Review The Wasabi Place - Kew

Lovely experience. Good customer service and overall a very pleasant atmosphere. Not a large place, but cute and special nevertheless. Food was very tasty, fresh, and wonderfully well presented. The Quality of the food is what stood out with some subtle and unique flavour combinations. However, some of our main dishes looked a little small portion-wise with a higher price tag than what was expected. Overall, well recommended.

Stumbled upon this little place and absolutely loved it! Managed to get a table on a Saturday night around 7pm. It was fully booked but they placed us by the door (which can get very cold) but after 5 minutes, we got a free table. The food comes out super quickly and exceptionally well. The sushi platter is $58 and it's such a generous platter. Loved the chicken katsu curry. It had the right amount of spice. The beef tataki was delicious as well! The portions are thick slices as well - so good!

Had Poke Salad with Sesame dressings, Chirasi Don and Yakitori. They are delicious, authentic and feels healthy! Will come back to try different dishes for sure.

The Wasabi Place, a restaurant that ‘brings a twist to modern Japanese food’ was an absolute treat! The food could best be described as refined, each dish with its own unique flavour and beautifully presented. We were really impressed with our choices from their extensive menu, accompanied by friendly service, and can’t wait to return!

Food is so tasty! It’s like a combination of a healthy meal but delicious, light that you don’t feel like you overate but full and satisfied. Loved it and will come back again! Restaurant was full when we got there, lucky we booked. Staff were attentive and friendly. Fresh seafood and the Kirin beer is super good!

Great food excellent drinks and absolutely the best customer service!!

This is my all time favourite sushi place to dine. I have been asking Ren for years as to when he will be opening one close to home as I would dine in pretty much every day if this place is closer to me. All the dishes on the menu are Instagram perfect but also tastes so very delicious. I can or recommend this place enough, it is a small hidden gem, a great find!

Yum! High-quality sushi. Affordable enough, about right for the Kaburimaki Sushi. We had the Astro Boy Roll, Dragon Roll, Scattered Zushi and Belly Bao. Will definitely be making a return.

Really yummy food and friendly service!

Best Japanese Restaurant 👏<br/><br/>Great food excellent service..<br/><br/>Reasonable price with quite large quantity meal..<br/>Recommend booking .<br/><br/>My favourite is obviously Ramen from hell, everyone should try this delicious, mind-bending and over the top dish...<br/>

Came here for a weekday dinner, they were surprisingly busy.<br/><br/>Started off with some assorted nigiri that was plated up very nicely. The nigiri was surprisingly good, very fresh! We then had a side of nasu dengaku (eggplant) which was a big serve and the sauce was quite nice. We had the agedashi tofu which had a lovely outside crunch, but the sauce was quite salty as we prefer the slightly sweet kind and smaller tofu bite sized pieces. And the dragon roll was delicious - would recommend this!<br/><br/>The only thing was it was quite noisy in the restaurant it was almost hard to hear ): but otherwise would come back to try out their other rolls!

Wasabi is my favourite place to go to dinner. I am not sure which is better the stir fry or the Tokyo Popcorn Chicken. The stir fry has the best sauce on it and the popcorn chicken is so crispy. You have to go to Wasabi you can not miss it.

POPCORN CHICKEN from The Wasabi Place is just delightful and I had to go back for seconds. The mayo they have just adds to it in such a good way. I recommend anyone to try them, they're just so amazing.

Really tasty food and good sized. I had the yuki udon. You must book though even for mid week nights! Small area but cosy. Menu has a lot to choose from.

Came here for a dinner with friends. Food was extremely fresh and delicious and staff was extremely friendly. Nice vibes they have here, small little space that gets packed out quite quickly. Decided to order a little bit of everything and was not disappointed. If your after fresh delicious Japanese food then definitely visit The Wasabi Place in Kew.

No. of Visit: 2<br/>Overall Rating: 3.2-3.5<br/><br/>For:<br/>Interesting fusion food - tastes are beyond average and well-trusted by local (really busy at meal time)<br/>Big and satisfying portions. <br/>The "special" menu (written on the board) usually has some nice surprises.<br/>Staffs are friendly and efficient. <br/><br/>Against:<br/>Instead of slightly sweet Japanese Soy, this place uses Chinese soy which contains msg & quite sharp in the saltiness - not great companion for sushi. <br/>Because of its popularity, waiting time for food could be a little long.

We popped in on a Sunday evening. It was really busy at the shop. We walked in and standing inside with all the customers looking at us for nearly 5-6 mins. No one comes to us at all until we asked one of the waitress, and we finally got served. We ended up sitting outside since it’s full inside, no one wiped the dusty table, and offering water until we asked. We had our food with dirty table the whole time.Service is just okay. <br/><br/>We ordered pork reman , belly bao, teriyaki beef don, and fried chicken pop . <br/><br/>Pork reman is average. Belly bao tasted good but pork belly is a little bit dry. Teriyaki beef don is totally amazing. We also love the chicken pop. All the food coming with really strange time. We got the main first and the chicken pop and belly bao the last.<br/><br/>We might visit again to see how it is. <br/><br/>

**3.5** We booked a table for dinner as the last time we popped by, it was already full. This place gets busy fast and I can see why. Most of the the Japanese food here is delicious, with interesting takes on the classics. The highlight was the ‘mango teriyaki chicken roll’ and the ‘belly bao’. The ‘spicy gyu sukiyaki’ was average, but that slice beef in it was the standout.<br/>If you don’t mind the super loud atmosphere and how close your table is to those around you, then this is a pretty decent restaurant. <br/>Our experience saw one of our orders forgotten though, which we decided to skip in the end because of the wait time...

The wasabi place are consistent with providing high quality Japanese food.<br/><br/>You Must try:<br/>Astro boy rolls - they're served with a touch of theatre<br/>Belly Bao - the pork is delicate and flavourful<br/>Seared Salmon Nigiri - the flavour of these are heavenly! Slightly Smokey yet tender and fresh.<br/><br/>The customer service here is great, really friendly staff and the food is consistently great.<br/>

3.5/5 <br/><br/>I had some lunch here. The serve was nice.<br/><br/>I ordered 3 sushi rolls which were a prawn, spicy salmon and a chicken roll. They were all tasty and fresh but the prawn roll had some of the shell intact which I wasn't expecting. <br/><br/>I also had some Miso Soup which was just ok, as there wasn't much flavour. <br/><br/>Overall this place was good but not amazing.

Simple restaurant but food exceeded my expectation, I was quite surprise !<br/>Sashimi were fresh and overall dishes were nicely presented and focus on good quality rather than some places that tries too hard with fancy presentation on plates that makes no sense but takes up table space :) don't lie, you've been to many places like so<br/>Staff were friendly and prompt ; my partner and I enjoyed the dinner and will be back.

We entered just before the lunch time rush and had our choice of seats. The extensive menu offered many temptations but we both wanted the Chirashi Don.<br/><br/>This turned out to be a great choice. Fresh slices of three different sashimi with a light salad and goma dressing rested on a bed of rice. The result was a wholesome and deliciously satisfying meal. We both loved it from the first bite to the last.<br/><br/>There's a note on the board that "ninjas eat for free" but they must be in full ninja uniform. We wondered if anyone's ever done that... 😄 Touches of Japanese culture is evident throughout the functional space. Efficient and polite staff made the quick visit a very pleasant experience. If you live locally, it's definitely worth checking out.

The place was 30 minutes late for takeaway pickup order, asked repeatedly what I was waiting for. Half the order was ready and getting cold...ordinary

The cutest, little Japanese restaurant with such a warm, inviting atmosphere. My favourite thing to order is the Ninja platter, however all the food is really fresh & of course, delicious. I would definitely recommend this place!

Ordered the spicy salmon roll, the rice was a little hard so that was the only downfall but otherwise was really yum. Also had the ramen with prawns which was super tasty. Service was very fast and friendly, will definitely be returning to try more of the menu

Amazing place! The food is one of the best Japanese food I’ve taste. The fish is very fresh and it is fine dining style at a very good price. Highly recommended!

Well, well what a lovely dinning expirence.<br/>We started with some hot edemame, then followed by pork bao.<br/>We then tried the Gyoza which was very elegant and light, and of course the miso eggplant which was ok but not exceptional as I've had... Nevertheless good enough.<br/>So intrigued by the variety coming out we tried the tuna sashimi which was so good, fresh and powerfully red in colour.<br/>We had a breather and then went for the grilled salmon nigirii which was by far the best dish, so good very nice.<br/>The carage was perfect, exceptional but be careful as its very spicy, We woukd have orefered not to have cayenne pepper on it. It may be hard to take if your not accustomed to heat.<br/>Ok so finally we decide on one more dish and perhaps another #1 the crazy salmon.... Yes thats what its called... wow this dish was out there, quite different, still had all the flavors of a Japanese dish but quite modern also, incredible complexity.<br/>They have all the Japabese beers (Kirin) of course and sake.<br/>Slightly noisey..... Well worth the visit and plenty of staff... Very prompt.

Excellent Japanese food at reasonable prices!<br/><br/>Pros<br/>- Delicious Food (Salmon special, Teriyaki chicken salad and Katsu don).<br/>- Fast and friendly service.<br/><br/>Cons<br/>- N/A.<br/><br/>Will definitely be back.

The Nasu Degaku was awesome! Ordered a bunch of the entrees and they were delicious. The service was alright, no issues at all, just felt like they could have been a bit friendlier/more inviting

Yes :<br/>- lobster sliders <br/>- miso soup <br/>- wafu steak<br/>- beef tataki roll <br/>- miso salmon<br/>- poke salad <br/><br/>No: <br/>- nothing to mention so far so good a real good variety of flavours <br/>

If you are looking for something cheap, that will be fine but for quality that would not be a good choice. Overnight fish with death color. The texture is totally difference and the taste was just. Cannot say anything with service cause they just order and you wouldn’t expect anything with that price. You will have better choice in kew.

Best value I have experienced for a Japanese restaurant.   The menu is interesting, the food is tasty and fresh and the service is friendly and helpful.

I ordered japanese curry katsu chicken via uber. The curry was a little bit bland and the chicken was not crispy. It wasn't bad though. The portion was good.

This was some very nice Japanese! Popped in for a late dinner. Quite a small place. Service was good. Ordered the usual - pork gyozas and salmon sashimi. And I got the Katsu chicken for main. All were very nice. Gyozas has a great filling. Sashimi was fresh and lovely prsenetation on the plate. Matsu curry was tasty. Came with some steamed veggies too. Would dedintley atop by again if I'm in the area

They say they have the Second best sushi in the world, I have to dispute that- ... Its the best sushi Ive ever had. And i highly reccomend the sweet potato in panko crumbs. A bloody ripper.

I have both gotten takeaways and eat-ins here several times. I have always ordered the samurai showdown bento~ it's variety is great. The beef and tempura are all delicious. This is really a nice causal place for food.

Right at the heart of kew close to the junction is the wasabi place. A modern, clean and simple looking place. Came here with a group of friends rather than the usual bistro food. Prices are really decently priced and service is attentive. We had the wasabi special wagu burger, kaizen gyoza, katsu pork don, wafu steak, tempura, crazy salmon and mussels on teppanyaki. Highly recommend the wafu steak on teppanyaki served generously with veggies and rice. I had the katsu pork as well which was well presented, not oily with vegetables cut nicely. Sushi rolls here are probably not their strength, although not terrible, they are rather small and level of professionalism is slightly behind other joints. Other than that you can enjoy BYO wine and a bill that won't blow a hole in your pocket.

I'm a Kew local and I absolutely love this place for a quick, weekday meal. The atmosphere is nothing too fancy but the food is incredible. I've been here plenty of times and have always enjoyed my experience there. Not too pricey either!

2.5/5 ... Easy like Sunday morning? hhhmm ..... not quite, we were lost in the Menu, presentation, composition and taste .... just NQR Japanese food rendition.<br/><br/>Bright, airy and cosy looking venue to dine in, pleasant waiting staff, but, it was empty for a Sunday lunch, we were the only diners.<br/><br/>Never mind, let's check out the Menu and order .... sadly we were lost within its ten pages or so of A5 paper size Menu clipped to a Board, impractical, very hard to follow and read, flipping back and forth, really making it difficult to choose on what we are going to eat.<br/><br/>So, we've decided on Matcha latte, Unagi Don and Teriyaki Beef Bento, easy ... traditional and should be good .... wrong.<br/><br/>As we were lost with its presentation, composition and taste; it was messy, overloaded with thicken clear corn flour sauce - see photos.<br/><br/>Big chunks of Zucchinis and Carrots hiding the Unagi (Eel) and the marinade with the Unagi tasted not so quite right.<br/><br/>Bento looks okay, salted Edamame, Gyoza was good, not the dipping sauce, Salad dressing taste fresh, okay, but the Teriyaki Beef is far from authentic and those tough sliced Beef did not help.<br/><br/>Matcha latte was good, especially at $3.50/cup.<br/><br/>It wasn't "easy like Sunday morning" experience, trust that they can present better Japanese food rendition. JT-20/08/2017

Cute little Japanese place that gets really busy with takeaway & eating in. Really yummy sushi rolls with the perfect filling to rice ratio. Standouts were the cheesy salmon roll & dragon prawn roll.

Not too bad for its price, chefs are Chinese though, so probably not very authentic. Tastes is now towards the bland side, but not too bad. Sushi rolls are quite different at least look different than the norm.

Super Thumbs up for beautiful, vibrant and extensive variety of dishes ! However I found the Japanese curry a tad too spicy and lacking in the typical sweetness. Sweet potato croquette was yum! Look forward to try their sushi and sashimi next time .

Just ordered their: <br/>Soft shell crab 🦀 bun<br/>Pork belly bun<br/>Salmon bun<br/><br/>Sooo good👌🏼<br/>....loving it! 😍 <br/>You should try them if you haven't already

This place is good but could use some more vegetarian options. <br/>We ordered the tempura udon without prawns, the edamame, agedashi tofu and the veggie gyoza. The agedashi serving was a nice size, 5 pieces and very delicious, as were the veggie gyoza. Great consistency inside and the lovely Japanese flavour came through well regardless of being meat free. :) <br/><br/>The tempura udon was very good and much bigger than it looks in my photo. Nice big mushroom floating in it, little tofu pieces, gentle broth, and plenty of very good, crunchy tempura. Give the tempura a 4/5. :) <br/><br/>Ordered the ebi tempura without prawns, which was nice but the tempura sauce had a strange and not ice flavour in it. I think it was a certain chopped up pickle or something but it tasted bad. Used my agedashi tofu sauce for the tempura instead :) <br/><br/>Attentive, friendly service, gave fresh water frequently. Had a good night! Thanks. <br/>

I went here with my Dad and baby for lunch the other day. Service was quick, they have different kinds of sushi that you can pick from, they were delicious, especially the Honey Chicken, which was unique. It was great to get in early as it can be busy at lunch time. Baby loved the avocado from the avocado roll!

I ordered from ubereats, i tried the popcorn chicken which couldve been a bit more on the crunchy side but as it was takeaway that can be forgiven and the flavour was alright but the seared salmon was absolutely bang on amazing! Would definitely reorder.

This is a nice casual spot for a quick meal and not fancy. Came here for dinner and the sushi was great and well priced. Would go back here again in the future

Pretty pleasant. Menu is interesting. We ordered the crabby bao, tuna tataki, agedashi tofu and tonkotsu pork ramen. Would not say it's the most authentic but decent food. Love the variety on the menu though so will be back to try more.

Edit:<br/>Although I do love the food (see my previous review below) I’ve had fairly bad experiences with the customer service. Several time they’ve gotten mixed up with bookings / taken too many. As a result I and the people I was with on these times (many multiple times) were turned away fairly unapologetically. Unfortunately this has really changed my view of the restaurant. <br/><br/><br/>My previous review:<br/><br/>Fresh ingredients always used at good prices. Good sashimi. Always a bit busy round lunch, however service is good. can cater for different meal requirements. My favourite place for seafood.

Had dinner here tonight with a few friends and it was absolutely buzzing, such a busy little place, food was amazing, lots of flavour and all dishes was beautifully presented. Sushi is one of the best, and the many light side items we had is so so nice. Staff was very attentive and friendly even though they were busy. This place is doing uber eats and it looked like they had many many orders. One of the best and different Japanese restaurant in Melbourne. Coming back for more.

After driving past this little Japanese joint but never actually going in, my boyfriend and I thought we would give it a go. Now we have had our fair share of bento boxes, so we know exactly what to expect and what should be included in one. At 17 dollars (a lot more expensive than what we've had elsewhere) we were expecting a lot more. My salmon teriyaki bento came with all but a measly green leaf salad, with some kind of sour mayonnaise on it. The salmon itself was fine, but at 17 dollars it should have been A LOT bigger. Now usually a bento box would come with other elements such as tempura, or gyoza, but not this one. Just a tiny piece of salmon, half a cup of rice, a few edemame and some green leaves. Don't even get me started on my boyfriends bento, which was Terriaki beef.... he is a pretty forgiving guy when it comes to food, yet even he was disappointed in the dry pieces of meat in front of him. Won't be returning to this place, a total rip off. Sorry.

Good fresh ingredients used. Solid execution. Attentive service. Good value. Don't mind this place at all for business lunch. My bento box was plentiful and the chicken teriyaki was tender and flavourful.

We ordered quite a few sushi and sashimi's to share, whilst some were okay, the 'cooked tuna' rolls were just tinned tuna and not nice at all, really expected fresh fish especially at this price point.

Really great local Japanese. I have been here 3 times and it hasn't failed to impress! The food is super fresh, unique and delicious!!! :) :)

This place is great!<br/>Stopped in between jobs and they were great, very fast service, food comes out promptly and has amazing flavour. <br/>They completely understand gluten free and are happy to modify dishes to make them suitable. <br/>I will definitely come back here, the next time I am in the area.

Love love love this place! I come here a lot or get takeaway. The food is just so fresh and the spices and combination of flavours are delicious. I usually get the salmon nigiri (best going around!!) and the veggie gyoza. Other delicious dishes to try are the crazy salmon rolls or Astro boy special (king fish roll). The service is also really lovely and the venue is casual.

Great tasting and well-proportioned food at a reasonable price point.  This place offers much more than your typical takeaway bento boxes and sushi. So glad to have found a nice Japanese restaurant in our neighbourhood. We will definitely be back!

Come here for the sushi! We ordered lots of dishes like the gyoza and ramen but the sushi stands out for sure! We ordered the cooked tuna roll which was beautifully presented with the avocado, and the flame torched salmon - my favourite dish! The service is very attentive and friendly, even when it's busy at dinner. Can't go wrong for a quick and cheap feed

Very good value because this is is <br/>restaurant standard cooking in a cafe - generous helpings, very fresh everything and beautifully presented..

Saturday I had some things to do in the morning.  Then the weather was good and it was time to think about flying.  Fairly strong winds at Moorabbin but straight up the runway so no problem there.  Flew around Port Phillip Bay to the heads then around Westernport before heading home.   Nothing special but just really nice.

Outstanding!  Sorry no photos ..  The presentation was excellent for all the courses.  We started with pork gyozas and takoyaki, then shared a selection of sushi rolls.  Accompanied with sparkling saki.  Definitely will go there again.

I find the tonkotsu ramen is great compared to the other japanese shops in kew who have no idea what a ramen soup dish is supposed to be.. im hesistant to buy their sushi rolls because they are a minimum of $3

I had a curry beef Don. The curry was very mild and the beef was a little chewy. The overall taste was pleasant. I like the Edamame in the mix of veggies. The staff were very friendly so will come back another time.

I am always so impressed with the food here! I continue to go back to the sushi with the 'tuna on fire' and 'crazy salmon roll' being my all time favourites. The food is made fresh and the taste reflects this. Love this little spot!

Delicious Japanese food. The sushi is so so fresh and tasty, service is great all staff are very kind. Awesome spring rolls and lots of really yum things to choose from on the menu, 10/10!!!

Highly recommend and the best restaurant in the area and worth the travel! Very affordable and fresh ingredients. Highly authentic Japanese flavours. Must try if you haven't already!

One of my favourite Japanese restaurant. Price is very reasonable for the quality. Love the dragon prawn and crazy salmon sushi totally addictive. The soft shell crab burgers are pretty awesome to.

Delicious and well presented quality Japanese food with friendly service. Every dish we tried was amazing and definitely will be back soon.

I would recommend this place to everyone! The food was delicious and creative, obviously a lot of thought put into the menu and food presentation with a great result. Friendly staff as well. Can't wait to come here again :)

I am so excited that this place is in my area!! I went here on a Saturday night and for a tiny restaurant, it has a great vibe. It's easy-going, not too hipster and is bright & welcoming.<br/><br/>The service was really friendly too. We saw one of the waitresses making origami creatures for the kids in the table behind us. Slightly envious that we're too adult to get an origami creature.<br/><br/>So ordered our usual Japanese favs: pork & vegetable gyozas, belly bao, katsu chicken curry don, teriyaki beef don, and the rainbow maki roll. For 3 of us, this worked out well with a little extra space for dessert.<br/><br/>I hope it keeps up the amazing standard because this little restaurant is an absolute winner.

This place always seems to be fairly popular around lunch time, and I can see why. It's a small place that offers take away sushi or a dine-in experience, of which I have experienced both.<br/><br/>The food seems to be very fresh, especially the sushi rolls, which are very good quality. <br/><br/>The soft shell crab burger with sweet potato chips was excellent, and the belly bao was very tasty.<br/><br/>The staff are pleasant and the atmosphere is relaxed. The prices are reasonable considering that it's more than just your average sushi take away joint.<br/><br/>Would recommend for some good quality, fresh sushi rolls, or just a casual lunch.<br/>

Lunch deal is great value - 3 sushi rolls and a miso for less than $10, the spicy salmon roll is my favourite. Also yummy is the chicken teriyaki bento, tempura veggies and salmon bento although the last 2 are a bit pricier, but you get that in Kew!

Jap food doesn't get any better than this, and the unique menu will blow your mind. Forget the standard California rolls- we're talking kim-chi and sriracha sauce, and cream cheese just to name a few unique ingredients in their sushi rolls! The menu is special. The Ramen from Hell is full of flavour with a spicy kick. The chef was most accommodating and made it extra spicy that was perfect to my liking. Even their side dishes of the seasoned edamame beans and beef tataki are a real hit. Wash everything down with a Matcha Green Tea Milkshake and a Mango Beer as did my partner and I, and you will leave the place rubbing your belly with satisfaction, as do my partner and I every time we visit.

We love this place and have been a few times now as a family.<br/><br/>If this was in the UK it would be receiving a Michelin Bib Gourmand ( Red M) for its stunning quality at unbelievable value for money prices.<br/><br/>I'm looking forward to going back soon with a business colleague.<br/><br/>Thank you for such fab service and lovely tastes.

This is the best Japanese for the price restaurant I know. The staff are so friendly and attentive and the food is amazing. The tempura dishes are delicious and the tuna sashimi and gyoza are fresh and delicious.

Incredibly tasty and beautifully presented. The sushi/sashimi is so fresh and high quality. Exceptional value for money. A local gem to pop up in Kew. For a quick Jap feed in a casual setting it cannot be beat.

I've been here a couple of times now and the food is always tasty. The sashimi bowl is delicious and the edamame were some of the best I've had.

Awsome foods awesome place. Different take on Japanese. Not crazy expensive and worth every bite. food beautifully presented, so hard to eat it Coz just love looking at the platiing.

Nice fast Japanese cafe in Kew Junction. I had the vegetarian udon which was tasty and contained lovely crunchy agadashi tofu pieces and my companion had the spicy tuna rolls. Both meals were nice but a little on the expensive side. Indeed the drinks are not cheap- $2.50 for a babyccino is a riduculous price.

Amazing food. Decent service, friendly staff. Nice clean fit out. Had the seared salmon nigiri - highly recommend. My partner had the cheesy salmon roll and loved it also. And they serve alcohol which is great :) They're brand new so go check them out!