One of many restaurants in Hove’s rapidly evolving dining scene, Wabi Sabi puts the focus on authentic Japanese flavours in a minimalist, contemporary setting. Menus showcase the diverse traditions of Japan, via varied dishes made with quality ingredients, sustainably sourced wherever possible. The name Wabi Sabi refers to a long-held ideology and worldview that posits beauty is to be found in imperfection, incompleteness and impermanence. Rooted in Zen Buddhism, it refers to rustic simplicity and the kind of serenity that comes with age.
That said, locally, Hove residents think Wabi Sabi restaurant is pretty perfect. The Wabi Sabi menu offers a wide range of Japanese dishes, from cold and hot appetisers, salads and tempura, to donburi (rice bowls), noodle soups, and a wide range of uramaki, sushi, sashimi, and nigiri. To start, appetisers include beef tataki, ponzu salmon, chicken yakitori, karaage, poppy-seed encrusted tuna sashimi, alongside soft shell crab salad, prawn tempura, and gyoza.
Chef signatures might include amai duck pan-seared with raspberry teriyaki sauce and grilled pineapple, and grilled black cod marinated in a sweet and spicy miso sauce. Donburi, meanwhile, stretches from teriyaki eel boxes and beef gyudon to teriyaki chicken don and chirashi sushi don, all served over a bed of fresh cooked rice.
Wabi Sabi’s noodle soup selection offers up creamy tonkotsu topped with pork chashu, egg, spring onion, bean sprouts, kikurage mushrooms; shoyu chicken katsu ramen with crispy fried chicken coated, bamboo, seaweed, kikurage mushrooms and kamaboko fish cake; and tom yum prawn ramen, which sees spicy pork broth with shredded chilli.
Uramaki at Wabi Sabi are very popular, thanks to a wide-ranging menu packed with rolls such as creamy tuna, prawn tempura, tuna and avocado, enoki mushroom tempura, and a classic California roll. Alternatively, you might spot the likes of handrolls stuffed full with soft shell crab, spicy mayo, and cucumber; spicy tuna and sesame; salmon, avocado, and mayo; or prawns, avocado, and cucumber.