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{"id":443,"date":"2017-08-14T10:50:10","date_gmt":"2017-08-14T00:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/101.0.69.85\/~blogessentials\/?p=443"},"modified":"2021-04-29T13:11:37","modified_gmt":"2021-04-29T03:11:37","slug":"top-100-australia-nz-travel-experiences-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentialsmagazine.com.au\/restaurants\/top-100-australia-nz-travel-experiences-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Wasabi Restaurant & Bar, Noosa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Queensland<\/a> restaurateur Danielle Gjestland is a standout dynamo. Her Wasabi Restaurant and Bar concept opened on Sunshine Beach almost 12 years ago. Since then it has grown into an internationally recognised Queensland food<\/a> institution, presenting the most impeccably appealing and flavoursome Japanese<\/a> dishes and sake that we\u2019ve ever laid our lips upon.<\/p>\n

Today the restaurant has expanded both its dining concept and floor space within a waterside Noosa Sound property, featuring a series of louvred bays and raised windows that open the restaurant up to nature, connecting diners with the fresh sea air and \u2018on top of the water\u2019 Noosa River<\/a> views. Danielle leads a masterful team comprising Japanese sushi chef Jiro Numata, head chef Zeb Gilbert and sommelier Drew Mackie. Together they and additional floor staff work together as a well-oiled machine. The service is on-the-ball, understated perfection, delivering food triggering taste sensations that leave a lasting emotional impression.<\/p>\n

Danielle was just 23 years of age when she hit the \u2018go\u2019 button and began crafting Wasabi. She says people thought that she was mad opening a Japanese restaurant in such a small area.<\/p>\n

\u2018At the time, people weren\u2019t ready for Wasabi: believe it or not, when we opened a lot of clients actually asked to have their sashimi grilled, which was a bit… \u201cReally? I think we\u2019re missing the concept here!\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

On the day<\/a> we visited we were amazed at the beautifully fresh tuna, coral trout and red emperor; all three caught locally at Sunshine Reef<\/a>, coming in via the local fishing port of Mooloolaba.<\/p>\n

\u2018They have a big tuna and swordfish operation and they catch pinch maguro (bluefin tuna), all of our reef fish,\u2019 says Danielle. \u2018The prawns and cuttlefish are local also \u2013 pretty much everything \u2013 it\u2019s brilliant that we have access to such fresh daily local produce<\/a>. On top of this, we grow our own Japanese vegetables on my family\u2019s Honeysuckle Hill Farm. We irrigate with water from our natural spring and compost the vegetable peelings and off-cuts from the restaurant using the Japanese Bokashi method, which retains all nutrients, organic material and microbes. People really feel that Wasabi offers a sense of place \u2013 as they\u2019ve truly enjoyed tasting what Noosa is all about.\u2019<\/p>\n