Wakame Sushi and Asian Bistro Review

We got carry out. Food was good. Slightly overpriced. It was quite crowded.

No reservations. First come first serve. I've noticed that even though it's packed every single day of the week, and I order the very same thing every time I come here, the quality of my sushi varies only to a minimal degree. I get the rock and roll, and the guys preparing the sushi are rockstars. If I want the best sushi I come here. The flavor is always intense and bursting! Spring rolls and cream cheese puffs are great and mango margaritas are scream!!

Hands down the best sushi in Minneapolis. If I could give it 6 stars I would. There is a reason it is always busy.

Great food - even to-go. Big menu to choose from. Good hostess service & a fast kitchen (I ordered to go). Its one of my go to spots. But be prepared to wait if you want a table - there's NEVER not been a line (in over 6 years of me going there)

Excellent food! Wait time for to go is a lot longer than anticipated though.

With the covid-19 at a lot of places you need to have a reservation! So that what we did for 7:30pm and we didn't get in till 8:10! With that being said the food was good and the service was great! The egg rolls were good and those wantons are yum!!! We ordered sushi rolls and those were good! I just have a hard time paying a ton of money when you can do all you can eat for a lot less! But definitely a place to go and try!!

Our TO GO place for late dinner! They have a really good sushi deal at happy hour ( after 9:30pm). Try the Minnesota roll and spider roll! They are the best.

Me and 3 friends went at 4pm on a Thursday to be there early for the happy hour. We left at 6:30 and it was packed with 10+ people waiting in the lobby. They give you a sheet and pencil to fill out with the rolls you want and then bring it all on one plate. $4 house wine and $3 bottles. I got the avocado and potstickers, but tired my friends crazy monkey roll and it was super good! Not all the happy hour rolls are on the menu, but overall good food and nice service!

I have been going here for a couple years now and love the food, however this will be my last time giving my money to this business. This is the second time that I have seen the owner of Wakame publicly humiliate a member of his staff. On this occasion he yelled across the restaurant in a childish attempt to embarrass the host who looked to still be a child. Every business owner knows to handle matters like this in private. Somebody needs to teach George some self-control and respect for the hard working people who make Wakame the place I used to love.

We've been for happy hour a few times and the food is decent for the price. Everything else could use some work. The one word I would use to describe Wakame is unprofessional. Last time our server was uninformed as to the ingredients in the sushi rolls. The time before, we watched the manager spend a good ten minutes yelling at the hostess. Everyone eats in front of the guests and doesn't bother to wash their hands before returning to work. I watched my bartender wipe a drip of sauce off of my plate with his finger, lick his finger and then serve me the plate. My best advice for this place is to remember that you are always visible and that you're guests are watching.

Conveniently located near the lake. They don t take reservations and they re often busy so expect a little bit of a wait time. The service is excellent and always accommodating. The sushi is delicious and reasonably priced. All-in-all a great experience and would definitely recommend.

Sushi was pretty great specially the Sendai and the Spice Girl roll. Their jasmine hot tea is also pretty epic. So are their shrimp dumplings. Happy hour is great and is jam-packed with a line of people waiting outside so I would recommend reserving a table ahead.

I do say this is a very popular place, especially on the weekends. Highly recommend reservations. The BMW roll is my favorite, followed by the Minnesota roll. Weekends have happy hour after 9:30, make sure you ask for the list. It gets pretty loud tho which was kind of annoying. But what makes me uncomfortable was this place needs a deep cleaning. See attached to see they re lovely cob webs and very dusty walls. So nice place just avoid sitting in any corners.

Hands down the best sushi restaurant in the Twin Cities. We drive 45 minutes each way for this delectable treat and it is well worth it. Check out their happy hour deals on sushi rolls, very affordable, great atmosphere and the employees are truly pleasant.

Love this restaurant!!!! The food is really good here.

This one of my best restaurants in town for a very long time. Their chef is so amazing and I love the atmosphere as well. Love love love Wakame!

Sushi roll, pot stickers, edamame, and spicy vegetables miso soup was great. We got four rolls the cowboy roll, crazy tuna roll, hot and spicy and the mango. Couldn t pick a favorite they were all phenomenon. The rolls seemed to be warmer then my liking I like cold fish.
This was our first time there we get there at 6:15 and put our name on the waiting list. Am told it s a 24-30 minute wait, we were sat at 7:34 an hour and twenty minutes wait. Very disappointing!

The food is great. Service very friendly and helpful. Great happy hour. Can be busy, so reservations are a good idea if your on a sceduale.

Best sushi in the Twin Cities hands down! Expect to pay a lot but the quality is well worth it. Great place to bring a date if you're looking to impress

Some of the best sushi around town!
Happy hour is amazing and a must try for every sushi lover.

Wakame is likely my favorite spot for sushi rolls, especially if you can hit their happy hour. We also tried their Szechuan edamame, which was spectacular.

Usually I really love this place but a little disappointed in the customer service. I went with some friends for late night happy hour on a Thursday night and had a $15 tab. I left a cash tip and the server put in a tip anyways on my card that brought my bill to $51. I talked to George the owner and he said he couldn't refund my card but could give me cash if I came in. I went in (wasting my time and going through rush hour for their mistake) to get to the restaurant to get my money back. I was refunded the tip amount the server put in and that was it. All I got was sorry.. something is wrong with this picture.

From drinks to appetizers to dinner this place nailed it! Portion sizes were larger than expected. Service was great despite it being busy. Fun to sit by the sushi chefs and watch as they made our order and then thank them in person without pulling them away from their station. Non sushi orders from others around us looked and smelled delicious, too. I think I found my new favorite sushi spot. Yum!

Delicious sushi, nice seating, good service, price is what you would expect for sushi, we had a very good time there.

Great sushi and an amazing happy hour! One of the best in the cities

Best curry in town. Staff is always pleasant day and night. Dishes are always freshly served with same taste and presentation as before.

I come here way too often.

Great sushi that doesn't break the bank (completely)

Wakame is one of my favorite sushi places in the city. Great atmosphere, close to the lake, and the food is delicious. They also have great lunch and happy hour specials!

I've only been here during happy hour, and I must say, they have the best happy hour in the Twin Cities. I love the price and quality of the food. It's busy every time I go, but my food always come out fresh in a timely manner. The service is also very good. I have nothing to complain about.

There is reason this sushi place has stood the test of time and is always busy but man they know how to move tables and make delicious food time and again!

To bad I was in a rush or I would have eaten more. Next time I plan to stay for awhile. The Saki was served ina traditional way with the in a box with the cup running over. The food and hospitality get a five star in my book.

Love Wakame! Their rolls are some of the best in the twin cities. Don't miss the weekdays lunch specials!

Don t have a single complaint about this place, except that it s always busy when I go. They have a good HH menu, which is at lunch time and then I think before 6:30pm, and then a late night starting after 9:30pm. The sushi is top notch, if you like spicy tuna get the hot and spicy girl roll (also try the spicy tuna) both really good. Their spring rolls are also amazing. The owner is there a lot and really nice. The wait staff is usually good about getting apps out quick. There may be the outlier waitress that s not that good, but the food more than makes up for it. Definitely go for sushi you won t be disappointed by the food or the price.

Great fresh sushi..I will come again & again..Our wait staff Katlyn,was awesome..I will request her again.

I've come to this restaurant for years and I've always had great service and enjoyed the food. My family, friends and church have come to love this place based off of my recommendations to come and try it. Tonight was different... My boyfriend and I went during happy hour, I ordered 2 things of wings and a sushi roll. Service was awesome, food came out at a great time. The first wing was tough and had the texture of wood. The sauce was great though and I just assumed it was a bad wing and it cooked a little longer. No big deal. I ate another, same wood texture, tried one more and it was awful to swallow. Waitress came over, I told her the monkey roll was awesome but the wings were tough to eat and swallow. She said she'd have the wings comped, I said thanks and proceeded to look at the menu to order something else. The manager came to our table and told me that he would comp me for the 1 plate of wings I ate but wouldn't comp for the plate I ate off of. I told him that I was told both would be comped because the texture was off and hard. He said well it's happy hour food and we don't comp because it's so cheap. I asked where that policy was. He avoided the question. He said he wouldn't comp the plate that been eaten off. I told him I ate another wing because I just thought there would only be 1 bad wing not the whole batch, it all tasted awful. His response "If you don't like it why are you even still here?!" I was shocked and told him because I was gonna order something else and still needed to pay for my roll. He sighed rolled his eyes and said he'd just comp the wings and walked off. My boyfriend and I paid, I tipped my waitress in person and told her she was great but the manager not so much.

I will never be returning to Wakame again. That was an awful interaction and I've never felt so stunned at a place I truly loved. Will no longer be eating there and will be sure to encourage people to seek out establishments with kinder service.

People shouldn't have to feel discouraged when it comes being honest about food and service. As a company feedback is crucial to better service and I feel the Manager missed an opportunity to better asses what kind of food he's offering customers.

Great sushi. Great service. The atmosphere isn't what I would call traditional but who cares when the food is good and the service is too.

A pleasant surprise on a nice afternoon in Minneapolis. Great outdoor dining.

Good sushi, and cream cheese puffs. Staff was friendly. Recommend trying the quail eggs if you're feeling adventurous.

One of my favorite Twin Cities sushi spots! Delicious and good service.

Absolutely THE BEST martini in the Twin Cities. And the kitchen and sushi bar are outstanding!

Great Sushi and happy hour on Sushi......very diverse rolls.

Happy hour sushi is pretty good, rolls are priced pretty reasonably. The food didn't really wow me, but it was a satisfying meal nonetheless. The nigiri is a bit pricey compared to the sushi. Didn't feel like the quality of the fish justified the price. It's always pretty busy during dinner, even on weekdays so call up for reservations and wait times. If you have to wait, they'll notify you through text so you can go to the whole foods nearby and buy some stuff if needed.

Real good Happy Hour. Staff are always great, too. :)

Great place for a weekday lunch. Good sushi and sashimi and bento boxes

Service is okay. Depends on the waiter you get but I ve been here plenty of times and the foods usually good. :)

Get the Rock and Rock sushi roll!! I enjoy pretty much every sushi roll they offer but the Rock and Roll is one of the best. If go during their happy hour....make sure you get there early otherwise you may be waiting especially for larger groups.

Service wise everything was on point. Manager personally greeted us when we entered the door. Seating time was 2 minutes which was professional based on the high volume of guests that night. Staffs gave us a lot of personal attention. Tea and water were always full. Overall, recommended!

Fun, trendy, and good food! We sat on the patio for dinner with a 5 year old and had a great time. This was my first time at Wakame. It was crowded inside so I was worried about a long wait. I was told by the hostess 30 minutes but got the text our table was ready in less than two minutes! I'd show up between 5:30-6p if you want to get a table (and parking spot in the area). They don't have much for kids menu so not sure I'd recommend this place for those who have picky little eaters with them but if you like fresh sushi and good drinks it's definitely worth checking out. I'm not a sushi or raw fish eater but they have vegetable rolls, avocado, cucumber, etc. I always order veggie rolls and chicken teriyaki as my main course at sushi restaurants. It's delicious here! They also have a nice variety of Sake listed from sweet to dry. I think I had the No.6. It was amazing. I'd return for dinner, or Happy Hour. Our server was very attentive and warm. I'm looking forward to returning soon!

Consistently excellent sushi, with reasonable prices. The sweetheart roll is both novel and delicious.

The fish was fresh and tasty. My server was friendly, helpful and courteous. I will keep this place in mind whenever I am in the area.

The food is awesome and very reasonably priced. Our server Parker was fantastic, its definitely a great experience.

Love this place. The service is never that great, honestly. But the food is very good. I recently tried their curry dishes and was happily surprised! Some of the best curry in town for sure. Their sushi is always fresh. If you have never tried their octopus salad it s a win!

Great place but it is almost always packed and a bit expensive for the experience.

Sushi here is always so fresh, never takes that long for the sushi to come out either. The mussels are a must!

The girl on the phone got mad at me for calling a little bit late for take out. She gave me a whole lecture about their new hours for take out and made me feel like an inconvenience despite how I always leave at least a 25% tip. Lol I won t be coming back here. This occurred at 9:45 on 5/21/20.

Going here will not disappoint you. Have been here well over 20 times & it continues to deliver high quality raw fish. The atmosphere is pretty unbeatable as well.

The appetizer mussels and the hot & spicy Salmon sushi roll is a must have!!

Usually a dependable place, but service quality seems to be decreasing in dependability. Order doesn t match to call-in, even after stressing it.

Wakame never disappoints! Their happy hour sushi prices make an afternoon (if you can make it) a special treat for tremendous sushi in a comfortable setting. I've visited multiple times and have never had a bad experience as the staff is always eager to make recommendations and at the top of their game in attentiveness towards the customer.

I love this place so I won t give a low star review because the owner George is amazing and the food is always incredible. I will warn you though... Several people stand outside waiting without their masks on and do not social distance. I called 4/23/21 to see if we could make reservations or do call ahead seating and the person on the other end of the phone said no only walk-ins. So we went and when we arrived, we waited forever in line to talk to the girl who has far too much responsibility and clearly couldn t handle doing it all. Get her more help! When we finally reached the podium, some other guy comes passed us with a tablet saying reservations, reservations so we we re befuddled knowing we called to make reservations and weren t allowed to. We tell the girl two people and she says, I have to talk to the guy asking for reservations. Like what? We weren t allowed to make reservations and the guy is asking for reservations? So now after waiting in line forever to be turned away, all these other people got ahead of us who were standing in line behind us. Maybe be more specific and have this man say, do you need to put your name on the wait list or if that s too much, wait list? Wait list? We left and went to Stella s and got in immediately and had the best service. Super disappointed and also for a company who thrived during the pandemic, 3+ hour wait on a Tuesday for takeout, you should be bringing back happy hour. Tons of other small businesses in the area still honor their happy hour and didn t have nearly as much success. Please do better! Thanks.