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Musashi

4.1 (496 reviews)
ModerateJapanese, Sushi Bars
Closed • 11:30 am - 2:00 pm
Updated over 3 months ago

Musashi Photos

MUSASHI ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Happy hour specials
Good for kids

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Recommended Reviews - Musashi

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Reviews With Photos

Chawan Mushi
Rachel D.

Wappa Meshi sets... order one and you're set. Whole menu is great, but come for the Wappa. Because it's a lost art and not many places do it. If you know a place, or places, that serve some great wappa meshi, holla. I'm gonna wanna see what's up. Place has a homey vibe. I dig it. I'd visit regularly if I didn't live so far away.

CA and Salmon roll (from Happy Hour menu)
Karen G.

I wanted to try this Sushi place. This is right off Shattuck on Dwight (parking is neighborhood parking). The rolls are substantial and the chicken karage are big pieces! We also tried the Sake, it was good if you like Sake (on happy hour menu). If you want to try a new Sushi place, this place is a no frills kind of place with great customer service. The place filled up quick right after they opened. We would be back for date night!

Sushi Combo - variety and quality are great. The Chirashi bowls solid too.
Thomas S.

Consistent, nice people, and great quality sushi. It's authentic sushi without the over marketed hype. Our go to place.

Montage of images from Musashi
Ed U.

Sometimes you just have to seize the moment, and it was just one of those moments when Jamie W. and I were strolling on Dwight Way. Jamie was actually the one who spontaneously pointed to the place and said we should have a light dinner here. Never been before, but we could tell it was a casual spot, pretty family friendly. We managed to nab a good size table. Before we ordered, the server gave us a complimentary plate of their homemade potato salad (photo). Nice start. We couldn't help but notice quite a few yakitori choices in the Robata Grill section of the menu. We ordered several sticks. The first was the $3.50 Kawa (Chicken Skins), which was crispy-tasty and not too chewy (photo: https://yelp.to/LrKdTRk2Fk). The second was the more substantial $5.50 Kama Negi, which alternated pieces of tender duck and grilled leeks (photo: https://yelp.to/71FHin34fj). Delish. The third yakitori was the $3.50 Hatsu (Chicken Hearts), a personal favorite because I like poultry innards (photo: https://yelp.to/8UlQxK7TNZ). The last was the $5.25 Teba, a couple of meaty Chicken Wings that required two sticks (photo: https://yelp.to/mA8XeoMBd6). Yakitori was clearly what they did best as they reminded me of the sticks we ate in Japan. Yep, that good. The $10 Kara-age Appetizer was good but not quite at the same level (photo: https://yelp.to/_bR49uaylD). Crunchy though the chicken was a bit chewy. We were surprised our priciest item, the $21 Rainbow Roll was the most disappointing (photo: https://yelp.to/U91ODg-Lv0). Not bad but kinda sloppy and not as fresh as we were hoping. Stick to the sticks. FOOD - 4 stars...the yakitori is the get here, hands down AMBIANCE - 3.5 stars...casual place like you'd see on Midnight Diner SERVICE - 4 stars...friendly and timely TOTAL - 4 stars...satisfying izakaya especially if you like robata RELATED - Exploring Berkeley? Here's my collection of places I've patronized and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2CbVh8u

hamachi kama
Jennifer T.

This Japanese restaurant serves a good variety of sushi and Japanese dishes. I went with friends and they all recommended ordering the chirashi bowl. The chalkboard menu caught my eye and I ordered the hamachi kama (yellowtail collar) which was also a great choice. The waitstaff were all very attentive and kind. I could tell that they knew when was a good time to take or order after appetizers and offer more sake. I really enjoyed this place and would come back!

Russell R.

Not really a sushi restaurant, but a Japanese restaurant. Great "wine" -- sake -- list. Tried a few. The Shiro Kirishima was my favorite last night, though that "honor" could have gone to another. Just an excellent glass of wine, served at the perfect temperature (slightly chilled, but not cold). Service was appropriate. We were there for almost three hours, and never felt rushed. The meal started with some pickled items that opened my palate. Up first was the "mini" chirashi bowl. It was loaded with a wide variety of fish and seafood (including a whole prawn and some octopus). For $21, methinks you might wanna check it out. Two grilled skewers, one rib-eye and one duck+leeks (kamo negi). I rarely eat duck (as I would be eating alone; like poor, neglected lamb, so few of my companions join me in exploring menus as they refuse to deviate from the beef-chicken-prawn trichotomy) but dang this was a great way to enjoy duck. The leeks added color, texture, and tons of flavor. The veritable coup de grâce was the salmon collar or "samonkara." Grilled, succulent salmon, full of flavor - the real finger-lickin' good (as if I lick my fingers, ever, cos that's what the napkin's for, diners). The price? Four people, plenty of food, flowing booze, and great laughs: $200, before tip. Just a great time and night. Check it out. - workingman's gourmand

Michael L.

GREAT Japanese food near downtown Berkeley. Service was kind and efficient. Parking was easy with no wait on a Tuesday evening. Ambiance was nothing special but the food was authentic and fresh with reasonable prices given the fish quality. Tempura was excellent. Like the make of any great Japanese restaurant, grated daikon came with tempura, and shiso leaf came with sashimi. Will be coming back!

Julie S.

Absolutely everything here was fantastic! We tried mackerel dinner, agedashi tofu, small plates of grilled sweet potato and eggplant, gyoza, meatballs, sashimi, and the uni special from Japan. Service is friend, the food is fairly quick, the decor is cozy and authentic. They even have happy hour specials!

One of the best sushi i ever had. Really worth the price and the service is phenomenal, hope a lot of people gonna try this restaurant

Unagi don
Jamie K.

Portions were crazy good, and everything was overall above average taste! Do wish the unagi don had less rice and more toppings -- the proportions were pretty off. Server kindly explained different dishes and sake, and food came out relatively quickly! There weren't too many ppl on a weekday night, and restaurant is fairly spacious and clean despite its age

Takoyaki
Wesley L.

Catering one of my last meetings of the year, I knew I wanted to go big! Having catered from other local Asian businesses, I wanted to find one that specialized in Japanese cuisine. Musashi is a place I frequent often not just because of their amazing dinner special (5-7 PM), but also since I've tried a lot of dishes I can't find elsewhere. While they're sadly only open for dinner and closed on Sunday & Monday, they were happy to assist me with my catering order. I went in-person and talked with one of their staff to find items that would please a wide variety of tastes and dietary needs. I ended up choosing their yakisoba, tofu salad, chicken karaage, ginger pork, shrimp tempura, and variety of sushi. Happy to say this was a success among my guests with the chicken karaage being a huge crowd pleaser! I haven't seen other pictures of their party trays before so if you're interested in sizing, this will give you an idea of how much food you'd get. Musashi is a small hole in the wall restaurant on a residential street with limited seating and can get quite busy, so get in earlier or make a reservation if needed. Also a huge fan of their unagi wappa and side dishes they give out before each meal

Chirashi Salmon & Ikura bowls
Kat Z.

One of my favorites restaurants in Berkeley! Worthy of a visit even after graduating. For how much salmon we got, the price was more than reasonable. The salmon was pretty fresh, and the service was quick. Very homey place.

Salmon and Ikura Donburi
Marcus C.

I walked by Musashi many times on my way to Downtown Berkeley and wanted to give this spot a try. The resturant is tucked away and hidden. However, the ambiance of the restaurant is very welcoming and cozy. My friend and I ordered their Salmon & Ikura Donburi and their Soboro Wappa. The salmon sashimi was fresh and melted in your mouth. The ikura added an extra textural component and more umami to the dish. However, the salmon to rice ratio was a little disappointing, as there is a lot of rice on the bottom of the bowl. The Soboro Wappa was very interesting and is something everyone should try. It is a dish that has flavored rice and a variety of protein. The Soboro had egg, salmon, and ground beef. The variety of proteins made each bite interesting throughout the meal. Musashi is a very cute sushi spot in Berkeley and I would recommend giving it a try!

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Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed everything!

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We apologize for the wait! We are understaffed and am working on it.

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Musashi Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - Musashi

Do you take reservations? How can I make reservation? Just call?

Yes we do!

Is proof of vaccination required?

Yes, patrons do have to show vaccine card. Our restaurant is currently closed until 1/11/22.

Do you have osechi boxes for new year this year (2022)?

Yes! We are taking orders still. Please call in, fax or email your order. Order sheets can be found on our website musashiofberkeley.com or call 510-843-2017. Fax number is 510-843-2100.

Are you open tonight 12/28?

Yes, but we may close early so please call!

View All 5 Questions

You might also consider

Kiraku

Kiraku

(1.8k reviews)

$$

5 stars Expensive…read morebut a worthy splurge. I will note that they don't serve Highballs as a drink option for added authenticity but their drinks menu is otherwise complete for an Izakaya. Skewers: Beef intestines: fatty, perfectly charred and marinated Pork belly: delicious but the least interesting Lamb + okra: nicely prepared and delicious Pickled Sakana leaves: deliciously pickled and salty on its own but worked perfectly as a skewer meat accompaniment Chicken karage: perfectly cooked and juicy Beef+lamb potstickers: homemade and presented in the traditional style. Very good Roasted tea leaf pudding was delicious

Honestly one of the top meals I've had in the bay in a while. Made a reservation for Friday 9PM,…read moreand it was still very lively and packed. Would order again/changed my brain chemistry: - Suzuki carpaccio: my bf didn't like this as much as I did since he thought it was too acidic, but I thought it paired well with the rest of the dishes... nice acidity but then sesame and umami aftertaste - Beef intestine skewer: melts in your mouth, actually insane - Beef tongue skewer: also melts in your mouth and also insane, loved that the flavor was distinct from the beef intestine skewer - Soy sauce marinated shrimp: so much flavor infused and the texture is amazing Good: - Roasted tea blanc manger - Smoked unagi: very tender & different flavor than typical japanese unagi, which I appreciated - Mini kaisen donburi: tasted very fresh, though not sure why but the fattiness of the salmon didn't come through as much Skip: - Pork belly, thought this was standard... not bad but it was tougher than I expected and the sauce was ok - Homemade tofu/yuba spoons: if you're getting the kaisen, I would skip. it's basically a lot of the same ingredients but there was what I think was the tofu skin in there and idk why but the texture reminded me of bland playdough a bit - Black cod: good flavor and smokiness but idk if it stood out

Ippuku - Sashimi combo: tuna, fatty tuna, sea urchins and ?

Ippuku

(1.5k reviews)

$$$

Downtown Berkeley

Walk-in at Ippuku in Berkeley came with a pretty long wait, and there is no online waitlist which…read moremakes planning difficult. We were seated around 7:30 (which is still prime dinner time imo) only to be told that many of the menu items had already sold out, which was disappointing. The items that were still available were good and we still had a nice time overall. FYI, the non-alcoholic beverage selection is quite limited. At this price point, the wait plus the number of sold out dishes makes us question whether we would come back.

This place has been on my want to go list for a while, and I finally got to try it! We didn't make…read morea reservation and walked in instead. We waited for about 30 min and the restaurant texted us once the table was ready. We ordered quite a few dishes and started with Omakase gushi, which came with chicken breast, thigh with leek, heart, cartilage, and minced chicken. We also ordered the oden set, sasami, tori tataki, gyu-tan, enoki bacon, and buta bara. Evertyhing tasted pretty good, but the most impressive dish was sasami with umeboshi, which was inner bresat with umehad was the inner breast with umeboshi. It was my first time trying raw chicken, and it tasted really good. The chicken breast was really tender, with a tuna-like texture, and without any slimy or odd flavors. Ever since then, I've been telling my friends to try it. The Tori Tataki was seared chicken breast sashimi with ponzu, which tasted a bit plain compared to the sasami. So I would highly recommended to get theeir sasami!

Iyasare - Assorted nigiri

Iyasare

(984 reviews)

$$$

Fourth Street, West Berkeley

Started with a drink and the iyasare kakiage tempura which has burdock root, onion, sweet potato,…read moreshiitake, enoki, carrot, shungiku, and bonito soy dipping sauce. Highly recommend the iyasare kakiage tempura, wish it had some less sweet potatoes and more of the other ingredients, but overall it was savory and very sweet from the sweet potatoes. I enjoyed the kara-age curry rice which is a japanese style fried chicken thighs in a tokyo style curry sauce, a small salad, and koshihikari rice. They gave sooooo much kara-age chicken and it was quite filling. Good dish to share with others. Lastly, we had to try the iyasare mentaiko pasta which is a spicy cod ros, spaghetti, ikura, shiso, and kaiware. It's quite heavy and creamy, but definitely worth trying if you like the ingredients!

Saw this on the Michelin Guide so wanted to give it a try. On the edge of Berkeley, the location…read moreand ambience makes it a nice spot for a date. The food itself was solid, with the best dishes being the Chef's Recommended tuna tartare and branzino. The rolls were fine, nothing out of the ordinary. While the dishes were enjoyable, the price was on the more expensive side. For the quality of the food ultimately it's difficult to say that it's entirely worth it. For a dinner for two, you're looking northward of $150 and while that's fairly common in the Bay, you can find better restaurants at that price point.

Fish & Bird Sousaku Izakaya

Fish & Bird Sousaku Izakaya

(442 reviews)

Downtown Berkeley

Top contender for Japanese cuisine in Berkeley--equal parts sophisticated and scrumptious…read more Highlights include: - Sea Bean & Corn Tempura: a savory funnel cake worthy of a Michelin star thanks to its texture and the side of matcha salt - Salmon sashimi: succulent with fresh wasabi - Wagyu Shime Special: insane price for insane flavor--a generous portion of veggies and wagyu in a big ol' iron bowl of bubblin' broth

Ate Christmas dinner here with my mom as our celebration tradition is usually a Japanese…read morerestaurant. The ambience was intimate and cozy yet elegant, and the staff was very attentive and kind. I loved the decorations, the plates and silverware, and the food was just as intentional in flavor and selection. For appetizers we had: Anchovy Stuffed Olives Tempura - Tempura Spanish alives stuffed with anchovies $9 Kombu Tsukudani - Premium Hokkaldo kelp, say sauce, bonito, shiso, sesame seeds, enjoy with sake or rice $6 For our meal we had: Saba Bouzushi - House-cured saba mackerel bouzushi - stick-shaped sushi, also called battera, served with shiso, sesame, scallions, topped with Hokkaido shiraita kombu, ten pieces $29 Gindara Yuanyaki - Local black cod marinated in soy sauce and shikuwasa Okinawan citrus juice served grilled $34 Steelhead Trout Nabe - Norwegian ocean trout raised sustainably in the clear, cold ford where the seawater meets fresh meltwater from the glaciers in the mountains. Enjoy the rich flavored, melt-in-your-mouth fish, hotpot with dashi broth, mushrooms, napa cabbage, burdock, clear noodles, tofu, mizuna, scallions, yuzu kosho $39 We've been to many izakaya spots and this place had some of the most unique flavors I've tasted. The Saba Bouzushi stood out to me because it reminded of Filipino paksiw but as a roll! The Gindara was buttery and soft and had a yummy smoky flavor. The Nabe was perfect for a rainy evening - hearty, fresh, and so well balanced in flavor (I loved the yuzu kosho the had us add for a citrusy, peppery flavor)

Musashi - japanese - Updated May 2026

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