Hailey R.
Yelp
I love the location and the ambiance, but for the price, I expected Wagaya to be much better. The quality is not much different than any other regular fast-casual sushi place, but the prices made me expect a mid-tier restaurant -- not on the same level as omakase, but also not takeout quality. Unfortunately quality was closer to takeout. Especially obvious for the nigiri, where the fish quality (and the often overlooked rice!) is on full display.
I would come back if a friend wanted to, but I would certainly stick to the rolls over the sashimi/nigiri (I think this is where I went wrong!) The katsu curry we had was also meh -- chicken was good, but the curry was just...plain brown sauce. No hate to Golden Curry cubes (if that's what this was!) but I like when there are potatoes, onion, or carrot added for more substance (which distinguishes a sauce from a curry, imo!) I heard the ramen was great, so maybe go for that.
Service felt rushed, which I understand -- it's a small place, but we were asked numerous times if we were ready to order before one of our other members (who was just parking, not late!) had even sat down. On the plus side, food came out very quick for those who arrive hungry.
TLDR - prefer Nagomiya (by the same group) over Wagaya. Quality and service style is better -- maybe a touch more expensive -- but worth it in terms of experience. Wagaya seems to be at this odd inflection point of not quite being a fast casual bar, not quite being a mid-tier restaurant -- and it just didn't work for what I ordered and expected! As always, ymmv!