A Japanese dinner in Astoria, Queens, becomes easier to choose when the table is honest about what each person wants. One diner may be interested in nigiri or the chef’s selection; another may prefer grilled fish, pork or a bowl of noodles. Kondo on Broadway and Watawa on Ditmars Boulevard give those preferences meaningful room. The difference is not a contest over the largest sushi menu. It is whether a more directed seafood order or a broader neighborhood selection will make the evening work for everyone.
Kondo offers an omakase of ten to fourteen pieces of sushi or sashimi chosen by the chef, with market pricing. Here, the diner delegates the choice of pieces; à la carte lets each person build an order from regular or deluxe combinations, individual pieces and rice bowls. Tuna, salmon with salmon roe, or broiled eel give the seafood a different structure from a sequence of rolls.
The cooked kitchen makes Kondo especially useful for a couple with different preferences. Miso-and-soy-marinated salmon, braised pork belly and chicken nanban with tartar sauce can carry a meal without raw fish. Pan-fried pork gyoza, steamed shrimp dumplings or shishito tempura provide shared beginnings. Coffee jelly or a green-tea parfait give dessert its own place. A seafood selection and one of the warmer dishes can coexist without making either diner feel that their meal is an afterthought.
Watawa puts more formats within reach of the same table. Its individual sushi selection includes hiramasa, madai and shima aji; the shared combinations gather nigiri, or nigiri and sashimi, with roll choices. The useful decision is whether to focus on a few individual pieces or make a platter the center. Watawa identifies the Ditmars address as its only location, so this selection refers specifically to its Astoria kitchen rather than to similarly named or older online menus.
The special rolls deserve their own comparison. Fuji uses tuna, salmon, yellowtail, masago, avocado and a crunchy element in soy paper. Park Avenue puts tuna, salmon, crab and radish sprouts inside cucumber. The different wraps change how a diner encounters the filling. For cooked food, the menu offers grilled yellowtail collar, chicken or pork katsu, beef negimaki with scallions and teriyaki, and udon with chicken and egg. Its wider fusion selection also makes it a neighborhood restaurant rather than a narrowly traditional sushi counter.
Choose Kondo when the dinner should give a chef-selected seafood order or a few clearly chosen Japanese dishes room to stand out. Choose Watawa when a group needs more flexibility across nigiri, elaborate rolls and cooked mains. In both cases, deciding the main format first keeps the order from becoming a succession of similar rolls. Astoria offers enough variety to make that choice deliberate: a particular fish preparation for one diner, a cooked main for another, and a shared beginning that gives the table something in common.
Explore the profiles: Kondo · Watawa Sushi
Recommended restaurants
The profiles below explain each restaurant’s cooking and give practical details for planning a visit.
Japanese cooking that gives chef-selected sushi or sashimi and cooked dishes, from miso salmon to braised pork, equal reasons to visit.
Japanese sushi, sashimi, chef’s-choice omakase, miso-marinated salmon and braised pork belly.
An Astoria sushi restaurant with individual nigiri, shared platters, distinctive soy-paper and cucumber rolls, and substantial cooked dishes.
Japanese sushi and sashimi, special rolls, yellowtail collar, katsu and udon.
Sources & references
Sources for the information and reporting discussed in this guide.
- Kondo: menu, approach, reservations and contact ↗ Primary source www.kondorestaurant.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Kondo: Google Maps listing ↗ Primary source www.google.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Watawa Sushi: restaurant and sole location ↗ Primary source www.watawasushi.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Watawa Sushi: current menu on its official website ↗ Primary source www.watawasushi.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Watawa Sushi: contact and hours ↗ Primary source www.watawasushi.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Watawa Sushi: Google Maps listing ↗ Primary source www.google.com · Accessed September 28, 2026