Sushi Masu

TLDR: Sushi Masu is legit. Surprisingly so. At this elegant new sushi restaurant, which quietly opened on Columbus and 74th St. earlier this year, the food is refined, not flashy or ostentatious. Sushi, sashimi and composed dishes do not rely on slabs of foie gras, wagyu beef, gold foil or other gimmicks to stand out -- just plain old fashioned (and extremely labor intensive) technique. We sat before Chef Jackie on our visit. The shari that he and his team served us was the best we've had in a while, made with a subtle, mild Akazu vinegar (fancy stuff made from fermented sake lees) and a high quality short grain rice. The rice is made in small batches, continuously replenished, expertly seasoned, and made to + maintained at a textbook perfect texture. There's some range in temperature that chefs use for shari (depending, for instance, on the temperature of the fish, how strongly flavored the fish is, the season, and other factors). At our meal, the shari was served just a smidgen warmer than body temperature pretty much across the board, in balance with the neta, which was mostly a smidgen cooler than body temperature. Some of our favorite itamae like to serve their rice a little looser and warmer than standard so that it dissolves on your tongue upon impact and allows you to taste the neta and shari together. Chef Jackie compresses his shari to what is probably a standard firmness. My personal preference is to eat nigiri sidewise in these circumstances so the neta and shari touch your tongue at the same time. Chef Jackie's knife work is precise and impressive. Neta was well cut, often with photogenic slivers of silver skin, and enjoyably varied. The blow-by-blow of our 13 courses for my fellow sushi nerds: - King salmon w/ garlic chives, crisp potato, and mustard glaze - Haddock karaage -- lightly breaded and grease-free per the kiddos + Pardner - A composed dish of shima aji with caramelized onions, ponzu -- clever pairing of traditional and non-traditional elements that managed to work. You could still taste the buttery sweetness of the fish despite strong flavors. - Madai -- classically well made, delicate in texture and flavor- Kamasu (barracuda), lightly seared -- I seldom see this as nigiri in the US, but the meaty, smoky kamasu, lightly brushed with seasoned soy sauce, was a crowd pleaser. - Aji (horse mackerel) -- I like that the straightforward, classic preparation celebrated and did not try to obscure the strong flavors of this fish. Even the 12 and 9 year olds enjoyed. - Hotate from Hokkaido -- this is usually one of my favorite neta, especially in cooler months. Maybe it was a fluke (harhar), but my piece wasn't quite as sweet and flavorful as one might expect given this season. - Akami -- Sometimes it's really nice to see a plain ol' piece of well prepared akami, which is often back burnered in favor or more exotic fish. I appreciated that this was not akami zuké, which I like, but is as obnoxiously ubiquitous as Taylor Swift right now; this akami was lightly seasoned with a quick brush of soy sauce before serving. - Chutoro -- competently aged, flavorful- Unagi (freshwater eel) -- delicate texture, admirably restrained wrt saucing (though I personally like mine with just a sprinkle of salt, no sauce) - Otoro -- melt-in-your-mouth silky - Chutoro hand roll -- nori was freshly toasted and nicely filled with creamy chutoro with bits of fried potato, rice puffs, and other lovely, crispy things mixed in. Great combination of textures. - A complimentary piece of futomaki with unagi - Panna cotta with toasted coconut, yuzu syrup, macadamia nuts -- indulgent, but pleasantly light***********Sushi Masu seems to be a total sleeper -- a low key, understated sushiya that serves improbably good food. I don't know where Chef Jackie received his training (it felt rude to inquire), but it's clear that the food he and his colleagues make is thoughtful, rooted in a solid understanding of Edomae traditions, beautiful, and delicious. The sleek, silver koi wallpapered dining room is elegant enough for an anniversary date (looking at you, Pardner), but welcoming / friendly enough to walk in and dine alone if you wish. At $68 and for this level of quality, the 13 course omakase meal is an absolute steal. (It's about 100,000x better than comparably priced set menus at Sugarfish and other establishments of that ilk.) Sushi Masu is worth a return visit.

16 courses of omakase for $88? Yes, please. Went here a few weekends with my wife and her sister and must say - Sushi Masu certainly impressed. Is it the most formal omakase experience ever? No. Will it be winning a Michelin star? I don't think so. However, the fish is of very high quality - and certainly better than your typical sushi restaurant (where you would most definitely pay more than $88 for the amount of food they give you).A few things to note: the omakase experience is not served in individual courses, but rather "batched" together in groups of 3 or 4 pieces at a time. Service was great. Wait staff always explained what we were eating and stayed on top of refilling waters. Be careful when checking out: they said "all we need is a quick signature." They had the a gratuity of 30% already preselected (you are able to change it, should you want to).

I came here on a Wednesday night, counter service for 4 at 7pm to take advantage of their fall omakase special. 16 courses for $88It was so so good.The fish was buttery, fresh and such great flavor. There were different combinations of toppings and that made this omakase unique.We got to know the chef and he was able to explain that we were lucky enough to get specific sweet shrimp that was only in season for a little longer or what his favorite course was (scallop)(Tip: always sit at the counter and befriend the chef, they have great insight!)We also ordered a few extra pieces before dessert and the chef recommended the tuna neck and it was AMAZING. I'll be dreaming of that bite for a whileWe also ordered multiple cocktails (lychee martini and peach cocktail) and sake which were also delicious!The restaurant was not completely packed, ambiance was nice and the service was very attentive to empty water glasses or low in ginger.

Quick easy yummy lobster roll! Wish it would have been warm but they don't do that here. Good amount of lobster. Very small amount of outdoor seating

The restaurant itself does not get super busy so it's a very nice intimate ambience. The service was great and they stayed on top of refilling waters and taking away the wet naps and plates. The food is great. My favorite was the barracuda, which was a thicker cut that was seared. All the fish was very fresh and buttery and sweet. My only complaint is that the sushi pieces were very small. There were also some inconsistencies with the size of the dessert glass. My friend got a slightly larger container for his dessert. Since mine was slightly smaller, the Panna cotta to peach jam ratio made the dessert slightly too tart for our taste.

This is a cute restaurant with a good number of vegetarian sushi options. The rolls were all pretty tasty. I had the ume shisho kyuri roll (cucumber) and the classic (egg omelette) roll, which were both nice. The first roll was fresh and slightly tangy, and the egg roll was savory, but light. I probably should have gotten another roll or two to make a complete meal, but the portions were decent for $22 before tax and tip.

"这次的Omakase体验令人难忘！食材新鲜，厨师技艺超群，每道菜都呈现了惊人的创意与美感。特别喜欢厨师边制作边介绍菜品的方式，让整个用餐过程更加生动有趣。环境优雅，氛围安静，非常适合放松享用美食。但绝对值得，期待下次再来！"

Unexciting omakase. Pieces were average sized and not very creative in taste or presentation. $300+ for mediocre sushi and sake.

The sashimi is fresh and nicely presented. Our waitress was very customer friendly and offered choices not on the menu. She advised us what was good and what was more pocket friendly. My only complain is the sushi size is small, so u need to order more if u have a big appetite

Excellent food, thoughtful service, warm ambience. Sushi chef Jackie and all the restaurant staff were so attentive. We had such a wonderful evening. I go to many high end Japanese restaurants in the city and Sushi Masu is up there in terms of quality and attention to detail. Highly recommended.