Masa Sushi — Restaurant in Santa Fe

I've been a longtime fan of Masa Sushi in Santa Fe, having frequented it years ago before moving away. Recently rediscovering it, I was excited to revisit. My first visit, despite initial reservations about the appearance and cleanliness - we were surprised with an exceptional dinner courtesy of Leo's, the sushi chef's expertise. The second visit a few days later reaffirmed this positive experience, with Leo again delivering outstanding food and service - that was a small to go order.

However, my third visit, which was to celebrate my husband's birthday during a recent storm of which he had to stay home to oversee our dog the suffers from seizures, turned out to be a disaster turn nightmare. Notably, Leo wasn't present, and the substitute chef and hostess seemed inattentive. I ordered takeout, carefully transporting it home in an ice box to keep everything fresh. Unfortunately, the packaging was inadequate – all sushi was jumbled together in a large tin foil container, resulting in damaged dishes and a mess - smelt eggs all over the upside down yellow tail that lost it's rice boat.

Given the significant investment ($100 including a $15 tip) and the special occasion, the disappointment was substantial. When I called to express my concerns, the restaurant's response was unhelpful, with repeated claims that the owner wasn't available. After being hung up on multiple times last week trying to reach the owner, I eventually spoke with Leo, who shared with the owner the issues, the same owner I was told was not there, and arranged for a refund. However, the owner's response – suggesting we never return – felt like a punitive measure, especially given we'd done nothing wrong.

This experience raises concerns about the restaurant's customer service and treatment of patrons. While the food was generally good, the handling of this situation was unprofessional and left a lasting negative impression. We would never go back now as we don't trust the handling of the food. I have never in all my years serving and eating in restaurants has this occurred and I was amazed that Masa Sushi would treat their...

I really wanted to like this place, and I was so excited to go. A cute little hole in the wall, kind of dingy on the inside but with authentic-feeling Japanese decor here and there.

Unfortunately, it smelled like old fish and bleach. My wife got the chicken yakisoba, which I had a bite of. It tasted swampy, murky, like the sauce was dirty or old, and the chicken was just okay. Sort of bland and dry.

I tried to play it safe with a couple california rolls. When they arrived, there were two colors of wasabi mashed together on my plate, one normal-looking and one a kind of radioactive green. Did they run out of one kind mid-plating and switch to a different brand? It definitely didn't appear to be intentional (or appetizing).

The california roll used crab stick, cucumber, and a dab of avocado for filling, so none of the creaminess that I love so much. Mostly just crunchy and watery. And it was watery. There were little puddles on my plate when I picked up the pieces of sushi. And even, dare I say it, slimy. The wasabi was extremely harsh, with very little flavor (and I LOVE wasabi). I didn't finish my food.

I want to find a decent sushi place in Santa Fe so badly, but boy, was...

OMG that was the worst. Today I stopped in at 1pm and ordered a Crunchy Roll, Ikura (Salmon Eggs), and a Kirin Beer. Drank half the beer because I was doing my wash at the laundromat and had to hurry back. The Crunchy Roll was small but it tasted ok. Well let me tell you that after I got back to my RV in 1/2 hour I had the worst case of nausea and diarrhea. It’s 8:21 pm. And I’m still sick. That’s the only thing I had to eat today. If you enjoy sitting on the pot all afternoon then you’ll love the place.

One more thing. I went in the Vietnamese place next-door and it was packed but the menu was so involved that I thought I just get something quick and easy so I went next-door to this sushi place. There were no other customers in there. That should have been an Omen. Well I gotta go. Lol Really gotta go. Good thing I have a...