Matsuhisa Athens — Restaurant in Municipality of Vari - Voula - Vouliagmeni

As loyal patrons of the Four Seasons Athens for the past three summers, we've made it a tradition to dine at all the on-site restaurants, including Matsuhisa. This was our fifth visit to the acclaimed Japanese eatery, and unfortunately, it continues to be a trend of style over substance, leaving us with mixed feelings and an underwhelming experience.

Ambiance and View: Unparalleled Beauty

The undeniable highlight of Matsuhisa is its stunning location. The breathtaking view, especially during sunset, creates an ambiance that is truly unmatched. The sleek and modern decor adds to the overall sophisticated atmosphere, making it an attractive destination for a special occasion or a night out with friends.

Service: Inconsistent and Lackluster

However, the service consistently falls short of expectations. It's a recurring theme that simple requests often need to be repeated multiple times before being fulfilled. This lack of attentiveness and responsiveness is particularly frustrating in a restaurant of this caliber.

Food Quality: Average and Overpriced

The cuisine at Matsuhisa is where the disappointment truly lies. For a restaurant with such a renowned reputation and sky-high prices, the quality of the sushi and fish is surprisingly average. In comparison to the culinary experiences we've had in New York City and Japan, the offerings here feel lackluster and overpriced. The exorbitant cost of individual sashimi and sushi pieces, reaching €20 each, is simply not justified by the quality or taste.

Lack of Accountability and Mishaps

Adding to the frustration, the staff's lack of accountability for their mistakes is a recurring issue. On our recent visit, we were served the wrong fish and were essentially told that we had to keep it. Additionally, the final bill included charges for items that were never delivered to our table.

Unacceptable Conditions

To top it off, even the bathroom was in a state of disarray, with no toilet paper and an unclean toilet seat. For a restaurant that charges premium prices, such basic hygiene should be a given.

Final Verdict: Style Over Substance

Overall, Matsuhisa Athens is a beautiful restaurant with a trendy crowd, but it fails to deliver on the culinary front. The food is overpriced and average, the service is inconsistent, and the lack of accountability for mistakes is disappointing. While the view and ambiance are undeniably captivating, they cannot compensate for the numerous shortcomings in other areas. If you're seeking a truly exceptional Japanese dining experience, there are better options available in Athens that offer a more balanced combination of quality,...

This place is so overrated, it's absolutely ridiculous. With the name Nobu attached to it, flocks of clueless Instagrammers or those with indiscriminate taste show up here to flaunt their designer clothes and take selfies in front of the admittedly lovely backdrop. My husband and I decided to have dinner here while on holiday at the Four Seasons Astir Palace and it was a HUGE, expensive waste of time and money. Please know that we have eaten Japanese food in Tokyo on a number of occasions, as well as in other, large, non-Japanese cities, and this was—by far—the absolute worst experience with Japanese food we have ever had.

Unless you're going for an overpriced, uneventful and minuscule cocktail and the gorgeous view, don't bother. Instead, head to one of the restaurants at The Four Seasons Astir Palace (which has a well-deserved Michelin-starred restaurant)!

We started with cocktails that were otherwise "petite" and insipid, then moved on to what we thought would be a "safe" bottle of Bollinger Champagne. Alas, they were able to foul this up, as well, and unapologetically served it at room temperature. We had to ASK for a wine bucket with ice.

For food, we started with appetizers of simply salted edamame, Wagyu nigiri (we were coaxed and thought, "Why not?"), and the chef's choice sashimi selection, which was obviously pulled directly out of a refrigerator—previously plated and garnished. As anyone who knows sashimi, it is served freshly-sliced and at room temperature in order to fully taste the distinct flavors of the raw fish. As expected, the fish was uneventful and especially bland.

Our inattentive server recommended the chef's choice sushi selection to share as our main. We figured, since it was chef's selection, maybe it would be freshly-prepared. We explained to our server what we did not like so he could pass it along to the chef. After refilling our own champagne a few times and our server focusing his attention on a neighboring table of nine, our sushi arrived. The first piece I tasted was a spicy tuna (yay, so exciting as a chef's choice item) and the sauce most-definitely had garlic powder in it (for some odd reason, I can easily detect garlic powder whenever it's in a recipe). Apparently, hundreds of Euros doesn't warrant fresh garlic—or authentic wasabi. I ate another piece of bland sushi and stopped. It just wasn't worth it.

We saw the sun do its magic as it set and watched all of the angry-looking fashion victims, paid the nearly-1,000€ bill, then left. The lingering taste of the garlic powder stayed with me, reminding me of our unpleasant meal, for a...

Having been to a number of restaurants of the same kind in Greece and abroad, I regret to write that this must be the worst of all. The only positive aspect is that the view is spectacular.

Apart from that: The management has obviously instructed the waiters to fill the glasses with much less wine that normally expected. They have also decided that we, clients, will not have access to our bottle of water (that costs 9 euros), which is placed far away from the table. I could even accept that if by the time my water glass got empty, a waiter would come to refill, which happened after I waited for 5 minutes before I ask. In addition to that, our bottle still had some remaining quantity when we asked to be moved inside (because it was windy) and when I asked again for the water glass to be refilled, they brought and opened a new bottle. Someone would reasonably expect from a restaurant that each client cannot pay less than 150 euros, not to be cheapskates for such trivial things.

In addition to that, and probably most importantly: The food is really nothing special, and another link in the (not golden) chain of mediocrity. Dishes that cost 55 euros are some light years away from the expected creativity that one expects from restaurants of such price range. To make it worse, these reminded me of dishes that one can find in a cheap take away restaurant for a price of 8-10 euros.

Equally importantly, the service is really bad. There were more than three cases where we asked for something and we were ignored; we had to remind the waiters about our request for at least a second time in order our request to take place. In addition, we sat to our tables and they came to take an order only 20 minutes later. After they brought us our soups, they came back again (not with the appetizers, but with the main dishes; the appetizers came after the mains – what a mess) after another 20 minutes, after we reminded them. In addition, the waiters move and behave with a subtle arrogance that has ceased to exist since the 80’s.

Above all, it seems that the management most probably does not care about the bad reviews that they receive; I see similar complaints in reviews that were written 2 years ago, and it is obvious that nobody cared to take them into account and to take some kind of corrective actions.

Make yourselves a favour and spend your money to any other Athenian restaurant of such price range. It will be much better...