Otaru Masa-sushi Shinjuku

We heard about this restaurant from a Japanese friend so we made reservation for the premium omakase (24,200 yen per person) expecting to get a taste of things we could only have in Japan. The fish was fresh but the rice was cold even though it was served right at the counter. The quality of the ...fish and selection was not as “premium” as we would have expected at the price we were paying. Uni and ikura were served repeatedly in many of their dishes. For an Omakase, you would think the chef would have thought of the overall design of the courses and not to serve the same ingredients back to back. The most satisfying sushi we had was the kinki. The chawamushi (steamed egg) was pretty good. It had cod, clams, shitake mushrooms, chestnut and some assorted veggies in it, and topped with ikura and uni . We found the warm dishes and ankimo (monkfish liver) to be a bit salty. The shrimp that was served was not a live shrimp. There was only one slice of otoro in the entire meal and it wasn’t top quality otoro. The meal was filling but the overall feeling we got after we finished was very underwhelming.

Visited March 2023

Trust the experience of these sushi masters... I just can’t describe the feelings this dishes gave me! Simply... amazing! Just go to Shinjuku find this sushi shrine and... itadakimasu!!!

Visited December 2018

Ordered the otaru set around ¥5,500, 12 pieces of sushi from Hokkaido, the botan prawn is very sweet and the octopus head is very soft. The chef is quite friendly, better to make a reservation.

Visited September 2018

I booked on-line for this lunch. Everything was top class - from the on-line reservation (they even asked if we were OK with raw food in their confirmation), the way we were received and seated in the restaurant, the helpfulness of the service staff and chef and the freshness of the food. An altoget...her superb experience!! And it didn't really cost the earth!!

Visited March 2018

Saw the highly raved reviews and decided to try out the Omakase here, but both of us were greatly disappointed at the service standard for the kind of price that they charge. Yes, the sushi are good but I have tasted even better ones at one third the price. We paid more than 10000 yen for one Omakas...e. They will not let you know how much it costs until the chef has chosen the sushi.. then you will see the shocking bill. Luckily we only ordered one Omakase, and a set off the menu. The sushi were big and juicy and good. But the service is quite poor. The man or manager did not want to acknowledge us and treated the Japanese customer beside us way more polite and pleasant. We were being left to be served by a young assistant who did not smile or look passionate in his job. We were told to sit at the table even though we requested for counter as it was “reserved”. The seats remain empty throughout our meal.. Omakase was served all at one go so it was not warm or fresh like the kind you get at the counter directly from the chef. We were not explained what were the types of sushi on the plate so you have to figure out yourself unless you ask the staff. It was super not value for money. We had a way better experience and much better sushi at Tokyo Sushi Ten just next door, also in Takashimaya building in their food court on the ground floor. Their staff were so friendly and it only costs 3500 for Omakase lunch. Went twice during our 4 days stay at Shinjuku! We regretted going to Otaru as it was not worth that money...

Visited November 2017