Wasabi To Go

Good sushi, its fast and relatively cheap for sushi.
It sometimes takes a little while to wait for your food if they are making it, but the ready boxes are fast and pretty good!

It is pretty cheap, but you get what you pay for. Not the best sushi, nor service, and the place is always empty so it feels a bit abandoned, empty — just not a vibe I liked. If you are craving some sushi on the go, its not a bad place to go, but thats about the only reason.

A relatively inexpensive place for quick sushi cravings, though the rolls aren’t as fresh as other restaurants because they’re all prepackaged. If you get a bento box it’s only about $ 9 tax included, and it has a variety of foods including small portions of appetizer and dessert, veggies, and chicken or salmon. I usually go by myself when I have to eat alone (hungry and in a hurry on my way to somewhere) because they don’t have tables but rather just two short bars with stools where you eat while facing the wall. So there isn’t too much social interaction going on usually. Sometimes I also grab a sushi box for takeout. The space’s clean and laid-​back. Not super delicious sushi (if you want that you could go to Kaz one block away, or Kotobuki which is on MacArthur Boulevard near GW’s Vern campus that you can get to by taking the Vern Express), but reasonable prices. I’m a little turned off by the sushi since it’s not fresh, but for the price and speed (it’s self-​serve so you just grab it from the sushi box area in the center of the restaurant) it’s definitely worth it. Besides sushi and bento boxes, they also have warm dishes (that come in plastic boxes as well) of chicken teriyaki, salmon teriyaki, chicken with curry sauce, etc.

This is my emergency sushi joint. If I can’t make it to Kaz or Nooshi, here I come.
Yes, the rolls ARE pretty cheap at $ 3 – 4. But they’re also tiny. I bought 2 avocado and salmon and 1 cucumber roll — and I was still hungry. Not to mention, these 3 rolls fit into one little to-​go platter. Taste is average.
The drinks, however, are plentiful in choice, tasty and cheap.
The one great thing about Wasabi-​to-​go is the native sushi-​chefs. They’re from the southern most island of Japan, called Mexico.
They have a few uncomfortable stools inside, or you can eat outside at the many tables on the southside of 2000 Penn.
Just two years ago, there lie a sandwich and pizza shop in this space. I yearn for those days.

I got the Small sushi box which was pre-​made. Tasty. For express sushi, I was happy. Seating isn’t awesome, but it’s fine if you’re hungry and don’t want to sit around. Zoom – in and out.

I go to GW Law right across the street from this place, and have stopped by a few times for lunch or dinner when I’m in the mood for something a little different. Their sushi is decent, but nothing to write home about. I wasn’t a fan of the miso soup– it tasted weird.
The prices are fairly reasonable– I don’t really spend any more there than I would at the nearby Au Bön Pain or Baja Fresh.

I really had high hopes for this place. When you walk by, the décor is clean and modern and prices are pretty reasonable. There are several stations insde: 2 premade refridgerated sections– 1 section with rolls, desserts, and drinks, another with bentos and salads. Then there is a sushi station for freshly prepared sushi and rolls and a hot station for noodles, rice dishes, etc.
I had the veggie udon ($ 5) and it was the blandest udon I have ever had in my life. Even the packaged udon they sell at Safeway is far superior. The udon is premade and packaged into containers, and when you order it, they simply pour the lukewarm bland broth into the cup. The portion is about 4 bites.
The seaweed salad was pretty good and the rolls were not great but not bad. I would go back out of desperation and sheer convenience, but do not go out of your way to try this place.

I grabbed lunch here today. From the looks of the place and the food, I had high hopes. And it was supercheap! But you get what you pay for, I guess. The service was super-​rude. Both the sushi-​makers and cashier treated me like I was their high school enemy or something. Snapping and glaring. I was psyched to try the sashimi and when I opened it up in my office it reeked of fish. In a gross way. I blotted it with napkins because they were super-​greasy but they tasted awful. I had to throw away the tuna and most of the salmon. The salmon avocado roll was okay, but I was so grossed out from the sashimi the mood was ruined. Then I had to bundle up the trash really well and not throw it in my office trashcan b/​c it smelled so bad. Needless to say, I think I will go to Nooshi or Whole Foods next time.

Atmosphere: fun, colorful. Their website is very festive. I love the way they package their food.
Food: (vegetarian) The vegetable gyoza (potstickers/​dumplings) were pretty good, though skimpy on the filling. And one of them was really hard and crunchy. The dipping sauce is to die for! In fact, I also used it to dip my unusual but yummy avocado tempura sushi roll in, instead of regular soy sauce. The vegetable udon soup is a disappointment. The broth was bland. The noodles were like chewing on worms. The tofu was scarce. The cilantro was an unpleasant surprise. NOT impressed with the soup! Although, I am more than willing to try the miso soup next time. I like their vegetarian selection, but I wish they had a veggie rice dish as well.
Price: decent– cheaper than I thought it would be.
I will be going back soon!

After reading my review, the owner of the restaurant contacted me and apologized for my experience and offered me 50% off if I would return again. I did just that. Today, I had a completely different experience than my first visit. All of the employees were quite friendly and the cashier, who was also the manager, profusely apologized for the poor experience I had previously. The food was, as before, pretty good and I can now say that I am a Wasabi fan. If you’re in the mood for some quick sushi, I’d give this place a try. I highly recommend the seared herb tuna roll, yummy!

I often cut through the 2000 Penn building when it’s uncomfortably hot or cold outside, so I’ve passed by Wasabi To Go on many occasions. It looked a little too clean and trendy inside, so I always assumed it would be way overpriced.
I decided to give it a try for lunch yesterday, and I was pleasantly surprised. Wasabi To Go provides the epitome of not terrible, fast food sushi. I was shocked by how reasonable the prices were. All the rolls range from $ 3 – 4. The setup is very convenient. You can pick up pre-​made rolls, sashimi, and boxes, or you can have them make it fresh for you, which I believe is the same price. Though I would scoff at seeing a sushi machine at a regular restaurant, it’s kind of cool, and I don’t mind seeing it at a fast food place like this. It’s a machine that presses the rice and seaweed together… fascinating!
The rolls are small, so I would recommend getting at least two for lunch, even for the tiniest of people who aren’t ravenously hungry. I tried a tuna roll and a spicy tuna scallion roll. Both were decent, but I don’t think I’ll get the regular tuna roll again since I prefer spice. The quality is probably similar to what you’d get from the cold case at Whole Foods.
Sure, nothing at Wasabi To Go was fantastic, but it’s very convenient, and they do a great job of what they’re trying to do: provide cheap sushi in a clean, fast food environment. I wouldn’t go out of my way for it, but since it’s not out of my way, I know I’ll be back.

Wasabi To Go, as in To Go Out of Business Soon.
Here’s the deal: this place took the spot of a pizza/​sandwich kind of place that clearly wasn’t doing so well. The geniuses at Wasabi Restaurant thought that sushi could do better and created this satellite location.
After much anticipation, I sampled the goods shortly after opening. My reaction was somewhere between forgettable and ho-​hum and I hadn’t gone back for some time. I still would walk through 2000 Penn frequently and usually observe the place to be empty. Each subsequent trip by, my expectations that the restaurant would simply be out of business rose a bit more.
Well, just recently some co-​workers were getting lunch at Au Bön Pain next door. I sniffed around in there, scoffed at the soup and then walked over to Wasabi To Go. I was feeling lucky.
I got my sushi made-​to-​order at the ‘bar’. I know what kind of place this is, so of course I’m getting some safe selections: spicy tuna roll and salmon roll. Took like five minutes — no big deal. I threw in a seaweed salad to boot. And when my co-​workers and I sat down to eat our lunch, my sushi quickly became the coveted item. I was happy to share — I’m that kind of guy. If you order the right things, the stuff is fine for a quick, cheap meal.
Another reviewer said they would prefer Sushi Taro. Well, yes, but that’s akin to saying one prefers a BMW to a Honda Civic and then failing to mention the extreme difference in the cost. And the only tip I gave the folks at Wasabi To Go on top of my bill was for them to get a fish tank. People like to watch fish.
I won’t be rushing back here anytime soon, but I won’t ignore the place either if I’m in a pinch. Honestly, I still give it 6 more months tops, but won’t mind it sticks around longer. Prove me wrong Wasabi To Go, prove me wrong.

I have gone here once and I will never go back. I ordered the chicken teryaki combo whatever it is called and it was terrible. It takes a lot to make me not eat something and I just couldn’t eat this. Also it is so insanely overpriced they should feel ashamed. Every day I walk by this when I walk through 2000 Penn and I think that. It’s really terrible and GW should petition to have something edible put in 2000 Penn to replace this place.

I grabbed an already-​made box of sushi and sashimi along with a small tub of green tea mousse to take back with me to work for lunch.
The sushi and sashimi weren’t bad. (I had tuna rolls with avocado pieces, along with shrimp and salmon sashimi.) My qualm is that there wasn’t enough wasabi for all the pieces and rolls I had, and the wasabi was too mild and sweet for my taste. Call me a masochist, but I want my wasabi to have that strong spicy kick that has me running for a glass of water.
The green tea mousse was an acquired taste. I drink green tea regularly and have green tea ice cream frequently, but this mousse was a little too heavy on the herb taste. The strawberry topping on it had a nice tart sweetness, though.

So what’s the lowdown? If you want to grab cheap sushi on the down-​low, stick with some safe bets and you’re good to go.
I eat here all the time because 1) it’s where I live and 2) it’s where I go to school. I also just moved here from LA, sushi mecca of both the high/​low, so am clearly well qualified to judge. And judge you I do, Wasabi to Go.
First off, let’s start with what this ain’t — this ain’t no Nobu or Katsuya or even Whole Foods. This might be just a smidge under Whole Foods. But it’s definitely way better than like, Safeway sushi (if there is such a thing).
What it is – decent mass-​market sushi that you can pick up quickly for lunch/​dinner and that probably won’t make you sick. The golden rule of eating here is caveat emptor — «buyer beware.» I’m a big fan of the ready-​made sushi you can just pick up, but for heaven’s sake, look at it before you buy it! I personally really like the seared ahi tuna with miso vinaigrette, but I make sure the fish looks fresh and not «shiny» (you know what I mean). Sometimes it looks a little off and I just don’t buy it – why tempt fate?
Other safe standbys are things that are not raw, e.g. shrimp tempura with avocado rolls, and California rolls. The spicy tuna rolls are also okay but they are done with some kind of chili powder thing. They just added crunchy rolls to the menu and I liked their crunchy tuna roll with cream cheese and spicy mayo.
I tried some of their hot dishes — the chicken teriyaki was just so-​so, the chicken udon soup also okay.
They also have a lot of Japanese snacks here like rice crackers and Pocky cookies, yummy.
Somewhere between 2.5 to 3 stars taking into account that it is what it is… okay for fast food sushi.

This place sucks. First off, the sushi is not very good and it is over priced.
Secondly, I ordered a big platter of sushi for a lunch meeting. I ordered it 3 days in advance and called 15 minutes before the scheduled delivery to make sure it was coming. From the sound of the guy’s voice, it sounded like they had completely forgotten the order. It ended up arriving 20 minutes late after the meeting was almost over. They also gave us about 2 ounces of soy sauce for 85 pieces of sushi. Seriously.
Also, did I mention the sushi sucked? The sushi for sale in the GW cafeteria is way better surprisingly.

I can only speak for the «big» sushi rolls sold here. This place is NOT good. I’m not trying to say I’m a sushi expert, but I think I know good food, and this is worse than the stuff you find pre-​made at Safeway.
1. At 12:15pm, they had one person making sushi. With just 5 other people before me, it took forever for my order of 2 simple rolls to come out.
2. They were out of avocado at 12:15pm on a Wednesday afternoon.
3. The sushi itself was just not good. The sushi is loaded onto some machine that does the rolling and laying out of the rice, and which also squished the gummy rice into some sort of nasty, sticky mass. There was far too much rice, which was tasteless and mushy. Luckily (or unluckily) one roll was literally rolled around in sesame seeds so that’s all I could taste. Finally it was all stuck into this plastic to go holder thing, and the pieces of roll stuck to itself and the plastic and I had to pry every piece free with my chopsticks.
I’ll be going back to review some of the other food, but I was really disappointed with my lunch today.

So this time, I called ahead to figure out the hours (11−9p M-​F, close at 7p Sa) so when I got there, a little after 7, I figure they should have the chicken curry still, since they would be open for 2 more hours. Nope. Out of curry again. This is either a) amazing curry that sells out, b) made of super expensive ingredients that doesn’t allow it to exist in dinner hours, or c) extreme laziness/​apathy when one of their few dinner items is unavailable 2 hours before closing. Is it that hard to make more?
So instead I ended up with chicken teriyaki. Meh. Not impressed. Edible, but not the greatest. The miso soup, although it says just traditional tofu+seaweed, also has shiitake mushrooms which changes the flavor. I didn’t really enjoy the addition of the shiitake mushroom flavor personally, but maybe others do? I did get edamame as well, which was decent enough but really salty at the bottom. The rice was good though.
So if you combine my reviews, it gets a 2. Not worth coming back, honestly. I’ll just go out to Dupont to Sushi Taro if I want curry since WasabiToGo seems to have difficulty with availability.

A nice concept with some innovative touches and decent but expensive food. Wasabi to go is well lit and modern– they have a a circular refrigerator (if that’s what you call it) in the middle of the store with many preprepared bento boxes and other side items. Some rolls come wrapped in a thick sheet of plastic, which I had never seen before. All in all, the food was good but not great. Try it for a quick lunch if you work or study in the area.

I was excited about this place for about 3 seconds. I was all «OMG, sushi on campus!!! Holla atchu lata, Au Bön Pain.»
But this sushi is made… by machine. What? I’m all for efficiency, but this is bullshit. I want my overpriced, mediocre sushi to be lovingly hand-​crafted, damnit.
The Unagi-​don ($ 12+) sounds tempting, but I’d stay away. The eel comes from a frozen package and tastes super fishy — the chef tries to hide that by smothering the whole thing in a ridiculous amount of too-​sweet eel sauce, but you just can’t hide the gross taste of un-​fresh fish.
At the prices Wasabi is charging for its sub-​par food, I predict that a closing is not too far off.