Masa
“We had fatty toro tartare with caviar (which was unbelievably generous in portion and oh-so-delicious!)”
“You will have the highest grade imported Wagyu beef, a comprehensive flight of sushi, and several other amazing courses.”
“It was a night of Anago, Ika,Toro, Chutoro, Otoro, Torigai, Maguro, Tako, Mirugai, Hokkigai,and Kohada.”
Masa
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$$ Price range Above $61
8 reviews
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Tasting menu: $450.
Five shots of sake: $200. Sorry, even though it was good, I'd have much rather spent it on good Scotch. 🙂
They don't let you take any pictures in the restaurant, and I dined there alone last October, so I can't recall each individual dish, except that the food was excellent. Not overly "done", but had a simple sophistication to them. And the chef (I forget his name) was exactly what you'd expect of a Japanese master: low-key, humble, courteous, and oh-so-good at his craft!
A GAZILLION STARS! Masa is a 3-Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant located in the Time Warner building (next to Per Se). Owned by Chef Masayoshi Takayama, Masa only offers omakase (which is thought of/prepared by the Chef himself). You can request seating either at the sushi counter (made out of the rare Hinoki wood that is sanded daily (!!!)), or be seated in the regular dining area (I highly recommend the sushi counter!). When you make reservations, you can also request Chef Masa himself to serve you – UM, HELLO, YES, OF COURSE, YOU SHOULD REQUEST THIS!!! It's not guaranteed, but just cross your fingers that the lucky stars align for you (which it did for us, and I had tears of joy (yes, literally!)). The hubsters and I came to Masa to celebrate my birthday – so, you bet your tootin' bootin' I was extremely excited! We actually got to the restaurant a little early, but we were seated without any questions – Chef Masayoshi was right there, in the flesh, who greeted us – I almost lost it, because I become so fan-girly 😡 Since the restaurant does not allow pictures (which was so painful for me with my OCD (you can still use your phone to email and text)), I tried my best to just relax, enjoy, and soak in everything. We had fatty toro tartare with caviar (which was unbelievably generous in portion and oh-so-delicious!); yellowtail sashimi that had a lovely complement of ginger; grilled yellowtail collar (yes, it was recommended that we use our fingers – I'm all for that :P; bbq-ed membranes/toro sinew; shabu shabu with foie gras and grouper; Omi beef with white truffle slices (YES, OMI BEEF, WHICH IS BETTER THAN KOBE!!! It comes at a supplemental charge, but totally worth it; literally melts in your mouth!!!); and, an extensive selection of fresh nigiri, ranging from red snapper, squid, uni, yellowtail, scallop, eel, shrimp, mackerel, etc. Each and every single bite was distinct, and each and every single bite was oh-so-fresh! In addition, the service was impeccable (Jason and the rest of the serving staff were so sweet and courteous!); bowls of hot water with a slice of lemon was replaced for every nigiri touched (yes, you eat the nigiri with your hands – that's what Chef Masa said!), with a hot washcloth to wipe/dry-off. We had hot buckwheat tea (which was soothing), and our glass was always refilled with cold and refreshing Evian. For dessert, the hubs and I shared a Green Tea Mille Crepe, which was absolutely divine – not too sweet, had a great green tea flavor, soft & creamy, and a great way to end the evening. I loved how Chef Masayoshi was focused on us and served pretty much every part of the omakase – it was lovely to watch him prepare everything, his execution, his preciseness, as well as his extreme meticulousness; he had a great sense of humor, and we had a total blast – we had a running joke of 'soy sauce,' and we even got to take pictures with him at the end 😀 Chef Fuji and Chef George were also both very sweet and attentive as well! Our experience at Masa was unbelievable, and, while a splurge, it is DEFINITELY a place worth trying – we'll be back again! 😀
+omakase only!
+request Chef Masayoshi! 😀 HEART HEART HEART
+don't forget to request the OMI beef!!!
+request seating at the sushi counter!
+Chef Fuji & George were both awesome!
+Jason and the rest of the serving staff were the BOMB! 😀
You know, I've spent twenty four hours trying to decide if Masa was a three or four star experience, and basically I'm trying to convince myself that objectively it was a four star experience. I personally just didn't like it much (or at all, really).
I'm going to go with three because according to a friend that dined there recently… they forgot to serve me a course. (And I know it was being served that day because everyone else around me was served it… I'd just assumed it was a top-up that wasn't offered to me.)
I acknowledge that generally speaking, if you go to Masa, you shouldn't go in being price sensitive. So rather than saying "it was expensive", I shall say that I've had better (both quantity and quality) sushi meals for less. Those meals happened outside of the United States, so perhaps that's not an entirely fair comparison. I suppose I'll leave it with the takeaway that if you're comparing this to high-end fine dining Japanese cuisine in other countries, I'm inclined to say that you can do better elsewhere.
It's also important to note that Masa isn't an "authentic Japanese dining experience". I haven't read their own press, so I don't know if they position themselves that way, but I went based on stars and word of mouth, so perhaps I was partially at fault for misaligned expectations. But 'traditional Japanese' this is not. The sashimi course was a bonito carpaccio, the fish completely overwhelmed by ponzu. Very much a good carpaccio, but defintiely not what you'd expect of a cuisine that emphasises the taste of the produce over preparation and treatment.
I feel a bit… miffed that for that price, there was no otoro or chutoro, only toro (though that was served 3-4 times). I was also surprised that part of the omakase included certain sushi being served twice, in the same way. I also wonder that considering the number of pieces of sushi… it's a little cheap that one of the pieces was… shitake? And it's not like the other fish were absolutely premium either. Toro, Aji, Hirame, Kinmedai, Anago, Unagi, Saba, Sayuri, Amaebi… most of the fish on that list aren't the kind to break the bank. And in terms of quality, only the kinmedai stood out because it was one of the fattiest pieces I've ever had. Absolutely delicious… but also likely due to seasonality (fish are fattier in the winter and early spring). The anago was surprisingly dry, everything else just 'average high-end'.
I must mention the saba though. Smoked saba nigiri sushi. Brilliant. Admittedly nontraditional, but the flavours worked wonderfully and the smokiness was seductive and not overpowering.
Dessert was grapefruit granita, followed by (my choice) a scoop of house-made goma-cocoa powder ice cream. I would have preferred a slice of musk melon or an assortment of Japanese fruits, but ah well. Rather underwhelming really, and that's even without me subjecting myself to a slice of Lady M mille-feuille matcha cake.
Honestly, I wouldn't recommend Masa to friends, and I actually don't understand why it received three Michelin stars. I've had better meals at 1-2 star restaurants in Tokyo.
Top notch experience and MAJOR bragging rights, haha. Because ya know… buddy and I just consumed two pairs of christian louboutins. Anyway, my friend brought me here back in February for my birthday (which was in December, but reservations were difficult.). It's DEFINITELY worth the experience to see chef masa working wonders behind the counter, but is the hefty price tag worth a second visit? I don't think it's necessary to pay over $700 a person to enjoy a high quality sushi meal here in NYC, so no guys, no.
Masa is the only sushi restaurant in the US with 3 Michelin Stars. #94 on the San Pellegrino 2015 World's 50 Best Restaurants. The only other sushi restaurants with 3 Michelin Stars are in Japan. With this accolade, I had very high expectations for Masa. I actually dined by myself because my buddy backed out. Oh well! There were no pictures allowed. Fine. No pictures. SYKE! Actually, I tried many times to take pictures but they're pretty on top of people taking pictures. Definitely picture nazis.
Overall, I definitely enjoyed my dining experience at Masa. However, I was a bit disappointed because of my own high expectations after dining at Urasawa. I expected Masa to blow Urasawa out of the water but it didn't. I personally enjoyed the flavors and dishes at Urasawa more than Masa.
Was it worth it? Absolutely. For the simple fact, I got to experience Masa and decide for myself whether the hype was true or not.
Would I be back? Absolutely. I want to know what it's like to dine at Masa without dining at Le Bernardin for lunch in the same day.
US 2015 Michelin 3 Stars Count: 4 down. 8 more.
2015 Michelin Rated Restaurant Count: 5
San Pellegrino 2014 World's 100 Best Restaurants Count: 2
San Pellegrino 2015 World's 100 Best Restaurants Count: 3
Sometimes it is hard to appreciate the Michelin criteria, however Masa proves the opposite. Enjoying food at this tremendously famous sushi restaurant is not at all like finding a piece of golden nugget in a desert, but more like picking pearl on a crown. Have been to Nakazawa, Yasuda and Soto myself, I would say Masa seemed to reach another altitude for its unique sushi culture.
Let's start our journey right away.
A. Miso marinated grilled squid, sesame
Sesame was definitely adding to the point, it was able to bring the original flavor of squid out, with a little bit more of smoky feeling.
B. Caviar on top of tuna (heart)
As a big fan of caviar, I strongly suggest this dish to whomever the same. Never realized tuna and bread is actually the best combo, with the freshness of caviar.
C. Sashimi
Soy sauce was able to marinate the sashimi in a lighter way.
D. Soft shell crab, fried
Always thought fried food was a little bit overwhelming…yet this small dish was not at all too oily. Shell was essentially melting in my mouth!
E. Steamed king crab, ginger (heart)
One of my favorite dishes at the table. Scallion and ginger aroma was just about the right level to accompany the sweetness of crab meat. Extra credit to the cute thin plate holding the crab!
F. Seaweed soup, ready for sushi;D
Using one word to describe Japanese, no doubt delicate was the perfect one, and it has been completely represented during the main courses. They not only paid attention to the way food was present, but also tried to be aware of feelings of the clients. 18 pieces of sushi, each one conveyed its own story.
G. Toro with sauce (heart)
H. Jet fish, Japanese fluke
I. Snapper
J. Squid, Yuzu sauce, sweet shrimp (heart)
K. Uni, clam (heart)
L. Fatty tuna
M. Sea eel, fresh water eel
N. Needle fish, mushroom (heart)
O. Toro, mint leaf
P. Grapefruit sorbet, buckwheat tea (heart)
Towards the end, they were considerate enough to serve the buckwheat tea, which helped to clear up my palate. Such a marvelous dinner, my bar has been raised again…
There is gotta be some reason for Masa being awarded the Michelin three star, and the only three star Japanese restaurant in New York. I have never been to Jiro's dream of sushi, nevertheless I guess the spirit flows. Humbleness brings success, yet being able to deliver confidence in a humble way brings recognition.
Oh Masa….I am conflicted whether I am just too picky or the rest of the reviewers simply gave it 5 stars because of the name and price…after much contemplation and conversation with my husband and the other couple, we decided that it was just not as great as everyone things and this is a "yup, did that but wouldn't come back again" situation.
We went here with another couple friend and the total bill came out to $3142.13, PRE-TAX for 4 people. Now…the question is was the food worth the bill?
We did 4 prix-fixe, 4 beef tatami MASA upgrades, 6 bottles of sake (we asked the sake somm to basically do a sake pairing for our prix-fixe)…all of which were very delicious. The issue I do have is that they charged us $30 for 3 bottle of Badoit…I mean, really!? When someone spends that much money…they have to charge us for sparkling water as well? It just felt like a bit of a rip-off…I mean, Per Se and JG and La Bernadin all had complimentary sparkling or still…
Anyways, the sushi as delicious and chef MASA could not be any friendlier, he offered us a picture with him and apparently everyone gets a signed copy of the menu for the night. The standouts were the grilled uni, Kue Nabe Shabu and the saba. The special dish of the night, which was the beef tatami that's flown in from Japan was certainly delicious…it was melt in your mouth kind of delicious.
Bottom line: I am glad we tried MASA and went all out…as now we can cross it off our 3-Michelin Star Quest.
It was certainly an experience worth trying once…but I would not return to MASA again as there are better sushi experience out there in the city and better 3 Michelin starred restaurants.
Masa is great – been here a total of 4 times now.
It isn't too difficult to get a reservation compared to most other 3 Michelin Stars but as most reviews on here stated…be aware of the over $1k price tag without drinks or the upgraded options for two people. They change their omakase for every season, so you won't receive the same dishes in the Spring as you would if you came back in the Winter. The entire dinner will last you 3 hours. And the restaurant vibe is a very minimal almost meditative feel.
Of the 4 visits to Masa, 3 of them I've had the pleasure of sitting across Chef Fuji. One of them with Chef Masa himself.
My first two visits were divine, each dish just a league of its own. There were over 20 courses, all of which were beyond fresh and delicate. I remember I didn't want to stop chewing on the upgraded dish which was waygu beef with shaved black truffle on it. Just incredible. Chef Fuji and Chef Masa both were very friendly and interactive and the staff was really great and attentive. My next two visits were just OK, no wow factors at all. Even the waygu beef with truffle that I loved so much before was extremely salty on both occasions. They served blowfish sashimi and fried blowfish – cool to say you've tried although it had no flavor. There are many other creative dishes they serve as part of their omakase.
Like many reviews have mention as well, you have a series of small dishes before you get to the sushi. You have the option to spend extra for one or two extra dishes and then you get a very below average dessert. Each of my 4 visits, the dessert had been a poor to end the night, given its 3 Michelin Star status…usually just some bland tasting sorbet. Understandable that a restaurant like this is focused on the actual dishes, but as a 3 Michelin Star restaurant, they are required to be as well-rounded in every portion of cuisine and experience. They don't have their own in-house pastries either, for birthdays they just get green tea crepes or layered cakes from Lady M.
Staff is great although can be very chatty with my date (on our last two visits). Very knowledgeable and for me was friendly. Very quick to tend to water, tea and napkins. 🙂
In conclusion, Masa is definitely worth a try as I'm sure anyone is curious as to what a $500/person meal tastes like. It is by no means my favorite sushi or Japanese restaurant in New York for that matter but the experience is one to try. Hopefully the next time I visit, I will experience the WOW factor that I received on my first two visits.