Moriawase Dinner

In a group of 7 people we went for an extensive dinner and sampled all premium dishes on the menu. The meal started out with some lights starters, a sake (salmon), suzuki (sea bass) and hamachi (yellowtail) zuke (marinated) sashimi plate and a hata (grouper) tartare. Especially the suzuki and hamachi had excellent taste and texture. They easily surpass the average options at most sushi restaurants around. The hata tartare was amazing and is certainly a rare find, not only regionally but even on an international level.

As a next plate, we opted for a premium sashimi selection that came with tai (sea bream) and o toro (fatty tuna belly). Although the selection seemed a bit disappointing at first, both the tai and the o toro were of good quality. Although the o toro most likely was Yellowfin tuna, it was nice as toro is generally hard to find in Napoli. The subsequent moriawase plate came with maguro (tuna back) sashimi, cooked maguro (tuna back), shiromi (white fish) and kani (crab meat) with ibodai (butterfish) and truffle topping uramakis (inside out rolls) and some more sake (salmon) sashimi. The makis were not particularly interesting and overall we were a bit disappointed with this plate. Especially the strong focus on the maguro resulted in a rather bland experience. This is a common theme in Neapolitan sushi restaurants.

Tabi Signature dishes

We decided to try some of the signature “Tabi” dishes offered and sampled the gunkan (battleship sushi) selection. The red ebi (shrimp) with ikura (salmon roe) and white ebi (shrimp) with green tobiko (flying fish roe) were absolutely amazing. Another large plate of premium pieces came with red ebi (shrimp), cooked maguro (tuna back) uramakis (inside out rolls), sake (salmon) maki tempura (fried roll) with sake (salmon) tartare and quail eggs as well as some o toro (fatty tuna belly) nigiri and hamachi (yellowtail) sashimi.

Considering our previous dishes, all of this felt a bit repetitive, but still most of the items were quite good/ Especially the combinations of sake (salmon) and quail egg as well as red ebi (shrimp) with caviar topping were a nice surprise . After the delightful selection of o toro (fatty tuna belly) nigiri we ordered our last dish, a wagyu beef tartare, for which we had very high expectations. It was nice, but nothing out of the ordinary.

All in all it was huge meal with a great variety of fish and interesting combinations of flavours and accents. The quality and taste was good, even great for some very select items, but was not matching the overall expectations and the reputation that precedes the restaurant.

Sushi Guide Verdict

Tabi is a medium size restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. It’s modern interior design might be appealing to some, but could feel a bit sterile to others. Compared to other posh sushi restaurants in the area, the atmosphere and overall vibe is less interesting and ranks more among average sushi restaurants. The restaurant is located close to major tourist attractions, probably resulting in a different clientele then other fancy alternatives. The menu options are extensive, however, the plate combinations are a bit too similar and lack in interesting surprises. The quality and taste of the fish is good and definitely ranks the restaurant among the better ones around. However, compared to the top alternatives, it still lacks behind considerably. The drink menu is adequate but compared to other premium locations with a high focus on cocktails and highballs, it is rather average. The service team was forthcoming, but there were too many waiters involved in our service and the team felt a bit disconnected from everything. Overall, Tabi is a above average Japanese restaurant and can be recommended with some hesitation, especially in consideration of the prices and the reputation of the chefs. If you are looking for the top location in Napoli however, other alternatives come to mind.

Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Average

Review date: May 14, 2019

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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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