Watawa Sushi
“My favorite special rolls are Bumblebee and Pauline and of course Philadelphia and sweet potato are always a must!”
“For $16 you can get the spicy roll combo which includes 3 rolls: spicy tuna, salmon, and crabmeat and includes soup and salad.”
“The food is priced reasonably and absolutely the best sushi/sashimi you can get in Queens.”
Watawa Sushi
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Coat Check: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Always a good choice on Ditmars among the many sushi spots that dot the area. They're all pretty good with fresh seafood but Watawa has a nicer ambiance. There's a serene Buddha in the back with running water as well as nice sidewalk seating to people watch.
Prices are comparable to the others and the sushi is your standard run of the mill with some specialty rolls. They also have a decent drinks list with mixed drinks as well as a decent selection of sake and wines. A great neighborhood place for a quick meal or a nice date.
I came here in a group of 6 with no reservations on a Friday night at 7pm. We were told the wait would be 25-30 minutes but waited closer to 40-45 minutes. When I entered I was pleasantly surprise as to how big this restaurant actually is and it is much trendier than I had anticipated. Watawa Sushi definitely has more of a lounge feel with its dimmed lighting, abundance of candles, and they even had a buddha overlooking a man-made pool of water in the back. Cute. I like that the tables were very well spaced so you are not sitting on top of another party.
We ordered a bunch of appetizers to share and our own main courses. For appetizers, we had: edamame, fried calamari, garlic chilean sea bass, and seafood dynamite. For my main meal, I ordered the sweet heart roll and the Watawa's wasabi roll.
Edamame: Nicely salted on the outside without being overwhelmingly so. Typical edamame as you would expect and I don't mean that in a bad way.
Fried calamari: Fried squid served with a sweet chili sauce. These were fairly plain tasting by itself, the sauce definitely brings it up a notch. I still enjoyed it though. Good portion and perfectly fried. While I did not try the grilled squid, I would imagine that would be the better choice of the two.
Garlic Chilean Sea Bass: Grilled chilean sea bass topped over garlic soba noodles. This appetizer is bomb! The sea bass was so buttery and the soba noodles was garlicky delicious. I usually don't like soba noodles but I loved these. I would totally order this again! Definitely one of my faves of the night.
Seafood Dynamite: Shrimp, scallops, mushrooms baked with smelt roe and Japanese mayonnaise. I die. These are like a heart attack in the making but each bite is so orgasmically delicious, it's hard to take just one bite! Another fave of the night!
Sweet Heart Roll: Shrimp tempura on the inside topped with eel on the outside. This is always a classic, but a goodie.
Watawa's Wasabi Roll: 8 pieces of spicy tuna roll topped with 4 different types of caviar – 2 pieces per caviar. There is a red, black, light yellow, and green (wasabi). I thought this was really fun and luxurious. I liked the red and black caviar the best. The wasabi one really punched me in the face. I order this because you can't go wrong with a specialty one named after the restaurant itself right? I was correct. Two thumbs up.
Overall I am very impressed with this restaurant and can see why there was a long wait to dine here. The appetizers are absolutely mouthwatering and the specialty rolls are great as well. I can't wait to come back to try other things. The prices aren't bad either for what you get and especially for this neighborhood. Great location for a date night or to catch up with a group of friends. Parents, don't worry… I saw quite a bit of children in here so it can definitely be a family outing as well… Plus it's loud enough that if the toddler starts causing a ruckus the kid's squealing will be drowned out by all the other noises in the restaurant. O_O
Watawa's a unique spot. Sexy atmosphere, one-of-a-kind sushi rolls, happy hours (if you sit at the bar), and good service. It's kind of like Queens' Tao, complete with its own Buddha and pond and err'thang! I got the grilled squid and the fantasy roll. Both were great. I was particularly blown away by the squid – cooked soooo friggin' perfectly. Go here fo sho.
Although my boyfriend would rate this at a 2,I have to disagree. I had two cocktails- the midnight snow (delicious and strong- I love coconut so this was so refreshing on a hit summer night) and the watawa-tini- pretty strong! We ordered the kani salad, a regular side salad and steamed shrimp shumai. Everything came out super fast… almost concerning how fast (either they're mind readers or perhaps the shumai got nuked). Everything was pretty basic but I thought very good and fresh.
We ordered the dynamite roll and the ocean roll. The dynamite roll was dynamite but the ocean roll was just… eh.
I say it's still one of the better sushi places in astoria but not my favorite
Just give me all of the sushi you have. Wait…wait. I worry what you just heard was, "Give me a lot of sushi." What I said was, "Give me all the sushi you have". Do you understand?
This place is noooo joke. It's some the best sushi I've had in a long time, and definitely the best I've ever had in Queens. I came here last night with a couple of friends, and honestly, wasn't expecting much. Astoria is well-known for it's Greek/Mediterranean scene, but not much for its sushi joints. But damn, this meal was a surprise – in the best kind of way. First off, the vibe is super sexy – intimate, chill music, VERY dim lighting (most of which is coming from the candles on the tables). It was so dark, that my friends and I had to be "those people" using the flashlights on our phones to read the menu. Whoops. While the aesthetics scream 'date night', there were several non-couples and groups of friends dining as well.
Before getting our sushi on, we checked out the drink menu. Not a single cocktail on the drink menu was over $10. Score! … At least I thought so, until I got my Saketini. So this was the biggest bummer about the whole experience here. The drink just tasted off, probably from whatever cheap sake or vodka they used to make it. But it was only $9, and I really don't expect much in the way of cocktails at a sushi joint, so I'm not going to flack this place too much for it.
So let's get to the food, yea? To start, we got the agedashi tofu and seafood pancake. The tofu was awesome with a super crispy crust, but the pancake was underwhelming (a notch below the kind you'd get at your typical Korean joint). And finally…the SUSHI. The three of us decided to split the Spicy Sushi Combo (8 nigiri and a roll of spicy tuna), Watawa roll, Fuji roll, and Ocean Tiger roll. BONKERS. All the fish was so fresh and delicate, and paired perfectly with the accompanying flavors in the maki/nigiri. And the sushi rice (which is often too overlooked) was on point – great texture and just that hint of rice vinegar to give it some bite. Watawa doesn't skimp out on their portions either, all the maki and nigiri are large, but still with the right rice to fish proportions. Every piece really was the perfect, tasty bite.
The service was great; very friendly servers. And our drinks and food came out fairly quickly. No complaints there. The final bill for the three of us came out to $110 including tax and tip. I consider this a steal for $37 a person given how happily stuffed we all were after our meal.
Well done again, Astoria. Everything about the sushi at this place completely floored me. Quantity and quality that won't break the bank? Please and thank you.
They have a great lunch deal that comes with miso soup, salad, and gyoza or shumai. The white tuna was so fresh that it melted in my mouth like butter. The salmon and tuna that came with the sashimi set ($13) was also fresh.
Would come back for fresh sashimi.
A nice classy environment with outdoor seating but pretty average sushi.
I frequent the hinomaru next door, and noticed this sushi place. Saw the 4 stars and wanted to try it. Maybe we got the wrong dishes but it definitely did not live up to the 4 or 5 star reviews.
Got the chirashi, park avenue roll and rainbow roll. The fish didn't seem as fresh, so it lacked flavor. The park avenue roll was bland.. The cucumber was a little bitter. The rainbow roll was average at best.
I really wanted to like this place but I really can't recommend. Maybe other rolls can disguise the lack of freshness of fish but I don't think I'll be returning since even the chirashi fish were meh.
I've been here a bunch of times and it has been great every time. The food and service are both great. The seafood dynamite is dy-no-mite! The seabass aap is yummy as well. All the teriyaki is delicious. The tofu teriyaki in particular is amazing. It's the only place I'll eat tofu. The perfect balance. Silky on the inside and crispy on the outside. I've also tried many of the sushi rolls and I've never been disappointed. Lunch specials are great as well, if you want to try it for the first time. For dessert, the mocha and fried ice cream are a perfect end to the meal. It's really a great place, with great food, great service, and great ambiance. A great place for a date as well. Try it, you'll love it, and so will your date 🙂