Matsu

A funny thing happened on the way to the forum…or rather sushi restaurant. Originally planned to go somewhere different but arrived a little too late and the kitchen had closed. However, they recommended I go to Matsu which was nearby. I followed their recommendation trusting that locals know best and I was happy I did. Went for the omakase and king crab tower and was not disappointed. Service was excellent and I really enjoyed the vibe on a cold and rainy night. Felt warm and inviting. All thanks to a friendly bartender and his great recommendation!

I'm a recent transplant to the Seattle area and I found restaurant Matsu with a quick Yelp search for sushi. It turned out to be a fantastic happy hour restaurant that starts their happy hour at 4 p.m. and doesn't finish until 7 p.m. in the bar. Due to the pandemic and social distancing rules, there are only 6 tables in the bar area that seat two to five people. There is also outdoor seating but it can get chilly. Their happy hour menu is fantastic! There are Sushi sets, sashimi, and hot dishes like tempura, ribs, fried oysters , and much more. The drink menu has different types of sake, whiskey and gin mixed cocktails, and wine by the glass or bottle. If you don't drive, they are only 5 minutes away from the nearest Light Link rail station. I love that this place has a daily happy hour and TVs to watch the game. As soon as you sit down, you are greeted with a bottle of cold water and a complimentary edamame appetizer. I like to start with cold appetizers and work my way up to hot entrees. Sushi Set A and the fried oysters are my favorites! Strongly recommended!

Great restaurant with a focus on sushi but plenty of other Japanese choices. I got the chicken yakisoba and the udon noodles and both were fantastic. The drink menu is nice as well as fair priced only $13. The bartenders and server are great as well! Got a saki flight and asked for bartenders choice and they were more than happy. Definitely coming back.

Visited for happy hour - there are quite a few options. Ordered the sushi set A, good for the price, ready quickly & seemed prepared well. Also order Leeward Breeze drink - refreshing (definitely taste the ginger). Served edamame right away. Would visit again to try the other items. Staff friendly! Separate space for dining and bar area.

Beautiful space for a range of occasions. The food was good, but the standard menu for whichever parent company owns Matsu and Momiji — nothing unique but all well done. We had the gyoza (which was vegan friendly), spicy tuna roll (where the tuna is mashed instead of whole and sliced) and an array of sushi/sashimi. The interior is beautiful, ornate, and bright — there are fountains and a cool structure in the middle of the restaurant. The bar is more dim and romantic of a setting. Service was quick and staff was very polite. There is generally plenty of parking available, but not on event days as the stadiums are very nearby.

This place saved us from the most frustrating night. We couldn’t find anywhere to eat and stumbled upon this gem. We arrived in time for the 9pm late night happy hour. We sat at the bar and we’re so glad we did because of the experience Brice gave us. When we sat we were provided with edamame. We ordered miso soup, fried oysters, spicy ramen, short ribs, salmon skin roll, and a side of white rice. For drinks he had an old fashion and I drank the pineapple martini along with a glass of white wine. I cannot rave about this place enough. The atmosphere is gorgeous, the service is top notch, and the food is delicious! Highly recommend!

A good dining experience. Proximity to the stadium is a big plus. The service is great and the food is amazing! They have a few great vegetarian options - Lucky leprechaun, vegetarian roll, mushroom gyoza and agedashi tofu to name a few.

Wonderfully delicious food. Nothing was over or under seasoned. Great choice of drinks. The service was spot on. I will definitely return next time I'm in town.

Came here on a recommendation from a local shop owner and wasn't disappointed. The Happy Hour (4-7 in the bar) is a delight - we ended up eating for two including drinks for around $50. Sushi rolls, tempura, everything was delicious and served quickly. We'll be back.

Beautifully designed restaurant and bar. The sushi was equally appealing. A large selection of unique rolls complement the sushi, sashimi and sides. Definitely a new favorite in the area.

Everything about this place is top tier. Very friendly and attentive staff, but the food... I’ve never had anything better. If you find yourself here, please take a chance with my recommendation. The spicy king crab soup is unparalleled... I came back for seconds after only a couple hours. It’s worth the hefty price-tag. You will not be disappointed. I sat at the bar for my second visit. I was shocked to see they had hibiki 17 in stock. It is currently unavailable to purchase as a consumer— The 21 yr whiskey surprised me at how distinctly different it tasted. Both are extremely smooth and worth trying out.

Clean and spacious , lots of wood and windows. The sushi are quite delightful and LONG .. goes with the price I guess , but definitely a place if you want to celebrate something with some tasty treats !

This was our second time visiting Matsu. First time was last summer and we sat in the bar for HH. Still one of our favorite places!! The sushi is always fresh and super yummy, great portion sizes and combinations of flavors. Of course it’s gonna be a little pricey bc it’s sushi, but honestly it’s 100% worth it here! Get the Spicy Ginger Chicken 🙌🏼😍 it was amaaaazing.

One of the very best happy hours in Seattle. Delicious drinks for 7 bucks, affordable sushi. Nice environs. Drink all you want if you're not driving, and save enough money to pay for the Lyft.

Stopped by for a late night drink. The service was so amazing. EVERY employee we interacted with were so nice!! I mention this because it's not typical in downtown Seattle these days. The drinks were fantastic as well. They make a nummy margarita. We are the calamari and seafood gyozas and they were delicious. I don't usually love calamari, however, this calamari was really tasty and the sauce was light and savory. They paired together really well. The restaurant entrance is gorgeous and has a really chill vibe.

We had dinner at Matsu last night for my husband's 25th birthday, and everything was amazing. The sushi was delicious, the ambiance was cozy, and the staff was so kind. They even surprised him with a free ice cream and a candle at the end, which was such a sweet touch. We had a great experience and will definitely be back. Highly recommend!

Beautiful setting with fresh and delicious sushi, sashimi, chicken wings, and other unique offerings. Great prices in huge rolls plus happy hour prices that are amazing. Highly recommend.

The food was amazing, clean strong flavours. I got bar service not dining. The service was exceptional, miles the bartender made my night. Great conversation and super friendly, with exceptional choices of whiskey for me to try. Would 100% recommend to everyone.

Went for a friends birthday dinner the other night and had the best sushi! We all thoroughly enjoyed our dinner. We loved the garlic short ribs, the wings, and the agadashi tofu to share! You truly can’t go wrong!

Elite late night happy hour spot. Huge sushi menu. Used to live down the block and still come back a few times a year since moving to a different neighborhood. Waiters are super friendly and there’s always sports on in the bar. Just wish they were open on non-game day Sundays!

food was mostly good. the yakisoba chicken is pre fried which isnt what most people expect in yakisoba. otherwise we recommend

The sashimi was so fresh and huge cuts of fish! Some of the best we’ve had. Our spicy tuna roll was stuffed with tuna and had the perfect spice. We also go the mushroom gyoza which has a great flavor but the gyoza were very soft and almost soggy. I didn’t prefer the texture. Also tried the spicy rainbow roll, loved that they used real crab! Only complaint there was too much mayo on top. Overall the food is great! I loved the atmosphere of the restaurant, our waitress was awesome and helpful, and the prices are very reasonable!!

Had a nice dinner at Matsu! Swung by on a Tuesday and came away very full with plenty of leftovers. While we enjoyed some dishes more than others, I appreciated the fast service and complimentary edamame. The sweet shrimp and rolls were a particular highlight. Nice spot overall.

Had an amazing experience here. The food was delicious and the service was great. We got there with 30min left to their happy hour and they helped us order within the time to enjoy it! We got the spicy tuna sashimi and salmon sashimi.

It was good, we came did a quick bite for happy hour and the prices were really good. Had a couple beers. I’ll definitely come back again for dinner sometime.

Excellent location within walking distance to the stadium. Grab a bite then head to the game. The food was good but it is a bit pricey. My favorite was actually the old fashion drink.

The omakase tuna and salmon melted in our mouths. Friendly staff but a little slow to take our order. I super super enjoyed the Mr. Perfect roll!!! I love a roll that has no imitation crab or tobiko and all the best things like tuna and seared tuna plus delicious ponzu!

Great HH at this bar. Yummy sushi for an affordable price. Overall great atmosphere, delicious food, and wonderful drinks. Friendly service but make sure you double-check your tab bc I always end up mistakenly paying for another table instead of mine. They quickly fix the error if this happens so A+ to that. Highly recommend this place.

Enjoyed dinner here. Food was good. The sushi was fresh and reasonably priced. The grilled beef short ribs were also food. Mochi ice cream sampler was nice. Liked the decor.

I grab the shrimp tempura roll and the karaage. It was really good even if the karaage was a tiny bit dry for me. But with the lemon on the side it was really good! And the service was also great

The fish quality was good to ok, the rice quality wasn’t it though. My order got messed up a couple times, I don’t dislike the place because it looks cool but my experience there wasn’t what I thought it would be and there are plenty of other sushi spots in Seattle to go to, so would I go back? Not on my own time but if someone chose that spot again for an occasion then I’d go.

Great service, beautiful ambience. I've been here years ago when they first opened, at the time I was more into specialty rolls, and the specialty rolls are good. Ankimo is still delicious, but when it comes to the nigiri, it definitely falls short. Rice is really overcooked. Uni - from Santa Barbara was NOT good, I almost threw up. And I'm an uni lover, it has that lower grade quality and flavor. Scallop tastes fresh and clean Ikura okay, too much rice ratio Amaebi was actually really good, but the head was served to me somewhat lukewarm Blue fin tuna sampler was probably my favorite, but the rice quality kind of ruined it, overcooked and not well portioned for the fish, and also a little too big for one bite. Negihama roll was good, simple, again rice is overcooked and just doesn't taste right California roll and crunchy lizard, my son enjoyed both Spicy tuna roll, did not like it, the tuna itself was too blended so it had really no fish texture, these kinds of rolls tastes better when the fish its chopped by hand. Was not spicy at all, asked for habanero sauce and they brought me a sweet habanero sauce on a plate. I just hate when there's that much sweetness on something spicy (tearssss) Anywho I was expecting a nice dinner with great sushi, but it's definitely a place with casual quality sushi components. I actually skipped Kura to come here, and I would've probably had the same experience there foodwise. Service from front to dining room, to leaving was excellent. Really great team they have working together. Beautiful ambience, nice intimate setting. I personally do not recommend any nigiri style sushi here, due to the quality of rice. But I can say if you order sashimi, you can get a decent meal sashimi style. Also wish they had better champagne by the glass options, a dry bubble would be nice, I decided on sake, and did not like the sohomare much, it had a bitter aftertaste, dassai 45 nigori was good, a little too sweet but I enjoy dassais. Sons passion fruit lemonade was really great! See photos

This restaurant definitely misses the mark for me. Ordered the most expensive omakase menu option but it really was a set menu with 2 pieces of multiple types of nigiri when I was expecting a more boutique experience for $100. I was hoping for every individual piece to be a unique piece of nigiri. Fish quality was good but nothing exceptional. Wouldn’t order this again and with the quality, I wouldn’t expect the smaller menu sets to deliver any better value compared to the many omakase restaurants opened by Japanese chefs.

Cocktails come with a generous pour, and the sake lineup’s pretty solid. The Barcelona roll was tasty with a nice citrus kick. Seafood yakisoba was alright, udon was kinda bland, and the special nigiri plate was a miss — the otoro had some sinew that threw it off. Still, chill vibe, fair prices, and a good spot to grab drinks and bites before a concert or event nearby.

The sushi was like an all you can eat quality. For $70 for one person that is unacceptable. The waiter and front desk were friendly. Although nobody asked how was the food. I could smell the fish was not fresh and the way that the sushi was made so far reminded more of a mcdonalds but for sushi. The atmosphere is good and has great potential. My recommendation either get good quality fish or reduce prices. Will not recommend to anyone who knows what authentic sushi is OR anyone getting their toes into sushi as this is when people say they don’t like sushi when they eat smth like this for the first times.

Wanted to try Matsu for sometime so went here during TaylorSwift concert night. I had high hopes on it that they would have good veggie options but i was disappointed. I think its Not a vegetarian-friendly place . There were only few options and we ordered three dishes and I wouldn't says they were appealing or good. Mushroom gyoza- server said that its vegan, but we got the taste of egg in it so we left it half eaten (server didn't even remove it from the bill) Green decadence roll - they were just ok, nothing special about them. Only thing that we could finish. Yakiudon tofu noodles- they were also just ok, nothing special. Somehow they made it little creamy probably due to usage of lot of oil and salt, which we didn't like. Service was not at all good. Host was friendly but our server was not at all. Only when she brought the bill to us (food is expensive), she talked to us to know how we are doing. Before that, no conversation at all. Ambiance was just ok as well, i think we sat outside so we could hear TS songs, but the restaurant was playing their own radio songs, so it seemed like a loud place. Also we could see couple of homeless folks making noises. Inside was still a bit better.

Had dinner here with my wife on Valentine’s Day, and it was an extremely disappointing experience. We spent $170 for a few pieces of sashimi that were far from fresh. Honestly, I have never had uni that tasted so fishy. The salmon even had dark edges, which is a clear sign of poor quality. I ate some but didn’t dare take the rest home—just hoping I don’t get food poisoning tonight. For such a popular occasion, serving this level of quality is a guaranteed way to lose customers. Definitely avoid this place!

Was seated quickly but curious how slow it was at 530 on a weekday. After we ordered dinner, we knew why. The food was incredibly salty and barely edible even for a few bite. Then the sushi came out and I lost all appetite - shouldn’t have even eaten what was brought out. The fish looked like it had been sitting there for hours - literally turning yellow and gray. Is this a joke?! For a place with 4.5 stars…absolutely vile. A food poisoning waiting to happen. Sent it back and the waiter immediately acknowledge that it wasn’t the freshest. Then why even bring it out. Will not be coming back nor recommending to friends or enemies.

The food was the only good part. The service was poor and our waiter didn’t communicate to us that it would take 1 1/2 hours to finally get our food. My friend also received the wrong item and the waiter didn’t seem to care. We were waiting for so long and no one was checking up on us. This place is not worth it, could get better sushi somewhere else

We were celebrating our daughter’s 30th birthday and wanted it to be special, but unfortunately The udon did not live up to expectations. The shrimp came with the whole shell on, complete with legs that we had to D shell at the table with our fingers in hot soup. We should have sent our food back, but it was a celebratory occasion, and we didn’t want to ruin the vibe Unfortunately, I ruined my good sweater from splashing broth onto it while D shelling my shrimp. Our daughter because she didn’t eat her dinner had to have a hotdog at the Mariners game All of our dishes went back uneaten, but we still paid the full bill I would never come back to this restaurant. I get better food at my local sushi place.