Wasabi Bistro Review
- La Voz Latina
- 7 hours ago
- 3 min read
Written by: Sophia Tamayo 🇨🇴
Wasabi Bistro has been on my must-try list in College Park since I first started hearing about it from people in the area. Tucked right on College Ave next to MidnighTreats Cookies, it’s one of those spots that people always seem to bring up when sushi gets brought up.
The restaurant has some heartwarming roots. The family behind Wasabi moved to the U.S. in 2000, and over two decades later they’ve built a restaurant on a dream, serving a wide variety of sushi, sashimi, noodles, and drinks right in the middle of College Park.
Online, expectations were high. Wasabi Bistro has received multiple good reviews across delivery sites such as Grubhub and Uber Eats, with many people calling it their go-to spot for quick sushi.
I ordered the Maki Combo, which lets you pick any three regular rolls for about $17, making it an objectively solid deal, especially for students trying to stretch a budget but still get a full meal.
Despite the deal, the price is higher than at The Spot Mini, which is also located in College Park just a few minutes from Wasabi Bistro. To compare, The Spot Mini offers three rolls for only $13.95.
For my three rolls, I chose the Alaska roll, the salmon avocado roll, and the California roll.
The Alaska roll is salmon, avocado, and cucumber. The salmon roll was exactly what it sounds like with salmon and avocado. Lastly, the California roll is the classic imitation crab, avocado, and cucumber.
I found the Alaska and Salmon Avocado rolls to taste almost identical to each other. Alaska technically had cucumbers, but the way that these rolls were made, the cucumber barely registered in the roll, making it difficult to tell them apart. If I had known how similar they were going to taste, I would have gotten a more distinct third roll.
The California roll was the most distinctive of the three, since the imitation crab had a slightly sweeter flavor profile, which stood out from the salmon rolls. It also fell a bit flat to the expectations I had created based on the reviews. It tasted like a very standard, very average California roll—nothing bad, simply not memorable.
My main complaint with the sushi was the overall quality and construction of the sushi. The rice seemed to be the main character in almost every bite, and not in a noteworthy way. Instead of the traditional taste of sushi rice with that slightly sweet and tangy taste with a hint of salt, it felt dense and a little overpacked.
Ultimately, it felt like I got a few pieces of sushi of just rice with almost no filling inside at all. For a place that was supposed to showcase fresh fish and balanced ingredients, it was disappointing to find distinct rolls without any fillings.
The fish itself didn’t “wow” me either. The salmon on both rolls tasted mild in the way that it came across flat, like it had been sitting a little too long or wasn’t the best cut. Combined with the heavy rice, it made the rolls feel more like a rice ball than a fresh, light sushi meal.
I can see why Wasabi Bistro is popular with students. Based on its location and price, it can definitely be a quick dinner stop, although I don’t think it’s the best place if you want quality sushi in College Park.
My visit to Wasabi Bistro didn’t live up to the many glowing recommendations I had received around campus. The Maki Combo is a good deal on paper and will definitely fill you up, but the sushi itself just wasn’t as high quality as I had been expecting and doesn’t get me excited to go back.
If you’re hungry and want a lot of rolls or a decent price, it might work for you.