Restaurant review: Sushi gets elevated to an artform in this thrilling Galway experience

I rather envy Japanese minimalism; sadly I’m more of a maximalist. 

I am a collector of knives, pens, shoes, jackets, wines, whiskies, and too many other things. I seek out craftsmanship and perfection, so of course many of the most beautiful things I own were made in Japan, such as my Pilot Falcon pen and some of my knives.

Japanese artisans never do anything without striving for the utmost perfection, and the same is true in cooking. 

Wa Sushi (formerly Wa Café) was created by Yoshimi Hayakawa, who has lived in Galway for over two decades, where she and her long-standing head chef, Paddy Phillips, have honed their techniques with proper Japanese dedication (including regular visits to Japan).

‘Wa’ means ‘harmony’ and this is reflected in the room, which is small with blond, wooden furniture and almost no artifice, just a calligraphy painting, a fan, and a beautifully simple ikebana flower decoration. 

Ikebana is the art of Japanese flower arranging and is another craft Paddy is perfecting; the flowers in the bathroom were similarly exquisite.

Wa’s menu offers freshly made sushi, sashimi bowls (sashimi don), tempura, salads, and salmon katsu rolls, but we absolutely had to choose the omakase menu at the bargain price of €47 per person. 

We were joined in Wa by Galway-based food and wine writer Cathal McBride and the three of us were like giddy children at Christmas waiting for our food.

Omakase, in case you are unfamiliar, translates as “I leave it up to you”, where a set menu is chosen by the chef and cuts right to the heart of Japanese artistry, allowing a chef to showcase their talents as well as seasonal ingredients.

We began with pretty little bowls of negitoro: Chopped (Irish) bluefin tuna mixed with finely chopped spring onion, sesame seeds, puffed rice, and topped with nori and seasoned with tamari soy sauce. 

The flavours melded perfectly with fatty, salty, sweet, and crispy notes and even the sesame seeds seemed to have been judiciously arranged.

Lissadel oysters in their shell had their briny freshness enhanced ever so slightly by droplets of wasabi and seaweed vinegar, and were followed by steamed Connemara crab seasoned with just a sprinkling of yuzu zest.

Two of the west coast’s finest ingredients had been kept true to their inherent nature, but given a subtle artisan enhancement that changed and elevated them.

Next, some meaty-rich but subtly flavoured slices of akami tuna sashimi from the leanest part of the fish, brushed with a reduced soy sauce infused with kombu flakes and other umami enhancers and dotted with fresh wasabi.

The sushi part of the meal was, of course, the most fun. 

Watching Paddy deftly press rice into shape and decorate it with the freshest fish and perhaps just a tiny smear of fresh wasabi root was like watching a sleight-of-hand artist. 

Each piece of sushi was an exact bite-size 12g of rice (he tests himself regularly) and we particularly enjoyed the fresh scallop and the finely sliced squid. 

We alternated pieces of sushi with the best pickled ginger slices I’ve ever tasted (made in-house, naturally.)

As well as plain fresh fish, other sushi highlights were trout roe gunkan wrapped in nori, some mackerel that had been lightly vinegared to reduce oiliness paired with minced green onion, and some blowtorch-flashed Clare Island Salmon.

Wa’s drinks menu includes around 15 sake options and four wines, including a Gavi (€9.50 per glass) and a Douro red sourced from Sheridans/Grape Circus; prices per bottle start at a very reasonable €33.60. 

There are tea and kombucha options, and three Japanese beers (Kirin, Sapporo, Asahi), each costing €6.30 per bottle. We began with Asahi and Sapporo beers which suited the early courses well, as did a glass of tangy citrusy Giordano Lombardo Gavi (€9.50). 

Paddy kindly also gave us some sake to try and it arguably worked even better so do consider it if you visit.

Dessert courses in Japan might simply be fruit, Paddy told us, but he aims to please Irish palates so created a Japanese take on rhubarb crumble. 

Galway rhubarb was poached in sake to sweeten and intensify the flavours and then topped with a nutty caramel-tinged brown butter crumble and a spoonful of vibrant green ice cream made from ceremonial-grade matcha tea; the tannins in the tea adding intriguing texture and complexity to the ice cream.

We left Wa with our appetites sated but feeling light on our feet. Paddy Phillips is not just cooking, he is creating art. 

Watching him make sushi and eating his food is a moving and rather thrilling experience that is not to be missed.