Awabi

I took my Husband out for a date and we wanted sushi. One of our first dates 8 years ago was here at Awabi. This place does not disappoint. Simple setting with the most wonderful food. He enjoyed two helpings of the soy soup mine and his. And our very gracious hostess recommended a wonderful color mixed bowl. It was delicious. I am chicken– I did not try the octopus. He did and loved it! I highly recommend if you are looking for a change a pace from the burgers etc. Stop by this wonderful place and sit a spell for some fresh sushi. So good.

Visited this family owned restaurant when my boyfriend and I were looking for some places to eat at for dinner. I’m glad we stopped by here! The service was great! We were greeted as soon as we walked in and they personally said goodbye to us as we walked out. My boyfriend and I both ordered the bibimbap, except mine was in the stone pot. (IT TASTES SO MUCH BETTER. Trust me.) It was delicious. Ahhhh It’s worth the visit. For those who can’t find it, it’s in Old Town Winchester!

This place is great! My husband and I are new to town and are eager to find our favorite restaurants. We tried it and it was delicious! The Thanksgiving roll was terrific, the honey was so refreshing and sweet. Totally recommend it!

Amazing. I had the bulgogi-​Don and it was delicious! The beef was tender and the rice was soft and sticky just as I like it. My boyfriend had the Chirashi and said it was among the best he’s ever had. The Shrimp Tempura was perfectly fried and the sweet potato was soft on the inside, crunchy on the outside. You won’t regret coming here

Sushi snob has fell in love! Sushi is not a food to gamble with, and you don’t spend that kind of money on a «sort of good» place, so don’t go anywhere else in Winchester! Awabi has excellent uni, unique and delicious rolls, and the prices are reasonable. Family owned and run. I love this place!

Food, again was great. Had the eel and octopus nagiri, it was great. Miso was great and service was fast. My favorite Asian place to get food.

Our new favorite restaurant in Winchester. Most excellent, flavorful sushi. The tempura was the best we ever had. The Korean dish was amazing!

Awabi was excellent. We have been very concerned about additives in our food lately. So we asked if they had msg in their soups, which is common practice at most recent restaurants. Not only was the server knowledgable about this but he assured us that all of their food at no msg and they take pride in their food. In fact most of it is made in house.
Service was very aware of what was going on. Separated my sushi from the rest of the tables because I am pregnant and I got cooked sushi. They offered us Miso soup on the house. He made great suggestions as our first time there. I went wanting to try the ramen, but I ended up getting the udon be he has highly recommended it. My husband, and nephew got the rice bowls an where raving about it. The sushi was very fresh. I got the blue crab California roll. Very happy they offered a real crab option instead of crab sticks. My husband and nephew got the sweet sea shrimp sushi. And I hear it was very good, I wish I could have tried it, but it is not cooked. We will most certainly be back! Not a single complaint.
I do not normally let my daughter get lemonade places because it is just minute maid typically, with high fructose corn syrups, food color, and additives. However, they make their strawberry lemonade in house, so I let her get it, and it was excellent.

What a great find in Winchester! The staff as amazing and friendly, they were busy but never forgot to just check on our table. The sushi was so good! We have been to some amazing place in a few big city’s but the rolls they had here were down right deliciousness, I wish we could remember all the names, but you have to try the one that comes with the butter dipping sauce

This is the best sushi place in town! They also have other good options like udon and bibimbap! They’re a small mom and pop shop and give great service every time!

Our usual go-​to sushi spot in Winchester is Chop Stick Café; however, we were craving sushi on a Sunday and unfortunately Chop Sticks is closed Sundays. A friend had recommended Awabi to me in the past, and they were open, so we decided to give them a try.
We wanted to do a to-​go order because not everyone felt like going out. Thus began our search for an online menu.
First, their website link from Unilocal didn’t work and I couldn’t find them on google.
My husband managed to find the website (don’t ask me how) and pulled up the menu. Decent though not nearly as big or diverse as Chop Stick. We all decided our orders & I call it in… only to find out from the second roll that the menu on their website is outdated and some rolls no longer available. I was pointed to their Facebook page for a current menu & decided I would update our order & call back.
So, we go to FB, and see pics of a menu. We update our order and call back… only to find out that the menu pics on FB are also outdated and be given instructions to locate the REAL menu on FB. At this point I just blindly pick 2 random rolls to swap for the ones no longer offered and move on as it was really getting frustrating.
The owner was apologetic and polite; however, not having all of your menus up to date (we’re talking YEARS behind not recent changes) makes it seem like the only business you really care about is your dine-​in.
So…after all of that we finally get our order placed & head to pick it up.
We got the Christmas Eve, the Beach House, Spider Roll, Lollipop Roll, the Alaskan and 3 other I can’t remember the name of because they were the last minute substitutions for the Cool Hamachi, Basil Tail and Tako Garden (no longer offered).
All were delicious. Truly. My husband groaned in pleasure at the Beach House. They don’t give you he usual small cups of soy sauce to-​go. Just packets. My husband also commented that the to-​go containers they use make it look like grocery store sushi, but that doesn’t effect the quality so… meh. Each order (we ordered for 4 people) came with a small bowl of miso soup. A nice touch that we haven’t gotten with any other sushi to-​go.
All-​in-​all we prefer the sushi at Chop Sticks but this is a solid second place. Very good and a nice option when we want some different rolls (or sushi on a Sunday). 3.5 stars.

Mix of Korean and Japanese cuisine. Great quality food and great environment. The staff makes you feel welcome and are always happy to see you.

When I try to describe Awabi any compliment seems backhanded. I enjoy it because it’s just what I’d expect from a Japanese restaurant without being poor or exceptional in quality. We’ve tried most of the dishes and were satisfied, but not necessarily wowed. The pricing seems fair (except for maybe the shumai, but that contains seafood) and the atmosphere is welcoming. When my partner and I want to go out for familiar food we usually agree on Awabi because we know it will be a pleasant experience.
It’s a perfect balance for us. I’m inclined to give them 4 stars based on my preference for Japanese, but realistically I think 3 stars are closer to most people’s expectations. Some might be disappointed in the size of non-​specialty maki rolls, but my husband still finds them filling. The venue has an outdoor patio near the fountain and seating inside. In fact, you really can’t beat the location. During the warmer months Awabi and it’s lighter fare are absolutely perfect for a night out. The sushi bar’s ingredients and some other tools of the trade are visible, but I think it adds to the charm. The managers always seem cheerful when we come in and the wait staff is fine.
If there’s anything I want to highlight it’s the veggie rolls. The first time we ate at Awabi they had a (seasonal?) veggie roll, the Thanksgiving roll with sweet potato and jalapeño as the main flavors. It was fantastic and totally endeared me to them. It’s been my experience that a lot of places don’t do much with vegetarian options beyond cucumber and avocado. So to find a pleasing and interesting combination indicates some care in their menu. In fact, vegetarian items are one of my favorite ways to evaluate a vendor– so much can be done and if done well that indicates skill and taste.
What could make Awabi a 4– or 5-​star restaurant? The dishes are so close to what I’d expect from anywhere. Aside from the veggie rolls I couldn’t pick them out from a line-​up. That might be a defining quality of Japanese-​style cuisine in the US, but when I think of truly exceptional Japanese food a place in Vienna, VA comes to mind. My family started going there 20 years ago and the quality of the ingredients and wider variety of non-​sushi Japanese dishes immediately sets it apart. My father often favorably compared it to his trips to Japan. The differences are subtle but there.
But, I still enjoy Awabi as it is. It’s a restaurant I love to tell people about and hope they enjoy it too.

I have never had a bad experience at Awabi, and I’ve been there over a dozen times. The sashimi is always fresh and delicious, the sake is amazing, the kimchi is killer, and the décor is adorable! It can be a bit pricey for dinner, but lunch prices are very reasonable.
Last time I was there the server was very knowledgeable about the sashimi and was a necessary part of our first season urchin experience. Which was… an experience!

I’ll be honest here, this place could be a lot better, but it’s not.
Why?
Because the food is actually very good. The udon is fantastic, and the sushi rolls they provide are actually very good. I have no problems with the food there. The hours are reasonable, and the location is sublime. It’s a cute place on the walking mall, and for a quick sushi fix, does the job quite well.
The reason I give it 2 stars though is because it is very expensive for the portions you receive. The udon, which while great, is very small, and they charged me $ 9 for it. $ 9?! I better get a pot for that! I felt hungry after I ate there, but that’s the walking mall in downtown Winchester, you pay a lot for not a whole lot, and I understand that (I’ve eaten at just about every place on the walking mall, most of the restaurant establishments are like that). Additionally, the sushi was small too, unlike Okinawa, which I feel has the best sushi in Winchester hands down.
I also felt rushed when I ate there. While the staff catered to my tastes, they also rushed me out by giving me my check and everything too quickly to get ready for the next person. The place was not busy at all on a Thursday afternoon and felt no need to be hassled out the door. Plus, it was raining outside, all the more reason to kind of relax and finish my water, but I guess they didn’t want me holding up business, so I just left without any incident.
I’d go back again, but be very leery of when I go, considering the above circumstances.

The rolls were all vegetable and no fish! The spicy tuna had all cucumber and no tuna. I will not be returning. Pay 7 dollars for a rice and cucumber roll. Then we waited 20 min to talk to a manager. This was not the type of service that is desirable. Manager never ended up coming to see us, worst experience in Winchester ever!

We stopped in this area on our drive home from the OBX. Amazing. The sushi options were diverse and creative. I’ve enjoyed sushi for a long time, and was completely surprised more than once.
The biggest surprise? Price. 4 beautiful rolls, 2 miso soups and four drinks for less than $ 80.

Really good! Pretty shocked to see this quality of food so far from the coast in such a small town.
We had Sashimi Deluxe, Apple Blossom roll, Miso Soup x2, Yookgaejang, and Shumai Soup.
Sashimi Deluxe — 5/​5, good mix of really well proportioned nigiri
Apple Blossom roll — 5/​5, tasty and great texture.
Miso soup — 4/​5, nothing special.
Shumai and Crab soup — 3/​5, didn’t really care for the shumai/​crab but the broth redeemed it.
Yookgaejang — 4/​5, tasty but brisket was too lean, would have liked more noodles.

This is one of the best places in Winchester to get sushi. Very fresh and yummy rolls. They have a nice selection of different types and the portions are big.
They have great outdoor seating on the walk-​a-​mall. The mist from the fountains is nice if it’s hot out.

The hubs and I ordered the Ramen and the Udon noodle soup. We also ordered the Sashimi sampler as an appetizer. The food tasted good, but for the price, the food portions are very small. The sashimi sampler was really sad in size. The noodle soups tasted good but we were still hungry afterwards. Service wise, it was very slow. It took about 40 minutes for our food to come out.
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