June 23rd, 2008 by Petunia Bloom – Comments (35)
Ryan and I have been eating at Asahi in Tulsa for two years. This new sushi place, Wasabi, opened across from Asahi on the other side of 71st. I got Ryan to take me there two weekends ago. When we walked in the wait staff looked familiar. Then we sat down and got our menus’wait’¦.. the menu items looked familiar as well. In fact, most of the menu items where the same as the ones at Asahi (but, the menu was way nicer)! We called over our waiter and asked what was going on. He had another lady come over to talk with us. This lady, in particular, had served us many times before at Ashai. She told us that the original owner of Asahi had sold the business six years ago to get more experience working at larger sushi restaurants. Then he decided to come back to Tulsa and start another sushi eatery. The atmosphere is great, every table gets Edamame before the meal (which I love), the place is super clean, the items we ordered were extremely fresh, the staff is more friendly at Wasabi than they are at Asahi, and my husband and I will keep going back. You should try it for yourself!
For the Wasabi Sushi menu Click Below
This is the Sushi Bar.
This was my meal. The unagi was amazing.
This was Ryan’s meal’¦.well after he was almost done eating. It was a ton of food, plus they gave us a free roll.
The outside looks nice.
Click here for the Wasabi Sushi menu
35 responses so far ↓
Mike Jun 25, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Is there an online menu for this place?
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Petunia Bloom Jun 25, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Mike – No there is not an online menu for Wasabi. Next time I am there, I will see if they have a menu I can take home and post.
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jennifer Reply:
August 22nd, 2010 at 2:40 am
was wondering if you may have a copy of the old wasabi menu before it closed for renovation. Before it closed i used to get a certain roll there called the california love roll. I wish i knew exactly what was on it so i could have it made at another sushie place. If you possibly have it sumwere would you be kind enough to email it to me? I went to the wasabi after it re-opened and was amazed at how the selection was was shorter and 2x’s higher than normal. IT SUXS because I have always hated sushi until i tried the love roll NOW I DONT KNOW WHAT CAME ON IT
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Waterdew Jul 1, 2008 at 7:28 pm
I ate there today. The food was amazing and considered reasonable too!! My favorite one is Crazy Crab Rolls.
The chef always gave extra sushi.
I used to eat at Asahi but not anymore since two years ago. The food at Asahi after owner changed was terrible and the quality was declining.
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kopela Sep 9, 2008 at 4:22 pm
have you guys ever been to fuji on 71st? that place is amazing.
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aes Dec 10, 2008 at 2:27 pm
what happened?? this place was soooo amazing the first couple of times we went, but the last two times the service was just horrible. the food we received was still good but both times items were left off our order, we had to keep tracking someone down for drink refills and after they started clearing plates it took another 20 minutes to get our ticket! very disappointing.
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Petunia Bloom Dec 15, 2008 at 10:33 am
I totally agree aes!! What happened is the big question?? My husband and I have not been to Wasabi in several months because the service was so bad the last couple of times we were there. I agree with everything you said. When it takes 20 minutes to get the ticket so you can pay, that is ridiculous!! Also, the last couple of times we were there our food did not taste fresh. It is too bad… they had such potential.
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Sam Special Dec 17, 2008 at 10:45 am
I think someone is going to have to put these guys in check with an updated food blog for the homepage of this website. Last time in Tulsa I had the same experience.
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Saif from OKgamers.com Dec 20, 2008 at 12:12 am
Gotta say guys, the quality of food hasn’t change to me. I’ve been there several times – right after opening, and just last week – and the quality of food is solid. They have made a switch – from classy style menus to a cheaper feel, with a ‘daily special’ board. The food though, is still great, and now they have half priced sushi!
– OKgamers.com
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aes Dec 22, 2008 at 11:53 am
unfortunately half priced sushi doesn’t do me any good if it makes me 30 min late to get back to work because all of the waitstaff have disappeared in an almost-empty restaurant. we’ve given up, won’t go back.
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Extemely Disappointed Dec 24, 2008 at 10:12 am
For those that do not know the inside scoop, Wasabi has gone through a major overhaul, the original owner that opened the location in Tulsa, sold it to Koreans about 2 months ago. They came in there and revamped the entire restaurant and menu. No more comp sushi, no free edamame and soup with the meal, the prices have been raised, they started that 1/2 price sushi deal like Asahi across the street, no more mints to refresh your palate as you leave. They have screwed up a good thing. Wasabi had made themselves the leader in good food for a good price…no more. Fuji has always been the spot, but the prices were a little high. When Wasabi came along, the prices were better and the food was comparable. There are a few sushi restaurants that are owned by Koreans in town. I want a Japanese restaurant that is owned by Japanese and the food is prepared by Japanese hands, and that’s what WAS at Wasabi.
The food at Wasabi has suffered in the recent translation, but is still pretty good. I have noticed that the quality has gone down, but there is one sushi chef that has remained there since the sale and he keeps me coming back, because he knows what he is doing and knows how to prepare the food.
Yes, the service sucks to the HIGH heavens. I have sat there for 20 mins for someone to bring the bill, I have had the bill brought to me WAY before I completed my meal, had to flag someone down for a refill on my drink and almost had to cuss out a waiter for being rude.
I will be going back to Fuji for my sushi. Wasabi is a disapointment now and will not get my $45 a week any more, (included take-out, too). Was a time before the sale that you couldn’t get in there for lunch due to the crowd, now…you can pick any spot you want. I’m sure they know they have lost business BIG time. If the want to survive, they better institute the ways of old and give the customer a little more BANG for the buck, especially in these economic times. Wasabi has screwed up and they are paying for it. In closing, do the math. The new menu has you paying the same prices you would pay at Fuji. You have to buy 3 nigiri orders to get the half price. That’s 8.25. They want 5.50 for one order of nigiri. At Fuji, one order is about 4.25. Everything else on the Wasabi menu has gone up, too. Might as well go to a better restaurant.
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Petunia Bloom Dec 26, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Wow~ Thanks for the informative explanation!!
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Extemely Disappointed Jan 9, 2009 at 7:36 am
Wasabi is CLOSED as of 1/2/09 for “renovations” (????). What do they need to renovate in a newly built restaurant? They lost business and may not open again…that seems to be what’s going on. The new owners may have bitten off more than they can chew. We will see whether they open again.
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bad! Jan 31, 2009 at 11:49 pm
Well me and my friend went there a few times before the “renovation” and the food was alright but the staff was terrible! We also had to track down a waiter to fill up our drinks and I actually ended up drinking most of her water because my mouth was on FIRE from some spicy sauce and I couldn’t wait anymore. When we were done we had to ask for the tab after waiting for it for 30 minutes and then 20 minutes later I had to ask someone TWICE to take it back and ring it up. They acted oblivious to the fact that we were done eating and waiting on them the entire time. Probably because our waitress/er? (I couldn’t tell) looked about 14 years old. I have never not left a tip at a restaurant but I didn’t that day because they literally did not care. Too bad. I didn’t go back there again to eat, only carry-out once. Hopefully when they get done with the “renovations” it will be a place I actually want to eat at again. Until then, I’m going to In the Raw or Fujis!
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F Y I Feb 10, 2009 at 9:50 am
Wasabi has reopened as of the week of Feb 1, 2009.
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Person who eats food Feb 10, 2009 at 1:25 pm
I just saw along Memorial signs that say Wasabi is now serving.
Wonder why it closed down for a couple of months?
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Bella Feb 21, 2009 at 7:15 pm
Actually its closed again. The sign on the door says closed for renovations. We went back in there the first night it opened back up. It did not look any different than before. Opening up the menu though it was WAY different. They’ve hiked up the prices at least double. We sat down and never got waited on even though we were one of two groups of people there. So we left once we saw the prices. Asahi has better prices and friendly staff. I don’t look for it to ever be the same place it was at first.
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Person who eats food Apr 8, 2009 at 1:20 pm
That is really too bad. I went to ITR the other day and the rolls were half the size they used to be. I think I will be going back to Asahi from now on.
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Petunia Bloom Apr 8, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Yes, my husband and I went to In The Raw several nights ago. It was a Wednesday night. We waited 1 hour for our food and the rolls were tiny and bland. I would rather eat Target Sushi than ITR!! Why is that place so popular?!?! It blows my mind.
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Heath Apr 9, 2009 at 9:08 am
Petunia, Have you tried Haruno yet? I’m guessing that if you went to ITR a few nights ago the answer is, “no.” You really need to!
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Petunia Bloom Apr 9, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Is Haruno a sushi place? Is it new?
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Heath Apr 10, 2009 at 8:06 am
Yes, and yes. – http://www.harunotulsa.com
There is also a new place in Bixby called Flying Fish, but I think a more descriptive name for it would be, “Fuji South.”
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RC May 11, 2009 at 3:21 pm
My wife and I went to Wasabi’s and it was a horrible sushi experience. The original owner supposedly sold the restaurant and the new owner’s are very rude and VERY SLOW. We went on a week night and were one of the few people in the restaurant (that should have been a warning flag). To add insult to injury when I went to pay my bill the owner decide to let their young children attempt to try and figure out how to work the cash register. That was nice. We won’t eat there ever again. Ashai’s across the street is much better.
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FYI May 19, 2009 at 8:03 am
The sushi chef at the new Harano’s was employed by the 3rd owners of Wasabi…worked there for 1 week and the 3rd owners of Wasabi closed, filing bankrupcy. I wonder where the original sushi chef at Wasabi’s went?
Fuji on Memorial is now offering the all you can eat special like they started on Brookside. Various prices and types of rolls offered. Fuji can still satisfy the discriminating sushi palate.
Went to Harano’s a few weeks ago. Good, but not impressed. Miso soup was too too salty with no seaweed or tofu in it, seaweed and tako salad portion too small for the price. May or maynot go back.
Speaking of ITR, it sucks big time! Food is plain old lousy! Last time I was in there one of the sushi chefs from Fuji ws working in there. SHE better go back to Fuji and get her old job back!
I am a sushi veteran, taught to eat it by Japanese and have been eating it over 25 years. Tulsa sushi leaves little to be desired. Of all the places here, Fuji is about the best bet. Too many American guys fixing the sushi, but they do okay. The one oriental guy behind the sushi bar has a tendency to have an attitude, but he can fix some great sushi.
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Person who eats food Jul 23, 2009 at 10:26 am
A restaurant called Sake is opening up where Wasabi used to be.
Any ideas when it will open>
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cameron Aug 17, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Sake opens up in a few days.
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Person who eats food Sep 9, 2009 at 1:34 pm
I just ate at sake with some friends. Free edamame and miso soup. Rolls were really good too. We all could not help but think that this was just like wasabi started and then ended up going out of business.
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kg Sep 12, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Just got back from Sake. Nice atmosphere, great service, FANTASTIC rolls – also got some free sample rolls! My husband also compared this “honeymoon phase” to Wasabi, though he just told me that Sake is owned by the same people who own Asahi (I’ve never been to Asahi), so hopefully no changes once this restaurant starts to take off (their official opening happens later this month) – I mean, they probably can’t do complimentary rolls forever, but…. Sake, according to my husband, has a more upscale feel than its predecessor (Wasabi), which he says had a little more of a cafe feel, like Pei Wei or something.
Highly recommend Sake. Fuji on Brookside is where we would always go prior to this (and will still go to, I’m sure). The atmosphere is a little more upscale than Fuji, but Fuji is still good.
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FYI Sep 25, 2009 at 11:20 am
Sake is and excellent replacement to Wasabi. Really good food. I’ve been over there 3 times and have not been disappointed. Grand opening is Sept. 26. See Tulsa World ad in 9/24 paper. Free drinks and live entertainment. Complimentary goodies, too.
Staff is friendly and some worked at Wasabi.
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FYI Nov 23, 2009 at 3:16 pm
They are not getting the business. Scares me because the food turnaround is slow, which cn cause “problems”, They recently changed chefs and the cooked food quality has suffered.
I don’t trust the place anylonger and won’t be going back unless the clientele improves. They may be forced to go out of business. Also, Fuji has raised their prices…again. I guess these sushi restaurants don’t want any business…
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FreeWine Jan 13, 2010 at 6:11 pm
Haruno’s was nice, but I gotta go Sushi Train for the fun and speed! Be sure to request a side dish of Sriracha Thai Hot Sauce and Kimchi when you are seated.
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MS Jan 30, 2011 at 3:17 pm
My boyfriend and I went out for sushi for the first time in 6 months. We decided on Sake because we had previously been there and really enjoyed the food. Well, our most recent experience was AWFUL. We never received our appetizer and our food was incorrect. Our server seemed to be on another planet. She was not knowledgeable of menu items or attentive to our needs., We sat with empty drinks and a table full of dirty, empty plates. Our server spent more time socializing than working. When we tried speaking to the manager about our experience, she only really talked over us and didn’t show concern in resolving the issue. We will certainly not be returning.
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