OC Wasabi

Run, don't skip, past OC Wasabi. It doesn't deserve your money, time or patience.

We were seated last night by a friendly male host around 8:13 pm. The atmosphere feels very old school Japanese dining, and we had a traditional table in a corner. That's where the meal rolled down a cliff.

We sat for 5...10... then 12 minutes as we witnessed who we assumed to be our server (Sona B), chatting with a nearby table about her kids, activities, their trip to Shenandoah, etc. I'm glad they were having a great talk, but at least a glass of water and acknowledgement of our existence would have been nice.

Thankfully, a woman in a flannel top (we assumed a manager) noticed and we heard her tell the server, "That table in the corner has been sitting for too long."

Sona came over and immediately asked what we wanted for dinner. (Good evening to you as well). This was now past 8:40 pm, the restaurant closes at 9:30 pm according to the Google page. We ordered three rolls, gyoza/dumplings and tofu teriyaki entree.

Food took forever. We weren't sure if it was because, once again, we watched our server talking with other tables for long periods of time and our food was actually ready, or if it's a slow kitchen. Our meal came out at 9:24 pm.

The rolls weren't presented well or very tasty, they fell apart and were simply thrown together with massive chunks of veggies, not nicely cut as usual sushi restaurants. The spicy mayo was good, actually had a great kick. The tofu teriyaki was a letdown for $21. Broccoli was soggy, the tofu wasn't fried long enough and just had sauce dropped on top of it, and the biggest portion of the meal was rice. And it was cold, but I don't know if that's because my meal sat from a slow kitchen or an inattentive server. $66 not well spent.

And, once again, we waited so long for the check (Sona disappeared) that we had to ask the manager in flannel for the check. Thank you to the manager for acknowledging us.

We are always very, very good tippers (20% +) but she received a 3% tip and I hope she realized it was directly related to the absolutely terrible service she provided us. We were friendly, polite and easygoing, but to spend an evening ignored while watching her interact so much with every other table is unacceptable.

OC Wasabi is a hard pass. Do yourself a favor and stroll past and try elsewhere! Or, don't sit in Sona's section.

The food at OC Wasabi was DELICIOUS! Our sushi and miso soup was so yummy. Their teriyaki was so good! The menu had a large variety of food options.

They even had tables low to the ground where you could take off your shoes and sit with legs crossed. We loved our overall experience here and highly recommend.

Overall, this is a decent local sushi spot. If you are craving sushi in area, you could come here. They have many "modern" takes in sushi with baked and fried rolls and of course the colorful rolls (i.e. volcano rolls with the bells and whistles of avocado and carrots and the fish eggs). When it came to the sashimi, they fish was average. The fish cuts were large (good value) but not the typical bite-size, well-balanced pieces that I expect.

What we got:
- Charashi Bowl
- Sashimi Plate (comes with a side of rice)
- Sushi & Sashimi
- Chicken Teriyaki
- Side miso soup & salad
- Cooked Eel (ju)
- Udon (vegetable)*
- Blueberry Mule
- Mango Mule
- Fig Grapefruit Crush

*The udon is not a bowl of soup. It's a plate of noodles.
= good

Service was stellar. We had a party of 20 folks and they accommodated all of us in their side area. Our waitress was attentive and patient when taking all of our orders. Service was understandably delayed because the restaurant was packed--they put my order in wrong initially and when I asked, they remade what I had asked for instead with no issue and at no additional charge.

The ambiance was great--loved the interior with the fish tank and the traditional sitting area (where you sit with an elevated floor, cross-cross apple sauce style). The outdoor area was cute too. Drinks are ok!