So delicious! So fresh! Simply the best around. The service is kind and attentive. I'm so lucky that its so close to home but would make the drive for this one. Their all you can eat is the best deal! read more

Garbage. Utter garbage. The sushi was completely inedible. I should have walked out immediately when I saw how empty it was. Never again.

Honestly, it's a great local place when you are craving sushi! The lunch specials are great, very affordable & delicious! The sushi is not the best i have ever had but it is still very enjoyable! read more

Masa 8 - 3 roll lunch special: salmon avocado, spicy tuna & Philly roll! - Japanese Near Me - Lawrenceville, New Jersey

Food was great Service less than welcoming. No atmosphere on Tuesday evening. Decor is good, they just need to engage positively with customers! read more

we went for lunch... the food and the service were both excellent. And the menu has many wonderful options and great lunch specials. If you need to get In and Out quickly... they absolutely can accommodate that need. read more

I am really bouncing between three and four stars here, so I'll give it four stars for the sushi and three stars for all of the other entrees and service. I dined here with my family on a weekend night recently and there wasn't any wait, but they were moderately full for a Saturday. Immediately it was impossible to figure out who was waiting on us, who was taking orders and who was doing what. We finally got our drink orders taken and were able to place our food orders. As someone with food allergies, it was a crap shoot because they had no concept of food allergies and certainly not of cross contamination. The edamame we ordered as an appetizer came after our main courses had already come out (and even then, only after we asked about it). The food was slow to come and it didn't seem to correspond to the amount of customers in the restaurant nor to a high volume of take out orders. They also were unable to come by to fill up water or tea and it was difficult to get their attention. There were three people working the front of house and there was a buzz of chaos the entire time that was not correlated to the volume of customers. The sushi was enjoyed and our sushi "connoisseurs" enjoyed the sushi a lot. I had the lobster miso which consisted of highly rubberized fake lobster meat that had been overcooked in the miso broth with probably almost half of a white onion which destroyed the broth. The "lobster meat" was undistinguishable as lobster meat as it was cut in tiny pieces. The salmon teriyaki was over-sauced and on almost an entire grilled onion. They sure do love their onions here. So a mixed bag. I might come back for the sushi. But only if I was really hungry and needed more onion in my life. read more

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This is a good strip mall Japanese restaurant. We went for a Saturday lunch. It's calm. I've reached the point where I increasingly detest restaurants that try to be " scenes". You know loud places that play crappy pop music at ear splitting volume and think you're supposed to enjoy that. I typically order Sashimi in these places and it was pretty good here. Prices are reasonable and service is polite and efficient.It is BYOB. read more

Nice place. Good food.Reasonable for today. Service efficient and helpful. Had the Bento box enjoyed it very much.

You can't beat the big deal special. Two special rolls for $18. Get the Clinton, masa, Hawaii, pink lady, or any other rolls. Then there is the lunch special - any two or three rolls for $12 and $16 respectively. Great sushi! read more

The sushi was very good. They offer a number of rolls that I had not seen at other restaurants. My husband is partial to eel and was pleased to see several different options featuring his favorite fish. Unfortunately, the service was poor. We were seated at a table with only two settings for three people. Neither the person who seated us nor the one who took our orders noticed. We tried to speak up and ask for another place setting when the food arrived, but the person who delivered it to our table walked away so quickly that we didn't have a chance. It took 10 minutes of trying to catch a server's eye after getting our food until we all had utensils to eat with. Our water glasses were drained before the end of the meal and we never did manage to get refills before it was time to pay the check. The hard decor is attractive but amplifies sound, creating a noisy environment even late on a Sunday when they were only about half full. read more

Sushi only review: I was here on a Friday night so made a reservation in advance just in case, on this night it was not needed but place was about 75% full. I wasn't looking for a huge meal so started with a few pieces of fluke and stripped bass. Both pristine and nice sized slices on good sashimi rice. That perked my appetite and then I tried the volcano roll. It was very good too, shrimp roll basically with crab on top that gets a flame to it. Maybe a bit oversauced as some special rolls can be, but good flavors. That sparked me on to order the New York roll, my favorite item of the night. This is a cube roll that was cut so precisely I hardly noticed how easy it was to separate each cube. This consisted of eel tempura in the middle( yum) and peppered tuna slices on top. Along with the sauces was some type of yummy roe. This may have been one of my fav rolls in recent memory. After only sampling these few items I was hesitant to go 4 stars, but that last roll and the bill clinched it. There was some special that I was unaware of, and still don't see advertised on the menu, but the gist is 2 special rolls for $15! I expected to pay more and it's cool when you don't have to. A nice clean and modern decor that was not quite as dark as other reviews led me to believe. Friendly and quick service too, I'd return to try Udon or Katsu next, but the NY roll will be a double. read more

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I have come here many times with my sister for weekday lunch and have always been happy. We do not eat sushi, so I can not comment on that. What we come for is the good value lunch specials. I get the bento box, and she gets the hibachi lunch. There is a variety of well prepared items and you get a protein choice, vegetables, rice and a soup for a decent price with the hibachi lunch. With the bento box, you additionally get shumai and California rolls, also at a very reasonable price. Then we finish with delicious green tea ice cream for dessert. The meals are tasty, healthy, and nutrtious. The service is prompt and efficient, and the ambiance is calm and serene with new age, flowy music in the background and a sleek minimalist decor. There are always many people there dining and several take out order pick ups. It is a comfortable local spot. read more

prices competitive, food terrific, ownership very pleasant...great for eat-in or take out.

The sushi at Masa 8 is phenomenal, truly a step above the typical neighborhood sushi joint that most of us visit. They're always a bit busy but never uncomfortably full. They also serve their food really quickly. The sushi chef here is really something and expertly cranks out the sushi rolls (some of them fairly complex) in no time. Aside from all of the usual sushi offerings, their menu has alot of unique rolls that you just don't see everywhere else. Some of the choices are very creative. For example, they offer a lemon salmon roll which is fresh salmon slices over spicy yellowtail, topped with paper thin slices of lemon and jalapeño tobiko flakes. Nice! I also like the Dark Angel which is black pepper tuna with scallions and jalapeños and they top it with even more black pepper tuna for good measure. I've eaten here so much I've lost count how many times it is, but I can tell you that I've never had a bad meal. Great job Masa 8! All in all, this is an outstanding sushi spot. Well worth a visit if you are in the area. read more

Masa 8 - Lemon salmon roll and white tuna sashimi - Japanese Near Me - Lawrenceville, New Jersey

Excellent quality food with a beautiful simple presentation at an attractive price for lunch! One of my favorite restaurants anywhere!!

I was in the Princeton area on a consulting project and my associate and I needed lunch. We both love sushi so consulted Yelp and went off to find Masa 8 in Lawrenceville. Located in a small, nondescript strip mall, it's not a place that stands out. However, once you enter, you are greeted warmly by the staff. We were on the later side for lunch so we're seated quickly. I always end up over-ordering sushi. And then take some home. It was great. I had one of their rainbow rolls with three kinds of fish, a Bahama Mama roll and split sushi with my associate (three different fish). I'm not an eel lover so did not try any unagi dishes. Our fish was fresh and the rolls were great. It's one of the best sushi places I've been to in the USA. That their service was on point only added to the pleasure. If I'm ever in that area again, Masa 8 will definitely be on my list for lunch or dinner. read more

This was my first time to MASA 8. I been to Masa sushi located on Nassau park blvd plenty of times. Although I don't think it's the same owner. Came here for a quick lunch, menu is pretty much the same as every other sushi restaurant in town. Bento box special, 2 rolls or 3 rolls, hibachi lunch. There is one secret menu that they don't advertise, and it's a great value. They have a special for $14.95 for any two specialty rolls. That's one thing I would highly recommend. Any of the specialty rolls ranges from 9.95 to 13.95. We ordered the Hawaii and the Barbados roll. They were both very fresh and delicious. Barbados had the soft cell crab that adds additional texture to the roll. Service was pretty good as well. I would come back again to MASA 8. Recommendation: Secret any 2 specialty rolls for 14.95 for lunch - you have to ask the server to confirm. read more

Masa 8 - Hawaii and Barbados specialty rolls - Japanese Near Me - Lawrenceville, New Jersey

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A grumpy and unfriendly welcome but wonderful food and a nice ambience. We will def return for the bento box.

Awesome spot. Great sushi. Katsu chicken is also great. Love going to this spot whenever I am in town

Very good first experience. Modern, clean, classy presentation upon arrival. Greeted and sat right away, menus and water brought right over. We ran through a wick Q&A and placed our order spreading it out over the duration of the meal to avoid all food coming out at once. Started with their shrimp shumai which was delicious; delicate and tasty. We then shared to special rolls which were both fantastic: Masa roll- spicy tuna, avocado, crunch topped with lobster salad and the Babylon role with soft shell crab. My wife then furnished with the chicken veggie udon noodle dish wish she enjoyed. I had the sushi appetizer sesame tuna with mango which even my wife really liked. Sushi grade tuna, black sesame seeds around the edges, a lovely little mango sauce and sliced mangos. Excellent meal. Is a BYOB. parking lot read more

The eggplant sandwich is hugely underrated and was one of the best. Arrive early as it gets crowded which is a sign that the food is good. They have a lot of to go orders so the kitchen may be busy at times. The chicken skewers were just average so you can skip it, but the rolls and sushi / sashimi were right on point. Definitely one of the better places to get Japanese food in Lawrenceville/ Princeton area. read more

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This was a fantastic experience. Had fantastic service. I had the spicy seaweed salad, Seafood udon soup and one kamikaze roll. Not a scrap of food was left. It was most enjoyable, next time I am in the area I will have to stop by again. read more

I order sushi from this place all the time and they are always fresh and delicious. Sometimes you wait a little bit on busy days to get them, but its worth it. Highly recommend. read more

Masa 8 - two trays of food and a glass of wine - Japanese Near Me - Lawrenceville, New Jersey

The food and presentation was very good. I prefer my ginger dressing a little bit on the sweeter side, and this one wasn't, but I think that is how it's supposed to be. I really loved the Japanese oolong tea. $10 for good sushi, salad and tea at lunch isn't a bad deal. I do love checking out these small local places! My co-worker loved her fried rice so much that she ordered 2nd's to take home as her dinner. read more

Masa 8 - Boston roll and tuna roll - Japanese Near Me - Lawrenceville, New Jersey

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I love Masa 8! It is definitely a must try and the food is awesome. Sushi/sashimi is fresh! It's one of the best sushi I've had in awhile. We went there for sit down diner and granted it was a Sunday, but it was not busy at all inside. However, I noticed a lot of pickup orders. I loved the inside decor and ambience, it's fitting for a cute date night. I had chicken stir fry udon noodles, which I loved. The sauce used was flavorful, well served. Udon noodles were cooked perfectly. I thought the best part was the sushi. Godzilla roll.. bomb.com! I'd recommend trying the squid sashimi as well. Presentation was the highlight. read more

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Really enjoyed Masa 8! Ordered online for take-out and went to pick up at the estimated time. They have a great 2 special rolls for $14.95 deal!!! Staff was very helpful and friendly over the phone and when I arrived to pick up. We ordered various spicy tuna and shrimp tempura special rolls - all delicious! We also tried the Oyako Don which was incredible. So flavorful and warm and yummy!! Will definitely be ordering from here in the future! read more

If this review was 5 yrs ago it'll be 5 stars. The food quality n quantity has gone fr best to mediocre. This used to be our go to place for lunch n dinner but since the portions have shrunk but prices gone up so much, I don't go here much often anymore unless I have guest to entertain which is rare. Normally businesses increased their price but the portion stays, this place did the opposite. Quality is hit n miss now, I guess it depends on who's preparing the food. They have 2 chefs at the sushi counter. read more

This was my first visit to Masa 8 as I was in the Skillman area and wanted sashimi/sushi. It's a small restaurant and I was the only customer when I arrived at 2:30 on a Sunday for a late lunch. I was seated promptly and found the restaurant to be nice and warm which was great on a cold winter day. Masa 8 is BYOB, which I like, but as I didn't have any sake with me :-( it was green tea all the way (which was well prepared and had a nice flavor). The sashimi / sushi was pretty good (some better than others). The tuna in particular was excellent (which I had in a well prepared hand roll) while the octopus and crab were good, not amazing. The octopus in particular was a bit chewy. The shrimp tempura roll had more avocado than shrimp and they used a sauce that was way to bland. They need to go either spicy or sweet. Overall a decent sushi place and I would try a few other dishes if i am in the neighborhood and have a craving for fish. read more

Masa 8 - Japanese Near Me - Lawrenceville, New Jersey

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Tip: sushi is amazing . The seafood soup for two is really really good as well. I recommend the spicy California roll.

Been here many time the food and atmosphere are great. The sushi is amazing and the other items on the menu follow suite.

Food was delicious. Service was ok. We were in a rush and spent a little too much time trying to get our server to take order/take payment/refill beverages than I would have liked. read more

Masa 8 - Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Lawrenceville, New Jersey

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This place is just not good. I don't think they replace the oil as you can taste it in the fried foods. There are a lot of missing sushi items and everything is frozen. It seems they are popular by putting all these sauce with funky names to spruce it up and cover the taste of the not so fresh fish. If you are a true sushi lover skip this one. Actually this one may be the only one around so you actually may have to dine here. read more

Creative and delicious menu. Attentive, friendly staff. Highly recommend the Eel Fried Rice. read more

Masa 8 - Eel Fried Rice - Japanese Near Me - Lawrenceville, New Jersey

Omg ....this is the worst experience I have ever had at this place and the sushi is absolutely amazing. . there is a table to my right with 2 kids. They look at 10 and 12. The liitle giel keeps snorting ... Ate u kiddong me. The son is loud laughing but at least he isnt snorting. This a small intimate spot ....NOT A PLACE FOR YOUNG KIDS WITH. NO HOME TRAINING....PLEASE LEAVE....see this is why i cant have a restaurant. I would put their loud ass out.... The manager was sweet because one of my dishes didnt look like the pic so she gave it to me for free. It was called macro canape read more

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We order from this place quite often; usually on 2-1 night. Better than average in the area.

Salmon teryaki....yummmmm and I will be back to devour you again. Salmon was served atop a bed of sauteed onions. As surprising as this sounds I ate every single one of those onions and it actually spiced up the dish. Also enjoyed the sushi (spicy tuna, california and white fin tuna). All were good but not the best sushi in the area. Most people ordered cooked entree and I can see why. I would like to go back to try some of their specials rolls. read more

Masa 8 - Salmon teriyaki - Japanese Near Me - Lawrenceville, New Jersey

We wanted to try something different, and with a parking lot. This place looked promising. The decor is minimal, dark, but pleasant. There's trancey-disco in the background, but prompt and pleasant service. I was craving something fried, so we started with the crispy calamari. It's a small serving, but good. Each piece is about the size of a fried zucchini "fry", and tender, but ever so slightly overcooked. The sauce was amazing--a peanut, thai chile, lemon/lime, ponzu mixture. The rainbow scallop was ambitious, and too much in my opinion. The toppings overpowered the scallop a bit. Basically, a smokey slice of scallop (one diver scallop sliced into 4 pieces) topped with a garlic-ginger-thai chile blend then topped by black roe and a sliver of lemon rind. This was then doused in a nuoc mam/fish sauce blended with ponzu. Each piece would be great if quartered--it was too much on its own. 4 in love was neat. There was some of the best unagi we've had in awhile--tender, rich, a tad sweet, but not the least bit gooey (as with many places which seem to pour molasses on top); this one was served with julienned cucumbers. There was salmon with a sesame-chili mayonnaise sauce. Yellowtail over mild jalapenos, then a white tuna over asparagus served with slices of mango. The spicy tuna handroll (yes, we like it) was odd. It had black sesame seeds, a lot of sesame oil, grated carrot. It wasn't spicy. A good flavour and a generous amount of filling, but not what we were expecting. Good. The try-me roll was disappointing. I am now so used to the succulent and perfectly fried oysters from Shrimp King, that it took me a second to figure out what the odd flavour in the rainbow roll was--it was the fried oysters which were a little chewy. Meh at best, but the fish on top was good. Our bill totaled under $47 including tax, before tip. The atmosphere was great (and dark as others mentioned). We liked it and plan to return. On our next visit we'll ignore the fried stuff--both the calamari and oysters had a cornmeal base, which we generally like, but not for dining in Japanese restaurants; next time we'll limit it to the lighter tempura bases. Closer to a 3.5, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and I left relaxed (let's just say that the improved mood was from a combination of the company, the atomosphere, and the food). Very friendly and cozy, with beautiful presentations. BYO Mon-Thurs 11-10 Fri-Sat 11-10:30 Sun 2-9:30 CLOSED BETWEEN LUNCH AND DINNER: 3-5 Mon-Sat (apologies for the graininess of the photos--it was really dark) read more

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The udon tempura soup was delicious and well portioned!! It came with tempura shrimp and vegetables. A tasty alternative of you're looking for something outside of sushi! read more

Masa 8 - Udon tempura soup - Japanese Near Me - Lawrenceville, New Jersey

Getting it out of the way, since it's been commented on by pretty much every other reviewer, yes, it's dark. Can you read the menu? Yes, but admittedly it might be hard for people who's eyesight isn't what it used to be. Normally that wouldn't be a bad thing, but I feel that a sushi joint should be more well lit so that you can see the food better. It actually did kind of bug me. My wife loves the shrimp shumai appetizer and has ordered it both times. The goyza is pretty standard, but I got a grilled squid appetizer last time that was really good. I'd definitely get it again. Like many places, they've got several mixed plates available. They classify them as sashimim and sushi plates. Sushi, in this case, seems to mean nigiri, rolls and maki. Some are all sashimi, some are sashimi and sushi, some are sushi and sashimi and some are just sushi. I kind of like the idea, but I'm not a fan of spicy salmon rolls, and they seem to show up on all the options, and the dreaded "No Substitutes" label flies over each platter descriptions. The rolls, sashimi, maki and nigiri we've tried were all good, and we had no complaints. The plates are all artfully done, the sauces good and with interesting touches that you don't get in some of the other local joints, like shisho leafs to eat with the sashimi. We've been here twice now, and have walked away pretty happy each time. It's not the best sushi place I've ever been to, but it's the best one I've been to in my area so far. We'll be back, but we'll also be trying others. read more

The best all you can eat sushi around. We always eat out weight and it is great for the family to try new things.