Update 12/06: Even better than the first time! Here's what we had: Ginko Nuts with Fried Shrimp legs Crab Salad with yuzu and shiso flowers Toro Tartare with Osetra Truffled Uni Risotto Fugu Liver with Fugu Sashimi Deep Fried Fugu Collar Steamed Scottish Langoustines and Broth 2 Toro Shimaji Hirame and Tai Ika Okinawa Shrimp Sayori Amaebi Deep Sea Snapper Saba (Seared with hot coal) Nantucket Scallops Cooked Toro Needlefish Cooked White Eel Tako Deep Sea Whitefish (Rolled around rice and grilled) Truffled Rice Ball (!!!!!) Chopped Toro Roll Ayoagi Mirugai Pickled Lotus and Shiso There needs to be a 10 Star rating to cover places like Masa. Perfection beyond perfection. Masa was the best dining experience i have ever had. it's a good thing it is in NYC, because if it were in SF, i just might be selling myself to go here every night...perhaps like the escorts sitting next to us at the sushi bar with their heinously drunk businessman clients. that really added flavor. it definately helped to alleviate the natural nervousness and reserve we both felt, as we always do when in such an awe inspiring and sophisticated place...but all that not being relevent, i will just say that i literally shed a few small tears several times during this meal, so overwhelmed was i with everything. Ahhhh, sushi. read more

Masa - Sushi Bars Near Me - New York, New York

Ate blowfish for the first time. Living to write about it. Pick the sushi bar to get full view. Skip the crazy extra supplements: $150/pp for ONE course of RARE Kobe and truffle. $95/pp for a dessert of white truffle ice cream. INSANITY. I didn't ask if one can be ordered. I was just so flabbergasted by the cost. Very cool they ask once and they don't pester again. The menu currently has truffle sushi, so for SURE, skip this! Unless you want even more $$$$ excrement. Photos: Only with the chef at the end of the meal. Service: Not many Japanese, I think there was one in the service crew. Masa was traveling, there were two sushi chefs, a Japanese and George a Chinese guy who worked from the bottom up with absolutely no experience. Very polite service. The wait staff stand 6 feet behind the diners at the sushi counter and just wait, kind of awkward. Took a while to crack George, but it's doable. I didn't find it as light hearted as it's West Coast original, as in, I wasn't inclined to pass shots to the chefs. Food by memory: -fluke fin muscle, crab & dashi, delicate, fresh & gorgeous first course -Scottish langoustine w/white wine, the BEST langoustine ever -toro tartare w/caviar, fresh, buttery, salty, kind of boring, but delicious -blowfish w/gold leaf, edible flowers & micro greens, 3 parts:liver, meat & skin -backbone fried blowfish, told to eat like chicken, lovely batter, tender fish -maitake soup, deep gentle earthy flavors, w/mushrooms to dip in sudachi -Maitake mushroom sushi -Truffle sushi, it's a ball of rice rolled in shavings upon shavings of white truffle. -Amaebi, small version, they are raised in a manner than dwarfs their size, many restaurants serve the larger version, this was SO stinkin' melt in mouth good, George gave us an extra piece on the house -Snapper tai -Shima aji, delicious -Two pcs of toro -Aji, which followed the shima aji, should have served prior -Clam -Ika super sticky, I was not a fan -Uni, origin from Santa Barbara, per George, better than Japanese -Toro tartare roll -White lotus root with sriracha shiso leaf -Buckwheat tea, so palate cleansing and delicious, ask for more of this, b/c dessert is sparce -Japanese persimmon served for dessert, three wedges, that's it, when asked how this was different than other persimmons, sweeter The sushi is VERY small, like 2" long and 1/2" wide. At Masa, you are urged to eat sushi with your hands, so yes, I used my appendages as a point of reference. For twenty courses and most being sushi, I'm not sure it's worth the pricetag, but I did like the different veggie sushi representations. Bottle service: Junmai daiginjos start at about $175 and once you purchase the bottle, you never see the bottle/label and they pour into a vessel to chill for you. Great selections. Finger water is provided throughout sushi service, plus many rounds of the hot towel. Chef Masa will treat you special when you're a regular. He has a client who goes in TWICE a week by himself. During the stock market heyday, the resto was packed, but Masa allowed this client to sit next to the wok in the middle of the kitchen. Update on said client, he's still dining twice a week. Reservations: Reservations are available a month in advance, email or phone is fine. I recommend email. Don't fret over the rezis, it's no problemo. Unique and exotic, but definitely not something on the regular rotation. Even if I had a sugar daddy, I would probably pass. read more

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The best sushi and experience. It's worth every penny and I had the most wonderful time dining here. The decor is simple and elegant. We we're lucky to sit at the bar. I kept feeling the wood, it was so soft. Lol. The food presentation was beautiful and tasted even better. Getting to watch Chef Masa make precision cuts to the fish and his sushi creations was like watching a performance and seeing the art. The flavors of the fish is so fresh. The service is also the best we've experienced. The presentation of placing the dishes in front of us at the same time (for the dishes not being made directly by the Chef). The sushi he makes gets placed in front of us one at a time. Constantly making sure our drinks are filled and never empty. Any little drop onto the bar gets cleaned up immediately. The use of phones and photographs are not permitted during dining. Only at the end a photo is allowed to be taken with Chef Masa. One of the dishes was made on some sort of paper which they treated and he autographed. Definitely going to frame it... This place is a gem and a once in a lifetime experience. I would love to come back! The price is very steep but so very worth it. The price also includes tax and tip, but not alcoholic beverages, unsure about teas and whatnot. I highly recommend Masa, so save up! read more

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. read more

Really impressed with the service level and unique pieces of fish differentiated the experience from other high end omakase restaurants. Thoroughly enjoyed chatting with the chefs and they went above and beyond to celebrate my graduation. read more

What a wonderful surprise for me that 3-Michelin star Masa was the capstone dinner of our New York trip. Stepping through the noren and greeted with a beautiful wooden door, I was giddy with excitement. A gorgeous sakura tree was in full bloom inside of the restaurant, and the most stunning, hinoki (Japanese cypress) sushi bar sat majestically welcoming us. Everything else was simple and elegant. Upon sitting, we learned the bar is sanded and smoothed everyday. The woodgrain was art. No pictures were allowed, so everything is captured in my memory forevermore. The meal was sublime and perfection. The sushi rice was amazing. The chef's knife and knife skills were no joke. Almost everything was from Tsukiji fishmarket. Eyes happy. Tummy happier. Soul happiest. There were 25-courses not including the optional Ohmi beef with white truffles. When the meal opened with kegani (Japanese hairy crab) and uni (sea urchin roe) atop a delicate cucumber salad, I knew I was all in. Uni, which is my favorite indulgence, was served in several different ways throughout the night. We had a roasted uni served in the urchin shell with shaved white truffle (I had never had warm uni); we had uni with toro, and; we had uni nigiri straight up. When my boyfriend tried to give me his second bite of the nigiri (because I sheepishly admit I was brandishing puppy dog eyes at him that screamed "Uni is my faaaaaaavorite!!!" and he, being a smart man, reached over to give me his second bite), our refined sushi chef thought maybe uni wasn't to his liking. Nope. My boyfriend liked it, it's just that I love-love it. A double hyphenate. It's real love everyone. So, our sushi chef actually prepared me another uni nigiri!!! Melt. Speak not to me whilst I savor my uni. I asked if it was ok to write down what we had if I couldn't take pictures. Here's our dinner: 1. Kegani and uni on delicate cucumber salad 2. Toro tartare with caviar and toasted Japanese bread 3. Suzuki (Japanese seabass) with ponzu vinaigrette and shiso flowers 4. Softshell crab karaage 5. Roasted uni with summer truffle 6. Ohmi beef tataki and summer truffle 7. Spring bamboo and wakame broth 8. Toro nigiri 9. Shima aji (stripe jack) nigiri 10. Hirame (fluke) with grated turnip nigiri 11. Tai (sea bream) nigiri 12. Kinme dai (golden eye snapper) nigiri 13. Ika (squid) nigiri with Himalayan salt 14. Amaebi (sweet shrimp) nigiri from Hokkaido 15. Kuruma ebi (Japanese imperial prawn) nigiri from Okinawa 16. Mirugai (geoduck) nigiri 17. Suji (grilled toro sinew) with shaved green onion nigiri 18. Sayori (Needlefish) nigiri 19. Grilled shiitake mushroom nigiri 20. Anago (seawater eel) nigiri 21. Uni nigiri 22. Parmesano with white truffle shavings nigiri 23. Toro and uni nigiri 24. Lotus root with shiso and ume pretty thing 25. Seasonal Mango with soba-cha (buckwheat tea) 26. Matcha mille feuille (green tea layered crepe cake) It was a brilliant experience. Thank you so much to our brilliant chef and attentive wait s read more

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Amazing!!! I went to lunch with my daughter, we didn't even know this was a Michelin starred restaurant, we just wanted some sushi for lunch... After the amazing experience I had to find out more about the restaurant. I was not surprised it has three stars... Try the beef wagu, oyster's, and if there's one thing you have make sure it's the Uni.... OMG, the uni is worth the trip and the price, hands down!! I saw some people give reviews that they were not impressed, I think they are ordering standard items off the menu, they should go with the chef specials and they will surely be blown away by the experience! Our waitress gave all the recommendation for our lunch, picking there best items, we loved everything ;) I will be back. At least for a uni and champagne experience. read more

Oh. My. GOD! This had to be the most amazing meal the hubby and I ever had. We went for my "milestone" birthday and it was an amazing experience. We were served 27 courses and several different types of Sake. The waiter/ service was PHENOMENAL!! Attentive and friendly. They explained how all the food should be eaten, what it was ,and had funny anecdotal stories tied to the food. They let you sample several Sakes before you select the one for your meal. The waiter also added Sakes that he felt would go well with the meal. Here is a sampling of some of the food we had: Blowfish both raw and deep friend (both sublime) Toro with caviar (mind-blowing) Japanese beef with white truffles - supplement (outrageous) A ball of white truffles (crazy good) Bronzino (yum) Two different clams (delicious) Shabu Shabu (I have been curious about this for a while and OMG was it amazing!) It is like Japanese fondue There was plenty more, but I can't remember all the names of the fish we ate. They also gave us a huge piece of Lady M (coincidentally my favorite bakery on the UES) green tea millecrepe cake. The bill is definitely high, but definitely worth it. We are trying to find another reason to go. read more

Masa should be one of the worst sushi places in the city besides sushi of gari and sushi nakazawa. I have tried almost all sushi omakase places in the city such as onodera, zo, yasuda, inoue, satsuki, ichimura, amane, noz, noda... you name it. Most of them are good, 3-4 of which are impressive places. The only reason why Masa can get 3 stars from Michelin Guide is because it is the 1st Japanese omakase restaurant in US. But for me, Masa is just a French restaurant. The whole experience is so disappointing with my reasons as followings: 1. Chef Masayoshi is NEVER EVER in the restaurant. As a 3-star restaurant owner, he seems to show no interest in his work and always leaves the work of making sushi to his apprentices, some of whom have ONLY 3-year experience. Chef Masa, PLEASE RESPECT food, the art of sushi, your guests and yourself. 2. Waitstaff are rude. Everybody knows taking photo is not allowed in Masa and we respect it but why do those waitstaff keep staring at us?! Their 'hospitality' only left us with uncomfortableness. Additionally, during the experience, some waitstaff kept chatting (I swear to god their conversation is not about work, but gossip) in Japanese that we couldn't understand and laughing loudly. 3. Most appetizers are terrible, especially two: (1) signature dish: caviar with toro. The served this dish by taking it out directly from refrigerator without leaving it to room temperature. The toro in this dish is also not fatty enough with very light fish's flavor. (2) snow crab. The ginger sauce tasted so strong that I was even not able to get any crab's flavor it should have. But honestly there is one pretty memorable appetizer which is grilled uni with white truffle. 4. Sushi? Worst part of the whole experience. You know what? The chef serving us doesn't even know the balance among rice, wasabi, neta and soy sauce. He also had no idea which neta should be served first and which should be the next. Details as followings: (1) THIS IS MY FIRST TIME to be served with TWO SAME otoro sushi in the beginning. (2) The chef put SOOOO much wasabi in every piece of sushi with only 1 to 2 drops of soy sauce and thin cut of fish. So for every piece of sushi, you can only taste the spiciness from wasabi without enough saltiness and seafood flavors. (3) The thinnest cut should be scallop. For most of other sushi places, one scallop can only be served for 2 people but the chef cut it like a paper that only rice and wasabi can be felt. Honestly you don't need to show your knife skills at this point. I believe this scallop is able to serve at least 10 people. 5. You know what dessert is? Two pieces of Asian pears, which you can buy in any supermarkets... 1 dollar per pear. 6. Signature sushi: One is good, the other is terrible. The perfect one is white truffle rice ball, but the lotus root one only has a good appearance. I really have no idea why Masa keeps raising its price from 300 to 450 and to 595 now. You just want to earn money? Then please piss off if you don't improve your food and services accordingly. And remember change the restaurant name to 'Masa's apprenticeship'. PLEEEEEEASE. One more thing, don't get a warning letter regarding your UNQUALIFIED tuna from FDA (Food and Drug Administration) again. That really hurts your guests' feelings. read more

Incredible.. the sushi is so fresh and so perfectly seasoned. I've never had any better. The service is constant in the best kind of way. All you have to do is enjoy yourself. read more

Masa has been the one restaurant in NYC that I have resisted going to for as long as I have been in NYC. First, it was the prohibitive price that kept me from coming - it's far and away the most expensive Japanese / sushi experience in the city - but, as time went on, and I found great sushi spots here in the city for much cheaper, as well as visiting Japan and having the fish there, I found it hard to really believe that $600/person meant that the meal was really worth that amount of dough. I finally decided to take the plunge and give it a try this week, though. The entrance is to the right of the escalators up to the 4th floor of the Time Warner Center, and the space is well-secluded such to whisk you away from the fact you are in a shopping center at the edge of midtown Manhattan. We were seated very quickly at the bar; while there do appear to be tables off to the side, the bar of 10 (I think) had a few seats empty while we were there the entire time. The service here is impeccable, save for one of the puzzling aspects of the restaurant: despite paying out the nose, Chef Masa doesn't do the sushi for everyone at the bar. In fact, he only prepared the sushi for the party seated directly in front of him at the 6 PM seating - once he finished, he simply left. At every other high-end sushi spot I have been to in NYC and Japan, the head chef prepares all the sushi for the folks seated at the bar. It's nitpicky, but given the price, I think it's kind of reasonably to expect the sushi to come from the head honcho himself. The drink menu here is more eclectic than most sushi bars, with an assortment of Japanese macro and craft beers, as well as some very solid cocktails that are likely the focus of Bar Masa (which I have not been to yet). There's an extensive selection of wine, sake, and liquor as well, but I stuck with a couple cocktails and a Hitachino Nest to finish off. As for the food...it's unquestionable that it's very, very good. That said, like everything else at Masa, is it worth it? I honestly felt that the pre-sushi courses were far more interesting - and delicious. The sea bream and tuna served with miso and uni was incredibly creamy and flavorful, and the toro served with caviar - undoubtedly a good chunk of the dinner cost, given the very generous portion of caviar that it is topped with - is light years ahead of the version done at Neta; the crunchy slices of brioche give each decadent bite some nice texture to back it up. The king crab leg is cooked to perfection, and sipping the crab broth out of the leg is a pleasing way to finish off the course. While I did enjoy the A5 wagyu tataki supplement, I don't think the black truffles were as effective as they could have been; it often masked the flavor of the beef itself and didn't project as strongly onto the dish. The sushi portion of the meal covers 17 pieces, and on balance, I found most pieces to be what I expected - extremely good, but not necessarily the best that I have had of any particular variety. The standout would have to be the golden eye snapper, which is seared not with a torch lighter (which is how any other place would do it) but with a red-hot iron that imparts a much richer flavor than propane does. I also really enjoyed the chu-toro as the starter (and it's two pieces in a row, no less), the uni (served temaki-style), the squid (a bit on the firmer side but still with the creamy mouthfeel you expect from a really good piece of ika sushi), and the scallop, which is very lightly grilled and tastes fantastic. I would also be remiss to not point out the rice, which is often overlooked in sushi - it's fair to objectively say that Masa's rice is easily the best quality of any of the sushi restaurants in NYC. However, there were some pieces I felt didn't quite hit the mark. We got 2 pieces of clam, one of which was on the crunchier side. No ikura, which is a staple of almost every other sushi omakase I have had. No tamago either - not as big a deal, but what I was expecting after the anago per the more traditional Japanese sushi spots. The anago itself was too dry and nowhere near as flavorful as I have had elsewhere. Fluke tends to be one of the tougher fishes, but the one served here was particularly chewy. The meal was fantastic, and if I didn't have to pay for it, I would surely come back again. That being said, the very high bar Masa sets for itself based on its reputation (and Michelin stars), as well as price, makes it an experience that one should indulge in if they love sushi - but is it worth the repeat visit? Definitely not. The pre-sushi dishes are the most exciting part, as they are uniquely creative and fuse together Japanese and Western sensibilities. But the sushi portion of the omakase is not the best in NYC; there are enough shortfalls that one starts to feel like they are maybe paying what Masa used to be - before NYC became a town populated with many great sushi restaurants. read more

Very beautiful place! Great ambience and top notch food. Their toro is great quality and all their fresh sushi is on point . Highly suggest the Masa Toro with Caviar and Their service is always on point. I been here at least at least 2 times per month for the past few years and never been unsatisfied. read more

The best Japanese cuisine food ever! The sushi tasting menu was top notch. All the fresh ingredients available on the day. The reservation was made by my assistant two months in advance. read more

I came here on a date with my boyfriend and as we were seated, the couple next to us left the restaurant in the middle of their meal. I heard afterwards that they left because they were not allowed to take photos of the food. WOW. Truthfully, if I had to pay more than $1k for my dinner, it doesn't make sense that I'm not allowed to take pictures of MY FOOD. We both sat at the beautiful hinoki bar, which supposedly costs $260k. The wood was wonderfully smooth and I found myself caressing its surface throughout the entirety of our dinner. We had three servers waiting on the two of us as we were the only ones seated at the bar. They stood right behind us, hawk-eyed, making sure none of us would even dream of taking a photo of the ohmi beef with shaved white truffles or the foie gras hotpot or the caviar piled on top of the minced toro. The appetizers were a dream. It was the sushi that fell flat. We should've known better when we walked in and didn't see Masa. Honestly, isn't it basically a scam if you eat at a restaurant but you're not even being served by their namesake? The shari was far too sticky and it felt like the rice was overcooked. We were also served the same sushi twice in a row. Whaaaat? Their dessert was also a green tea crepe cake that tasted suspiciously like Lady M. Don't get me wrong I love Lady M but I don't know. Is it worth it to drop over $2k on dinner and be served store bought crepe cake? Maybe the twist here is that Masa makes really good crepe cake that tastes EXACTLY like Lady M. Who knows? P.S. No pics because Masa said so read more

Went for our anniversary. Since there is no set menu and there is no price for what you eat, everyone gets the omakase. The only option we had when we dined there was whether or not to add the Wagyu beef appetizer. If you have a chance, just say yes. Every single piece of fish is fresh. The Wagyu beef was the best Wagyu I have ever had. The toro was amazingly, melt in your mouth fresh and fatty. The fresh wasabi root (not the fake paste found in 99% of sushi restaurants) was ground in front of us and did not have the sharp horseradish flavor of the paste but a more even heat when added to the fish. The chef tells you when to use soy sauce or not. Just listen to the chef. Most of the time you don't need it. The bill was probably the most I have ever spent on a meal (followed closely by my meal at Waku Ghin in Singapore) but it was worth it to experience this meal once in my life. The meal, ambiance and service are all deserving of the 3 Michelin stars Masa receives every year. They said no pictures but we were able to get one with Masa himself at the end of dinner. read more

You must sit at the sushi bar if you come here. The lucky customers who know chef Masa get to sit in the middle section and be served directly by him. The newbies get seated on the ends and are served by either of his excellent sous-chefs. 10 seats at the bar if I remember correctly. There are other tables off in a side room, but I feel you miss out on the full experience if you are not sitting at the bar. Meals consists of 5-6 appetizers (I had almost exactly what Amanda B. describes). That was 5 months ago, so menu must not change that much. The toro tartare - caviar with brioche was fantastic For an additional $100 they offered an extra appetizer dish of japanese wagyu served tataki style (can't remember the prefecture they told me it was from). This was excellent. This is followed by a 20 or so course of sushi...usually one piece each but occasionally two (for me toro and uni were two pieces each). Items I remember: blue fin toro kampachi aji shima aji squid giant clam needle fish fluke snapper eel (served inside a cucumber skin--exquisite) "toro skin" - cooked (wasn't skin per se, but another layer of toro meat that chef Masa was slicing earlier in the evening) rice ball coated in summer truffles kohada uni tuna roll and a few others... dessert consisted of two types of tea and sliced japanese pear. Our tab was $1550 for two (including the kakunko sake and one other daiginjo carafe) Enjoy!! read more

Masa - chef Masa in white - Sushi Bars Near Me - New York, New York

Way over price and over rate it for what they are serving to us on Monday Jun 12th. non I understand why they won't allow you to take photos of the food. because incase you show it to friends they will all laugh and think how stupid to pay this kind the price for nothing but inexpensive sushi and fish. we don't even get any fatty tuna or sea urchin which are pricey ingredient, keep getting 3 different kind of mackerel sushi which they are very cheap to get. We're not impress with the presentation either, it was nothing amazing about each dishes and chef definitely show no effort what so ever; dessert was very plan and sad, we got two small thin slice papaya whit out any declaration and fruit it self was taste less . Will never recommend this restaurant to anyone period. read more

This place has been on my bucket list for as long as I could remember. Glad I got to try it for my 25th! My bf tried taking me years ago but I wanted to wait until I tried a bunch of other omakases to really be able to compare. Made a reservation well in advance and got a bar seat, however I believe the seating is not guaranteed. Photos are not allowed, but Masa does allow you to take a picture with him at the end. I kinda love that phones and photos aren't allowed, you get to really enjoy the moment. Food was phenomenal. Completely worth it to me. We left stuffed, I could barely breathe. I think there were 25 courses (don't quote me on that tho). The attention to detail from the decor to the food to the service was just perfect. Sure you can get the same fish at a lower end omakase but how the fish is prepared, the level of detail and the experience is what you come here for. If you're not willing to pay the price for that then you'll think it's not "worth it". Would come back in a heartbeat if my wallet allowed. read more

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Super sushi and meal! Yes it's the most expensive, but probably the best. Two thumbs up

Masa, an honorable restaurant with a wonderful owner and chef behind it. My father and I entered the restaurant, completely captivated. The decor was beautiful, something original and modern. The servers made us feel at home, and we enjoyed the pleasant ambience. Generally, it's very complicated to find a sushi omakase restaurant with superlative quality. However, Masa is one of those restaurants. We sat down, with the waitress being very nice although I couldn't really understand her. She put the chopsticks down for us, and they were in control from that moment. Each course was like a cadence, each one being delicious. Masayoshi Takayama's creative mind is exemplified in his plates. He picks specific ingredients to fit other fish. He is the concertmaster and the conductor of sushi. The rice was cooked to perfect temperature, using rice wine vinegar. The fish was sliced to perfection and the ratio of fish to rice was impeccable. The sushi at this restaurant is worth every penny. This restaurant is a shining diamond. read more

Two words: ABSOLUTE PERFECTION. Do whatever you can to be seated in front of Masa himself. read more

Bravo! Omakase at Masa was the ultimate best meal of my life. There are three chefs working at the bar including Chef Masa himself, Chef Hakka, and one more chef I didn't have the opportunity to interact with. Further behind sushi bar, there is also one chef preparing hot/grill courses. Both Chef Masa and Hakka were engaging during the 3 hours of the dinner that contained some 26 courses...though, I feel like there was probably more than 26 courses though. When you enter the restaurant, the hostess will ask you not to take pictures of the food...sad day. Chef called all the courses until the nigiri course appetizers. There were no dull moments served on these plates...all exciting and melting into my presence. Before the nigiri course, the staff brought me a bowl of warm water with a slice of lemon for refreshing my hands, thus allowing the chef to hand sushi to you without compromising the temperature of the food. Some of the most memorable dishes included: -grilled Shitaki mushroom nigiri -julienned Sayori with Shishito pepper flower -baked papaya and Uni -cup of clear ginger soup I found that Masa was conveniently located on 3rd floor of the Time Warner Center. Since I was staying at the Mandarin Oriental, New York...it was just an elevator down to the 3rd floor, a walk past the Buchon Bakery and Perse, where you come face-to-face with a very unassuming brown curtain with "Masa" on it. Behind the curtain, you will discover a beautiful wooden door that was formed from a cross-section of a tree. This striking door intentionally doesn't fill the hallway, but rather creates a space...a space that invites and welcomes you discover what lies beyond--the best omakase experience! I am blessed enough to dined at many world famous restaurants...often conversations between chefs and staff were minimal as if they already have unspoken dance move in hearts. Omakase at Masa was the best--truly remarkable and exceptional... Beyond my expectations! There is a palpable grace and royalty in the air at Masa...the pride and tradition delivered by Chef Masa and Chef Hakka, along with all the staff is like nothing else. There is no more appropriate response to offer than, "Bravo, bravo, bravo!" I would be honored to have more opportunities to sit these Chefs again -2017 Review #21-. read more

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So I've been too lazy to write reviews for a while, but this trip definitely required one. My one dislike was the no pictures thing. It bothered me quite a lot unfortunately because there were just so many things that were amazingly plated. The overall meal consisted of 6 appetizers and 19 pieces of sashimi and then dessert. In my opinion the appetizers were the stars of the meal. Starting with my favorite, the toro tartare caviar despite looking exactly like the barmasa version tasted even better (I might be crazy) or it may have been the barmasa in vegas not being up to par? The roasted sea urchin was another one of my favorites as it was extremely rich and creamy while still being controlled enough for me to stomach it. It was a little too creamy for my girlfriend though. The kegani hairy crab was amazingly done with the roe on top sea urchin in the middle and cucumber at the bottom to start the course off with great flavors and a refreshing aftertaste while keeping it very light. I personally had mixed feelings on the wagyu beef with white truffle. Based on other reviews, I am guessing that this was the ohmi beef but I can't say for certain as I've never had ohmi beef before. This appetizer costs an additional $150 and despite having a nice texture, I felt it was a little lacking in flavor. I personally prefer the flavors of the slightly cheaper miyazaki or if they wanted to go for very rich I think I would have liked hyogo better. That being said my girlfriend thought it had the perfect amount of flavor sooo hmm?? The 19 pieces of sushi were all done with very light natural fish flavors. I have to admit, the chef's skills with a knife are the finest I've ever seen and his attention to detail was superb. I saw one of the kitchen staff slightly trigger the chef when the chef was given poor quality wasabi root. My 2 favorite pieces of sushi that I truly felt were exceptionally done were the shimaaji (striped jack) and the saba (mackerel smoked) texture and flavors were amazing. Above all I must really commend them on their service despite the photo thing. My girlfriend doesn't eat much so she always eats half the sushi and gives the other half to me. She was afraid off offending the chef but wanted the opportunity to try everything and the chef picked up on this. Eventually he cut her pieces in half and then later on dropped 1 half piece of my sushi plate after noticing the difficulties I had in reaching over to her plate. *joy* I also got a double stuffed uni roll so hah!! Lolz The party next to me also had 1 guy who really tried but couldn't eat raw fish. They ended up accommodating him by letting him order from the barmasa menu. He ended up eating chicken wings and chicken dumplings at the bar. Quite amazed that they were so accommodating. All in all a great experience! read more

This is definitely one of the best, high end restaurants one could go after saving or earning a lot of money! Haha~ I am one of the luckiest girls to be there to celebrate my birthday this year, and it was phenomenal! Loved my chef Lee Shuai 李帥，he is SO FUNNY! Food of course, incredibly delicious and fresh and creative! read more

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All that money and all those courses of sushi - and only 1 dessert course? And it's just fruit? And buckwheat tea? Wait, what???? Maybe I'm just not a 3 Michelin-star, omikase (where the chef chooses all your plates for you, which was kind of fun) kind of girl. This is a place you go for the hype and experience, meanwhile I'd rather have just a simple 2-course meal that ends in a chocolate cake any day of the week. read more

No pictures allowed and I wouldn't dare disrespect the restaurant by trying to take them. Feeling up the sushi counter, which is sanded after each service and has eroded away 2 inches of the original counter, is uncontrollable and completely normal from what I heard. I couldn't stop rubbing it over and over. No one should think about eating anywhere other than the counter where you can see Masa and the other sushi masters work. Is 800 pp worth it? I'm from humble background and enjoy dirty water dogs as much as 3 Michelin star restaurants, and this one certainly the later. I felt it was absolutely "worth it*". The asterisk is for those not serious about sushi, this is advanced eating at the highest level and an advanced knowledge and appreciation of sushi is much needed. As any sushi snob will tell you it's all about the rice (freshness and quality of fish is pretty standard among high end sushi places). Masa's rice serves the perfect sushi rice: perfect temperature, perfect doneness, perfectly seasoned. Each piece is a cohesive unit as you pick it up but once in your mouth each kernel of rice can be easily separated and identified. Service is exactly what you'd expect from a 3 Michelin star restaurant, impeccable but less stuffy. read more

Save your money! I had long been wanting to visit this restaurant and for the price ($250 per person to reserve and $500 per person with no drinks tax or tip) I thought it had to be a amazing right? WRONG. The food was literally mediocre at best. Do they have a few pieces of rare high quality sushi on a huge bed of rice... yes... but that was it. The appetizers, apart from the soft shell crab which was nice, were bland tasteless and lacked any kind of high quality taste.... we were a party of four... our bill with with alcohol was 5k and we were left totally underwhelmed. They even had the nerve to ask us to pay extra for a bowl of ice cream as dessert! There are literally thousands of high quality authentic and way better local Japanese places in every neighborhood of NYC that I think I'd enjoy more and would rather give my business to and support. What a rip off!! read more

This place has been always our family's go to spot for Japanese Cuisine. Fresh, beautiful and you can taste the exquisiteness and experience. It is bit pricey but worth every penny (hundreds of dollars in this case). read more

This is certainly excellent Sushi, but it is ultimately about outstanding sourcing of ingredients and meticulous service. For the price there are other restaurants serving more interesting food (I would include in this list all of the other three-star Michelin restaurants in New York). Excellent Sushi is also available at many other institutions at a small fraction of the price. If money of this sort really doesn't matter (easily $1000 a person with alcohol), absolutely, you should go for it. I would go back, but there are other places I would prefer to go, particularly at this price point and necessity for advanced planning for reservations. read more

Was a great experience. Tried the wagyu add on, which was well worth it. I came here expecting only sushi, but there was so much more. The best sushi I've had outside of Tokyo. read more

I always love this place. Most reviews will do a better job at explaining how amazing the food is. One thing I really like about this place is they make your very expensive dinner almost seem like a deal/good value. They treat you the way you expect to be treated when spending 2K on dinner. For me, it's just perfect on so many levels. read more

Came here the other night with friends. Great food, great service and thoroughly enjoyed my meal. It was definitely more affordable than I thought! Would highly recommend coming back. read more

Masa - Amazing drinks - Sushi Bars Near Me - New York, New York

A eclectic experience that I and only other very few can relish and understand. The sensuality and craftsmanship of such sushi, is godly. I take my girlfriend here and than we make love shortly after. read more

If you do not know the fact that the authentic sushi art places are very special, DO NOT TRY this restaurant. They are completely different from western dinners and cheep sushi. Most low-rate comments have been written by people who do not know this fact and can not sense their sophistication such as cutting skills, the quality and temperature of the rice, strictly screened fish and its freshness and so forth. And it is definitely ridiculous to expect background music at high end sushi art places. However, Masa's price is too high. It would be $300 or so at Michelin three stars to one star or equivalent sushi restaurants in Japan (or Sushi Sho in Hawaii) which have the same or better quality than Masa. read more

The experience was ok. Quality of the food is definitely guaranteed but still, the price is a little too expensive. If you just wanna try some of their food, you can go to kappo masa, so you don't have to do a omakase menu. read more

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My friend and I had the privilege of dining here for his birthday. We were super excited, as this was our first three star Michelin experience, and Masa did not disappoint. We were seated at the center of their beautiful blonde wood sushi counter and were able to interact with a very engaging chef. No course disappointed us, but there were some stand outs. The jelly fish appetizer was a pleasant shock, the uni custard was a revelation, and the large oysters were served by the Man himself! Every piece of sushi came from fish flown in alive for that purpose. At the end of our meal, we were offered a repeat of our favorite course but were too full to accept it. We could barely finish the amazing matcha mille crepe that was given to my friend. We were treated with respect and kindness throughout the whole experience, from the reservation call and email to the moment we collected our coats. The service staff were attentive, but did not hover, and were knowledgeable about the menu and drink selections. Though the priciest meal of my life, it was worth every penny. We look forward to returning. read more

Very excited when a friend and I got reservations to Masa. Obviously, Chef Masa's reputation speaks for itself. And let's start with the positives: The food itself was very good. Everyone probably knows the otoro osetra. The kinmedai might be the best I've ever had. I do think Chef Masa goes a little overboard with throwing truffles everywhere - but all in all, very good. Here's the problem: the staff is cold and unfriendly to the point where it's hard to believe they (or Chef Masa) care one iota about good service - and this tempers any possible enjoyment of the experience. It starts as early as making the reservation. Although bar seating is guaranteed, being served by Chef Masa is not. That's fine, but the lady suggested we make a reservation at opening time on the date we inquired because there were no other reservations then, explaining that it's first come first serve. Well, we were the first people there but were told Chef Masa's seats had been reserved and there was no way we'd get served by him that night. No apology was offered. Look, I'm realistic; I don't expect to get served by Chef Masa and I don't expect to get treated like your multi-millionaire/celebrity regulars - but if that's going to be the case, don't lie to us about it. The same lack of care is shown upon arrival to the restaurant. Hostess gives no greeting - no 'hello', no 'how are you doing', no 'welcome' - only a very curt 'turn off your cell phones, no pictures, here are your seats' and walks away. The service did not get better during the meal. The girl in charge of sake kept recommending the most expensive selections with absolutely no attention to pairing well with what we were eating. I had previously tried many of the expensive sake they had, and even though I told the girl I wanted to try something new, she kept pushing me towards the expensive stuff anyway. It was so off-putting. Then, the waitstaff forgot the truffle ice cream we'd added for dessert. After we were given our fruit, our service staff just vanished and we probably waited awkwardly for at least 15 minutes before we were able to wave down some random waiter passing by - we could have easily reenacted this scene at some trashy diner - to remind them about our dessert. Again, although they admitted they had forgotten, there were no apologies from staff for their misstep. Ultimately, the food would have needed to have been a lot better to get the bad taste from the poor service out of my mouth. Rather than dine at Masa, I'd recommend instead putting the money towards a trip to Tokyo, where there are many ***, **, *, and dare I say even non-Michelin-starred edomae joints where your overall experience will blow away anything offered by Masa. I want to give Masa a pity 3* rating because the food was good and I really liked the décor, but I can't allow rounding up given all the negatives. For the record, my bill alone was above $1200 after adding the kobe beef, truffle ice cream, a few masu of sake, and the "service charge" and tip (my friend, who doesn't drink alcohol, had a bill a bit under $900). It remains my most expensive meal - a record I hope to break soon just so I can erase Masa off the list of restaurants of any relevance in my life. read more

Came here few weeks ago with our clients for dinner. Service was great. Quality of sushi was good but was it worth it for the price? For $5000 for party of 6, I thought I would get more food instead getting served one piece at a time. Left very hungry, wouldn't come here again read more

I contemplated reviewing Masa's because well... I'm Japanese. I've lived in Tokyo where frankly the sushi-go-rounds beat some of the top rated sushi restaurants here. Only one of my memorable dinners exceeded a grand. (for three people) It's too bad that hefty price tags are a given for real good food in the U.S. and lately it seems too inflated. That said, my experience had to be one of the best I've had. Easily places in my top 20. However, it's too damn expensive! I also took a peek at Bar Masa's menu. 50 dollars for negi-toro is too over the top. Bottom line, if you can afford it, go to Masa's, not the Bar, for the full experience. But if you can't, save your money. Two trips to Masa's will cover flight and accommodations for a week in Tokyo. Easily. *travel budget calculated during off peak seasons and staying at a weekly apartment instead of a regular hotel. peak season would be three trips to Masa. [edit] I docked a star because Masa doesn't tip out their staff - servers included - FOR SHAME. read more

This is a wonderful place. Even though just myself I cannot fell any embarrass. Because the chief is very nice. I will come back soon. read more

Masa - Bill - Sushi Bars Near Me - New York, New York