chef cut all of the fish. The garnishes and spices he used were great complements and each dish tasted superb and refreshing at the same time. Since it was a kind of expensive place, we spent quite a lot of money and I only had 5 pieces...enough for me to be appetized and go home for a real dinner. Pros: Food, Quality Cons: Expensive more

Blah. this place sucked, service was rude, food was way below average and it was pricey. i am never going back there. more

Thus place is busy.\r So go on an off hour.\r The food is great.\r I love the Eggplant hollowed out with sweet Tofu and Eggplant meat inside.\r It's almost a desert.\r The food is good, the place gets loud.\r But in general great little spot. Pros: Food Great Cons: Parking and gets too loud more

I moved out here a year ago and have been to Wabi-Sabi more times than I can count. The food is excellent. They also have a good list of sake, beer, and wine options. It does get very busy on the weekends, and I usually avoid those times. My experiences here have been completely consistent and high quality. I only wish I could walk there from my house (but they do deliver). Pros: Great food, sushi, Relaxing atmosphere, Nice staff Cons: Small for large group more

My first time there. Went with a large group of friends. Sat in the back room. Service was good. THe food was awesome. I started with a bowl Miso soup which was excellent, The thai crunchy shrimp rolls are great. Fried calamari with aioli sauce. Will definitely dine there again. Pros: fair pricing Cons: Not very good parking more

This place is fabulous! If going on weekends, be smart and make a reservation. The food is to die for. I recommend the Ahi tartare, shrimp dumplings, ribs, crispy shrimp roll...you get the idea. Wash it down with some very good sake. If you had to wait here, it's only because it does a brisk business. The staff is attentive, the dishes imaginative, I had ZERO problems with service. I ate, drank and was merry...BIG BIG Pros: Informative waitstaff, Reservations honored, Incredible food Cons: Parking sparse more

Some of the existing reviews on here must be dated because our experience last night was just fantastic. This is way more than a sushi place. We did have some some delicious yellowtail and tuna, but other items on the menu such as ribs, cooked cod, salads, etc had some unique sauces and tastes that were absolutely first rate. We ordered a bunch of differenct small plates shared for two and the total bill was much below what I was expecting. We can't wait to go back again. more