Wabi Sabi Salon

The food was truly delightful and offered excellent value for the generous portion sizes. The lady with long hair and a warm smile who served us was both gracious and attentive, providing exceptional service. We highly recommend this place and look forward to returning.

Overrated food vs price. Taste so so, don't know why there is the crowd especailly the ramen soup tasteless with 1 piece of chicken only?? The pork rib ramen has better proportion, the clear soup is much acceptable but not a place where you want food broth soup. There's no customer service either for a busy Saturday. If they can't top up water, then at least have a self- refill station.

Do you sometimes feel like you’re in need of a vacation to Japan, but just couldn’t find the perfect time yet? No problem, we’ll get you to experience a little bit of Japan here @wabisabisalon ! Once we set our foot here, it feels like we’re lost in Japan! We ordered their signature Teishoku, and we honestly can’t get enough of the Wagyu and the Sashimi, they tasted incredibly gooood! Definitely one of many restaurants that’s on top of our lists! 💯

I waited over an hour for my food while at least four customers who arrived after me were served much faster. It seemed like my order was forgotten, so I asked a staff member after they served two nearby tables. They assured me I was next, but I still saw them bring multiple dishes to another table before mine. To make things worse, another customer who arrived later finished their entire meal before I even got my food. The service needs serious improvement!

The presentation of the food was impressive, but unfortunately, the taste didn’t quite meet my expectations. Being a half Japanese, the rice was a letdown — it should have been distinct, chewy, and firm, as you’d expect from well-prepared Japanese cuisine. Instead, it was overly sticky, soft, and almost mushy, which really affected the overall experience. Given that rice is such a key component in Japanese dishes, I was hoping for better quality in that area. On a positive note, I really loved the atmosphere here. The restaurant has a lovely Japanese-inspired style that’s warm and inviting, making it a great place to chill and enjoy a meal. If they improve the rice, it would be an even better experience!

A quaint japanese restaurant just a few minutes outside of CBD. One of my friends brought me here to get ramen for lunch; We both ordered the Tan Tan Ramen and the Shoyu Ramen 🍜✨ The Tan Tan Ramen was creamy and very flavourful with minces of chicken and veggies. They're not too spicy either, just enough to envoke flavour. The Shoyu Ramen was lighter in taste but still flavourful. It's served with whole chicken and veggies too, a good option if you can't eat anything spicy. I think the portion and quality matches the price, they were big and tasted delicious. The atmosphere was relaxing and the staff were really attentive in serving us, they gave us water right away as soon as we were seated and took our orders from our seats. I especially like the design for the sitting spaces attached to the wall. Overall, it was a great dining experience.

This cool, retro Japanese-inspired spot on Smith Street, Collingwood, specialises in Japanese Teishoku. The interior is a nostalgic treasure trove of Japanese toys and trinkets, creating a fun and relaxed atmosphere perfect for a casual meal with friends. Each set ($32–$37) features a main dish of your choice alongside a variety of daily side dishes. The presentation is impeccable, with vibrant plates that are pleasing to the eye. The pumpkin and agedashi tofu stood out among the side dishes and complemented the dishes well. The pork spare ribs were tender and generously portioned, though the fish fillet felt a bit small in comparison. While the food itself is not outstanding, it’s the restaurant’s unique ambiance and aesthetic that truly shine. Conveniently located on Smith Street with easy tram access, it’s a fun and visually delightful spot to catch up with friends or enjoy a low-key night out.

Wabi Sabi was a vibrant restaurant fulled with dozens of happy customers. The food was Devine with a unique eating experience like taishoku (collection of small tasters with main, rice and miso soup). Not only was the meat cooked to perfection it just melted in your mouth releasing a plethora of flavours. There really was an option for all with the fish tasting extremely fresh and released all flavours present. Presentation also added to the experience with a collection of individually selected ceramic plate with not a single one being the same. Overall a memorable experience and probably one of the best Japanese in Melbourne. Highly recommend anyone looking for a funky Japanese restaurant.

Wabi Sabi translates from Japanese to "Beauty in Imperfection" much like a the word Baroque. This style and imperfectious beauty is present in the restaurant's incredibly interesting contemporary Japanese food and the crockery itself. The relaxed atmosphere is wonderful, giving you free reign to peruse the décor and the menu and slowly make your way to the meal. The servings themselves go for presentation and quality of food over the quantity, and because of this I'd recommend not going there on an empty stomach. You'll end up getting a few more plate than expected and pushing the price up. And of course you'll wash these delicacies down with great imported Japanese and local beers, the perfect companion to Japanese food. The tables themselves are arranged rather close, so you may find yourself on a busy night practically sharing a table with another group. A friend talks of how she found herself and her friend sharing a table with a couple who were ending their relationship. Thankfully this only a once off, but can you imagine the awkwardness of the meal? I've only ever made more friends here, perfect for drinking further on.

I felt conflicted about leaving this review, wary of spreading negativity, but this needs to be said. I don't want to bottle it up & I need the closure to move on from this. My experience began with awe at the amazing retro aesthetics & lively atmosphere. After a 10min wait for a table (peak hour), the waiter at the door gave us a 3 seater table. Another waiter asked us if someone had seated us there, as if we weren't supposed to be there. We didn't think much of it, & said the first waiter directed us there. A waitress gave us menus & took our orders at 1:10PM, based on the timestamp on my screenshot of their Insta. I was chatting to my friend (both of us were one of the few Asians there at this point) when we were asked to move to the upstairs bench so a group of 3 could be seated there instead. We carried our own water, napkins & cutlery upstairs. We lost track of time chatting until it was already 2PM; 50 minutes had passed since we first ordered. We should have checked after 30mins, but making sure they had our order was not our responsibility. My friend checked on the order, stating that about 1hr had passed since we ordered. The waiter replied, "what did you order? I'll look into it", & later to his credit as she was walking away, "sorry for the wait, our kitchen is really backed up at the moment". Good hospitality practice would have been to apologise sincerely & fast track a forgotten order to the start of the queue. Depending on restaurant protocols, complimentary drinks or a discounted meal would have been a reasonable goodwill gesture. Upstairs, a pair of white-presenting girls had just been seated & asked me if they go downstairs to order. I told them we had been waiting for 1hr; they should go downstairs to order if they want food. To our shock & dismay, both of them got their food within 15mins, while we were still empty-handed. The white-presenting trio we were bumped from our first table for were already halfway through their meal. This demonstrated that our wait wasn't simply an issue of kitchen inefficiency. It wasn't that the food was not being cooked, they had just chosen not to serve us. I am still in disbelief about the blatantly selective hospitality existing in Australia in 2025. What is disappointing to me as someone who has had 8 years of hospitality experience is not just that they lost our order -- but more importantly how they handled it. It happens, but the way a place responds shows their integrity. As a place that calls itself Japanese, there was a startling lack of Japanese hospitality -- it was saddening to see the nonchalant attitude, dismissiveness & lack of proactivity in solving our issue apart from, "its coming soon". By 2:30PM (1hr 20min later), we had tried to remain as positive by laughing the situation off & listing things we were grateful for in life, but it was becoming too much so we decided to leave. On the way out, she told the waiter we were leaving, to which he replied casually, "oh they haven't given you your food yet?" -- no further apology or investigation on what actually went wrong. It took us until after 2:37PM for us to get a bite, from Huxtaburger instead. Seeing Reviews, it made sense the extended wait time was a regular occurrence during a busy lunch hour. What didn't make sense was, the majority of customers who had a 40-60min+ wait time were non-white. Surnames like Yang, Hutama, Jang, Teh, Yun, Yen, Singh, Ding, & Tangtanawit. Whatever the reason, this reads like discrimination as other reviewers have pointed out, & isn't a good look, especially at an Asian eatery partially staffed by Asians. Am I wrong to feel indignant about yesterday? There are worse things in life than what happened. This review is not intended to be vindictive. While these events won't hurt the business, they've repeatedly hurt customers. I hope this prompts them to improve their practices, so these issues are minimised & managed well when they do occur. While I have lost 1.5hrs of my life I will never get back, this doesn't have to happen to others. Wabi Sabi, please do better.

We stumbled upon this place when we found out that Josie Bones a few doors down has closed. The service is really nice, very authentic. The food was pleasant, nothing too fancy. The decor and atmosphere was what I liked the most.

Wabi Sabi Salon could be a set from Kill Bill, it's just begging to be smashed up by some hungry ninjas. Not that I want that to happen - it's my favourite Japanese restaurant and I would be devastated to lose it! I admit there are other better known and cheaper Japanese eateries on Smith Street, but Wabi Sabi is a cut above, so if you want to make a night of it's worth coughing up the extra dollars. The second best thing about Wabi Sabi (the food being the first) is the different spaces. Over the years I've sat on cushions out in the garden where you can hear the dinky traditional music and little else, up in the mezzanine that's so low you need to crawl to your seat, and downstairs in the more standard restaurant space. My pick is definitely the garden - if you go with a group you'll have it to yourself so it feels like your own private restaurant. Another advantage of going with a group is that you'll be able to order a wider selection from the menu. The dishes are all designed to share, but with only 2 people it would be hard to get through any of the larger items on the menu, which means missing out on the whole fish. All the dishes are both simultaneously authentic and modern, most likely owing to the all-Japanese kitchen staff.

Wabi Sabi is an authentic and cosy Japanese restaurant in Collingwood. Service was great and there is outdoor seating which is perfect for larger groups. I had the Japanese curry with panko chicken. It was delicious and a very generous portion!

Simply my favourite Japanese restaurant in all of Melbourne. Fresh, tasty sushi and sashimi, green tea and black sesame icecreams, incredibly sweet waitresses, cosy without being poky. Love it!

Went with a friend for dinner who had heard great things about this place and I wasn't disappointed! Food is absolutely delicious! We had the duck and it was tender and full of flavour. We also had the double-boiled pork which melts in your mouth and is super tasty! I liked having the option of having brown rice instead of white rice, which was a nice change. The waiter we had was really lovely! He was so polite and very courteous. The restaurant is also pretty cool! Keep an eye out for all the toys that are hanging around!