Wasabi House is a brand new restaurant located on Quinpool Road across from the Oxford Theatre, in what was formerly known as the Spartan Restaurant (a.k.a. the home of a great 5 dollar breakfast). As the name may give away, Wasabi House specializes in sushi and other Japanese cuisine. We decided to check it out after hearing all the hype, as it’s quickly becoming one of the new hotspots in town.
Due to poor foresight (it was a Friday night), we did not have a reservation. At 6pm, the restaurant was already packed. The only place for us to sit was at the sushi bar, which was a little cramped and doubles as a pick-up area for the takeout orders. We were disappointed at first but starving, so we sat down anyway. However, sitting at the bar actually added to the experience as we got to watch the sushi chefs work diligently all night, never once taking a break or even lifting their heads.
Our two entrées came with Miso Soup and salad. In fact, most of the entrees at Wasabi House come with complimentary soup and salad - an amazing bonus considering the very reasonable pricing of the menu. The Miso soup was flavourful with just enough salt and a generous portion of seaweed and green onion - there were a few little cubes of tofu floating around in there, too. The soup was served up hot and it was cold outside - we were also very hungry at this point!
The salad we ate much slower due to chopstick difficulties and a great deal of determination not to ask for a fork (is that a cultural faux-pas?). It was a basic house salad but delicious nonetheless: crispy iceberg lettuce garnished with a homemade tangy ginger dressing. Yum!
Then came our entrées. I ordered the Sushi Ruby ($15). I know nothing about sushi, so each bite was like a blind date with a different dead fish. The sushi chef added a free piece of sashimi salmon – aren’t I lucky! The plate was a colourful array of 15 different rolls – the only repeats were 6 California rolls – artfully presented and just waiting to be devoured. Favourites included the Maguro (tuna), Ebi (prawn), Hokki Gai Nigiri (red clam) and tako (octopus). However, the highlight was the spicy salmon hand roll (the ice-cream cone shaped thing pictured below). I saved that for last, since I had ordered it during a previous visit and knew what to expect. The roll is stuffed full of salmon and tempura bits topped with spicy mayonnaise for that extra kick. It’s about the size of your fist; you absolutely can’t eat this thing with chopsticks.
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| The Sushi Ruby. |
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| Ben is quite pleased. |
Rebecca had to shy away from the sushi due to a shellfish allergy and a disdain for the Nori paper (Ridiculous, right?). She had the Oyako-Don ($9.95), a rice dish with grilled chicken, onions and scrambled eggs. The rice was coated with a spicy-but-not-too-spicy sauce. The portion was gigantic, and they even provided a little spoon for the chopstick-challenged.
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| The Oyako-Don. |
We must now make a point to mention how great the service was. For the entire duration of our meal, the restaurant was packed, with takeout orders coming in left and right – however, you wouldn’t know it. The service was prompt and friendly; everyone working there seemed to genuinely enjoy themselves despite the hectic evening they were having.
A word on the bathrooms – there was an advertisement for a dentist with free samples of mouthwash to keep you fresh and eliminate the unfortunate side effect of “seaweed breath.”
Overall, we were very impressed with the food and atmosphere; unlike many Japanese restaurants, it actually felt authentic. The servers were friendly, the sushi chefs entertaining, and the food inexpensive – we walked away stuffed, having spent well under $40. We will definitely be returning to explore more of their menu (we heard something about a Bananayama roll). We hope Wasabi House is here to stay, as it’s a welcome addition to the neighbourhood.
