Wakaze in Leicester

Best Japanese in Leicester (in my opinion!). Very good value. There is often a queue at peak times but the wait is worth it. The sashimi is sometimes less than super fresh but I am being very picky. My particular fave is the eel.

This is my No 1 favourite restaurant in Leicester. It is small and simply fitted. However, the food quality is consistently excellent. I had my maternity leave meal with my colleagues here and now my daughter is 8 — still coming in regularly.

Literally best sushi I've ever had in my life and you won't find such reasonable prices for such authentic sushi anywhere else. Genuinely the best food I've ever had in my life

Really cute restaurant, the food was delicious and great for its price!! Would defo recommend. Staff were lovely

Always great food and great service. Love it here

We ate here Sunday, the waiter recommended for the kids, rice and chicken katsu with tonkotsu sauce, they loved it and the portions were great. The adults had a bento box, pork katsu, chicken katsu curry, goyoza, edamame and kimchi, all were great, really good portions, not cutting back on the meat which loads of places do to cut costs down. Good portions, great quality, great price, great service, definitely returning. Great to find a non chain restaurant that ticks all the boxes.

What a spot! In the heart of Leicester, a great location with local pubs and cafes nearby and a short walking distance from car park. Excellent menu choices, easy to order and one of the best sushi I’ve tasted in the UK. Service is quick with great efficiency, was in and out of this place without any delays. Recommend: Takoyaki Balls, flamed salmon sushi, crispy prawn sushi and salt and pepper squid. Excellent choices and a lot more to decide. Great pricing, and good date spot, will highly recommend to try if you’re a sushi and Japanese food lover.

Great food Great service Fair price's A must try for Japanese food lovers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Best place to have ramen. Spicy Noodles Ramen - creamy broth. Miso Ramen - watery broth. Both - 5/5. Generous portions, amazing city view, and excellent ambience. Thank you.

If you want the best sushi in Leicester … you’re coming here … we’ve been to virtually every sushi place in Leicester and have some favourites but this place is #1 … fresh fish and rice … thank me later

My favourite restaurant in Leicester and definitely the best Japanese restaurant there. The cheese beef, all gyozas, maki, duck roll, bento box - everything is perfection. It gets busy so get there early on weekends as they don’t take bookings.

I went here for an evening catchup and to break my fast with my friend. There was no wait and we were seated instantly. The staff were so nice and took our orders when we were ready. Nicole was lovely and she had a soothing presence. The food was so nice. There was 26 minutes left until we had to break our fast and Apple came over after speaking to the chef and asked us if we would like our food to be delayed a little bit as she wasn't sure what time we were meant to break our fast. We told her in 15 minutes would be preferable. Our food arrived exactly in 15 minutes. It's such a small gesture but left such a profound impact on us. The level of consideration for Muslim customers was beautiful. We didn’t disclose anything and didn’t even know if they were able to accommodate us but they took the initiative as they saw we were visibly Muslim. I would recommend all my fellow Muslims to eat from here (we had pescatarian options as we were unsure if the meat was halal but it was still so filling and lovely). Thank you to the staff at Wakaze. We love you Apple and Nicole🥹🫂🤍 the atmosphere is so cozy, warm and chill.

Me and my friend were fasting for ramadhan and the server Apple was so thoughtful and asked if we would like our food to be served exactly when it’s time to break fast or if we would like it fast as possible. She was so sweet and it was such a nice thing to do. This inclusivity is amazing. Additionally, Nicole also gave amazing service and was very courteous and asking if we were okay. The food was delicious as usual. Lovely atmosphere too Xx

The little girl who taking order always with poker face. Don’t know why. Food is good anyway.

Great food everytime! It's busy but not too loud . Pretty chilled atmosphere. Friendly service. Spicy noodle soup is delicious. Bento boxes are cute and really filling. Sushi and dragon rolls are the best I've had in leicester. Homemade lemonade is great too

Generally, it was good. The taste of the king prawns was special, and the staff members were friendly.

Highly recommended! Big portion with correct price. Look at that mountain of crispy fried chicken in my curry bento. I left the restaurant super happy, full, and satisfied with their tasty food and decent service. Will come back for sure.

Great food and atmosphere. Love their ramen.

Fabuloso sushi y sashimi y un servicio increíble. Es caminar hacia arriba, así que tuvimos una pequeña espera para una mesa, pero el personal nos informó de la espera y realmente valió la pena cuando nos sentamos.

Wakaze has never let us down . It is the best Japanese restaurant in Leicester. We like the dragon roll but we love the volcano roll more.

Tasty food & good price. The noodle soup was tasty

First time trying it and really enjoyed it. We came on a Saturday evening and it wasn't much of a wait for a table. The staff were quite friendly and great with explaining the menu/dishes. The food tasted great, one of the best I've been to in Leicester so far for this type of cuisine, would definitely try it again.

Oh Wow! Simply delicious. SO worth a visit.

Genuinely might be the best restaurant in Leicester

This is the best Japanese restaurant in Leicester, service is slow someday as there is only one waiting staff.! Food very tasty but I feel there is a lot of msg

Tuvimos un festín absoluto aquí que involucró muchos platos, no escatimaron en tamaño de porción o calidad y todo fue simplemente perfecto, incluso las cosas más simples se hicieron con absoluta maestría 👌

Amazing food, I love eating here. I don't have any photos of my food because I always become immediately distracted by the food when it arrives and by the time I think about taking a photo, it's at least half eaten and not quite as attractive.

This could easily be the best sushi I have ever tried. The eel and the ramen were fantastic. Thank you!

I came here on Saturday, and have to wait 1h30. I really don't understand how this owner can run a restaurant so badly. Customers have to wait too long to be served. Overall everything is slow

Literally amazing! We all loved it 10/10 perfect delicious divine scrumptious

This is our favourite restaurant in Leicester, and it never disappoints. The dishes are always excellent, made with the freshest ingredients. Highly recommend!

Had our first meal at Wakaze, Some Chicken Ramen Soup and the Okazi Sushi platter. the food was delicious and we really enjoyed it, washed down with japanese Hot Green tea. We will certainly be going again. Thankyou

My wife, son and I visited Wakaze on Saturday after trying to find a decent sushi place whilst visiting Leicester. Much to our delight, this place was outstanding. Although the waitress notified us that there was a short wait due to staffing issues, we didn’t mind waiting for the food as when it came bit by bit the food was stunning, piping hot and tasted so fresh. Would definitely visit again and will be my go-to place when visiting the city. Congratulations for just getting it right :)

Fuimos allí el sábado por la tarde y esperamos durante 10 minutos. El arroz está muy bueno. Y el descuento estudiantil se puede aplicar si paga en efectivo o WeChat.

Superb Japanese food in a minimalist setting. Excellent and very kind service, reasonable prices. Highly recommended

Best katsudon I've ever had in the uk! The pork katsu was crispy and tender. Highly recommend this place for nice japanese food

This is the first time I've seen people waiting in line at a restaurant in Leicester. The price was good and it was very delicious. I really recommend it. If I want to eat Japanese food in the future, I will come here again.

This is my and my friends’ favorite bento sushi restaurant in Leicester! ! ! Come two or three times a week! ! Leaving Leicester soon! ! ! Newbies must come to eat at his house! Cheap and delicious! ! !

My gosh, why havent i been in here before? The sashimi was well cut and thick pieces,the tempura vegies were battered to perfection and not greasy, the service has been excellent. Would 100% recommend and defo will be back

Friendly staff. Very reasonable prices with good portions. I highly recommend tempura.

Best sushi in Leicester. For its price, quality is 100/10. Stuff is always very friendly and cute 🥹. Recommend to all my friends haha.

Unbelievable food at incredible prices! Definitely be back

The food here is amazing and the staff are very attentive I would recommend it to everyone

Very friendly staff, fantastic food with a great choice on the menus.

My friend suggested that we visit it since she had heard that it is one of the best sushi and she was absolutely right! It's been a long time since I've had such fresh and delicious sushi, without unnecessary sauces and mayonnaise. The salmon teriyaki bowl was excellent and I can imagine myself choosing it again and again. Very fast service, people are served immediately and the tables change quickly. However, they do not accept reservations and it is difficult to find a seat usually.

I have been here for the first time as I adore Japanese food. I only ordered crispy duck sushi and a portion of rice to take with me as I was visiting Leicester and had to pick up the car from the Mall parking that was closing at 22pm. I was told it will take 30minutes but I ended up waiting 50minutes. It is understandable that they were busy, clearly short staffed by the looks of it but surely there must be something they can do in order to keep their word. I had to ask again how long it will take after the half an hour passed as I saw that table service was quicker. It looks like they prioritise table service and disregard the other orders. I find it very difficult to understand, as they didn’t even had the curtesy to tell me it will last another 20minutes extra. The girl was apologetic but was very alienated by the whole situation. Would be respectful that chefs could coordinate better as it is truly unacceptable to wait for only a main course almost an hour. Wasn’t a big order and chefs should have taken this into consideration. Plus the portions are ridiculously small. Wish they advise upon ordering. I dislike complaining, I tried to understand, in the meantime I got a bottle of Yuzu and a portion of pancakes to add to the order but I was disappointed by the lack of communication. We are humans after all, must understand one another but respect it is pivotal, especially in customer service industry. Also when it is delayed by this much a complimentary drink should be offered, tea or water, it is bare minimum they can do for their customers. But I wasn’t even asked if I want a glass of water, completely ignored. If I knew it will take this long would have dined in. Clearly quicker service and more attentiveness.

Came again, still tastes really great, wait time still so long. At lunchtime, I saw that there were not many people here and decided to have in,however, I still had to wait for more than half an hour . The golden dragon roll and takoyaki were both good and highly recommended. ——— The food is slow to come out but the wait is worth it. The prices are very affordable and the ramen is only half the cost of Nottingham. It's not authentic Japanese ramen, but the marinated beef in the ramen is really good

Amazing food with fast service despite how busy it was

Great food, Best calamari in Leicester.. Friendly, considerate, polite staff!! We chanced upon it at a quieter period in December. Gets packed. What a great find!

The place to go when you’re in Leicester. Great quality food, simple but cosy and warming atmosphere. Kindest people providing excellent service.

Large portions, very reasonably priced and the Spicy Tuna Crunch Roll was the best sushi I've ever tasted!

Been various times and always enjoyed it. This time we ordered Takoyaki, Eel sushi, and Tempura prawn. Incredible authentic asian taste 😋🍥😍. 10/10.Also try the Plum liquor 👌🏻🥂

Great food, always good, last visited March 2024, starting to look a bit run down now, could do with a make over, but would still recommend.

Excellent food, especially those sushi roll

I came here twice and it was closed but no one warned me! Make me walk in vain 2 lie down

We visited for my son's 6th birthday as he wanted sushi. It was nice, the food was all tasty and service was great. Unfortunately the wok was out of service so we couldn't order any of the stir fry dishes. We had to make do with the dishes using steamed rice or ramen noodles I would visit again hopefully once the kitchen is working, but I wouldn't go rushing back.

The food was sooooo good Yummmmm We ordered teriyaki chicken bento, spicy chicken reman, and fried tofu. The portions were pretty much , I love how they marinated and cooked the chicken ☺️

A hidden gem. It doesn’t even appear in Google search on Ramen around Highcross. Five stars for this cozy place serving this awesome Ramen. The dishes look great and taste great. The only downside is the long waiting time for food but totally worth it.

The food tastes good however my meal arrived 20 minutes before my partners order. It would be nice if the chefs timed the order arrival times- especially when we order two separate main meals. As it left us with an awkward experience of having to eat both at separate times, and having to keep asking for updates.

Great food, especially for the price.

Lovely food absolutely obsessed with the spicy chilli noodle soup. Service is great lovely servers and staff. Only downside is the amount of time it takes for the food to come. Unfortunately had to wait around 45 minutes for my food. But food is worth it so definitely will be returning.

Really great place. Can't believe we've not been before. The food is outstanding. I had 3 dishes and it was all perfectly cooked. The staff are very kind and double check your order. The only downside is other customers who are terrible at remembering to close the door behind them as they come in and leave. The staff are constantly having to do it for them. Other than that I will definitely be back.

One of the most authentic bento boxes I’ve eaten outside of Japan. It was paired with a complementary miso soup and I added the Komé Bīru Japanese Rice Beer which worked perfectly. A real gem of a find in Leicester

The food taste was OK, but overall was a bad experience, not recommended. We ordered a sushi dish, a salmon jyu and a katsu curry. Which we waited more than 50 minutes for the sushi to come first!! Did they go fishing?! The £16.7 salmon jyu came in surprisingly small portions! I understand that the salmon is expensive but the overall portion size is ridiculous only a kid fist-sized rice and a layer of salmon. Which is definitely not worth the money. You can see the picture shows the left side covered with salmon is half portion not been touched, how big it is compared to that spoon

Lovely fresh food at a great price. Good portions. Polite, friendly, considerate staff. We will definitely be back.

Food was amazing, proper authentic Asian food. Large portion sizes, we ordered starters and a main and we were all stuffed. Decent prices too. Service was a little slow but the restaurant was very busy so it was understandable that the servers were a little rushed off their feet. That said, I would definitely recommend this place to others! Thank you for having us!!

Amazing food as always. Would Highly recommend this little gem of a restaurant. Friendly staff and excellent service. You have to try the homemade lemonade too!

Good value quick eat. Lovely staff and good service. The garden salad is very nice and plenty of different options for different dietary requirements. One of few place to do bimibap too. Also serve some great Asian beers. A good place to eat!

Waltzed was fantástico. Their king prawn is next level. Wait time can be improved though.

Expected food to be expensive but actually very well priced and quite large portions. Highly recommend the pork katsu curry it's the best in Leicester and at a great price! Definitely one of my new favourite places.

Had been meaning to try this place out for some time and my takoyaki addiction needed feeding. Added a nicely presented bento box and miso soup for a great little lunch. Lovely little place and I'm sure to return next time I'm in Leicester.

A clean and neat restaurant. The ebi tempura is one of the best I have ever tried in the UK. Not the cutlet or battered prawn. Really good japanese style tempura. Sushi is also quite nicely presented.

Excellent all round Japanese restaurant!

Best Japanese food in Leicester

Great Katsu curry, beef & onion donburi + tasty affordable sushi. Definitely get the dragon roll!

Fantasies Service, Food is Brilliant. Very Accomodating for those wanting to go for a meal for one. Just wish they had more Raman in Stock!!

Food delish 😋. Sometimes food need waiting to long time 40 min

Best place in town for sushi and noodles. Friendly staff

The best Japanese food in leicester

Mon restaurant préféré à Leicester

Incredible service and absolutely delicious food for a good price

Food was nice, but this waitress was racist.

Staff were very friendly, wasn't much of a wait for food even though they said a while. Tried lots of things and everything tasted great

Waited nearly AN HOUR for a plate of Sushi. The 2 tables who came later got food much before us. ZERO Apology. ZERO Compensation. Will NEVER be back.

Great experience, food was delicious and the people serving are really nice!

They delivered the food to my car Thank you very much.

The food was great for the price, especially in the city centre. Would definitely recommend to vegetarians. Service was attentive. Drinks and food arrived quickly. Only issue was no air-conditioning but not anything to worry about.

We ordered the pork ribs as appetizers, volcano rolls, dragon rolls, and golden rolls. All were good especially the volcano rolls! Even my 3 year old daughter love the dragon roll

Great place, had the mico ramen absolutely amazing! Will come here again!

Love eating here. Small, pleasant service and even better food!

Everything was delicious. I recommend the donburi.

Been going here for a while now and honestly it's such a great place to go too. I recommend getting a bento box! Has everything you need to fill you up! Ramen bowls and donburi bowls are lovely aswell!

Food is great, definitely recommend specially the wakaze ramen 🍜

Good food delicious tast staff was friendly restaurant clean always busy.

My husband and I love this place. It's our fave Japanese restaurant. We're here often. We love the food and the portions. When we leave, we're always stuffed!

Good Japanese and Korean fare, centrally located in Leicester. We tried their volcano roll, chicken miso ramen, and kimchi fried rice. Many options and sharing options. Good for small plates, quick service in a quaint cafe setting.

There is no better place to get sushi, sashimi, bento boxes and so much more! I absolutely love Wakaze and I always recommend it to everybody for lunch amd dinner. The presentation is good, the prices fair and the service friendly and kind. Stop reading this review and just go and try it 🙃

Really nice low key dining. Almost like Chinese/Japanese bench dining experience. I can't fault the food or the service, and the prices are very reasonable. Portion size for the mains was larger than I expected, which is always nice when you are a food lover (greedy) 😂 Plenty of choice for starters and mains, but it would be nice to see more dessert options.

Without doubt the best sushi I’ve ever had everything was piping hot and freshly made and delicious we managed to get the last table we would definitely recommend and 100% revisit with more family next time !!

I loved the place definitely will go again