Master Joe's LLC — Restaurant in Fairhope

Coming back from a day trip at the beach was the perfect opportunity to stop by and try out Master Joe's. I heard rumors of Master Joe's in Fairhope creating excellent and consistent sushi/sashimi, but was never in the area until this weekend. We called in an order for 2 chirashi bowls to-go (not on their menu, you have to ask for it). We came on a Saturday night around 7-8 and literally every single table was occupied except for a small table to the left of the entrance. The atmosphere is more bar-like, and quite loud, than a traditional Japanese sushi restaurant. We waited 5-10 minutes for our order and retreated to a more serene place to enjoy our food. The chirashi sushi is a bowl of rice topped with an assortment of sashimi and eel. Our chirashi bowl came with 1 piece of unagi, 2 pieces of kani, 3 pieces of salmon, 3 pieces of red snapper, and 2 pieces of albacore tuna. An image of a chirashi bowl at Master Joe's was posted by Jay Massey; his sashimi assortment was different. This may be the case due to the dish being a "secret menu item" and up to the sushi chef working at the time. Otherwise, the sashimi was top-notch; they were fresh and delicious. The fish looked clean, with a nice and natural color, and fresh smell. They use real, high-quality wasabi; the kind that causes steam to come out of your nostrils if you use too much. Not the cheap wasabi where you can eat a spoonful and not develop a single sweat drop. Other places do include seaweed salad, squid salad, and/or tomago with the dish. I do wish Master Joe's would include masago with the chirashi bowl. That would create a nice end to the whole dish. Overall, this is currently the best sushi restaurant I've eaten at in the Mobile Bay area and one of the best sushi restaurants I have visited. The quality from this restaurant is worth drIving across the bay for and I will be back. If the quality remains consistent in following visits, Master Joe's will be a definite 5...

Well, I was sadly disappointed. My friends have ranted and raved for years how great Master Joe's in Fairhope was. It was my first time there. I have to say it did not live up to the hype. I'll cut them some slack since their head sushi chef did not show up until a good 20 minutes after I arrived, but I waited more than 35 minutes for my food. It could have been as much as 50 minutes. I didn't check the time til sometime after I arrived. That's entirely too long by anyone's standards. And no, they were not slammed. There was still more seating available. My hot sake was cold long before the food arrived. The bartender was gracious enough to top it off and refresh the heat. You could see all the front of house staff were as busy as they could be to take care of the customers. The problem was the food wasn't coming anywhere fast enough. And, the sushi was so so. Seriously, could you spare the ponzu sauce anymore? You might want to throw an additional plastic cup of ANY kind of sauce on the plate. It would definitely help with the flavor. I would have been much happier swinging by a neighborhood grocery store for their sushi. Sorry. But, that's the way it is. I'll more than likely not be going back unless a friend seriously twists my arm. Like, they're buying kind of arm twist and there's some type of 'food in under 20' guarantee. And, what's up with the name of another restaurant on the wrapper for the chopsticks? Well, for the chopsticks conservation, and mostly because of the efforts of the front house staff, I'll give ya a 5 out of 10. Otherwise, it would...

Wow. Growing up in small town Midwest... I didn’t eat sushi until i was 22. And when i was left unattended during that meal by sushi-veterans... i accidentally ate a spoonful of wasabi thinking it was guacamole... i had no idea what had just happened...needless to say... it scarred me. Fast forward to my honeymoon, being completely relaxed and at peace...my wife convinced me to eat sushi since we were in Mexico and needed to go big. it was amazing. Ever since the honeymoon I’ve enjoyed sushi but never quite been “blown away”... grocery store sushi, high-end sushi, all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet sushi... none of it has done the trick. Until tonight when my wife and i and our 10 month old daughter collectively decided to try Master Joe’s... I’m glad the rain storm didn’t keep us away...and even served as a romantic backdrop to what would amaze both of us... the best sushi roll I’ve ever had in my life. My wife agreed. Our daughter had no comment (but liked the chopsticks.) I can barely wait to return. The Bama Roll was worth $30+, but we paid half that. the titanic roll was a great runner-up. Service was friendly and efficient. Atmosphere was great. And we even had 2 extremely friendly couples placed next to us...almost like it was all rigged for us to have a perfect night out. And perfect it...