By JONATHON HOWARD
NOOSA’S authentic Japanese restaurant “Wasabi”, located at Quamby Place, has received national recognition with several food reviewers calling it “the best Japanese restaurant in Australia”.
The sterling reviews have come from both the Gourmet Traveller and The Australian.
Both food reviews described the restaurant as one of the top five in Queensland, one of the best Japanese restaurants in Australia and ranked 45 in the national top 50 list.
Wasabi first opened in 2003 in Sunshine Beach, with very modest beginnings.
But six years later, in 2009, the restaurant shifted to its current 2 Quamby Place address.
Owner and manager Danielle Gjestland said it had been a steep learning curve with a lot of hard lessons.
“It is wonderful to be recognised that our vision of a modern Japanese restaurant in regional Australia that uses traditional Japanese ingredients, resonates with our peers,” she said.
“We are honoured and humbled by the company we keep in both the Gourmet Traveller and The Australian’s Hot 50 List.”
Ms Gjestland said her team’s vision for the restaurant was combining both a contemporary sensibility and in the purity of their Japanese roots.
“While still maintaining an entirely Japanese aesthetic, we try to use as many locally grown and sourced elements as we can,” she said.
“We have an international theme but with a regional focus. We hope to present and communicate, to the modern diner, a snapshot of our food philosophy but at the end of the day we just hope people think our food is tasty.
“The whole team works incredibly hard with the hope that our guests have an enjoyable time.”
Speaking about the future of Wasabi, Ms Gjestland said the team was working towards growing almost everything they need on their farm at Honeysuckle Hill and all the organic matter from the restaurant is going back into their Bokashi recycling system.
“Bokashi is a Japanese method which retains all nutrients, organic material and microbes and returns it to the soil,” she said.
You can find Wasabi at 2 Quamby Place, Noosa Sound. To make a reservation phone (07) 5449 2443.
