Matsu
Fine dining restaurant · Oceanside
626 S Tremont St, Oceanside, CA 92054
Highlights
Refined Japanese fare, inventive tasting menus, and specialty cocktails
Refined Japanese fare, inventive tasting menus, and specialty cocktails
"A core institution in the Oceanside fine dining scene, chef William Eick commands a Japanese omakase tasting menu with 10 courses, showcasing seafood, seasonal vegetables, premium meats, and dessert. For a splurge, upgrade to the A5 Wagyu add-on for $55, or opt for the a la carte menu for something more customized. The range of dishes can include tuna, wagyu, and miso in deceptively simple preparations that highlight the main ingredients and strive for a zero-waste ethos. One highlight is the sunflower, ika, rayu — an intricate plate using the entire sunflower plant and cuttlefish, presented like a cuttlefish burrito and dusted with dehydrated sunflower leaf. Also, try the oak-grilled sablefish, prepared with a technique that puffs the fish’s scales out like a pinecone. Look for special events like chef and Japanese sake collaborations. Know before you go: A warm place for a celebration with a special date or close friends when you want to hear each other’s conversations." - Candice Woo
"Chef William Eick commands an omakase tasting menu with options for six or 10 courses, showcasing bright seasonal ingredients. The range of dishes can include tuna, wagyu, and miso in deceptively simple preparations that highlight the main ingredients. Walk-ins can find a seat at the bar for a la carte items like cuttlefish and duck." - Helen I. Hwang
"The Japanese restaurant in Oceanside will offer a ten-course tasting menu with a separate vegan option for New Year’s Eve. The kitchen helmed by chef William Eick will serve plates like marinated duck breast and meatball, chicken and rice bowl, and abalone “chowder,” a fusion of miso clam soup and New England clam chowder. The first seating begins at 4 p.m. The signature tasting menu is priced at $185 per person, and the vegan option is $140 per person." - Helen I. Hwang
"The Oceanside restaurant is celebrating with Christmas Karaage Night, a Japanese holiday tradition, on December 23rd. With six courses of fried chicken, featuring various parts of the chicken in each course, the inventive menu will end with a strawberry shortcake-influenced dessert." - Helen I. Hwang
"Matsu does a 10-course, three-hour-long Japanese tasting menu in a space so intimate that the food gets the spotlight it deserves—literally. There are only 14 lights in the dining room, which are above the 14 wooden tables, making each course feel like it’s getting up on stage to audition for the role of “Your Favorite Part Of The Meal.” The menu changes with the season, but some recent standouts were the grilled, all-cabbage gyoza with caviar, braised sunflower and cuttlefish, and house tempura-battered ebi. This is the type of place where each tiny course comes with a fresh plate and maybe a custom-made knife, and the service attentively explains dishes without being annoying. They also do an a la carte menu at the bar, where you can chat with the bartender while sipping wines from Valle de Guadalupe." - ligaya malones
