Waba Grill

Seems to have gone down hill since they first opened. Their grill still tastes good, if you get it fresh. Today I wanted a plate which includes a protein, rice, a salad and fresh fruit. This is where today’s disappointment stems from… rotten salad leaves. even better I had a double dose of salad because they ran out of fruit. I ate one side which was pretty flavorful with a great dressing. Then as I started the other side, it tasted rather dirty… so I dug down to pull out really brown and black leaves. Gross! Today’s protein was chicken… And it was mixed with fresh and some dry pieces. Not a great day at WABU Grill. PS. I almost forgot, while we were eating, the clerk let out a loud belch… Way to top off the experience.

Don’t waste your time on this location. Service is terrible and the employees are down right rude. Just there food was just ok. you could hear them laughing at a family that had a daughter. The waitress call her a boy and laugh. The girl looked to be 9 – 10 years old. Why on Gods green earth would they do that to a young child.
If this is the kind of service that a restaurant provides they don’t need my money. Don’t mess with our young people. They need role models not plain jerky people. The license-​owner should lose their location if they can’t even hire and train their folks. Check out all the back customer service remarks.

Signed up my email to get a coupon offer to try their food. It was for a FREE DRINK. Seriously, how cheap is that? That does not bode well for a business trying to woo customers.

Well, the food and service were OK on my visit. It’s what I witnessed after sitting down that I found to be strange, unprofessional, and inappropriate. First, an off the clock employee (or manager or franchisee) came in and started a conversation with the girl behind the counter that took my order. They start trash talking another employee who isnt there, loud enough for the whole dining area to hear. I was actually a bit offended for this girl that they were just ripping into behind her back. Afterwards, the girl who took my order leaves or goes on break and the off the clock employee leaves. Then the cook comes up to cover the front. As soon as he does, he gets on the landline phone to call his bank. He shouted out his Visa card number loud enough to hear clearly throughout the place. Then while a customer is just standing there waiting to order, he proceeds to go into a story with the bank about how he got hit with three overdraft charges as a result of his Amazon Prime membership renewing. It gets far more detailed and the dining area can hear every word, but I’ll stop there. It’s amazing how careless some people can be.

I’m very surprised this place is still open. I normally love Waba grill, but this place is disgusting. The customer service or lack there of is horrible. Today they were out of brown rice at 5pm. Cmon all you sell is rice and chicken bowls. The soda machine was out and they didn’t have forks.

Mediocre food and substandard service for restaurant prices.
I had the chicken/​steak meal for $ 8.50. This isn’t cheap to begin with, so I expected $ 8.50 worth of quality. First off, the customer service is crap. The lady behind the counter greeted me as if I were going to buy something off a dollar menu. «Oh, well,» I figured, if the food looks like the picture, that’s all that matters.
The food came in a Styrofoam container with plastic forks. We’re not off to a good start. I already began having my doubts considering the place looked so boring, it would make a dentist office look thrilling. The steak was dry and the salad must have been dumped from a bag and drizzled with sauce. Furthermore, they don’t bring the food to your table, but they sure charge you as if they did. The nerve of this company!
Look, do yourself a favor: pay a dollar extra and go to Teri Café where they actually know how to run a restaurant and SERVE a decent plate… on an ACTUAL PLATE WITH METAL FORKS!
Waba sucks.
Case closed.

I made a choice to stay away from anything deemed «Asian-​fusion», and this royally confirmed it. Who, and what the hell did they make the rice in first of all?! Everyone knows how important rice is, and this joint manages to cook it into a congealed lump of wtf. Maybe they were trying to make mochi, who the hell knows. The chicken and beef were bland, and I was beying bored after about the 4^th bite. I always give a place 3 tries, but i will definitely not even waste my time on this unless i end up in hard times. It says something when you prefer a Chicken and Salsa MRE over this place lol.

I tried Waba grill after driving by it many times. Perfect size, healthy, quick service and great customer service. I had the #16 chicken veggie bowl w/​brown rice and avocado. Delis!!! Love the Waba sauce as well. Hot sauce is spicy

This place sucks. Always out of steak one hour before closing. This place gives Waba a bad name. Oh and now they dont allow self serve teriyaki? Get out of here.

This is the worst waba I gave ever been to. At first I was excited about It opening because we didn’t have one nearby but now I am not so thrilled… the person taking the order over the phone never knows what they are doing. Also… they don’t give you a decent amount of meat. I ordered extra meat for my fiances salad and I brought it back home and I ended up with more meat than him and I didn’t even get extra meat he was furious! And now they don’t even have self serving for teriyaki sauce… they come in packets now. Seriously? Won’t be going to this location anymore.

I give this place a two star rating because the food alright.
But the customer service at this location is terrible. I come here often too because I like the food. But I just can’t stand the customer service at all.
They have this real crabby woman working the front counter or obviously acts like she hates her job. And every-​time I encounter this lady, I am always courteous and use manors. And always, never fails, she never replies with a «you’re welcome» or a «thank you» not even a greet.
Also, today they were listed on their door saying they would be open at 10am. The doors were still locked at 12:00pm. So I knocked on the door. The cook in the back opens the door and says «I’m not sure we’re open yet.» So I respond «it says you’re open at 2.» And he responds «I’m not sure. I have to ask my manager. He said he wants to open at 1 but I’m not sure.» So I ask him to ask his manager. And the manager just shouts from the back. «We’re closed!»
I am just like what the f***!!! f*** this place!

We tried it again after a bad first experience and it hasn’t improved. First of all, the place is kept uncomfortably cold. I realize the kitchen may be hot, but I think the comfort of customers should be important too
Then it took a ridiculous amount of time for our food to get ready. I mean, this is rice, veggies and chicken. How long can it take to put together. After 15 minutes, I got up and my order was sitting in the counter. The guy said they called my number 5 minutes ago, but I didn’t hear him. Do you think they could’ve called again? Or louder?
I will not be coming back here again.

I have known Waba Grill to be healthy. This place has barely been open for 7 months and it looked packed when we arrived. Not many happy faces… probably due to them waiting for their orders.
There was no line. We were greeted by the young girl at the counter but she didn’t help us right away because she was doing nothing. When she finally realized we were ready to order, then she came about at a snail’s pace.
We ordered some salmon and veggie bowls to go. We waited for 15 – 20 minutes. The teriyaki sauce and hot sauce are on the counter with to-​go containers. Noticeable spills on the counter and floor.
Our food was edible but the employees might want to try to wipe the side of the bowls before putting it in the bag.
Place needs a little cleaning, an injection of joy, and another lesson in customer service and food preparation/​presentation.
Good food, slow service, and sad patrons.

Was looking for a teriyaki bowl and boy did I find a new spot other than Teri café to get one. I got the chicken bowl, chicken was tender and the veggies were crisp, the rice was a little dry but I request brown rice and every time I make it myself it comes out similar.
This location is down the street from my house which would make it easy for me to return, the food came out pretty quickly and the restaurant is clean. Staff was nice and helpful.

I enjoyed the meal and all but I think they could have a better customer service available.
The food choice here is great for all parties because it’s healthy choice, would but work for those who are vegan or vegetarian or even gluten!

I love a good chicken teriyaki and that’s what I thought I would be getting here at Waba. The place is clean and bright but has a strong smell of nail polish remover or something. The employees are pretty friendly and helpful and even though there are no waiters they will check to see how you’re doing.
This was my first time here so I just ordered the chicken bowl because I figure you really can’t mess that up. The pictures on the menu look great and colorful. I got green onions on top and when I got my food it looked great but the chicken wasn’t that hot and the rice was a bit hard. There was teriyaki sauce on the chicken to help it but the chicken was a little dry but they do have soy sauce.
This is a good lunch spot but don’t expect much so for what it is and for the price its not a bad place to eat. I would probably give them 3.5 stars.

I went to the Mission Ave. Waba Grill in Oceanside today for lunch, ordering to go. There was quite a bit of seating inside, and I picked up a menu at the counter. Most of their bowls/​plate options are very macro friendly.
I decided to order a Steak Plate (860 mg sodium … 17g fat, 91g carb, 60g protein after adding in the Waba sauce on meat), and asked for 2 salads instead of salad and fruit for sides. I also requested a side order of chicken. The price was just under $ 10 for the Steak Plate. I sat down at a table to wait. While doing so, the first thing I googled was if they use MSG in their sauces. A very brief search told me no (big plus).
I almost didn’t give 5 stars only because of the wait. My order came up after about 15 minutes. It looked like if I ordered just a bowl meal I would have gotten it quicker. Might sound pretty picky, but they claim in their mission statement as quick service. Next time I come I will just call to place an order for pick up to avoid the wait.
After opening up the to go box, I knew I was in for a real treat. This was probably hands down the best steak teriyaki at a «fast food» place I’ve ever had. If anyone near this area has been to Surf Brothers, I’d consider it better than that. The touch of extra green onion is great.
Knowing that it is just 10 minutes from where I live, I will be coming here very often. I’m the kind of person who can eat routine things on the daily, and I really enjoyed this meal! Sorry Chipotle (I go to Chipotle about 200 – 250 times a year), but Waba might be taking half of your business from this guy!

First time here and I must say, not too bad. Side note = I ordered food to go.
Their trademark slogan is «Eat smart, be healthy!». Their menu is pretty simple and they have «healthy» options, i.e., they have choices with white OR brown rice, and entrees with veggies as the side. They have the standard meat choices — chicken, beef, fish* (salmon or shrimp). I personally like the simple menu for a place like this (place like this = fast food): it helps me to make a faster decision.
I ordered the Steak Plate. It’s essentially served how it’s pictured: chopped up steak over rice, salad, and fruits BUT the fruit, as is displayed on their menu, is the seasonal option… so I got half an orange. It was rather fresh, so that’s a plus. Actually my whole meal tasted pretty fresh and relatively healthy I suppose. Their teriyaki sauce, a.k.a. Waba Sauce, tasted semi-​sweet with the density of oyster sauce (if you’ve never had oyster sauce, it’s kind of thick).
My food was made to order and given to me quickly, but not rushed. The prep area isn’t blocked from view so when they’re adding the finishing touches to your food, you can see them do it — no hiding anything!
Overall, as a fast food joint, I like the place. I might be back to try their chicken — I love chicken.

I was sad when Flame Broiler Oceanside closed its doors a few years ago. It was one of the few healthy alternatives that still comforted my soul. And, the price was right. Waba Grill is comparable to Flame Broiler; chicken, steak, or half & half… bowl or plate… you get the drill. I ordered the half & half. Enjoyed the steak most. The teriyaki sauce is pretty sweet, but the hot sauce kicks it up a notch. Everything was good, but I still love Flame Broiler; at the end of the day, it’s all about personal preference.
Bottom line: It’s local, healthy & fresh, so I’ll return.

When this Waba Grill location first opened, one of their employees came to my workplace to drop off some menus and to let us know they had just moved into the neighborhood. That Friday, we decided to give them a go and called in a large (10+) order for our front office staff, which commonly arrives incomplete or incorrect when ordered from a different restaurant.
While there may not be a huge variety of different styles of plates (almost all plates are a staple mix of rice, veggies, and protein), there is definitely something for everyone. If you’re a carnivore, there’s chicken, beef, or both! Pescetarians will enjoy their salmon or shrimp options, while vegetarians can dig into a broccoli/​carrot/​cabbage veggie rice bowl. So far the only fruit they seem to serve on their larger plates is a half orange — can’t wait to see more options! Salads are also available, though I haven’t tried one yet. All of the food is fresh and servings are plentiful.
Waba Grill handled our large office order with no problem, and even helped me out to the car when I arrived to pick up. The staff was friendly and helpful, and the whole front office enjoyed their lunches. We will be ordering from Waba Grill again.