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Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Studio CityMatsuda Restaurant will be celebrating our Ten Year Anniversary!
When: Sunday, August 30th, 2009 from 5:30-9:30pm
Tue-Thu. 12:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Tue-Thu. 5:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri. 12:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Fri. 5:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Sat. 5:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Sun. 5:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
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My husband took me today for a birthday lunch to one of our early date haunts - Matsuda in Studio City.
We placed ourselves in the hands of the sushi chef and had an amazing sushi experience (btw, we're sushi snobs of sorts). Once he knew we were interested in more than rolls and the basics, we were treated to a delightful assortment of incredibly fresh fish (Japanese Sea Trout, halibut, baby yellowtail, red snapper, scallops, crunchy mackerel), prepared in beautiful traditional fashion.
But the sauces and spices! Oi! Impressive delicacy. Soy sauce not needed or recommended. Take a pass on Katsu-ya next time - this place is as good, less crowded and more down to earth.
More hits than misses.
It's sushi so you know what to order.
However, I will suggest, with a very firm hand and strong presence, that you try the Spicy Crunchy Albacore roll. If I never eat another piece of sushi other than these, it would almost be too soon.
Sorry, but I have to leave for I have an open rez every day here!
This has quickly become one of my favorite sushi restaurants around town!
The best thing about this place is that they are always consistent! Other places seem to have "bad days" but I can honestly say I have never encountered something I didn't like at Masuda. The service is always top notch and place is always VERY clean and welcoming.
I crave their salmon teriyaki dinner on a weekly basis :)
Hubby and I went here one rare night we had without the children. It was delicious. We are both sushi fans and Matsuda did not disappoint. The sushi was fresh and tasty, particularly the yellowtail belly sushi. The Spicy Crunchy Albacore roll was a delight. We were very happy with our meal and look forward to coming back to try more.
So perhaps Matsuda is lacking in the decor department and yes, it does seem inane to pay $4.00 to park in an otherwise empty parking lot...
however, the food makes up for the former complaints.
Start your meal off right with an Oyster Shooter - simply delicious although a bit tricky to down on your first time.. trick is to open your throat and tilt your head ;) hehe
I usually order:
Spicy Crunchy Albacore Roll ( i could eat 3 orders of this alone)
Spicy Tuna Biscuit
Lobster Roll
M likes
Beef Aburi
Yellowtail sashimi with jalapenos
Tuna sashimi
WE LOVE the shishitos - I normally HATE peppers but something about these little buggers makes me order them everytime.
I also enjoy the albacore sashimi - so good, light with a ponzu sauce and sprinkling of green onions.
The service is great, spot on.. this is a small restaurant so it is wise to make a reservation. I've had a few celebrity sightings as well but NOTHING beats overhearing Robert "Freddy Krueger" Englund talking about himself to his fellow companions in the third person... love it!!
Also seen Fabio and Christian Slater as well... although that is NOT the reason i keep going back!!!
I have to agree with a lot of the reviews of Matsuda:
Joel M. - Simple decor/ambiance
Raymond F. - Great Local Place
Ann K. - Great Service
And the only thing I noticed (which is probably because I went at lunch) was with Alan S. Didn't need reservations.
That's it! Other than that had their Seafood salad, which was very good, and since it was a lunch special I got Miso and Rice. I also took this to go, but I got to sit and watch some of the patrons eat and to observe what they ordered and how they felt about the place.
Good all around, happy faces and empty plates.
I'd go here again to try some of their signature rolls. The one thing that bothered me was that it took the waitress' a little time to wrap my goods, so by the time my fish got to me it was a bit tepid. But still the flavors were good and it wouldn't swade me from going to eat here and eat in.
Enjoy their blue fin tuna as well, it's simply delish!
Very good sushi, great service. The sashimi specials they have are delicious. We had the citrus and black pepper halibut and the tuna tartar (which had an amazing sauce on it). Also good were the yellowtail, albacore, kanpachi and red snapper nigiri. The edamame were a bit overcooked.
Small Location
Great Local Place
Decent prices
Good for "rolls" and real sushi lovers, alike
I've been here twice just to be sure, but the sushi here is really not that good, especially comparing it to other places in the area. The rolls we got last time (rainbow and cucumber wrapped tuna) didn't taste fresh at all and the Edamame's were definitely pre-heated and old.
Price is average for the area (meaning $$) and the service is friendly, but given the actual food itself, not worth it.
Tried it out for weekday lunch.
Simple decor/ambiance.
Quality fish and menu - not too far off the standard path.
Great service - very pleasant.
A solid no-frills spot that's not too expensive.
Went here with some friends for dinner, had a very good experience. We didn't get much of the authentic no-frills-all-about-the-fish sushi, this was more of a I-want-a-fancy-crunchy-roll outing. And there's nothing wrong with that. We got a bunch of rolls to pass around- the spicy crunchy albacore, rock and roll, tuna biscuit, and studio city- with a couple of individual pieces. I was pretty happy with all of them- good texture, fresh, warm, creamy, crunchy, not too sweet. The tuna biscuit was a little tough and over done, but still good.
The beer and sake flowed, and at the end of the meal I was full and content (an issue I have with sushi joints more often than I'd like). For 5 of us it ended up under $40 a person after tip, not too bad. If I find myself in the valley again I'll definitely go back.
I've been going to Matsuda for over a year now quite regularly. I tend to hit up that spot at least once a week. It's close to home, great food, great prices, and super friendly service. I'm a big fan of the baked crab handroll, which is much better than Katsuya! Don't forget to polish it off with a bowl of green tea ice cream!
Deliciousness at it's BEST!!!
I seriously love this place.....I can't say a single bad thing about it. It's hard to come by a place where every item on the menu is amazing and the service is personable and kind. I would eat here everyday if I could!
Celebratory Sushi.
It's just one of the many ways sis and I justify an expensive dinner out.
She got a raise? I booked a job? The sun came up?
Celebratory Sushi.
We thought we would be having said celebratory-ness at Katsu-Ya but when we arrived BEFORE it was to open at 5:30P there was already a huge crowd outside. You would've thought this was an exclusive club in the middle of Hollywood, not some really good sushi place in the Valley. The only thing missing was Brit-brit and some paparazzi. This was not going to be where we were indulging tonight.
As we were walking back to the car, tastebuds still crying out for some fresh fish we remembered Matsuda across the street. Yes, why not try something new? Isn't that Yelp's creed? "When in doubt, try it out then give it a shout?"
I am glad we did just that -- everything we had was fresh and tasty. Salmon, Tuna, Spanish Mackerel...all good. We even tried one of their special rolls, The "Superstar" which combined Tuna, Yellowtail, Salmon and Avocado then was topped with Dynamite, Tempura crunchies and Eel Sauce - whew! Trying getting that into your mouth in one take.
The restaurant itself was pretty sparse but do you really need all the fanciness? I don't really think it makes anything taste any better. Our server was pleasant and our food came out with good timing allowing us to savor the goodies being presented.
So our evening at Katsu-ya turns out to be fate intervening and showing us there are other great sushi row restaurants. I may never find better than the creamy salmon roll at Katsu-YA but I was completely happy with Matsuda and its staff.
Love the Food and the Service is amazing! Hiro and his wife are amazingly loving people and I just love eating sushi at Matsuda. Their service is amazing and the fish is top notch!
Try their Shishito, Rainbow Carpaccio, and Spicy Tuna Biscuit!
Reservations are a MUST!
Matsuda gets 3 stars for the following
.5-Taking reservations
.5-Polite and Friendly servers
.5-Affordability
1.5-Yummy spicy tuna sandwich thingy, yummy crabcake thingy and yummy spicy tuna roll
Minus one star for being in a sucky neighborhood with sucky parking and then charging you for valet! Think about it Matsuda, Katsu-ya all these freakin places up and down Ventura and Cahuenga and all over LA for that matter charge you to park when you really don't have any other option. I'm sick of City's permitting restaurants without ensuring they have enough parking! Why are patrons being burdened with the cost of parking? Restaurants should offer complimentary parking services.
Matsuda has been our favorite little spot for a couple of years now - we met the sushi chef Hiro at another restaurant down the way that USED to be our favorite (4 on 6), but once we went to visit Hiro, we never went back!
The last couple of times we've been haven't been AS fantastic as it used to be, so my 4 stars are tentative, pending our visit tonight. The portions used to be HUGE, but the last few times they've been more on the average side. The fish is always fresh (that's never changed), and the staff is friendly and attentive.
Ah - parking DOES suck though - they only have a tiny little lot. If you go on a weeknight, either early or late, you should be ok. They've recently hired some valet dude, who refuses to let you park your car in the lot, even if there's no one else there. I had a fight with him about it, and he finally saw my point of view...I guess it's better than trying to circle the block for a spot on the street, though...
This is a great, affordable sushi place. I tried it on a whim and have been going back ever since. I highly recommend their spicy, crunchy albacore roll or their rainbow roll. The best chef in the house is Akira. Be sure to sit in his section at the bar and he might just surprise you with a creation made with cold oranges.
*************************updated January 12, 2007***********************
I hate to start the new year out this way, but I guess this is the way it has to be. I've been forced to demote my rating due to sub-par fish! Not sick-all-night kind of sub-par fish.....just a little off to be eating it raw!
I came here back in August of last year for a full-on course meal from chef Akira. Most of the items were chosen for us as part of the omakase meal. It included: halibut sashimi, clam miso soup, seafood steak, yellowtail sashimi, oyster w/ ponzu sauce shot, along with the nigiri sushi of salmon and freshwater eel. One previous visit I had the sashimi salad as well.
Overall, the meal was pretty good. Everything was solid and tasted fairly well. The fish itself was good, although not the best I've ever tried, in comparison to stuff like Urasawa, Sushi Gen, Noshi Sushi, or Nozawa. The restaurant business volume is good indication that the fish supply is changed regularly, so that's good news.
A solid bet, but if you happen to see TAMA SUSHI across the street and is deciding which one to go to, I recommend TAMA instead. Because Tama Sushi is headed by a chef who's had over 30 years of experience working in the Ginza district of Tokyo and shops for his fish almost like a nazi.
This is one of my favs. They have great service, wen i come in the owner lady greets me with such a big hello! I think im one of her favs, hehe. But the sushi is alwaaays consistent wen me and my friends go there. The only downfall is there's never parking on wekends so u have to freakin valet and the guy only walks like 2 steps to get to ur car cuz the lot is so small. Other than that, i recommend it! Yummyyyyy ;-d
The wait was long, the food was decent, and to make things even worse, when I told the owner that we (my hubs and I) were married, she asked if I was pregnant.
Oh kay, for one, it's probably not a good idea to ask someone if they are pregnant even if you think they might be. I've had a time I almost asked an acquaintance if she was pregnant again cuz I knew that they wanted to pop babies out back to back after their 3 month baby was along, and she literally looked 6 months. Was I glad I stopped myself because it turns out it was just post-pregnancy weight and apparently she had already worked off 15lbs.
So, first, if any one has a belly, it's not smart to ask in case they are just fat. I was offended, and what made it worse was that she was the OWNER. Def sure way to drive customers away.
Not going back for that reason. It should be one star, but the food was decent so I'm keeping it a 3.
Love this place. It's our go-to sushi spot ... but can get crowded so we avoid the weekend high traffic times.
I'm not even going to comment on the food because I'm sure my tastebuds aren't refined enough to tangle with sushi snobs ... Let's just say I like the food, I like the staff (they know us by name and are quite kind) and I like the atmosphere. Solid.
The crab roll was amazing. The enormous roach that strode acorss the restaurant was not amazing.
The Spicy Albacore Crunchy Roll was amazing! Good service, very attentive.
We love this place. My wife is pregnant at the moment and can't eat raw fish, but these guys always offer intentive dishes to keep her happy... As long as she's happy, I'm happy. Right? She get's her stuff and I get to eat my sushi in peace. Great place! Highly recommended!
This place has the best Sushi on Ventura Blvd. I have been eating here for over eight years and it is still my favorite. They have a blackened pepper seared Ahi appetizer that is out of this world! Service is always fast and friendly, you must try this place if you are in the valley.
Last time we went (last month) was real good. Did not notice drop in portion size although I do not doubt the other reviews. The people are very friendly. It's our go to sushi place.
i am sad to give this place such a low score. it used to be our favorite place for sushi in the valley. a great value and quality fish. they were so inventive- the seared pepper tuna and studio city roll was our favorites... we came here with friends last month and sadly i do not think we will be going back. the portions are MUCH smaller than they used to be, i'd say 1/3 what it used to be. our seared pepper tuna was so small, i had a flashback of "where's the beef." hiro- what happened?! this place was our special little find!
Neighborhood: Studio City
Category: Sushi Bars
Studio City, CA
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Studio City
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Studio City
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Studio City
Category: Sushi Bars
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