Wasabi

Having had a few late-​night sushi take-​aways from the counter only branch within Liverpool Street station, I thought I’d pop into this much bigger — and brighter (so much white light!) — branch on a late Friday afternoon. This is low season for Wasabi, but I needed one of their filled rice triangles to tide me over while I put in another couple of hours at the office.
While people are scrambling for the hot food after the pubs close, there was noone here on my visit (and according to one of the other reviewers the food’s not heated up in this branch). A chance to have a proper look at all the beautifully displayed sushi goodies. Still all lined up neatly in their separate boxes — a very pleasing sight for anyone with OCD tendencies.
I’m not an expert on sushi and led by the Yo! definition of Japanese fast food. And in this context Wasabi works fine. I like the fact that you can pick your own selection and don’t end up with bits you’re not so sure about — in my case a large amount of all the same salmon and veggie rolls, low risk sushi. I think I’ve moaned about the extra charge for wasabi and soy sauce before — in places like Itsu these are offered free of charge — with the sachet sizing for horseradish and sauce not in proportion.
To sum up, Wasabi adds to the increasing choice of brightly lit fast food chains with a promise of healthier options and continues in the Pret vein. All branches sell the exact same food, so you know what you get. There’s some comfort in that — and certainly conveninece.

Une chaîné de restauration rapide japonaise.
En tant qu’accro aux sushis je n’ai pas pu y résister lors de mon séjour à Londres.
Je né sais pas si ce sont les prix en général en Angleterre qui né sont pas chers pour manger des sushis mais j’ai vraiment trouvé ça abordable par rapport à la France. J’ai pris une boîte de 14 maki/​california et j’en ai eu pour 5£.
Tout est frais et il y a beaucoup de choix. En boisson le grand avantage de cette chaîné c’est le choix de bubble tea (je suis fan!).
Ce né sont pas les meilleurs sushis que j’ai pu manger mais pour le prix ça vaut vraiment le coup.
L’enseigne est présente un peu partout dans Londres. Impossible de passer a côté!

The Pret of Japanese food.
Good prices, decent selection and yeah, that’s about it.
A healthier fast food option.

I’ve been in a LOT of Wasabi joints all over the place and this is the first one I’ve found that has an actual seating area. Score! I’ll be able to actually sit down and enjoy my hot Katsu curry.
Yeah, no. This Wasabi doesn’t serve any of its food hot. Yep, you read that right. They cook the food and then cool it down, ready for you to take home and warm up. Why do you even bother having a seating area?!
The guy behind the counter told us to go to the Wasabi across the road if we wanted hot food, which turned out to be a little kiosk with no seats or even walls and a roof. Just, WHAT?
After that little discovery, we decided to go elsewhere. Shame, really.

This is my go-​to local sushi/​Japanese food place.
Quick digression. When I was about 12 I started secondary school and made friends with an amazing Japanese girl. I went to her family’s home for dinner once. It was my first taste of sushi. One of the (slightly douchey) reasons I couldn’t live my whole life in a Northern post-​industrial ghost town was that «I can’t live somewhere that has no sushi». I was a DELIGHT/​pretentious nightmare.
I’m sure if I’d looked hard enough or waited long enough, there’d be somewhere to be found, I wanted to be able to have sushi or laksa or congee or buffalo wings as conveniently as if they were Greggs. And here I am… this sentimentality may be what makes this 5 star instead of 4.
It’s quick, you grab it from the fridge or build a box. You can sit in or take it out. It’s not the cheapest thing out there but you can dial it up or down, splash out £10 on a fancy sashimi box or more modest £2-£3 options. There’s even desserts if you’re into mochi or doriyaki. Bubble tea, miso soups, bento boxes. You can have don-​style dishes on rice. I think for what it is, it’s incredibly varied.
Like most fast food paces that have hot options ready to go, if you want it heated up it’s just going to get microwaved.
Okay it’s not fancy. It’s fast food but it’s clean and healthy. It doesn’t have that weird funk smell that bothers me in Itsu. It’s not aspirational bikini-​models telling you that a mixed maki set could change your life. It’s just really good at what it does. Quick, delicious, healthy food.