Sashimi Carpaccio

Sometimes, something extraordinary happens when I visit this restaurant. Already being among my absolute favourites, the sushi chef keeps surprising me with unparalleled dishes with unbelievable attention to detail. This time we were presented with a breathtaking akamutsu (seaperch) carpaccio that topped everything I have ever seen just like that. The slices were so thin, I just looked amazing and tasted even better. The carpaccio was topped some ika (squid) and ama ebi (sweet shrimp) side orders.

After that we went on with an awesome omakase sashimi plate. It came with chu toro (bluefin medium fatty tuna belly), ika (squid), ama ebi (sweet shrimp), sake (salmon), hamachi (yellowtail), tako (octopus), hotategai (scallop), akagai (red clam) and mirugai (long neck clam). To say the least, this was an amazing sashimi plate. The texture and taste of the chu toro was exceptional as was the ika. This is almost unfair since everything else also tasted extremely good, fresh and looked so beautiful.

Sushi Guide Verdict

The atmosphere at Matsumi is very unique and feels authentic, warm and ambient. The menu options are almost limitless and offers something for every taste, even for those who never tried sushi or don’t eat any fish. The drink menu it outstanding as well and offers a large variety of Japanese spirits to choose from. As always the staff was friendly, welcoming and warm and made this experience one to be remembered. 

Review date: April 3, 2013

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The restaurant’s sushi bar is famous for its incredible selection of fresh sushi and sashimi dishes that amount to almost 50 varieties. Most of the fish is sourced fresh at the local Fish Market in Hamburg while some delicacies such as tuna and yellowtail are flown in regularly to meet the quality standards of the restaurant. The sushi chefs take pride in their focus on tradition and quality, emphasising that every piece of sushi or sashimi is cut from a whole fish and only traditional means are used to prepare the food.

The atmosphere at the restaurant is also very unique and focusses on custom made timber, paper covered windows and room dividers. The restaurants offers a small number of seats at the sushi bar, around 15 tables for small groups and a traditional Japanese Tatami room for large groups which is only available by reservation. In this special room people sit on the floor to dine and are served in the most traditional Japanese fashion. All in all the restaurant feels very authentic and even more unique due to all the love and compassion that went into the little details of its interior, making Matsumi a one of its kind restaurant.

Omakase Sashimi Dinner

There is no sushi restaurant I like more and certainly none I have visited more often than Matsumi. I am always amazed by the quality and taste of everything I have ever tried and I really appreciate all the effort that is put into the dish preparation and decoration. As in most cases, this time I went there with a friend and we had a huge omakase style sashimi plate.

The plate came with kanpachi (amber jack), o toro (bluefin fatty tuna belly), maguro (bluefin tuna back), sake (salmon), hamachi (yellowtail), ika (skuid), chu toro (bluefin medium fatty tuna belly), tako (octopus), aji (mackerel), akamutsu (seapearch), ama ebi (sweet shrimp), hotategai (scallop), mirugai (long neck clam) and akagai (red clam). To say the least, this was amazing. Not only had the plate everything one could dream of, the taste of freshness was mind blowing.

Some of my favorites were the ika (squid) and the aji (mackerel) which is different from any mackerel I ever had at any other sushi restaurant. Of course the bluefin tuna selection is always an absolute delight and it goes without saying, that the taste and texture was outstanding to say the least.

To make this even better, I point put the little side dishes on the sashimi plate. My two favourites were also served as seared ika (squid) and aji (mackerel) tar tar. The ika was very spicy and was seared in some kind of wasabi sauce as far as I could decipher. The aji was served with herbs and sesame, making it a very special dish as well. Lastly we had some sake cava te maki (grilled salmon skin hand roll), which are among my favourite dishes at this restaurant as well. For the sauce in this hand roll alone, I would come back any day of the week. All in all it was a great, no, fabulous dinner.

Sushi Guide Verdict

As always, a meal at Matsumi is not only outstanding in quality and taste, it is unique no matter how often you go there. The attention to detail and freshness is unparalleled and the frequently changing specialties menu at the sushi bar gives the experience a special twist every time. The atmosphere is warm, friendly, authentic and I always feel welcome and almost at home when I am visiting the restaurant. The variety of sushi and sashimi dishes is huge and offers specialties rare to find anywhere else. In addition the menu offers many other options from salads to traditional Japanese choices as well as vegetarian and even vegan dishes. The wine and sake list is outstanding, catering to all tastes and preferences. Lastly, the service is outstanding. Everybody is super friendly, warm, welcoming and internationally oriented as the staff speaks German, English and Japanese (a requisite for anyone working there) among others.

The be as clear as I can be, this is truly a one if its kind restaurant and I recommend it without any hesitation to both sushi new comers as well as well versed sushi aficionados from around the world. I have been at Matsumi more often than in any other sushi restaurant and there are various reviews of all the special experiences I had.

Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Average

 

Review date: October 20, 2015

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Omakase Sushi Dinner

Even though we have visited this restaurant many times, it is always an amazing experience to come back, especially if there is the time for an extended omakase dinner at the sushi bar. This time, the omakase plate was full of amazing surprises and was simply mindblowing. It came with an amazing selection of tuna cuts, chu toro (blueing medium fatty tuna belly), o toro (bluefin fatty tuna belly), maguro (bluefin tuna back) and amazing hara toro (bluefin fatty tuna belly) sashimi. It is safe to say that this was among the best we ever had.

But also the other fish on the plate was outstanding. Beyond the tuna we had ama ebi (sweet shrimp), akagai (red clam), mirugai (long neck clam), hotategai (scallop), kanpachi (amber jack), sake (salmon) and breathtaking ika (squid) sashimi. On the side we also had ebi shinjo (deep fried shrimp dumplings), which are the best deep fried shrimps ever and can only be found on the daily specials menu from time to time.

Sushi Guide Verdict

As always, our visit at Matsumi was an outstanding experience. It authentic atmosphere and kind staff made this stay as warm as one would like with enough time and space to fully enjoy the extensive dinner. Even though we opted for an omakase dinner, the menu options are outstanding and cover a huge range of variety, leaving no desire unanswered. Same goes for the drink menu which is extensive and incorporates a sophisticated sake collection. The service was perfect, warm, friendly and humble and made this one of the reasons why we always come back. Check out more reviews of Matsumi, one of our favourite sushi restaurants on the planet.

Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Average

 

Review date: June 11, 2014

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Omakase Dinner

We started our dinner with an omakase sashimi plate that blew us away right from the start. It came with ji-kinmedai (cold smoked golden eye snapper), unimasu (ocean trout), isaki (grunt fish), hotategai (scallop), mirugai (giant clam), suna zuri (yellowtail belly cut) and mebachi maguro (big-eye tuna). It this would have been all we had, it would habe been an amazing dinner. Still, we stayed for more, omakase style of course.

Next we got some chu toro (bluefin medium fatty tuna) filled with uni (sea urchin) and must admit, I have never eaten anything quite like this. The textures of the fatty tuna and the soft sea urchin were just an awesome combination. Afterwards we had shima aji (stripped jack) sashimi, kamasu (barracuda) nigiri and ayu (river trout) nigiri. Finally we finished the meal with wagyu A5 grade miyazaki strip loin nigri, which was also truly amazing.

Sushi Guide Verdict

As always, dining at Akiko’s restaurant was a truly amazing experience. The atmosphere was just as always and the menu variety is just great, as is the food’s quality and taste. The drink menu still lacks any items that would amaze me, but I wouldn’t do there for the drinks anyway. The service was outstanding as usual and once again I can attest that this is one of the very few world class sushi restaurant on this planet.

Review date: October 7, 2015

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