Contact & booking details

It was a cause for great excitement when Sheffield's first Japanese restaurant opened its doors in 2004. We decided to give it a try for a pre-Christmas meal with a couple of friends, who we knew had a taste for good Japanese food.

WasabiSabi is located on a prime corner spot on busy London Road in Sheffield. From the outside it has a modern stylish appearance, in keeping with its promotion as an upmarket restaurant offering contemporary Japanese food. Stepping inside, we were greeted by a reserved but polite waiter and took in the three distinct areas within. The restaurant has a traditional seating area for a la carte dining, plus an area to one side of the restaurant with a large communal 'table' with bar chairs. This is the Teppanyaki room and is the place to be if you prefer your food with flamboyance and entertainment thrown in. Linking the two is the central drinks bar.

We were booked in for an a la carte meal, as we had missed all the slots for the Teppanyaki bar - bookings are for set times for the Teppanyaki, as part of the dining experience is watching the chef cook the food in front of you. Once seated, we found the restaurant to be a little chilly and had to keep coats and wraps on for a while to keep warm, but apart from that, the environment was pleasant. Decor is modern oriental, with the classic geometric lines of Japanese styling, finished off with decorative touches such as oriental lamps and wall hangings.

There were special menus on offer since it was Christmas, which made the selection of food even harder, as the a la carte menu alone is very extensive. We were all hooked on trying sushi at some point during the meal - so all we had to do was decide whether it was to be a nibble as a starter or a more substantial part of the meal. The four Christmas set menus seemed to offer very good value for money and with five courses presented a chance to try a good range of dishes, so three of us opted for these, including one vegetarian set menu. Other things on offer were a vast selection of sushi, both fish and vegetarian based, five noodle dishes, Japanese tapas and robata-yaki, which consists of skewered meat, fish or vegetables. There are also Bento boxes, which are complete meals in a beautifully presented box. It all sounded fantastic.

All the first courses were very good and presentation was superb. The Sushi Trial was a great choice for trying different types of sushi. Our friends who had eaten sushi several times before at other places said it was the best they had tasted. We couldn't make comparisons, but did enjoy it. When we got to the main courses, we were similarly impressed with three of them, which included a selection of duck breast with plum sauce, sliced beef with mixed mushrooms, Japanese black cod and lobster tail. The vegetarian main course though, was a disappointment - it was a rice filled omelette, with of all things, tomato ketchup drizzled on top. It simply wasn't in the same league as the other courses, which was a shame.

Puddings added extra interest to the meal, as none of us had ever had sesame ice cream or deep fried ice cream before. We found them intriguingly good.

On the other side of the restaurant in the Teppanyaki room, the chef had been entertaining his diners big time, with a flamboyant display of culinary skills interspersed with some light hearted antics. It looked great fun and we'd like to give it a go sometime.

It was a good night out and was definitely not a run of the mill meal experience. Overall, the food quality and presentation was excellent and the service was professional and courteous throughout.

December 2004



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