Mashita — Restaurant in Harrisonburg

Let me start off my saying the food is good. There is nothing wrong with the food Mashita serves. However, the food at Mashita is a lazy hybrid of Korean food. I had never eaten at Mashita before. Every time I drove by Mashita the cooks and servers were always standing outside on the sidewalk smoking cigarettes and it was a huge turn off to me. So I never went. As a strange turn of events I ended up eating at Mashita twice in a week with friends. This place has a big identity problem and was a topic of our conversation during my dinners there. Is it a restaurant or an arcade? A catering company? Is it fine dining or a hole-in-the-wall local joint? Is it a dining spot for voyagers or families? A small business or a money laundering front? The place has a vibe that just can't be pinpointed, and the local art wasn't doing the Korean jive any favors. First, this is supposed to be a Korean-style restaurant serving Korean themed entrees. On my first trip to Mashita the special for the night was a meatball sub. The second night they had the meatball sub and a hamburger. I didn't have either one, but not sure where a meatball sub or hamburger fits in the realm of Korean-style food. I had the bibimbap one evening and bulgogi with steamed buns the next. The food was good. I ate it all. Depending on your expectations you may like this food as well. But it's a lazy version of a Korean meal. The Eumyangohaeng was missing. The five colors and five textures were missing. And there was nothing really adventurous on the menu. The menu was safe, and other than the meatball sub nothing really stood out. Another odd thing about this place is the game room. Mashita has a game room with video games and arcade games. It's very distracting. I'm not sure it's a Korean thing, either. IDK, it was just odd to see and took away from the dining experience. On the second trip we decided to sit outside because of the games inside and the patio was open. Outside there was a very large painting on the exterior wall where you sit. This painting was even weirder than the games inside. The painting wasn't a food theme or Korean in nature. It was more of a Japanese anime inspired painting. It didn't make me hungry. It didn't depict Harrisonburg, VA or Rockingham County. It didn't tell a story. It was just very odd. The people at Mashita were nice and the service was average or a little better than average. I didn't have a problem with the pricing, but I guess I expected a bit more effort from the kitchen. Parking can be a challenge if you're not...

The food was okay, but we will never go back because of the TERRIBLE experience we had with Mikey and the management there. We rented the back room for my son's rehearsal dinner for $300 for two hours, and our guests purchased well over $1,000 in food and beverages. However, the server neglected to tell us that they charged us over $200 gratuity, so my husband added $275 gratuity to the credit card receipt when he signed it. When we got home and realized what happened, we called and explained the situation to the owner, and asked if he could give us a gift receipt for some of that duplicate charge (not even asking him to return the money to us). Mikey then emailed my son (on his honeymoon!) to threaten that we better just let them keep the nearly $500 gratuity or he would charge us an additional $500 because we were there an extra half an hour. During that last half hour, the room was open and other people came in and were served. So, consider yourself warned: they will lie and cheat you out of your money, and then threaten you if you dare to ask for their cooperation to work out a compromise. The lack of business acumen and customer service is astounding. One star - do not recommend. UPDATE: My son and new wife just returned from their honeymoon which was ruined by Mikey emailing them ANOTHER invoice for an ADDITIONAL $550. My son will pay it just to end this nightmare, but I am truly stunned by the level of just plain meanness from the...

Your trip to Harrisonburg is not done until you, Eat Mashita 🙌🏾

Our server Andrea:

“Our specials today are a chicken of the woods katsu & we also have 3 special Korean hot dogs🌭 with…”

Us: “say less, one of each please!”

Andrea: “I didn’t even finish telling you what was on them though … 🤔”

Us: “It’s cool, Korean hot dogs, we’re in 😂”

📍102 N Liberty St Harrisonburg, VA

Nomarama Bites:

🔥“Chicken Of The Woods” Katsu- Locally foraged mushrooms served over rice topped with sweet & spicy sauce garnished with a spicy vegan slaw

-Bulgogi Dog topped with thin sliced marinated beef with a sweet & savory sauce

-Kimchi Dog - with caramelized kimchi, scallions and gochujang sauce

-Chili Cheddar Dog- topped with a corn chili and cheddar cheese sauce

-Kimchi Fries- caramelized kimchi, cheese, scallions, and gochujang sauce

Dranks: Drunken Carrot🥕 - carrot & ginger infused

Cherry Blossom 🌸– honeysuckle infused sake, local sour cherries, fresh mint, lemon

The Katsu was craaazy, dogs were bananas, drinks were dangerously delicious and the vibe here is unmatched with local art inside and super dope Spirited Away Murals out back 🙌🏾

While we found out there is no shortage of dope food here this spot is definitely the coolest🔥 I even left with a hat … Chef Mikey Reisenberg, we see you doing...