Search for sushi satisfiers besides Kuni’s leads to Amherst plaza
The first sushi arrived on Buffalo’s restaurant shores in 1971, when Yoko Katz began offering Japanese dinners in sukiyaki, tempura, and sushi at 938 Kenmore Ave., later to become Sinatra’s.
By 1996, when Buffalo sushi legend Kuni Sato opened his eponymic restaurant, sushi was available in Tops Friendly Markets. Now it’s practically everywhere but Tim Hortons. Recently I ate half a tempura shrimp roll from Sam’s Club, I kid you not. It was fine.
Kuni’s remains the most Japanese restaurant in Buffalo. With Sato sous chef Thaviesak “Vic” Nachampassak as its new owner, the restaurant is still a sought-after table.
But what comes after Kuni’s? Who else serves good sushi, plus other dishes worth a detour? Because despite being 2025, there are still people who’ll eat tartare but not sashimi. There’s no shortage of sushi in Buffalo, from downtown to suburbs. So who else rounds out the table with particular elan?
A reader’s question got me thinking, so I asked for recommendations from sushi fanciers of my acquaintance. Following their intel, we ended up rendezvousing at Wasabi’s Amherst location.
Quiet, spacious tables on one side, sushi bar with two cooks behind it on the other, it’s a classic setup. Sake, wine, and beer are available, alone with Pellegrino sparkling water and hot green tea.
Age tofu ($5.95), custardy fried tofu topped with a whisper of shaved bonito, the Parmesan of the sea, was perfectly simple.
Yellowtail jalapeno ($11.95) was another story. Previous versions I’ve had offered the jalapeno component in thinly sliced rings dwarfed by the yellowtail slice. Wasabi’s introduces the jalapeno as a three-inch-long spear, which is a lot of chile. That said, ample cucumber in the fish-bound bundles, sprinkled with tobiko fish eggs, balanced out the heat.
A Tiger roll ($14.95) and sushi assortment for two ($42.95) would probably have been enough for two normal eaters. From buttery salmon to poached shrimp, the array of subtle differences in the nigiri pieces satisfied my raw fish jones.
Crispy pork chop fanciers should go for the tonkatsu ($15.95) deep-fried breaded pork cutlet, served with stir-fried broccoli, snow peas, and mushrooms in sweet ginger teriyaki soy. Fried yakisoba noodles (+$3.95), an upcharge, were pleasantly chewy reminders of the simple joys of a hibachi table, without all the smoke and yelling.
At Wasabi, two non-sushi dishes in particular made me consider returning.
Hamachi kama ($14.95) is the section between the head and filets, or “collar,” of a young yellowtail, Japanese amberjack. It’s the richest, meatiest section of the fish. Grilled, the crusty golden-brown exterior yields to lush flesh, sweetest against the bone, making it the barbecue of the sea.
This isn’t a bone-picking session, where you spend more time trying to wheedle throatstickers from your food than eat. Hamachi kama is as much a joy to eat as properly cooked spare ribs, the meat coming clean off the bone.
Another whizbang dish to remember was a special of salmon skin salad ($12.95). If you toast fatty salmon skin, it crisps up like pork rinds. Sushi cooks have used that to tasty advantage in the salmon skin roll, a standard sushi bar offering.
Wasabi’s salad starts with salmon skin cut with a few millimeters of fish deliberately left on. That extra fish gives the toasted salmon skin a meatier chew. Matchsticked salmon crunchies are tossed with cucumber, scallion, masago flying fish roe, lettuce, crunchy tempura flakes, and spicy-sweet eel sauce.
Smoky, crunchy, pleasantly meaty for a fish salad, I’m glad we got some skin in the game.
Our server was personable and efficient, and kept an eye on us between handling takeout orders. Did I mention it was quiet?
But is it your cup of tea? I can’t say.
Sushi is personal. Only you can decide if Wasabi Amherst fills your sushi yen.
100 Plaza Drive Suite C, Amherst, wasabi-buffalo.com, 716-689-5888
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday, Saturday. Closed Sunday.
Prices: appetizers $5.95-$14.95, sushi rolls $5.25-$15.50, entrees $12.95-$24.95
Parking: lot
Wheelchair accessible: yes
Gluten-free: most of menu
Vegan: Age tofu minus bonito, miso soup, vegetable rolls
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