Matsu Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Ferndale

I've been in this area for over 15 years, and live only a few miles from Matsu. For the first few years I figured I had to go to downtown Baltimore for the best sushi, but I became frustrated with the parking. So I decided to try the local place, which has an unassuming front, in an older strip mall, next to a post office, across from a laundromat, in a small one-light town, with no right to be any good. Twelve years later I am still going to MATSU regularly because it is some of the best sushi I ever had -- and I go back to the 80's when the only thing people knew were California Rolls. The sushi is always excellent and well presented. Try the Maple Roll, the Honey Roll and the Love Roll .. yum! They are also open to making sushi the way you want. I usually put a quail egg on top of my Salmon Roe .. it's great! The katsu (chicken or pork) is also wonderful if you don't like sushi. They have an impressive selection of sake and plum wine (try the Snow Beauty if you like unfiltered sake). Don't fill yourself up with appetizers .. go for the good stuff! I refer them to all my customers! They also cater to local hotels. I used them once at a large customer function (see photo) and at my own wedding. The staff is always friendly, but don't expect them to fawn all over you. That is not how it works in real Japanese restaurants. Take my word for it, you'll enjoy the meal.

PS - Judging businesses during a pandemic is not fair. The 'very' few disparaging remarks should not overshadow the overwhelming five stars from me and everybody else. Yes, the prices have gone up a little over the years, but the quality is maintained. By the way .. "OMG that was the best miso soup ever" .....

This is an unassuming corner sushi place on the outside. Inside its a kinduv well maintained, clean and almost cozy restaurant. There are two menus; one for the sushi bar, and the other with a wider selection of Japanese food. The sushi quality is very, very good but in my opinion a bit more expensive than necessary. The Japanese dishes are not as good as the sushi, but far from poor. In my personal experience, I have some tough beef, and some tempura where the batter wasnt fried as perfectly thru as it could have been, but in both cases the food was generally still pretty good, and consistently so after each visit. Be prepared for hot steamed towels to clean hands...this is just too cool. Kids can get a cool kind of low-cal soda that has a neat built in ice cube, and expect attentive service from traditionally dressed staff during each visit. Matsu does boast a pretty wide variety of Saki which for adults is a great addition to sushi night. The clientele are usually travelling business man from BWI, the local folks who are pleasantly normal and couples on dates... Overall, if you're on a date, or in town for business this place is quiet refuge with very solid sushi and very...

Incredible little gem next to BWI airport. The food is delicious in a sort of homey way (not fancy or pretentious, but just warm and tasty and comforting). Each platter is clearly carefully plated to order with attention to detail - the 2 sushi rolls ordered were artfully placed on the same plate together, showing that there is creativity going into each order and not just one cookie cutter standard way of arranging. Their tempura - whether on the shrimp, veggie, or ice cream - is very light and crispy. Highly recommend the tempura ice cream, it's very unique and quite good. All the small decorative touches really do make a difference. Be advised that the food is pretty mild tasting so if you're like me and like things saltier/more strongly flavored, you might have to adjust (I added soy sauce to my udon). Not a criticism, I believe that is how the food is supposed to taste, just a heads up for others like me. Service is friendly and attentive and the place seems to be family-run. Oh, and prices are quite good. A party of 3 people ate dinner, with dessert and one drink, for a...