Boy were we surprised! Looked for a place to grab a bite on Saturday and my friend selected…read moreMatsuba. Quiet and unassuming restaurant in Medford Center. Service was awesome, got our drinks right away. Appetizers of miso soup and edamame were really perfect. The sushi was fresh and very tasty. All and all a lovely place for dinner. I'd recommend it for sure. Note -- parking is a challenge in Medford Sq. Be patient, and look for a spot. We parked three blocks away. b

**November 2025: Saturday Night Visit**…read more My friend and I had been driving all day and were staying at the Hyatt Medford Hotel just down the street. The Medford/Boston area seemed to all have limited parking so we were looking for a dinner option that didn't require us to drive since we were sick of circling around. Matsuba Izakaya was just a 5 minute walk away from the hotel so we we braved the cold for some delicious food. When we arrived at the restaurant we were escorted toward the back of the restaurant which was very warm and inviting. I ordered the mini omakase for $55 and was super impressed with the presentation and variety of seafood. I was presented a box of 9 different seafood offerings: uni, toro, salmon belly, fish liver, raw shrimp & fried shrimp head tempura, scallops. yellowtail, and squid. The uni and toro were fantastic, and I enjoyed everything else except for the salmon belly. For some reason the salmon belly wasn't ultra creamy - maybe it wasn't thawed enough, which is a shame because I love salmon sashimi. Nevertheless, for the presentation and price I was really impressed with the variety. It also came with a miso soup which really warmed me up quickly.

South End gem unlocked. Zaku Izakaya absolutely delivered from start to finish. This Japanese pub…read morehad excellent food all around and every dish was packed with flavor. The oxtail bites were easily one of our favorites and the Boston Red Sox sushi roll was such a fun must try. Everything felt creative while still being really well executed. Overall food 9/10 If you're looking for incredible Japanese food in Boston, this spot definitely deserves a place on your list.

My favorite Izakaya to date and that's saying a lot since I've tried most, if not all, izakayas…read morewithin a 10-mile radius of Boston. We were in town this weekend dropping off our big kid back to campus and strolled in for a quick bite to eat after and we left the place a little speechless -- in the best way. The best highlight of our meal was their 6-course special for $44 -- what a steal! We ordered with the ika wasabi, spicy tuna avocado salad, chicken yaktori, saba naban, Buddha Dragon roll, and mochi as dessert, and paired it with a sashimi combo entree, beef takati and an order of Ikura and Hotate nigiri. We loved this option since it gave us a little of everything, and absolutely EVERYTHING was 5 stars. Dishes were beautifully plated, fresh, and tasted heavenly. Even our 2-year-old ate a hefty helping of chicken yaktori and grilled saba. Waitstaff was professional, friendly, and super efficient. Ambience is great for a date night and not as casual as other izakayas. There are also semi-private booths available so I made sure to make a mental note for the future as a larger party option.

I got the premium chef's omakase and bomb handroll -…read more TASTE: 5/5 - solid omakase w oysters, sushi, sashimi, and torched toro maki. And the bomb handroll was perfection: torched scallops, toro, uni, caviar, and truffle everything! TEXTURE: 4/5 - miso soup and edamame to balance the rest of the tender sushi PRICE: 5/5 - $88 premium chef's omakase is a steal, would come back! Handroll was indulgent at $28 though lol SERVING SIZE: 5/5 - more pieces in the omakase than I expected, plus the sake! Filled me up SERVICE: 5/5 - made the Sunday 12:30pm reservation on tock just in case, though wasn't busy when I arrived. My waitress was super attentive throughout my whole meal ATMOSPHERE: 5/5 - upscale decor in this narrow space PARKING: 4/5 - got a metered street spot right on Beacon St x Commonwealth Ave

Amazing Ramen near the University! Everything inside was clean and service was amazing. We started…read moreoff with gyoza and takoyaki. Both were insanely delicious and forecasted an amazing dinner. Each of us got different bowls of Ramen; the regular, the miso, and the wonton. All three were amazing with Rich stock and the noodles were insanely delicious as were the toppings. I loved the Chachu pork, thick cut, and perfectly smoked. Would recommend!

Lovely place for lunch! We went here on a sunny afternoon while shopping at Assembly Row and…read moreabsolutely loved it. We split the lunch kalbi (short ribs) yakitori, which came with miso soup and a nice side salad, as well as the tuna poke and the spicy cucumber app. The ribs were melt in your mouth tender and so delicious! Tuna was generous and the texture was great with avocado, cucumbers and lots of tobiko. Spicy pickled cucumber was perfect. Also got a yummy whiskey sour type cocktail. Everything was delicious and the service was very fast and super friendly. Bonus - we got to sit outside with our dog!

Came here while I was nearby the area for lunch and I was so glad we stumbled upon here! Parking…read morewas fairly easy, given the multiple free parking garages that were walkable distance. I started off with warm tea which was perfect for a semi chilly day. The tea went so well with all the meats and flavors. For hot appetizer, I got the Jidori karaage- perfect batter amount that wasn't too heavy and also wasn't too oily of a dish. The chicken was very tender. Would recommend ! For the skewers, I got the momo (chicken thigh), sorires (chicken oyster), negi pon (pork with scallion and ponzu), combo mombo (eel, shrimp, scallop), kalbi, hotate eringi ( scallion and king oyster mushroom). I would actually recommend trying all of them! They're great sharing dishes and it was so nice to try each one. I was pleased with all of the food we ordered and would definitely come back!

This is a go to for us in Brookline with great service, a variety of food and a casual environment…read more It feels like a local Izakaya that I have been to in Japan. You can get a variety of items from Yakitori (grilled meats on a skewer over a hibachi), Kushiyaki (the same with veggies), different types of sushi, tempura and classic hot dishes. You are quickly met at the door and seated and the restaurant. While it's a little bit dated, it is a pub and it is comfortable. The service is super attentive and always prompt. When you seated at the table, you immediately get water and a delicious cabbage salad gratis. You can get a picture of beer for $25 and a great selection of Sake and other cocktails. The food prices are very reasonable for the quality and value that you get. The food is always super tasty with the yakitori served hot. The sushi is fresh and delicious. The grilled salmon with vegetables is wonderful with a nice accompanying savory sauce.

This cute local sushi restaurant is a family favorite. Since we discovered it, we have gone at…read moreleast twice a month. The food is fabulous, the service is quick, and the prices are reasonable for the quality of the seafood. We love Omori!!!

Food was delicious and perfectly prepared. Pad Thai with Shrimp was spot on! Phat Tom Yum Maki…read morewas different but tasty.Thai Hamachi Kama was very flavorful with plenty of fish meat. Hoba A5 Waygu flatiron, grilled at the table was so tender and flavorful. and finally, the shrimp fried rice was excellent. We will definitely eat there again on our next trip to Boston.

Just wanted to give an update on their newest AYCE menu (Wed & Thurs). There are 3 tiers from gold,…read moreplat, diamond. Uni and wagyu are on the plat tier and that's what we went with. You are limited to 4 items from that tier per person, so it's not unlimited but you will still get your $$ worth. The diamond tier can you get 1 more item but seems a little overkill. Service and vibe is still amazing. Appetizers are tasty. Fish is fresh. Sashimi slices are just a bit thick. You order the platinum plus items with the server and the rest is through the online portal. The one thing you have to understand is that the food portions are not designed to be AYCE. They are full size orders! There is a time limit but do not make the mistake of over ordering with your eyes if you feel pressured.

First time here and it was great! We did the AYCE all-you-can-eat on a Monday (they only do it…read moreMonday and Tuesdays) - got there around 7:30p and even though it was very full, we got seated quickly with a table for 3. It's $50 for the regular AYCE or $80 for the Premium AYCE. We opted for the former, and it was plenty great. We have done lots of AYCE sushi and I will say this is the BEST of them - I think it's because it's the same grade sushi as they would normally do Ala carte on other nights. The $50 menu had plenty of sashimi and regular nigiri (sushi with rice) options and some Thai too. We had mostly the sashimi Salmon, Tuna, Yellowtail, Octopus, a few rolls, some edamame, gyoza, shumai. My favorites were the salmon, as the cuts were large, thick and amazing silky, and the gyoza, as it was perfectly crispy. The Pad Thai was bit way too sweet for my taste - a skip for me next time. The decor is very nice - reminded me of a dive Tokyo bar. Service was quick and very attentive. We will be back!

Have been hearing about their Mon & Tue AYCE, so went on to try it a month or so ago. With what…read moreseems to be a recent price increase, now $50++ allows access to a good variety of sushi/sashimi, on top of apps, ramen, poke bowls, and cooked rice/noodle dishes. Whereas $80++ offers diners a set of amount of uni, plus unlimited amount of everything else, wagyu included. Sounds like a good deal, especially when one can eat a lot. Even as we are no longer Team Eat Till You Burst, we went for the premium, mainly for the nicer cuts such as toro and wagyu, and because uni!! Jumping in shortly after 5pm, we were promptly seated, marked a bunch of stuff on paper, and soon after submission, we got food brought to our table. It was a decent meal overall, so why 3 stars? Let's recap. Menu variety is fantastic, though of course we didn't get "one of everything", coz that's simply impossible. While the premium did cover a lot of grounds, it would have been nice if they also included anago (sea eel) which is currently only available on the a la cart menu, and maybe even offer couple lesser-known items such as monk fish liver app, sea grapes, off-the-beaten-path fish cuts, what have you. Would be happy even if we only get an allotment of those like we do with the uni. Now, service - great overall. Servers circulated around and were alert of customers' needs. Approached at appropriate times to take our order sheets, refill water, provide new order sheets, and ask if we wanted more food. So kudos on that. Their denotation of serving "regular portion" of cooked food had us hesitant in ordering, since we didn't want to be wasteful (or use our limited stomach space for dishes we can easily get elsewhere). But from other tables' orders as well as the one noodle dish that we ended up getting, it seems that the portion size was what I would like to see at AYCE places -- about 50-60% of regular Asian dish size, where 3-4 people can each have a couple bites "just to try". However, to think if that is what they call "regular portion", then it is definitely "Brookline pricing" on a la carte, which I would not recommend one to do such things on these items. Food is fantastic in general; we got a variety of stuff, and everything was really of top quality and taste. The meal would have been a "highly recommended" if they didn't serve the uni that we got. Out of the 12 pcs of uni sushi, all of them were... while not "foul" to a point where one cannot safely consume, they were definitely more sub-par than "ok but not great". Colors aside (which I understand there can be a range depending on origins and such), the uni was a "splat" of yellow stuff on rice, without distinct shape of the flesh. On top of the fishy smell (I'm talking about slightly ammonia-ish), the presentation and taste-texture upon them hitting our tongues... really left the ENTIRE room to be desired. In retrospect, we should have sent them back even if they weren't going to replace them. But instead, we stupidly forced ourselves to shove them all down in cowardly silence, then ordered another round of wagyu just to make us feel a little better about it. Yes, we weren't smart as customers. But if the restaurant is going to charge $100++ per person (after tax and tip), someone from the kitchen should have known better than pushing this thing out for customers to deal with. In their defense, yes, the uni itself was still "edible" in a sense that it didn't make us sick, but I'd maintain that better judgment should have been made. Once the shell was cracked open and you see this pale-gray yellow mush, it should have been decided that it is better repurposed, than be served straight to your customers as your star/featured product. As seen in other diners' experiences, it could just have been a one-off mishap, so I'm not knocking them entirely. But I do hope the restaurant would improve on their QC accordingly. It was such a disappointing low point in an otherwise wonderful meal.