masu by nic watt

i expected big things from masu, but was severely disappointed. while the food was good, the service was terrible and detracted from what could have been a really nice evening.

i went as part of a group of seven, midweek. it was busy and although there seemed to be plenty of wait staff, the waiters at our table were slow and sloppy. on several occasions, drinks were spilt on the table while the waiters attempted to pour them; their knowledge of the wine menu was poor; and our cocktails, ordered on arrival, arrived at wildly different times. one was forgotten completely.

also, two bottles of sake were ordered for the table, but the waiter could not say which one was which when he delivered them.

equally as bad was the fact we were seated at a rickety table, which wobbled from side to side when pressure was exerted on it.

and, in a dining first for me, i watched in amazement as the chair of one member of our dining party collapsed underneath him and he fell to the ground. he was then left standing for a few minutes before another was brought to replace it.

an apology wasn't forthcoming for about 10 minutes, after the manager had been requested – twice.

i mean, seriously, that's reminiscent of a scene in the dining room at faulty towers, not arestaurantthat is purportedly auckland’s best.

the praise heaped on masu seems absolutely premature. if consistency is one of the hallmarks of a good restaurant, this one has a long way to go.

my favouriterestaurantof all time! my partner and i have dined here multiple times and have left very satisfied every time. we recommend masu to everyone we know lol. king crab legs, omg!!!

3.5 at best for my friend and i at masu. it depends on what you are going there for. we were excited at first because of all the hype, left with a very disappointing experience. price, portion and food. we tipped the waitress because she was excellent. the food tasted okay, ordered rice, not even enough seasoning for the sad amount of $.90 rice. it was one of those places where you had to go to anotherrestaurantto gain satisfaction, but like i said, depends on what you are there for. my friend and i have known each other for 10 years and hung out all day so we had absolutely nothing to talk about, while the people who appeared to be enjoying their expensive, tiny meals were getting to know one another and while my friend and i were starving, 1 and a half hours and still starving.

masu, part of the skycity complex, needs no introduction after being named the 2014 metrorestaurantof the year supreme winner. we decided to come here for lunch to celebrate bl’s birthday. we booked online, and they ring you the day before to confirm, a nice touch. the layout of therestaurantis beautiful, i love the way wood and stone are used to convey an elegant simplicity.

the kitchen is divided into three sections; a sushi bar, the robata grill and the kitchen. each is staffed with multiple chefs (i counted nine in total across the three stations on a reasonably quiet sunday lunch).

the extensive drinks menu also had some intriguing non-alcholic cocktails ($10); we had a refreshing drink made with grapes and aloe vera juice.

we started with the sashimi moriawase chef’s 5 sashimi selection ($42), which came with three pieces each of kingfish, salmon, tuna, scallop and trevally. the beautifully presented seafood came with freshly grated wasabi. this is potent stuff; fresh wasabi is even more pungent than the imitation ones that comes out a tube, but the pungency dissipates quickly with no lingering burn. i found the scallop too delicate for me; the stronger tasting kingfish and salmon were my pick.

the cloudy bay clams tobanyaki ($22) came steaming in a miniature pot seasoned with garlic, lemon, green chilli and ponzu butter. i enjoyed this, flavoursome and perfectly cooked. we were hoping for the baby back pork ribs, but they had run out.

the saikyo miso and yuzu marinated black cod ($46) is the signature dish. this is reminiscent of the miso marinated black cod made famous by nobu matsuhisa. saikyo miso is a naturally sweet golden miso from the kyoto region, which permeates the flaky cod with a divine sweet-savouriness.

the vegetable dishes did not hit the same high notes. the eggplant with ginger miso and sesame ($8.30) was dull, and i wished there was a combination of textures. the soy glazed tofu ($9.90) was tasty but the texture was inconsistent with the visual aspect. i was expecting silky soft texture, but it was the normal firm tofu, which tasted too strong for the other flavours.

i expected more from masu. sure, the ambience is wonderful, the service top-notch, and the presentation was excellent. however, there was little originality to the dishes we ordered, even if they were executed well. the vegetable options were disappointing. was it worth the extravagant prices charged? i wasn’t so sure. but i will bring my dad here; he spent many, many months in japan over his working career, and he has developed a very discerning palate for japanese food.

the best in auckland! i went with three foodies and they all agreed. we rated it and three of us gave it a 10 and one gave it a 9.5 because "there's always room for improvement." we've been everywhere (french cafe, vinnies, clooney, the grill, the grove, etc) and this place beats them all. first, the atmosphere is great. very modern, chic but welcoming and relaxed. the bar is fabulous with cocktails to die for...very refreshing with surprising mixes. the azure sake was a revelation. google it! the black cod that they fly in (kept at a certain temperature and not frozen) from alaska was orgasmic. it's a must. all of us had sake, cocktails and heaps of food including the dessert platter and the bill was only $140 per person. that is not bad at all for auckland and a steal for the best in auckland. the waiter was japanese and very proud and knowledgeable about the food and really enjoyed explaining the dishes as they were presented to the table. he added that extra something to the experience that put this place over the top. nic watt was there and we made sure to thank him. he was very cordial and seemed to genuinely appreciate our comments. this is the way dining should always be!

make reservations early because after winning the metro's bestrestaurantand best newrestaurantthis place is not easy to get in to.

have been wanting to tick thisrestaurantoff my bucket list.i did on my birthday.we arrived for lunch with therestauranthalf full.service was brilliant .i was guided through the sake menu to ensure i enjoy something to suite my taste bud. the miso soup was great as per usual,spicey edemame beans were really good.the tempura veges were crunchy and fresh but the sause that went along lacked flavour.the prawn dumplings were the highlight and the scrumptious sause was veru tasty.the balanese baby chciken had a great amount of herb falvours and the lamb cutlets were spicey and moist and cooked amazingly.
we didnt have room for desserts but was still presented with a little birthday dessert.
i wasnt disappointed:).

very excited to dine here!

dined here for a dear friends birthday! now therestaurantitself is beautiful and spacious. well staffed and we were seated.

the menu is. . is strange. the menu is designed for sharing so for a table of 6, it was a bit of mission but our waitress was so lovely and set up tabs for us individually or as couples.

browsing through the menu, there was only a few highlights for me. i loved the crab dishes, the taco, hot pot and leg! also loved the salmon tataki.
the hot pot was definitely my favourite, generous servings of crab meat, caviar, and rice. this dish was the most filling.

very well balanced flavours but portions are on the smaller side.

friend along the table did enjoy their dishes but for the price of each dish. . i was expecting a little more in terms of portion size.

would i be back? definitely for the hot pot but other than that i'm glad i tried and maybe in the foreseeable future.

feel like something fancy?

masu japanese robatarestaurantand bar has been receiving a load of buzz lately. it’s taken out a load of metro magazine 2014restaurantawards recently too.

last weekend i was fortunate enough to hear we would be heading to masu for a family dinner. typical last minute plans became what was one of the best dinner experiences i’ve had in a long time - which is why my review is a 5.

the attached picture is the “plumberry sawa” – and it is a divine cocktail. i’m getting cravings just thinking about it. masu has a fantastic drinks list. cocktails, wine, sake, beer…

how about the menu? it’s designed so you order many small dishes and they just continue to roll out from the kitchen. because we were a group of 7 and we all love to eat we ordered loads:

fresh sashimi, chicken wing skewers, chicken yakitori, baby chicken, delicious spicy tuna sushi, the black cod, beef, gyoza, kumara with teriyaki glaze, tempura… i’m probably forgetting some. let’s just say it was a continuous stream of tastiness and everything was amazing. the black cod is a stand out - it came recommended by our waitress and we were all raving about it when we left. the service here was really helpful overall just great.

now, the dessert menu! i got the sesame elderflower pannacotta. don’t be intimidated by the dessert options – my brother got the tofu cheesecake and man it was amazing. it’s not like eating actual tofu (i’m not a tofu fan).

you know a meal’s good when everyone won’t shut up about it afterwards.

be adventurous and you will be rewarded!

jenna
http://hellorelax.com

let’s start this review by letting you know that this to date is the bestrestauranti tried in new zealand, every aspect of our dining experience was perfect, the food, the staff, the location, communications and all. masu is a japanese robatarestaurantand bar located in federal street. located beside the grill by sean connolly, depot, huami and gusto at the grand, this place is located in a prime dining precinct of auckland’s cbd.

a group of us went to masu one sunday night for dinner. the place was busy and there seemed to be plenty of staff to look after everyone. a friend whom had eaten there before chose the table. it was suggested to the waitress to give us a mix of dishes and we would say when we had enough. we were disappointed with a number of the dishes especially the prawns as they had so much chilli it was super super hot and not enjoyable at all. most of the other dishes were average. tempura veg were nice as was the spinach salad. when we said that was enough food we were told there is more coming and it can't be stopped. lesson learnt don't do that here at masu. couple of bottles of felton road pinot noir 05 went down well. certainly won't rush back and if we do we will definitely order ourselves and not get their help. not sure why they wonrestaurantof the year.

came here on a busy saturday night with a group of friends. it is very noisy in thisrestaurantand i was unable to have a proper conversation with the people on the other side of our round table. i also didn't like where we were seated in the middle of the restaurant, even though there was a large gap between me and the pole people kept knocking me from behind ( mostly the wait staff) which was annoying. my husband and i decided to share 9 dishes together as there are so many to choose from that all sound amazing! we got the  spicy crayfish taco, beef tataki, snapper and prawn gyoza, pork and kimchi gyoza,  ginger miso eggplant, teriyaki kumara, chicken yakitori skewers and miso chicken wings.
almost everything was amazing, perfectly cooked with beautiful flavours and i liked the contemporary twists to traditional japanese food. the only food item i did not enjoy was the crayfish taco. there were only two tiny pieces of crayfish in it which i searched for after taking my first bite and realizing all i could taste was what seemed like packet coleslaw. it was a shame to ruin a beautiful delicate meat like that by hiding it under heaps of cabbage and not worth the price. otherwise the two dishes that stood out for me above the rest were the miso chicken wings and the miso eggplant. the chicken wings were juicy and the spices on them were amazing, i could eat a huge bowl of them! the eggplant had slightly caramelized with the sauce that was on it and it was stunning, i'd eat that everyday. i really look forward to coming back to masu again :)

hands down best japaneserestaurantin auckland!!

good lord what a mindblowing experience to celebrate my bby's birthday.

1. food 5/5 utterly tentalising
if you know how to appreciate layers of carefully crafted flavours, this will be an unforgettable journey for you. look at my food photos, help i'm literally drooling again.

2. service 5/5 waiter liam, his genuine, warm kindness and attentiveness really made the evening a wonderful delight. special thanks to managers fumi, vincent and head chefs for the spectacular night.

if you need the perfectrestaurantto impress, indulge and luxuriate your special night, this is the place to be.

came here forrestaurantmonth and their $55 3 course dinner menu was phenomenal!!

the sashimi and maki was so fresh and generous. the broccoli, kimchi fried rice and chicken had a nice spicy flavour to it and the salmon was perfectly flavourful. the green tea tiramisu was delicious, so full of green tea flavour and the roasted rice ice cream with biscuit crumbs was delicious!

came here for a birthday and i had ticked birthday as a special event then unticked it and didn’t think more of it so it was a lovely surprise when they brought over the birthday sorbet with the candle.

lovely friendly service, worth every dollar. loved it. fully recommend! hope they dorestaurantmonth every year.

we went as a group of 10 for a sunday lunch. the waitress was nice. we ordered a bunch of stuff to share. got the sashimi boat platter and everything on it was fresh. the beef skewers were tender. also had the eggplant which might have been the best eggplant dish i ever had!

apart from the eggplant and the impressive display of the sashimi boat platter, the other food we got was good, not great or outstanding.

given that it's a high end japaneserestaurant(and meant to be one of the best ones in auckland), i would expect for the quality of food to be better. i would happily choose other japanese restaurants in auckland which would provide similar quality and flavor of food, without the price tag of masu.

would give them 3.5 if i could as it was pretty good.

enjoyed our time there but i personally wouldn't voluntarily go back there.

i came to masu for therestaurantmonth menu ($55) and it was 3 courses. the atmosphere was really pretty and lively, despite after covid-19 not allowing tourist into the country.

the first course was the sashimi and sushi platter, consisting of kingfish, salmon, tuna and tuna sushi. my favourite was the salmon as always but all fish was super fresh and delicious with a bit of soy sauce.

the second course was the kimchi fried rice, broccoli and a choice of chicken or salmon. i chose the salmon and the skin wasn’t crispy since it was grilled, but the teriyaki sauce made it so delicious and sweet. it was grilled medium rare on the outside and rare on the inside so the fish still maintained its natural oil. the fried rice was alright, not too special, just a bit spicy. my favourite was the broccoli, the butter made it taste so much better and the almonds went really well, adding an additional crunch to it.

the last course was the green tea tiramisu and the rice ice cream. the tiramisu had a liquor taste to it and the green tea was too overpowering. the candied walnuts with the ice cream went really well together, the ice cream tasted a bit like vanilla but hard to describe as it wasn’t vanilla.

service was decent. i’ll like to try other items on the menu but it’s still a bit expensive looking at the menu so it’s definitely a special occasion restaurant!