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    Wasabi

    4.0 (247 reviews)
    ModerateJapanese, Sushi Bars
    Closed 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

    Wasabi Photos

    Business Info

    WASABI ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Intimate
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Wasabi

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    Reviews With Photos

    Titanic.
    Anna W.

    It's good to have Wasabi around. All in all, Wasabi serves good sushi. Both locations are very similar in every aspect. The one on Elmwood has, obviously, a more urban vibe, which I personally prefer. Although the interior is somewhat worn, dim, and nothing fancy, it remains cozy and inviting. We ordered the Titanic, again. I still think that any boat, loaded with sushi, should have an impressive presentation. There should be some extra touch to look festive and special. It should be fun, right? :) My 'sushi buddy' doesn't necessarily agree. Wasabi's Titanic was full of tasty treats, but its presentation also showed a different opinion than mine. Nothing more to report right now. Just keep calm and eat sushi.

    Sushi Roll lunch
    Donna Y.

    Great options for lunch and cute atmosphere. The wait staff could be more personable. The sushi was fresh and yummy. There are Gluten free options as well and the miso soup was very tasty. Reason for one star less - the bathroom should really be on the first floor - my husband can't navigate stairs due to a broken leg. I can't imagine anyone with a wheelchair would be able to use the bathroom as it's tiny as well - not really more than a small closet in size.

    Miso Soup
    Claire S.

    Went on a Friday at 8 PM and we were the only 2 in there! By time we were leaving around 9 there were two other tables filled. We got the love boat and you get a choice of soup or salad, we got the miso soup and it was so yummy. Love boat was great. Lots of flavor, good selection, staff was fast and welcoming. Such a great spot on Elmwood! Ambiance is small and cozy, maybe about 8 tables. Love the vibes!

    California Roll/Shrimp Roll
    Robert P.

    Call myself trying nothing but new Restaurants for 2024. And this is my first review. The miso soup was darker than others I've seen but spot on no complaints the prices were on point and when it comes to the sushi my my. The sushi rolls were all chunky meaning they weren't stingy with the ingredients placed inside and just all around everything was great. Give em a try!! If your around the Elmwood strip

    Unagi (fresh water eel) and Ikura (salmon roe) gunkan

    I recently moved to the Buffalo area after living in Hawaii for 50 years. Coincidentally I've also been of 100% Japanese ancestry for all 50 of those years. So it's fair to say I'm a total sushi snob. I came here on a whim while in the area for an event, and was extremely skeptical that a place called "Wasabi" would actually be serving non-hipsterized, non-Instagram-worthy Japanese cuisine and sushi, especially in the same neighborhood where there's another restaurant called "Waikiki Poke & Grill", where you'll find them committing the cultural hate-crime of putting mango, pineapple and wonton chips on "Poke" bowls. I'm happy to report that my culinary snobbery and prejudice was totally wrong. Wasabi is legit. My skepticism was quickly reversed when I saw that they had an all-Japanese staff running the place. The server understood what I was ordering when I asked for a piece of "Unagi" (broiled fresh water eel), even though that word is nowhere to be found on their printed menu. Sure, there are odd diversions on the menu like Pad Thai and General Tso's Chicken, but if you're looking for no-frills fresh sashimi and nigiri, and for insanely cheap prices, you won't be disappointed. I ordered a Chirashi, and was a bit confused when I received a large platter of assorted sashimi with just a small scoop of sushi rice in the corner of the platter. It wasn't a typical Chirashi-don, where all the sashimi was piled on top of a bowl of rice, but I'm not complaining, because the individual slices of sashimi were generously sized, and very fresh. And I couldn't believe that it was only $21.95! My absolute favorite thing to order at sushi bars is Ikura (salmon roe). And over the years I've come to use it as a litmus test regarding how much care a sushi restaurant has when it sources its fish. And if a self-proclaimed sushi restaurant doesn't even offer Ikura, you should definitely question the culinary sincerity of the place. The Ikura gunkan at Wasabi wasn't particularly generous in terms of its serving size, but it definitely passed the test in terms of freshness and quality. And regarding the size of the nigiri at Wasabi, I have to always remind myself that their smaller serving sizes are very typical of how nigiri is served in Japan, where you're expected to be able to eat the whole thing in one bite. Comically large nigiri is more of a US thing, and although I do enjoy big pieces of nigiri and sashimi, the way they are served at Wasabi is not atypical. While you're not going to have your mind blown by the variety and rarity of sushi offerings at Wasabi, you'll definitely get an outstanding ratio of price vs quality here. Highly recommended!

    Mark D.

    I love this place. I'm not sure if it was as this is where my future wife and I used to visit often when we first started dating. Or if it was because of the low key yet cozy ambiance. Or the well crafted sushi. Either way, I was saddened when they had closed during the pandemic. I am glad that they reopened for dining in at the beginning of the year. My wife and I went back this weekend, and it was just as good. The prices are roughly 25 cents higher than on the menu, but they probably haven't had the time to update it yet. Either way, their prices and sushi are much better than some other places I've been visiting. We do miss living in the city and wish we could visit more often, though I guess this will be a reason to visit more often. :)

    Eel Avocado Roll
    Erin H.

    This sushi was the best I've had in Buffalo. The restaurant was small and felt like I was in Japan. The service was great and we had a fantastic time. I recommend making reservations as this restaurant is so small. We will definitely be back!!

    Sushi for 2
    S K.

    Rly delicious food, good for a quick bite. Very courteous service, cute and intimate environment. Enjoyed the patio seat

    California Roll and spicy crunchy tuna
    Rosa W.

    Great sushi. Its not a restaurant you can go inside, you just walk up to the window and place your order. There are a few tables and chairs outside. I don't think the woman inside said one word to me other than, "ten minutes." But hey, no complaints. Sushi was ready in ten minutes. Really fresh, quality tasting. Great prices. I got two rolls (spicy tuna and california) for 11$, comes with the chopsticks, soy sauce and wasabi of course. I recommend for some really quick, casual food. Definitely go before 3pm and catch their lunch deals.

    Eel rolls
    Jurel H.

    Always enjoyed the sushi here, everything I ever had tasted so fresh. Now due to covid, your no longer able to eat inside. So everything now is takeout. They actually created a takeout window for you, so you can pick up your food.

    Alli L.

    Went in with some friends this last weekend when our initial plan fell through and someone recommended it to us out of the blue. The sushi here is incredible, very fresh and incredibly well prepared aesthetically as well. It's not a particularly upscale looking establishment from the outside, but inside it's perfect for a quiet dinner with friends. I can't recommend the omakase plate highly enough, and I'm absolutely sure I'll be back to try more things here.

    Salmon Skin Roll, Salmon Roll, Crunchy Spicy Tuna Roll, Salmon Avocado Roll
    Hannah L.

    I've been making the rounds trying to find the best sushi in the downtown area, and Wasabi has been the best yet! We ordered takeout tonight and got three rolls each. I opted for a salmon roll, spicy tuna roll, and salmon skin roll. My boyfriend called in our order at around 6:15 and it was a half-hour prep time, which was fine by us! The salmon and spicy tuna rolls really wowed me! The salmon was incredibly fresh and had a great flavor. Spicy tuna rolls are my favorite, and they really didn't disappoint here. The salmon skin roll was just a-okay in my opinion; there was way too much sauce on it and it was overwhelmingly salty. In terms of price vs quality, I think you get the most bang for your buck here. Many sushi places downtown are relatively expensive and not nearly as delicious, so I know I'll be ordering from Wasabi again!

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    6 months ago

    I haven't had a bad meal at wasabi. I actually prefer it to sato. Their hand rolls are banging. No complaints.

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    1 year ago

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    7 months ago

    Please never change. My Go to for so many years. So so so good. Sushi dinner is the best thing ever for 18 something dollars.

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    3 years ago

    Decent food, small place. Not much room to maneuver around - tricky with a large group!

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    4 years ago

    Take out option is timely and organized. Sushi 4 two was delicious. Trust the Sushi chef!

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    4 years ago

    Great selection and the food was delicious. We ordered a diverse range of items for lunch and it was ready in 20 minutes.

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    Kumo - Japanese crabmeat ravioli

    Kumo

    4.3(29 reviews)
    4.0 mi

    Kumo Sushi has some of the freshest fish I've had in Western New York. Everything we ordered was…read moreincredibly fresh, and the sushi was absolutely delicious. The presentation was beautiful too every plate looked like a work of art. Sorry, no pictures this time... I was way too excited to start eating! One thing to know before you go: if you want ginger or wasabi, you'll need to ask for it since it doesn't automatically come with your sushi. The staff was friendly, the restaurant was very clean, and overall it was a great experience. I'll definitely be back!

    This is where my son decided he wanted to go for his 29th birthday dinner. We've never been here…read morebefore and it's close by our house so I figured why not ? It has a very, very small parking lot, which is pretty inconvenient. I had to park all the way down the street. We approached the restaurant and it looks so cute from outside with that big lucky cat. I don't know the names of these things so don't laugh at me, lol. We get inside. It's quite small inside. Also, they have a big cage that people can sit in only one though, and I wanted to sit in there, but it was already occupied by a family. The decorations are cute, but they don't have very many at least not on the side that we sat. We sat to the right when you walk in the door. The menus look like you're opening up a humongous encyclopedia or an almanac but there aren't that many pages in there so don't let it fool you. They have lots of different types of sushi, Japanese food, Chinese food, etc. My son got a salmon roll and a caterpillar which he said was amazing. I got General Tzo's chicken , which was much better than any Chinese place I've ever had it from. This was the real deal. But first I had pork eggroll and it was so good. They served it cut in half with duck sauce all over it and it was so good that way I loved it. Then I ordered a nice size bowl of pork lo mein. That was the best lo mein I have ever had in my life. It was absolutely delicious. My son tried some the next day and said that that was the best lo mein he's ever had. The employees were nice. Took a while for our food to come, but that was OK. We weren't in a rush. I ordered a Diet Coke and it seems that all Japanese and Chinese places that I go to lately they only give you cans of pop which seems weird to me, but whatever ! And this seems like a higher end type restaurant too. It's not a cheap little restaurant. This is a pretty pricey place, but like I said, it is delicious. I highly recommend going there and eating. Hopefully, you'll be as satisfied as my son and I were.

    Photos
    Kumo - Dining area

    Dining area

    Kumo - Gyoza, crab "ravioli", and chicken katsu appetizers (takeout obviously)

    Gyoza, crab "ravioli", and chicken katsu appetizers (takeout obviously)

    Kumo - Interior

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    Interior

    Kuni's

    Kuni's

    4.2(289 reviews)
    0.3 miElmwood Village
    $$

    This is our family's gold standard by which all other sushi restaurants are judged!…read more It has been in operation for at least 30 years, and so popular that it doesn't take reservations: First come, first served; give your cell phone number to the hostess and cross the street to the bar while you wait for your table. Although it seats about forty between the tables, sushi bar, and regular bar, the lines are modern and bright: It doesn't take too many people to make very noisy inside. The food is fantastic, with many selections not found elsewhere: Surf clam, gitana (black cod), uni, and something identified as, "foie gras of the sea". Amaebi/sweet shrimp, available seasonally, as it is February 2025. Street parking only.

    We decided to have a dinner at Kuni after hearing good things from friends one night when we were…read moreover on Lexington for work reasons. I ordered what I thought could have been an obscene amount of food only to receive extremely tiny portions. I ordered tako-su and a special of the same sort made of jelly fish which I had never had and was exited to try. I believe I also ordered a simple tuna roll thankfully or I may have starved like my friends. My friends both ordered the seafood tempura thinking this would be the size of a meal or at least include rice. Everything I ordered was about 3-4 bites of food, the sushi was 6 very tiny pieces. The sushi was good and if I ever went back I'd order more. The jelly fish was crunchy and interesting and I ordered it for the experience so I enjoyed it. I love octopus but this was the toughest most horribly overcooked octopus I've ever had. I forced some of it down but had to spit out two pieces of it because they were completely inedible octopus flavored rubber. My friends were extremely disappointed in their "meals" that consisted of a single tempura shrimp, a single tempura squid and a single tempura scallop. They left hangry. The drinks were good and seemingly normal portions. I don't know what the draw of this place is but I'd be willing to try it again to see if I just experienced an off day and a lack of appropriate expectations regarding price vs portions.

    Photos
    Kuni's
    Kuni's
    Kuni's

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    Taisho Bistro Japanese Izakaya - Chicken Yakitori

    Taisho Bistro Japanese Izakaya

    4.0(336 reviews)
    5.5 mi
    $$

    Second time being here…read more Ambiance- Perfection, hidden gem, very clean, large seating never crowded. Service- Very attentive, never felt like I was waiting too long or too little. Service was prompt and to the point. Very respectful staff Food- Had many of the sushi rolls Rainbow, Chopper, kamikaze and Akazaru. Every single roll was amazing and full of taste. I don't know where they get their fish from but it is some of the freshest fish I've had in the area. Also had the spicy miso ramen which was another perfectly made meal. The spice was full of taste but not so hot that it took away from the meal 10/10 restaurant.

    I say this as a former sushi chef as well as someone who has been to over two dozen sushi…read morerestaurants in 7 different states. -Sushi rice was bland and slightly dry. Needed more sushi vinegar. If the ingredients are measured out, which they said it was when I pointed it out, then this should never have be an issue. -Garnish, specifically the lettuce on the sushi plate was old, mushy, and unappealing. They should have left it off the plate if that was all they had left. Sushi is about presentation more so than most food and this was not done well. -Miso soup. This was not traditional miso soup. I know there are miso soup with daikon as an add on, but there's usually wakame in it. There was no enoki mushroom either like it says on their menu. The ones I uses to make, and all the sushi restaurants I've been to were the traditional tofu, wakame and diced green onions. Have that as a first option since more widely known, and make the daikon as a second option. Also, miso broth was bland. Needed more bonito flakes. Equipment - you guys need to periodically check your tables and chairs for damage. When I grabbed my chair by the seat to scoot myself closer to the table the seat came off. Need to balance out the portions of ingredients in your rolls. California roll needed more imitation crab. There was too much cucumber and avocado. You guys need to focus more on quality and presentation instead of having a ton of different roll on your menu. When you are pricing your sushi like a mid-high end restaurant, the quality and presentation needs to match. I read the reviews on this place and thought all the kinks would have been worked out by now, but it seems not. We didn't try out the other non-sushi dishes they had on their menu, so we have no opinions on them. I am one of the few who will not be coming here again for sushi.

    Photos
    Taisho Bistro Japanese Izakaya - Inside

    Inside

    Taisho Bistro Japanese Izakaya - Yakitori platter

    Yakitori platter

    Taisho Bistro Japanese Izakaya - Bar

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    Bar

    SATO - Okonomiyaki

    SATO

    3.6(391 reviews)
    0.0 miElmwood Village
    $$

    I've gotten Raman and Sushi for takeout in the past and it has always been very good! Recently…read moreordered the chicken teriyaki don rice bowl (also takeout) as pictured. Online ordering was very easy and pick up process is smooth and timely! Although I haven't dined in, staff always seem friendly. Parking may be challenging as there is no parking lot and you will need to find street parking, but there are several side streets around.

    We literally NEVER have a good experience with SATO. Tonight was another witness of their terrible…read morecustomer service. Here goes: We were on our way home and called to place an order. The hostess told us that they would not take a pick up order until 8:30 (um ok....). But since it was 8:12, we decided to WAIT until 8:30 to order rather than finding an alternative to feed our family who already picked out their orders. So, we waited in our car for 20 minutes, and called back ready to place are order. The hostess said that the kitchen is now "not taking orders". I explained the situation and asked if we could just get a few ramen since we just waited at her direction. She must not realize that rent on Elmwood is expensive, or that there are bills to be paid, or that humans ordering food pay the bills, or that an owner would appreciate this $100 ramen order or the many orders we place all year, or large eat in bills because there is no attempt to keep us as a customer. We live in the neighborhood and love to support local restaurants and businesses and our family of 6 places large orders. Last time we were in to eat the service was bad as well. It took about 20 minutes to get our drinks. And the time before that we came on my daughters birthday and they said they weren't seating parties of 6 even though the entire restaurant was open. Hmmm. We literally could see every open table. My daughter in her 10 year old birthday crown telling them how much she loved ramen didn't even make them flinch since they seem to have delicious broth and no souls. We will keep spending our money at local establishments that treat customers like humans.

    Photos
    SATO - Gyu-Don

    Gyu-Don

    SATO - Lake Erie Water, I prefer mine filtered and chilled. This place is more like 3 stars but could easily be 5. It's all in the details.

    Lake Erie Water, I prefer mine filtered and chilled. This place is more like 3 stars but could easily be 5. It's all in the details.

    SATO - Sashimi Plate (Chef's Choice) There were five pieces of nigiri and 8 piece CA roll

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    Sashimi Plate (Chef's Choice) There were five pieces of nigiri and 8 piece CA roll

    Wasabi - japanese - Updated September 2026

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