Wasabi

Who can frown at individually-​packaged nigiri?!
Wasabi is a pretty popular British chain (now also in New York) serving «fast» Japanese cuisine. Combining surprisingly fresh, ready-​to-​eat bento boxes of sushi and salads with a hot bar, Wasabi is a quick and convenient lunch option. LSE’s cafeteria leaves a lot to be desired so I found myself here most days of the week. The individually-​wrapped nigiri lets you add a couple pieces of your favourite sushi to your lunch which is just a brilliant product design. It’s also at a price point where students can comfortably afford it (relatively) — as much as this might mean in London. While this isn’t Sushi of Jiro, it’s pretty damn good fast Japanese food (and actually better than YO! Sushi).
Truly looking forwards to seeing more of these state-​side, and definitely will be looking at Wasabi next time I need a quick fix in London.

I tend to judge places by their appearance, so naturally the chic layout of Wasabi was pretty inviting. I wandered in for lunch on a weekday just as it was getting busy. After looking at the row of refrigerated food options, I went with the regular mini chirashi. The best word I can think of to sum up the food is «meh.» The entire thing was pretty oily (you can definitely both see and taste the oil), the rice was alright, and the sashimi/​egg/​other things (not much at all, compared to the rice) scattered around were average at best. None of it tasted fresh, but I guess you get what you pay for (I think the mini chirashi was around 2 pounds). Will I be back? Probably not. But I will say this is a pretty good place for a budget meal.

A good location for Wasabi. Has lots of seating and many hot food options, should that be your interest. I stopped in here later in the day and there was still a good stock of food available — which bodes well as I know they must be restocking often. A-​ok!

Another London chain. Picked up a Rainbow Set at around 11:30 for lunch. When I ate it, I could tell that it was definitely not fresh. Quite mediocre. On other occasions, it’s been fresher. Also the soups are fine for a fast lunch, although not like a fresh soup.

Not an awful lot to add to other reviewers here aside form this. Don’t get hot food in here on a Saturday afternoon, as it goes straight in the microwave (probably indicating a) it’s somewhat aged, and b) it’s not been kept hot).

«Japanese fast food.» Sushi’s packed individually, so patrons can create their own sushi combos. They also offer ready made sushi and hot foods like yakisoba, curry, japanese fried rice, and noodle soups. Noodle soup containers are stored in a tiny refrigerated section, containing the goods (noodles, greens, meat) sans soup. The soup’s poured into contents of the container then nuked before being served up.
Large portions and cheerful staff. The tofu fried rice’s tasty and satisfying, and when I’m starving and looking for more bang for my buck, I find myself here for a serving of that rice. The other dishes are pretty mediocre. Sushi’s mediocre… below average. The yakisoba and curry are initially good, but then you realize it’s because of the salt overload.
Place to go if you want more bang for your buck and a hot meal. Check it out… you might love it, as many people do!

This is fast food Asian but very good. The hot food looks like mediocre Chinese like that found at Panda Express in the US. However, the sushi, chirashi, and hand roll were good and not too expensive. I wish I had a Wasabi in my town.
We had 2 hand rolls, 1 mini chirashi, two of their 2 for mini rolls, and 2 drinks for 12.80 GBP or $ 21.

I love that you can buy different individually wrapped sushi so you can pick and choose what you want. As someone who is relatively new to sushi it allows me to try out new things without commiting to a full box of something new!

The sushi and some of the hot meals at Wasabi are pretty good, and its sushi are actually rather wallet-​friendly. The salmon and scallop nigiri are particularly good among its sushi choices. They’ll set you back about 50p for the salmon nigiri, but I am not sure about the rest (shouldn’t cost more than a pound though).
Among the bentos, I have tried the pork katsu and tofu yakisoba, which are actually quite good. The size of the bentos are relatively big (though they pack quite a bit of rice in it) and you’ll get it for about 4 to 5 quid. Overall, Wasabi is not too shabby for a sushi chain.

Great sushi and you can choose the pieces individually, which allows you to make your own box up. Quite cheap for sushi too, and good quality, although not the best. The miso soup and edmamme beans are very good too, although the canteen style hot dishes are not quite as good. Great for a quick bite.