Wasavie

3 Below Average

Food  6      Ambience  2      Service  1      Value  3     

My girlfriend and I went here last night. We were thoroughly disappointed, particularly by the service and 'ambience' (if you can call it that).

The wait staff were clueless. We had to ask them every 2 minutes for menus/to order/for water/for our food. It was very awkward seating and the lighting was far too bright. For most of the night the kitchen had their radio cranked up so high it drowned out the music in the dining room, and all possibility of conversation. It was only when Eminem's blaring expletives filled the room, that we started laughing and the chef took the hint and turned it down. The wait staff then left the door open for about 15 minutes while a freezing cold wind ripped through the room.

I have to mention the sushi chef was good. We watched him very skillfully plate various sashimi/sushi dishes which looked exquisite. He was very passionate and we could feel his frustration at the staff. Our food however, was nothing special. The sushi was good but the entrees were very average. Don't waste your time.

Sep 20, 2011 

5.3 Average

Food  5      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  4     

I agree with the reviews below, I think the quality of the food has slipped. Although it's been years since I previously went there, my memory was of top-notch produce and very imaginative preparation. When I went this week, I had no problem with the service, not slick, but it was very pleasant, or with the care taken preparing the food. But leaving price aside, the quality of the food and creativity no longer favourably distinguish this restaurant from other japanese restaurants in east sydney/paddington. Factoring in price just makes the comparison worse.

Nov 17, 2010 

4.3 Below Average

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  1      Value  2     

I agree with the review below, the service is appalling! It took ages to get our orders and to serve the food, was babbling weird things all the time, just all over the place. The food was average. The nicest thing was to get the outdoor table on a sunny Sunday afternoon with a nice view but not enough to go back.

Aug 03, 2010 

3.3 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  5      Service  1      Value  2     

Current state, on fast-track to restaurant oblivion. Visit last saturday night, first one in a year and one of many over the last 5 years or so. Food, change from brilliantly executed japanese classics 3-4 years ago to so-so average fare of today, still ok for a "local" but nothing to travel for any more.

Ambience and value...average. Service, this is The current issue, this was literally "comedy hour" on the night, the front door person is straight out of Seinfeld soup-nazi episode, half drunk (with a visible empty wine glass behind him), spouting incoherent directions to frazzled staff, keeping prospective diners outside in the cold while the restaurant was half empty inside! When queried on a process (Any process!) as to the seating, (remember, no reservations via phone), he literally pompously waved people away and told them to wait patiently for their turn, total power-trip.

Once inside, (after a direct conversation), the staff were equally clueless, no table settings, no communication, unless you asked for menus and food it would not arrive. We have witnessed this across multiple examples around us on the big table, with a couple next to us leaving, others had to come up to the front and ask for the menus, people who got there at 6 pm got their food at 7.30, the list of woes goes on.

What happened here? This used to be a fantastic place to have honest and authentic japanese!. Does the owner realise his restaurant is being killed off by the service and food that is Way off its heights from 3-4 years ago. Sydney deserves better.

SMH needs to take off the hat and really lower the rating here, it is underserved now, a huge pity! and a lost gem, as per the views below.

Jul 26, 2010 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  9     

What could be better on a sunny sunday afternoon that sitting outside on heeley st near 5 ways in paddington eating Japanese. The food is sensationally authentic yet unpretentious and Sean the friendly manager looks after our every request attentively. 4 or 5 courses just about does us and the fact that its BYO makes it great quality.

ps: try the spicy fish handrolls you won't be disappointed!

Jun 21, 2010 

5.5 Average

Food  5      Ambience  7      Service  5      Value  5     

I've been going here since about 2004. Service has always been slow but the food used to be very good. Over the last two or so years the food has progressively deteriorated. Either Wasavie has changed hands or they have lost commitment to quality. I no longer eat here. My previous 2007 review is below.

2007- Conisistently good food thats not expensive. Service can be a bit slow but once they take the order they bring the food in the sequence requested with a reasonable break between courses. Sitting outside for lunch with a glimpse of the harbour is great. No bookings for dinner.

Jun 17, 2010 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  10      Value  8     

Fresh good and great service. Will recommend to friends.

May 22, 2010 

6.3 Average

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  4      Value  6     

Food - The food was definitely the highlight here. The soft shell crab was so good, crunchy but soft inside. The buta no kakuni was to die for. Sushi was freshly prepared as always.

Ambience - Nothing too flashy. We requested to be seated in front of the sushi chef and we got that. Apparently, there was another dining room that we didn't know about next door.

Service - The service could have been a lot better. The waitress didn't seem to understand the concept of sharing dishes. We ordered 2 entrees, 4 mains and 2 desserts to share between 3 people and she had a hard time grasping that. We had to request for water every time we ran out. Paying was a bit chaotic b/c there seemed to be a line of people wanting to pay that we ended up waiting for 10 minutes in front of the premise.

Value - Go there for the food. I would go back again just for the pork dish and the soft shell crab.

May 15, 2010 

3.8 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  5      Service  1      Value  4     

I have been here sometime back and remember it was good but not outstanding,
I returned on a weeknight with some friends and the so called senior staff instantly made condescending remarks to our party, we were going to leave but, unfortunately, stayed on as we were hungry.

The food was average, sometimes cold, we even had to remind wait staff of dishes still to arrive! also at the last moment they advised the last main could not be supplied. In defence to the 2 younger wait staff their attitude was great but poor in training and they had to work with the nutcase senior staff. The senior staff kept saying weird and insulting remarks to us during the dinner, until one of my guests snapped and he apologised for the remark he made. He was probably drunk because it was a farce and left us with more than a bad taste in our mouth!

May 11, 2010 

3.3 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  5      Service  1      Value  2     

The worst! I used to frequent here a fair bit and used to love it, they have either changed hands or simply do not care anymore. A group of four of us had to actually ask to be served and then when the entree's came it was not nearly as good as I remembered, they were cold and average at best, and definitely not worth the money you are paying.

The service was terrible - if you could rate in minus points I would. My main was sitting in front of me going cold for over 25 minutes and when we spoke to the senior staff he was nothing but rude, asking us what we wanted him to do about it and telling us we couldn't expect all our meals to come out at once! It was so bad that we left! The only positive was that we didn't end up paying for the food they actually managed to get to our table. Strongly recommend going somewhere else - especially if you want to eat.

Apr 22, 2010