I feel like I have finally found a sushi restaurant that I can call home!! In my early childhood years I remember spending evenings in Little Tokyo with my family at certain sushi restaurants where my dad would drink beer, buy drinks for the chefs and "talk story" for hours. The fish was thick and fresh, and I would eat and eat until I couldn't move. The chefs would laugh at me and we would see each other again in a few months to repeat the same. I didn't realize back then how good I had it. Those great little restaurants have long since disappeared and now as the responsible adult, I have to foot the wonderful bill for such foodfests as that, however I could not find a good restaurant that had a combination of fresh product, warm atmosphere and great service. I immediately noticed that the restaurant is run by family, which is way cool. I met the two sushi chefs and the dad behind the sushi counter, and we all got to know each other pretty quickly. Found out that not only did we have similar backgrounds, but also the two brother chefs were deep sea fishermen, like my dad had been. So these guys know their fresh fish very well, and the fish that they served is high quality, fresh and very tasty. I ordered a bunch of sushi that was on the menu, but I also went with fish that the chefs recommended that were off the menu (omakase). Definitely go with the chef's recommendations, it was all fantastic. I am definitely interested in trying out the cooked dinner combinations but the sushi is what blows me away here. Service is excellent, but I went on a night where it wasn't too busy. They kept my water refilled and took away my stacks of empty sushi plates as they kept going. This is the restaurant you go to for quality, not quantity. If you want as much sushi as you can get for your dollar, this is not the place. What more can I say...I love this place, its pretty freaking awesome! read more

Took my mom here on a saturday, and we just beat the rush. Got here around 6 and got seated right away. I strongly suggest ordering the Shi sho hot, it's freaken good! Spicy tuna over tempura leaf of something.. Then we had the crab roll, spicy yellow tail sashimi, blue fin toro sushi and the matsuri special. All good, good sushi for this area which is rare to find. Thought the place was a little slow for not being that busy but it wasn't too bad. Price is a bit on the pricey side but good quality! read more

Just had the worst experience. I'm a regular here and got treated horribly. I arrived and every customer that arrived after meet got served 1st. I waited 45 min for a simple sushi plate, I even watched my order go to another diner!! I had to ASK for miso soup. Will think long and hard before I recommend again or come back! read more

I just moved to Pasadena and have been on the hunt for a good sushi place. I am super picky with sushi, the cut roll has to rolled tight, small enough to fit in my mouth, and cold upon service unless its baked. In addition, the roll must not fall apart and the rice must be long thin grain and not wide and small. This is the place to go if your as picky as me. They are not open all times of the day, normally later and Friday nights get packed. This place was so awesome and authentic, everyone was so friendly and you can tell the place has been around because you notice local regulars that are greeted upon entry by first name. The only thing I must say about the place is the service was not that great. They were really busy when I went and possibly short staffed which led to me waiting for drink re-fills and side orders. It was a little frustrating on a Friday night after a long work week but i plan to go a few more times before I allow that to be a deal breaker. read more

Had some sushi with some grad friends and ordered the combinations and rolls. The sashimi was really fresh and tasty Although the bento boxes are a little pricier than other Japanese restaurants, the quality of the food makes up for the cost. The salmon teriyaki and sashimi was perfect. There was about 7-8 pieces of fresh sashimi. Ordered the spicy tuna crunch roll and it was delicious. The service was a little slow. The parking wasn't too bad, no meters on this side of Pasadena, spaces plentiful. I would definitely come back. read more

A good, but pricey Japanese restaurant. As you enter they'll roll a few beats off the drum to welcome you. Sitting at the tables you'll find a pretty standard menu fare. I usually go with a larger group of friends so we tend to go after the Matsuri Boat, which for the price, is surprisingly filling. The sushi is decent, but expensive for it's price. The omakase's are enough for 2 people, but again the price is a little much. All in all, a fine experience... just a tad bit more than I would usually pay. read more

We ordered takeout, timely prepared when I arrived. Parking in the back of restaurant was very convenient. The overall food taste was good, only thing missing was miso soup. read more

I ordered chicken teriyaki and I picked it up. When I was about to eat at home, I found 3 inch long wire in the food which should be from steel cleaning pad. I came back to the restaurant to ask refund because it was too disgusting to eat anymore. But they refused to refund. It was frustrating to waste over $15 on the trash without any compensation. read more

One of my go to spots. Highly recommend sitting at the bar. The sushi chefs are entertaining and creative. The sushi is extremely fresh. The unagi and toro are amazing. Just tell the chef what typr of a roll you want (sweet, spicy, crunchy, etc) and let him create something. You wont be disappointed. Another reason I like this place is because it is on Green St, away from the touristy Old Pasadena places. Most people who come here are locals which is a plus. There's always plenty of parking. read more

Our favorite local sushi restaurant, and you get greated by a drum roll. We go here about once a week. Family run. Brothers, Eiji and June are excellent sushi chefs. My favorite things are spicy tuna on rice cracker, Shi-so Hot, spicy garlic albacore sashimi, matsuri roll. Gets crowded on the weekends, so your best bet for good service is to sit at the sushi bar. Otherwise you may be waiting a while. read more

i used to live in hawaii where you can get fresh, high quality sashimi pretty easily, and Matsuri's has definitely met that standard each and every time i have been there. i am never disappointed. jyun, eiji and koji are friendly, knowledgeable and skilled sushi chefs. they care about their craft and take great pride in the product they serve. papa-san buys the fish fresh each and every morning from the fish market, so you know you are getting the catch of the day. additionally, the wait staff is kind, prompt and very accommodating. it has a distinct family feel to it, and they welcome you warmly. as for the food, what can i say. amazing. melts in your mouth. sashimi: bluefin toro, yellowtail, spanish mackerel, halibut - always fresh, smooth, sometimes accented with just a hint on ginger, ponzu or citrus-soy sauce. sushi: these guys are always creating specials for the night, impromptu, good balance of flavors that accent the fish instead of overwhelming it, and creative. definitely try the spicy garlic albacore, the seared yellowtail with jalepenos and fried onion slivers, and the shiso-hot. if you like hand rolls, go for the spicy toro. i'm not a huge sake drinker, but i've been with friends who are, and they love the selection there. just ask the chefs for their recommendations, and you won't be disappointed. (it surprises me to see some of these reviews - most seem vindictive and mention rolls or dishes that are not even served at Matsuri's, which makes me wonder if these people have even been to Matsuri's.) in summary, this is a fantastic place, and well worth every minute and penny you spend there. read more

This is one of the more authentic sushi places in Pasadena. It's family-owned and operated. The did is pretty good and fresh. They have decent lunch specials on weekdays. I feel bad for the two older ladies who serve during lunch. They are always scrambling and forgetting things. It seems like they could hire a part-timer for a few hours to help things out. read more

The sushi here is pretty good, I tried the baked seafood roll, unagi roll, & spicy garlic albacore sashimi. The fish is fresh but all their items are overpriced. The place is small and the atmosphere/service are mediocre. read more

Good fresh sashimi, but not the freshest. Only complaints would be that my clam was a little dry and rubbery and the service was lacking. We had to ask several times for the waitress to refill hot water and hot green teas. Despite the apparent inattention, our waitress was nice and friendly. read more

located on the corner of Wilson and Green St, this cozy little sushi spot is very inviting and friendly. upon entering, my friend and i were immediately greeted in Japanese and even a little tap tap of a ceremonial drum! haha too funny, but it was a nice little touch. we were seated promptly and it wasn't too crowded for a weekday casual dinner. prices were decent, though by the end of the meal...we easily spent 60+ per person including tip since we did order a lot and left FULL! we ordered some salmon and yellowtail sushi, gyoza, chicken karaage entrees, shiso hot sushi (two pieces in one order but so damn delicious!! highly recommend as an appetizer...order two!), matsuri special roll (tempura, salmon, tuna, fried asparagus, rice paper= delicious!). we also ordered the ice tea, which i believe was passion fruit and it was very refreshing. definitely a great place to have some good sushi and even for a relaxing date as well. read more

My husband and I stop by every time we are in Little Tokyo....breakfast, lunch, or dinner, always great food and reasonable prices.

Our favorite place to get sushi on the east side! The sashimi is super fresh and the staff is kind. The prices are good!

I bring my colleagues here for lunch all the time. Their specials are always great and run out pretty quickly. The fish is always fresh and the service is impeccable. This is my favorite casual Japanese spot in Pasadena because of the homey feel. There's usually street parking within a block. read more

We decided that we are officially regulars at Matsuri - anytime you regularly eat at a place twice a week you're a regular, right? Matsuri is our default for Japanese comfort food (the teriyaki salmon and tempura dinner special is a no-brainer). We don't get the sushi very often, as it's not really the focus here. Our favorite part of the experience is the drum roll to welcome us when we walk in. M. gets pretty ticked off if there is no drum roll, so make a note of this Matsuri! Other than that, there's not much to say! One star is removed, because I'd like to see more choices, like more donburi. But it's still our top choice for Japanese in Pasadena! read more

Just returned from dinner from here and realized that the reason I am getting fat is because there are so many good restaurants that serve great food. No complaints about this place at all. The service was great. As soon as I entered the restaurant, I was immediately greeted then seated right away. The waiter made sure my hot tea was constantly full. The food was fabulous. I ordered the sushi boat (18 pieces of sashimi) and order of uni. The uni was best I've had outside Hawaii. The uni was $8.50 and the boat was $36. The boat was great because it had 6 different types of fish. I think they were salmon, tuna, aji, hamachi, and 2-types of white fish (which I do not recall the names). The sashimi pieces were very generous and tasted extremely fresh. I would definitely return here on my next visit to this area. read more

This is my default Japanese food place when I am on a date with the wife for lunch on the weekday. The katsudon at this place is hands down the BEST I have ever had. Unlike some stores where they use pork chops from Ralphs, they use berkshire pork the way it is supposed to be. Their chirashi is my other favorite. I usually switch between these two depending how hungry I am and NEVER get sick of it. Their hamburger plate is good too. However, you may not fully appreciate it unless you're from Japan. Seating may be a bit tight especially during peak lunch hours. The waitresses are very nice as well as the sushi chefs. However, they are a bit slow so I'll reserve a star for the time being. read more

I really wanted to like this place given that it is family owned but the food was terrible and the service just as bad. Disgusting handrolls that tasted worse than grocery store (think Ralph's, not Mitsuwa) sushi. And it was pretty pricey as well. The people running this place should be ashamed of themselves. read more

After searching yelp on a Friday afternoon to find a place near the Pasadena Comedy Club- the Icehouse, I stumbled upon this highly rated place near by. My boyfriend & I love sushi & thought why not! Really small place and when you walk in the door, they pound some ancient drum- must say I felt quite noble ;) The servers are very friendly & attentive. The sushi we did order, which was three different rolls- spicy yellowtail sashimi, spicy tuna crunch roll & spicy jalapeno toro roll. (we looove spicy!) All were really good and you could tell the fish was fresh. Nothing to die for and rave for weeks about though, and for the prices, I would of expected better portions- esp for a Pasadena establishment. My only big complain was the menu. My boyfriend is rather new to sushi, in the sense where sometimes he needs a description of what a volcano or samuri dragon roll might be. There menu's had no descriptions or pictures to help guide is in our choices. I asked the server to explain a few but she seemed annoyed so I stopped after 2 descriptions. Overall it was pleasant..would I go again? Ehh not quite sure, maybe a float sushi next time :) read more

I came here a while back to grab dinner with my gf and one of our friends. The sushi here is pretty good, and we also got this salmon steak salad dish that we completely devoured. The place however isn't that big, but gives off this warm homely feeling to it. I'd recommend this place for a future visit. read more

Matsuri - Sushi Bars Near Me - Pasadena, California

Matsuri is a great sushi pace (this review does not cover any other food). I come here every time I am in town. I love the ambiance and the employees are AWESOME. My mom, daughter, and I always get top notch sushi and great recommendations. Only downside - some nights are 21+. If you have kids make sure it's not one of those nights. read more

Matsuri is cute and authentic! I came here for my birthday after reading good reviews on Yelp, and was not disappointed! From the moment you walk in, you know you are going to get the real deal. This is a real Japanese restaurant, not owned by Koreans, or Chinese people for once! Even the waiter who doesn't look Japanese at all, speaks fluent Japanese! There is a large selection for cut rolls, and everything we got was pretty amazeballs! The raw fish was really fresh, and the food came out pretty quickly. They even gave me ice cream and pink chopsticks after singing me happy birthday! :) I would definitely recommend this place if you want high quality, authentic Japanese sushi. The service is good, and the restaurant is clean and orderly. Not super cheap, but you are paying for good sushi. read more

I expected a little more, but compared to other local sushi joints, this place didn't really live up to my expectations. The sushi was okay and a bit over priced. I would give this place two stars if it weren't for the friendly waiter and our fun "drum" welcome :) I always appreciate something like that! read more

We were new in town and found this place thanks to Yelp's 4 star reviews! I find Matsuri pretty authentic with some modern twist. Miso soup, and all the nigiri's we ordered were tasty and fresh. One particular plate that stood out for me was the sea urchin (uni), they were so fresh and delicious!! That might be one of the best sea urchins that I've had! Speaking of modern twist, we ordered the seaweed salad, and it came in a very large bowl with mix salad rather than seaweed salad. Yes there were some seaweed in it but mainly mixed salad. We didn't mind it because it tasted very good. A special dish that I ordered from the "menu" on the wall was the almond shrimp tempura. It was out of curiosity on my part and I'm glad I tried it, it was also very good and different from the usual shrimp tempura. Matsuri was definately one of the better restaurants we tried in Pasadena. read more

~3.5 star, but since their service didn't impress, don't feel like upgrading to 4 star. All the waiter/waitress seemed nice and polite, but I'd really appreciate if they can speed things up a bit or help each other out more?? I had a clam miso soup (small, with 3 clams), squid, salmon, scallop, bluefin toro and spicy yellowtail roll. Came out $50 bucks with tips. I thought it was pricey for the quality and 'quantity'. Good squid is just hard to come by based on my experience, theirs is okay. Scallop lack the natural sweetness, salmon was good but nothing special. bluefine toro was amazing, melty, but I paid the price for it, too!!!! spicy yellowtail roll was way too spicy for one to enjoy the fish itself I thought, though I like how they rolled it in a way to take full advantage of the fish and not the rice! :) these are in the relatively small-sized sushi category, literally bite size, must be designed for women with small mouth :P I think I prefer Yoshida over Matsuri, but willing to try more in Pasadena area :D read more

I ate here again last week with my wife, and I want to reaffirm my assessment that Matsuri is one of, if not the best Japanese food you can get in L.A. Everything is always superb and the food far surpasses the competition. Last week I had the tuna and sashimi combo and my wife had beef teriyaki and sashimi. The sashimi was fantastic and the tuna was excellent too. Furthermore, I love the sensha green tea that they serve here. read more

I'm giving this place 2.5 stars. I pass this place a lot driving on Green St. The restaurant looks nice from the outside and is quite inviting. I first came here in Dec 08 with The Hubbs and my parents. I don't remember much about it so it probably was just okay. For some reason, we had the urge to give it another chance and ate here last night. The menu is pretty vast and appears very promising for a delicious meal. The Mister had the Ten Zaru Soba (tempura with cold soba noodles) and I had the Ten Don (tempura rice bowl). It wasn't bad but we've had better (at Daichan) and felt that the meal kinda fell short. A lot of the reviews here tout the sushi, which we haven't tried on either occasion. We may come here one more time to check that out and decide whether or not Matsuri is a keeper. read more

It was good! ... We went right when the place opened for dinner. The service was nice and fast.. the little drum beat they played when we walked in was startling and fun. We ordered a spicy tuna roll, a salmon and avocado roll, and a plain avocado roll. It was good, fresh. It wasn't dry, maybe they had JUST made the rice, but it was really yummy and the avocado roll had a generous amount in it, they didn't skimp out. I would recommend it! read more

Ok hands down -favorite sushi place this year! I've found a gem in the middle of Pasadena! I'm thrilled! Many think Pasadena is full of great places to eat -I say it's full of great let-downs. Matsuri, however has always pleased me! The price is quite reasonable for Pasadena standards. The fish is always fresh, the people are extremely friendly and dare I say it -AUTHENTIC! We always try the handmade gyoza dumplings and the spicy tuna cracker and then mix things up with some random rolls/sushi. I'm never let down. I've also tried the Udon..my goodness -on a rainy day, it really hits the spot! The flavors of the broth are spot on. My sushi hunt in Pasadena is now over. Thank you a million times over Matsuri! read more

Back in LA on vacation, and since I'm staying around Pasadena, I wanted to find a sushi place in the area. Old Town sushi apparently sucks, so I went to my trusty Yelpers and found Matsuri. We, unfortunately, didn't get the drum welcome since they were busy running around, but that's a-ok. The service was outstanding. Our waiter kept checking up on us and was extremely friendly. He even took the time to show us how much powder he uses to steep their AWESOME green tea when we were considering on buying a bag. The sushi was fresh and came in pretty decent portions. Bigger than Katsu-ya portions and smaller than Sakura portions. The appetizers were only so-so. I can't remember the first appetizer too well: I think it was spicy yellowtail sashimi with ponzu sauce over radish pieces. Not very flavorful. It definitely needed some more sauce. We also got the spicy tuna over crunchy rice. The portion was way too big and overwhelming, although the flavor was ok. Too greasy for me, personally. Then we got talked into getting the spicy tuna on a piece of fried shiso leaf. Again, way too large of a portion. Had some red bean ice cream for dessert and left very satisfied. I'd definitely go back again for the green tea, the sushi and the service. read more

I remember moving to this area for the first time, driving around craving sushi. Good sushi. Not franchise sushi (Tokyo Wako) or trendy Americanized sushi (Sushi Roku/Katsuya/any Hollywood type). Just good authentic, fresh Japanese food in Pasadena. And so we stumbled upon this place about two blocks down the busy streets of Old Town (Green & Wilson) and hoped for the best. We ordered our favorite dishes universal to Japanese places (agedashi tofu, many many cut rolls, anything-unagi, sashimi and karaage) and we were blown away. It was delicious. It was fresh. It was good. Add the fact that the service is the best we've ever gotten in any restaurant so far, we vowed to come back to the place by the third bite. I am uncertain what the 1-2 star reviews below are referring to, but this place is definitely worth trying. Give it a chance :) read more

Came here with my mom once, very small place and the people are very nice. The hours are the unusual ones.. I forget exactly but it's like 12-3 and 5-9? Something like that. We ordered the teriyaki chicken and some sushi rolls and they're very good for the price. read more

this joint is a small and quiet Japanese sushi place. waited a little bit to get seated for two but was worth the wait. The servers are super friendly and fast. They constantly refill your green tea without you trying to ask them. Their green tea is not the usual tea bag type but they use a special powder which makes it nice and thick. We ordered two rolls per person which was way more than enough. We got: spicy tuna crunch roll, dragon roll, spicy salmon roll, and crunchy roll. Out of these 4 rolls, the dragon roll was def. the best one. It's the basic california roll topped with avacado and eel + eel sauce.YUMMM-O. The prices are the usual-around $9/roll. If you're looking for some fresh fish, fast and friendly service, would rec this place for lunch/dinner. read more

First time here, seat @ sushi bar and ordered Omakase....... OMG, what can I say..... It's a 4 stars sushi place for Pasadena area. But, compare to the sushi places I had been to.... It's only a 3 stars in my book. The presentation and service was good. The fish was, let just put it this way, I can tell they were not that fresh, expect ally the sweet shrimp.... By the way, the sushi bar OMakase was expensive and personally I should of order something else, didn't think it was worth it. read more

The good food, but it took a long time to come out. They're a bit short on the waiting staff, which makes service pretty slow. Now I know why its always crowded, as the customer turnaround might be a bit slow. read more

The sound of drums greets you as you walk through the door of Matsuri sushi, as if foreshadowing a momentous occasion. But the only thing momentous about this sushi joint is how momentously medicore your experience will be. The menu is populated with standard sushi roll options without the slightest hint of creativity. This would be excusable if the rolls were phenomenal, but they are no better than average. They are of modest size and immodest price point. That might be a bit unfair; the prices are slightly more than I would expect for this kind of quality. The fish is fresh enough not to cause an uproar, and the Philly roll is actually pretty good. We also ordered their spicy tuna, crunch, and crab rolls, and they don't merit a discussion. They could have been ordered from any restaurant. The reason we've been to Matsuri twice is because it's down the street from our favorite independent book store. There's really no other reason to come here when there are superior sushi alternatives in Pasadena and neighboring Glendale. Service is friendly and adequate. Food was delivered fairly quickly. read more