Matsui Japanese Sushi & Ramen — Restaurant in Springfield

Matsui was highly recommended yet it was not the finest sushi experience I ever had. Customer service on our first visit varied depending on who was serving us. The male server who brought our appetizer was very courteous and friendly and corrected an error made by the server who took our orders. My husband was not thrilled at the tough texture of his chicken in his meal and didn’t like how the female server disregarded me and did not put in the order for my appetizer but she did for his appetizer. He didn’t like it when we were not asked if we wanted a refill of our drinks. He does not want to come back to Matsui and would prefer Chinese takeout from another establishment. He also thought Matsui was overpriced compared to the many Japanese restaurants we went to - with better service and food. Regardless of the treatment and his complaints, he did give a 20% tip and kept his complaints private.

I liked my sushi and how efficient the sushi chefs were. The servers were polite. One of them was forgetful but it didn’t bother me. As for my husband’s complaints and his complaint of how I was treated by a server, it didn’t upset me, and she was not rude to me - just forgetful. I told him that I didn’t take it personally and that when he isn’t around me females are not very nice to me or just very rude out of pettiness ( at least the servers were polite at Matsui). I was going to give it 3.7 stars and round it off to 4 stars. Yet, due to his complaints and refusal to ever go back to Matsui, I lowered my rating to 3 stars. I have to consider his opinions and thoughts. His views matter to me deeply, even though, I had no complaints except that my husband was unhappy with the food & service and that the server forgot to put in my appetizer order and other things...

Original 2019 review: One of our family's favorite restaurants, from our 3-year-old to our teenager to my wife and I. I see a recent review saying the place isn't as good under the new management and I really disagree. The food is just as good and I like the new menu items, especially the ramen. Let's be honest; as much as we have always loved Matsui, their service has never been their selling point. The staff has always been very friendly but not all that attentive. You have to flag waiters down when you want something and sometimes give them a reminder. I can be particular about service but it's never bothered me at Matsui. I guess because they have always treated me and my family very kindly. The owners usually come out to say hi and make sure we enjoyed the meal and we just feel welcome. I wish the new owners much luck and success.

2022 update: Since I wrote this review 3 years ago, they have just gotten better and better. They have refined the menu, offering fewer, but more curated items. Instead of just putting all of the standard Japanese items on the list, they have focused on what they do well and added a few Asian dishes from other regions like bulgogi pork buns. We haven't dined in much since the pandemic; we typically order carry-out, but the few times we've eaten in the dining room recently, the service has really stepped up. I haven't noticed the issues I noted in my earlier review at all. Matsui is still our favorite restaurant in the area. Domo...

Matsui Sushi used to be the BEST bang for your buck sushi place ever. The special roll was phenomenal, fatty salmon would melt in your mouth, plenty of things were made to order, salad and soup came with many things. Now... Things are burned, smoked when it shouldn't be smoked, fatty salmon is cooked!? and has random sauce on it, the special roll ruined (less scallops, dry, burned, sauce is worse), no more boat!?, even the rice on the rolls are noticably worse quality. Everything is drenched in sauce and sweet. If I wanted sushi out of a can, I'd go to a crappy gas station and die of disease. Oh, but they did offer a free dish... It just happened to be cold when they meant for it to be hot.

We asked why and we were informed the previous owner, Charlie, sold it :( the place is not the same. It's not welcoming, food is not good quality, it's just overall worse.

You can tell by how empty it is now. It used to be packed every night. We would have to wait outside when it's cold out.. tonight, there are 3 tables total. It's a disaster. Come back, Charlie!

Edit reply to Kibum: No, changes we're not made to the menu itself but the execution is terrible. Can you seriously call the cooked salmon, salmon belly? What SUSHI place does that? Everything was drenched in the sweet sauce. I have absolutely no faith in the two sushi chefs behind the sushi bar, it's as if it was their first day making sushi. I'll never come back unless it's Charlie or the old...