All you can eat sushi opens
Wasabi Restaurant and Bar, now on Putnam Street
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.» The Spa City now offers all-you-can-eat sushi with the opening of new a restaurant.
Wasabi Restaurant & Bar, which is marketing itself as the first and only all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant in the city, recently opened at 63 Putnam St. in Saratoga Springs, the former location of Izumi Sushi.
Open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, Wasabi serves the unlimited deal, through which guests enjoy their meal one order at a time, from a menu with sushi, sashimi and rolls, as well as appetizers, teriyaki, katsu, stir fried rice, noodles and udon.
All-you-can-eat sushi costs $14.99 per person for lunch Monday through Friday. For dinner, which includes and expanded menu, it costs $21.99 per person Monday through Thursday and $23.99 Friday through Sunday. This option is for dine-in only, and rules apply.
“You can’t beat it,” said coowner Larry Zhao.
Additionally, Wasabi has a la carte menu options available.
While most of the menu is Japanese food, some other Asian cuisine is included.
So far, some of the most popular menu items are the special Volcano Roll made with fried white fish, spicy tuna, crunchy caviar and scallions as well as the Crazy Tuna Roll with crunchy spicy tuna, pepper tuna and jalapeno. The crab rangoon are a fan favorite too.
Zhao recommends people try everything on the menu, as it’s all you can eat and served in small portions.
In order to make Wasabi a family-friendly dining experience, discounted rates are available for children, and the menu offers plenty of kitchen food items without raw fish.
A large establishment, customers can eat their selections in the revamped restaurant’s dining room, at the bar, at the sushi bar or in the restaurant’s large outdoor patio.
These many settings make Wasabi the perfect place for a date night, family meal or a quick lunch break, Zhao said.
Wasabi Restaurant & Bar was born when Zhao was trying to sell his former restaurant Izumi Sushi. Instead, Zhao explained, chef Danny Lin, who previously worked in upscale Manhattan restaurants, proposed a partnership.
“He’s a phenomenal chef,” Zhao said of his co-owner.
Now, they co-own and operate Wasabi. Together, their vision is to run a high quality restaurant with low prices, Zhao said, while bringing something new to the area with the all-you-can-eat sushi aspect.
“Saratoga needed one,” Zhao said, noting that any similar restaurants in the region are far away.
Zhao and Lin have another investor in their business, too - the owner of a fish market in New York City. This market is their source for fish, and having the owner involved as an investor helps ensure that Wasabi is always getting the best quality fresh seafood at a good price, Zhao said.
In the first few weeks since opening, Wasabi Restaurant & Bar has received lots of compliments son its cuisine, and the volume of business is increasing every day, Zhao said.
Wasabi’s regular hours are from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4:30 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4:30 to 11 p.m. on Friday, noon to 11 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 10 p.m. on Sunday.
Guests can enjoy a free all-youcan-eat sushi meal on their birth-
day. Take out is available. Wasabi will also offer catering in the future, including a sushi chef that can prepare food on-site at events.
More information about Wasabi is available online at www.wasabisaratoga.com and on the restaurant’s Facebook page.
The restaurant can be contacted by calling 518450-1092.