Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times

Chef Santiago Cruz (left) prepares sushi with help from assistant Elize Cruz at Wasabi's.

Wasabi's

Rating: 4 stars (out of five)

• Menu: Japanese/sushi

The vibe

You’ll find Wasabi’s in a small front on Market Street in the space formerly occupied by Jeffrey’s. The narrow dining room ends at the “stage” of the sushi chef, Santiago Cruz. Cruz, a native of Honduras, was formerly the chef at Salem’s Sake House, where he perfected his skills in Japanese cooking for 13 years.

The rather unremarkable decor is unrepresentative of the flavor and color in the food. Chef Cruz is an artist keen on delicate precision and culinary organization, and he arranges plates with all of the compositional care given a bouquet of flowers.

The menu

Wasabi’s has a solid list of maki rolls (fish rolled in seaweed and rice, then cut into six or eight pieces) and nigiri sushi (slices of fish served over balls of sticky rice).

The standard maki rolls are easily some of the best in town. Classics such as the California roll and futomaki are excellent. And others including the spider roll (filled with lightly fried soft-shell crab) and the sweet potato tempura are destined to become classics.

The special maki rolls created by Cruz and described on the menu as “unique rolls with worldly fusion and flair” are big and beautiful. Sushi is usually known for being light, but these specialty rolls had all the richness of French pastries complete with thick, creamy sauces.

Standouts included the Tokyo Rose ($13), which was filled with yellowtail and broiled eel and then painted like a Jackson Pollock with colorful sauces and green onions. Also worth trying is the Dynamite Don ($13), filled with seven kinds of fish in spicy sauce, and then the entire roll is lightly tempura-battered and fried. My favorite was the Samurai Roll ($12), featuring spicy tuna covered in an armor-like shell of fresh cucumber, which demonstrated the chef’s knife skills.

Other sushi selections include 11 spicy maki rolls ($6-$12), which are filled with chopped fish mixed with a hot and spicy garlic-mayonnaise. The filling is similar to a deli-style tuna salad, and it should satisfy the cravings of extreme garlic lovers. These rolls are equally as rich as the special rolls.

Sushi can be ordered a la carte or as an entree, which includes a choice of soup or salad. The crisp salad with creamy ginger dressing freshens the mouth like a quick brush-up and gargle. I highly recommend the miso soup, a hearty broth that warms the belly and readies it for raw fish.

Wasabi’s features several appetizers ($1-$8), including edamame ($4), boiled and salted soybean pods that are fun to nibble on (you scrape the beans out of the pod with your teeth).

You will also find entrees including fried rice, noodles, teriyaki and tempura dishes ($6.50-$16) and a short dessert selection with ice cream ($3; flavors include green tea, lychee and red bean) and cheesecakes ($3.50; rose water and green tea).

On fishiness

The fish at Wasabi’s is quite good. Good fish and seafood — the sashimi grade — will not taste “fishy” at room temperature. Some nigiri sushi selections that show off what I mean are the octopus, tuna and red snapper (each are $4 for two pieces).

The rice

Rice is so important to sushi’s taste and textural aesthetic. The perfect sushi rice is so complemented by the fish that it almost goes unnoticed. It’s sweet and slightly sour from rice vinegar, yet so subtle it will only enhance the flavor of the fish. When bitten, it isn’t so soft as to melt, but not chewy either, and it will be just sticky enough to hold together and not become pasty. Wasabi’s had a little trouble doing this consistently, but when the chef was spot on, the experience was divine.

The service

The small, open layout of the restaurant makes you feel noticed by your servers, who were friendly and helpful on my visits. You should have no trouble getting a drink refill, asking for a fork (and you will have to ask) or even adding a last-minute item to your meal.

The bottom line

The sushi at Wasabi’s is extremely well-made. The chef obviously takes pride in the preparation and arrangement of each plate he sends out.

Wasabi’s

Rating: 4 stars

Menu: Japanese/sushi

Address: 214 Market St., downtown Roanoke

Price range: Lunch: $6.50-$9.50; Dinner: $10-$17; Sushi a la carte: $3-$13

Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Sunday.

Soda products: Pepsi (and Coca-Cola in cans)

Alcohol? Sake, wine and beer

Plastic? All major credit cards accepted

Smoking? No

Wireless Internet? No (but it’s in the city’s free WiFi zone)

Takeout? Yes

Delivery? For large orders

Patio seating? No

Reservations? Available for large parties

Kid-friendly? Not really (no kids menu or booster seats)

Live music? No

Call: 904-6254

What the stars mean

5 stars Excellent. A one-of-a-kind experience.

4 Very good. Memorable menus accompanied by exciting environs and/or savvy service.

3 Good. Solid places that beckon with generally appealing cooking.

2 Just OK. A place not worth rushing back to. But, it might have something worth recommending: A view, a single dish, friendly service, lively scene.

1 Poor. Don’t waste your money here.