Tacoma’s Miyabi Sushi has closed. Here’s the restaurant that has opened in the space

The sign on the building has changed, but the menu hasn’t.

Wabi-Sabi Sushi Bar & Restaurant is the name on that new sign. The restaurant replaces Miyabi, the sushi place that opened in 2014 where Kabuki once operated near Tacoma Mall.

Diners who visit the restaurant won’t see any obvious changes to the menu — yet. That’s because the new Wabi-Sabi menu has not debuted.

“We’ll be launching it soon,” said general manager May Ma, who also manages sister restaurant Wabi-Sabi in Seattle.

The Tacoma Wabi-Sabi follows the same general sushi and Japanese classics format as the Seattle location, although that restaurant has a much smaller kitchen. Because of that small kitchen, the Seattle Wabi-Sabi focuses more on sushi and less on cooked Japanese entrees.

The Tacoma Wabi-Sabi is equipped with a huge kitchen, Ma said, which gives the cooking staff a lot more leeway in producing the cooked Japanese favorites that Miyabi has become known for — from its Japanese nibbles menu (izakaya) to the restaurant’s yakisoba, udon, bento boxes, katsu, donburi and teriyaki.

While the menu is the same, Ma said to expect some of the recipes to vary. That’s because some of the Miyabi recipes were proprietary and did not transfer with the ownership change.

Ma said that diners shouldn’t expect noticeable changes when the Wabi-Sabi menu debuts, just small modifications and some additions. She said while Seattle’s restaurant appeals more to an Americanized palate, Wabi-Sabi Tacoma will continue catering to the large number of Japanese diners who have been fans of Miyabi and before it, Kabuki, the beloved Japanese restaurant that closed in 2013.

All the attributes that made Miyabi one of the city’s best sushi destinations will continue under the new ownership, she said.

That means the tuna belly (toro), geoduck and sea urchin (uni) sashimi still will be popular offerings. The sushi chef still will offer omakase (chef’s choice) service. The specialty roll list continues to be extensive.

There was a brief gap in the transfer of ownership when the restaurant could not serve alcohol while it waited for a license approval, but the transfer is complete and they once again are serving beer and sake, said Ma.

Ma also noted that with the exception of one sushi chef who left before she arrived, all staff members from Miyabi have remained. That includes servers and kitchen staff. She said one chef from Wabi-Sabi Seattle has been traveling to Tacoma weekly.

Wabi-Sabi Sushi Bar & Restaurant

Where: 2919 S. 38th St., Tacoma

Info: 253-474-1650 or facebook.com/WabiSabiTacoma

Hours: Lunch and dinner Mondays to Saturdays and dinner on Sundays.

This story was originally published October 22, 2018 at 11:30 AM.