Matsunori — Restaurant in New York

Unfortunately I have to offer my honest opinion of the food quality experience at this new omakase, and it was mediocre (or below avg even for New York), for multiple reasons. I want to start off saying I do appreciate the tentative waiter(s) service, but other than that, everything else was less than expected. The food is served under an hour, I believe it was

Matsunori sits ~10 people in a very cramped space (think, difficult to walk behind chairs if they're hung with winter coats).

So imagine how uncomfortable we were when, before we had even begun our meal, one of the sushi chefs started yelling at the only server. They argued first in English, then in Mandarin--which was doubly awkward for me since I could understand them in both. The yelling went on for a solid 5-10 min. It took us another 10 min to get basic things like water, since the server was clearly too frazzled.

The food was basic and forgettable. No creative toppings or sauces. But for ~$68, I guess beggars can't be choosers.

At the end of our meal, things came to a head yet again between the chef and the server, and this time, they yelled at each other for maybe 15-20 min. It was so loud, we couldn't even pretend to ignore it and carry on our conversation. And it was super inconvenient, since all we wanted to do was pay and leave, but the server was the only one who could process our card (and he was too busy being yelled at).

Oh, and there's strong insistence on paying your bill via cash or Venmo. In fact, there's a BOGO offer if you pay by cash. Totally not sketchy....

Omakase menu below, in case you care. I don't. I won't be coming back.

Appetizers: Bluefin tuna with wasabi yuzu Yellowtail sashimi with onion dressing

Nigiri: Japanese red snapper Sea bass Mackerel with truffle sea salt and shiso Barca with mustard seed and seaweed Salmon roe with yuzu skin Yellowtail Bluefin tuna King salmon with manchego cheese Otoro (fatty tuna) Scallop and uni from Hokkaido

Hand roll: Eel and black...

This place is excellent, great quality sushi, good vibe (had some instrumentals to top 20s songs), great service - Derrick our chef was amazing and so was everyone else and finally great value! I will be back

Edit: march 2025 the owners changed and they added some more structure making it more efficient. The staff were really kind and attentive as usual. The fish was delicious well made and fresh - however the cuts are a little less premium than the 98 dollar set under previous owners which is okay.

The thing that made me change this from a 5 to a 3 star was the rice. We were served omakase on dragon fruit rice, not even sushi rice more like brown rice. It really negatively impacted the experience.

It really hurts me to write this as this was one of my favorite omakase experiences especially at the price point. . EDIT: after writing this review the owner Milan messaged me to make it right and improve the experience, stating I’d get normal rice and the meal would be comped. I went in yesterday excited to have my meal but was quickly told that they’d still be serving me pink rice which tasted a bit diff than normal sushi rice.

My friend also agreed the taste was off. So the owner and staff basically wasted my time claiming things would be better yet just were going to give me the same thing as last time. Terrible experience and truely sad that I the matsunori I loved is gone. Luckily I found out where the...