Matsuhisa is a slice of LA history, but the sushi is just fine - Review - Los Angeles - The Infatuation
"If you’ve ever had yellowtail with jalapeño, eaten a scallop recently flown in from Hokkaido, or eaten at a Nobu, this restaurant on La Cienega had a lot to do with it. Matsuhisa is where Robert De Niro had a meal, decided everyone should be able to eat that yellowtail, and came up with the idea for Nobu. In some ways, nearly 40 years in, Matsuhisa feels like a time capsule. The menu has barely changed, you can only make reservations over the phone, and you’ll still find a rotating cast of movie stars, agents, and Beverly Hills lifers with a standing Friday night seat at the sushi bar. But, in less fortunate ways, Matsuhisa isn’t entirely trapped in amber. While the celebrity hoopla has always been part of the deal, a meal at Matsuhisa these days can feel a bit more like a cattle call. Half of the seats are now in a pandemic-era tent in the parking lot that has the atmosphere of a doctor’s waiting room. (They’re renovating parts of the main building, presumably to expand it, and will supposedly be done in a few months.) Reservations happen more in theory than practice. You can’t reserve for a specific part of the restaurant (and you definitely want to be sitting at the sushi bar), and if one of those BH lifers shows up, they’ll almost certainly skip the line. Most nights of the week there’s also a steady stream of people who recently found the place on TikTok, letting the camera eat first and visiting more for engagement than anything else. We’ve always had a high tolerance for the shenanigans at Matsuhisa because the sushi was sublime, but that’s no longer the case. Sit at the sushi bar and you’ll still have a solid meal, but it’s also clear that they’re pumping dishes out fast, adding a sauce more often than not, and charging high prices for the pleasure. We still appreciate Matsuhisa as a slice of LA history, and when we’re in the mood for a bit of a rowdy night with sushi on the side, this is our spot. But for sushi we’ll remember the next day, there are now plenty of other, better, options in town. Food Rundown photo credit: Nicholas Zhou Yellowtail Jalapeño You’ve had a million rip-offs of this dish, but if you want to say you’ve had the original, you’re ordering this. It’s not much different to those rip-offs, but you won’t be disappointed. photo credit: Nicholas Zhou Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice No one really asked for a riff on this iconic LA dish, but you get one here. It’s a kind of make your own situation, with toothpick-speared crispy rice, spicy tuna you load on top, and dipping sauce on the side. We prefer our spicy tuna crispy rice already assembled. photo credit: Nicholas Zhou Black Cod With Miso You can’t not get this charred, falling apart piece of fish once. Even if it is a fairly small $40 piece of fish. photo credit: Nicholas Zhou Sushi Many people are here for the sauced-up “Cold Special Dishes” and miso cod. We generally like to sit at the sushi bar and concentrate on the nigiri. No matter how busy they are, the sushi chefs will talk you through that day’s specials and point you in the direction of something interesting. Always order the golden eye snapper. Omakase A good way to try a bunch of things, but not essential, and not super heavy on sushi. On our visits we’ve been served everything from a “salad” hand roll to oysters to sushi of all kinds from lobster to Kobe beef. Generally, we prefer to stick to a la carte." - Jess Basser Sanders
