Matsumi

The food, interior, porcelain ware and even smell is really an authentic Japanese experience. We had the four course menu. For each course you can select the dish, either vegetarian, meat or fish. The only critique for the food was the duck was a bit tough and the leeks a bit undercooked, but overall the impression was really good. The different miso’s and reduction’s had delicious flavours. The friendly waiters take care to explain each dish. I would suggest that the chairs be replaced or re-upholstered. The foam has worn through. Tip: Sit on the bench if you do not have built in padding.

The best Japanese restaurant in Hamburg! Matsumi is a traditional Japanese restaurant with a great atmosphere! Unadon and Sukiyaki set menu were very tasty. The portions were not big, but they were very exquisite! The service was great and welcoming. I would love to come back again!

Absolutely awesome food & service. I'm confident they serve the best sushi in Hamburg. We both opted for the five course menu plus some extras. The saba was amazing as was the wagyu. I also enjoyed the toro.

Authentic and very good quality Japanese cuisine. I would recommend the speciality menu (6 course) so you can enjoy a large variety of dishes. The fish is either brought from the Hamburg fish market or imported by plane from Japan.

Matsumi is a great traditional Japanese restaurant. The atmosphere is great. You really get the feeling you're in Japan with the pretty wooden elements of the interior, Japanese ambient music, and the staff speaking Japanese in the background. We had a spot at the bar where the sushi was being prepared carefully in front of us by the chefs. You could really see that they have an eye for detail and that they take their time to prepare the sushi orders. They give you hot wet towels to clean your hands before ordering. I think this was great. We ordered a 6-course menu with eel on rice and sushi with fresh wasabi. The dishes were well presented. One of the small salads was a bit on the salty side. The sushi and sashimi were very fresh and delicious. Eel on rice was very tasty. The ice cream was great as well, as it wasn't too sweet. It is expensive for what you get. Both me and my partner were not completely full, and were €180,- lighter when we left the restaurant.

I lived in Japan for a few years and am a huge fan of Japanese food! Matsumi is by far one of the best Japanese restaurants outside Japan that keeps true to its traditions in serving authentic Japanese cuisine. I love the tiny details especially in the sashimi dish where pickled seasonal vegetables such as lotus root is served along with the sashimi. However, I found the rice in the sushi a bit too dry and underseasoned to my liking. But the other dishes were superb! Highly recommend!

I was surprised when reading the many reviews stating “best restaurant, best Japanese food in...” and so on. Having lived in Japan and dined in many Japanese restaurants in Europe (especially in Germany) I would rate Matsumi with three stars. This was our third visit. The food is very good, but very overpriced. This time we had the most expensive set menu at €94 per person for eight courses and did not find the quality to match the price. Many better restaurants, even in Tokyo, don’t charge that much for the quality we were served. The staff is friendly but nothing special. The restaurant itself is very basic with a cheap interior. It looks like it hasn’t been renovated for years, including the dirty restrooms. If you get seated on the tables that have a wall-mounted bench, bring a pillow! After three hours of dining without any back support but a low, wooden shelf we couldn’t wait to pay and leave. Hamburg has so many other great restaurants, and after having given Matsumi three chances we will not come back.

TLDR: It's on the pricey side but this is the place you'd want to visit for taste, quality and ambiance - not for quantity or bang-for-buck. Take a course menu and you will eat at a slow pace to really savour your meal(s). If you're hungry, have a snack before (or after) as portion size is quite small. ---📑 The Setup: We attended Matsumi as a couple and both went for a 6-course menu with the mains as "Sushi" and "Una-Ju" (eel on rice). We could only get a Bar seating so we could not try any Wagyu / Sukiyaki unfortunately. :) ---🍱 The Food: See pictures. The 'green tea' is nice and mild. The food was very carefully arranged and the courses came in well-paced (over the course of 2h as advertised). The portion size was quite small, this is something to be aware of in case you come in hungry - we came here for experience, taste and quality alone and deliberately had a small meal beforehand. Each dish is executed individually and carefully by the chefs which out great attention to small details - something which you an see well if you sit at the bar. Taste wise all dishes were very tasty and seemingly became better and better with each course. The first "radish salad" was our least favourite (too salty) and the sashimi was our most favourite. 🍣 Sushi/Sashimi: all of it was incredibly fresh and tasty; the sashimi came presented on parilla leaves and other edible garnish and was well cut and portioned for sashimi. Our personal favourite was the Tuna Belly and Salmon. ⚠️ side note: when the menu mentions 'x rolls' they do not mean that you get a roll (as is common at other places) but rather that you get x 'pieces' in total of said roll. Something to keep in mind. 🗾 Wasabi: this is one of few places which optionally serves real, fresh wasabi. If you have heard tales of real wasabi tasting vastly different than paste - give it a try. Personally I found both equally pungent but the real wasabi has a more creamy texture and some earthy flavour notes which other paste does not have. 🍨 Dessert: the ice cream we were served was great. It was very flavourful (sesame) and creamy but did not contain an abundance of sugar. This was a pleasant surprise as its often way too sweet. ---⛩️ Ambiance: The music is a gentle, traditional Japanese background track list which plays at a low and comfortable volume - not overbearing, just present in the background. The interior has a very strong Japanese (traditional) aesthetic with a lot of wooden elements. Our Bar seating had a little origami crane on the 'table', which was comfortable to sit at. ---👤 Service: During the meal the waiters did not inquire much about our meal or if we had any additional wishes; this was okay for us as we were content with our experience but it couldn't hurt to check in once or twice. However, the staff was very friendly and went out of their way to try solve a problem we had with a Voucher, which we greatly appreciate.

Matsumi is a Japanese restaurant. We came there with some friends who had reserved a private traditional room (it is better to book this room at least a week before). Thus, we shared a Shabu Shabu in a friendly space, sitting in a traditional Japanese way. Shabu Shabu is a fondue made of vegetables and beef. The price is high: 29 €, but the service is good because the waiters help us prepare and cook our food. There is also a Shabu Shabu menu for € 59 where you have different dishes such as chicken skewers, traditional soup, fresh fish and a dessert.

There is only one grade for the taste and quality of the food served at Matsumi - it's pricey, but for absolutely stunning Japanese cuisine, worth every penny.

Update: Having come here so often, I've simply become completely sick of Petra and her husband. The service in this place is just horrible and I've decided to no longer come here even though the sushi is that good. This is simply the best Sushi in Hamburg. If you're looking to save some $$$'s, go to Sushi Factory or Sushi Circle both within 100 meters of this place. It isn't cheap, but I've tried lots of sushi places in town and this place hasn't been beat yet. If you want authentic, well prepared fish, this is the place. On a complete side note, it's a favorite of the Klitschkow brothers (German boxers). I've run into them here twice already. Bonus tip: the head sushi chef gets really pissed off if you mess with their decorations. I was waiting for my lunch appointment and was on the phone. I without noticing it had my foot rested on the little garden thing up front. I thought his head was going to explode when he noticed. It was my fault but I still got a kick out of seeing someone get so steamed over something like this. It didn't detract though from the experience at all here. Just be careful!

Would give it a negative star rating if I could. The worst sushi I have ever had. Period. HUGELY overpriced! Tasteless, drenched in some kind of sauce, with fish far from fresh. A pretentious, over-priced restaurant. The worst culinary experience in Hamburg, and probably Europe.

Gah! I was so disappointed in this place. How can anyone say this is real Japanese food?!?! I mean, seriously, this was such a joke. I ordered the Kaiseki which is their set course meal thinking okay, how bad can it be. It was bad, a lot of the items were overly fried and super greasy. I bite into their fried dumplings, which was the main course of the meal, fried dumplings as the main course?!?! Okay, sorry, back to the taste, it was super greasy and the moment I bite into it, a splatter of grease came into my mouth and on the table. Set course meal was super disappointing. My husband ordered the sukiyaki. It was one of the worse sukiyakis we've ever had. The meat was terribly rough and the broth just taste like water and soy sauce, no hint of sugar whatsoever (traditional sukiyaki is always a bit sweet). Overall, bad experience, would never go back, would not recommened, wish I could erase this meal.

Old and smelly fish, chewy bad quality meat, over 50 min waiting time for sushi at lunch time!? And, at premium prices! Hardly 'the best sushi outlet' in town. If this is meant to be one of the best, I dread to think what the rest is like! I do not understand how they get away with it, and how come it can remain in business. Nope, do not recommend and will not visit again.

A nice place to go for their lunch menu a soup, main, and sides for a reasonable price (for Japanese food, anyway)! Friendly and good-quality food.

Have a lunch menu like teishoku place.

The Matsumi restaurant offers a great taste of Japan. In addition, the atmosphere is bringing memories of Japan trips back to my mind. I can recommend this restaurant to everyone who like to try the real Japanese taste! There is a good variety of hot and cold food. Besides, the restaurant is also a great location to take business partner.