New York Magazine

Skip to content, or skip to search.

Skip to content, or skip to search.

Home > Restaurants > Matsugen

All Reader Reviews of...

Matsugen

241 Church St., New York, NY, 10013
at Leonard St.
212-925-0202

Avg. Rating

7
Food: 7
Service: 7
Décor: 8
"Recommended"

Average Reader Rating on a Scale of 10.

70% would go back.

 Write your own review

beers

By craig2 on 9/16/2010

  • Overall Rating: 6
  • Food: 5
  • Service: 8
  • Décor: 6
  • Yes, I would go back!

ment to say beers not bears oops

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes No Request Removal
34 out of 61 people found this review helpful.

beer not served cold

By craig2 on 9/16/2010

  • Overall Rating: 7
  • Food: 5
  • Service: 10
  • Décor: 6
  • Yes, I would go back!

was there a few weeks ago and the table order bears and they were not chilled!

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes No Request Removal
30 out of 60 people found this review helpful.

Wonderful Dining Experience

By Gliao0628 on 10/13/2009

  • Overall Rating: 8
  • Food: 8
  • Service: 8
  • Décor: 8
  • Yes, I would go back!

Not to mention its resonable price. I was very satisfied after the last time I dined at Matsugen. The atmosphere was awe-inspiring, the service was very detail-oriented and friendly. We had variety of food and the desserts there were really amazing!

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes No Request Removal
80 out of 161 people found this review helpful.

Was not disappointed!

By lulu32 on 7/14/2009

  • Overall Rating: 8
  • Food: 9
  • Service: 7
  • Décor: 9
  • Yes, I would go back!

I got the $60 Omakase menu with a friend. Every course was delicious, the fresh sashimi and the eel course a particular standout. Large selection of soba noodles for one course were very good as well. Sometimes 'trendy' restaurants don't leave you feeling full, well I guarantee I was stuffed walking out of this meal. The restaurant had a perfect noise level: it was quiet enough for us to talk, but bustling enough to not be too quiet. The only weird thing was that when the waiter took away our first drinks, he didn't come back for a few courses (someone else brought them out) so we didn't get the opportunity to order more until the desire had passed. Very tranquil decorating scheme. The $35 prix-fixe is probably not as good, but at a Jean-Georges upscale restaurant, sometimes it's only satisfying if you can spend a little money.

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes No Request Removal
79 out of 150 people found this review helpful.

So-So

By eats on 4/8/2009

  • Overall Rating: 7
  • Food: 6
  • Service: 9
  • Décor: 8
  • No, I would not go back!

My fiance and I had the dinner prefix ($35) as well as the Toro Tataki (waiter recommended). The prefix was just changed a couple of weeks ago for the Spring/Summer season. It's six small courses and a hit-or-miss experience. The first course is a crab salad- not so great, the crab is not fresh (tastes a bit like imitation crab). The second is a soy milk soup w/chicken which is delicious. Next is the sashimi which is okay. It was served with the Toro Tataki, which was amazing (melts in your mouth). So in comparison, the dinner prefix sashimi was not as fresh. Fourth was the tempura roll which was mediocre. Fifth was the soba: the chicken broth soba was very salty and the mushroom broth a bit bland. Lastly, came the vanilla caramel pudding which was okay but the sauce was very bitter. Overall, the experience was only okay. Service was very attentive which helped but the restaurant was also empty (5 other tables of guests on a Monday night @ 7p). It's a nice variety for $35 but I expected more from a Jean-Georges restaurant and Matsugen didn't deliver.

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes No Request Removal
72 out of 152 people found this review helpful.

Why is this a critic's pick?

By SWILI on 3/9/2009

  • Overall Rating: 4
  • Food: 5
  • Service: 1
  • Décor: 8
  • No, I would not go back!

Food was mediocre (eg, the shrimp tempura much better at Lure Fishbar; sushi just ok; dessert just ok) and the service was heinous. Every time we asked for something--a napkin, a fork, a lemon, etc.--we had to ask twice and it took ten minutes or more before they brought it. We ordered a meal and were told it took 45 mins to prepare. An hour later the waiter told us the order had not been prepared. He then offered free dessert which took half hour to come and they forgot one dessert and screwed up another. The servers did not know where any of the food went and served my appetizer with someone else's omakase (six course meal) so that I did not have the appetizer because they thought it part of the omakase. Skip it and go to lure fishbar instead...I had the most incredible meal there recently!

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes No Request Removal
67 out of 130 people found this review helpful.

timid taste

By eatdat on 8/4/2008

  • Overall Rating: 7
  • Food: 6
  • Service: 8
  • Décor: 8
  • Yes, I would go back!

ordered sea urchin soba. it was not up to par. Sea urchin taste didn't stand out as much as expected. it was over priced for a dish like this. other soba shops can make this better for less. overall.... not impressed!

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes No Request Removal
58 out of 140 people found this review helpful.

Loved the food

By monknyc on 7/8/2008

  • Overall Rating: 9
  • Food: 10
  • Service: 9
  • Décor: 8
  • Yes, I would go back!

I have been twice now since the restaurant opened. The service was consistently good, although the first time one of our waitresses was new so she was unable to answer some specific questions, but she did promptly bring another waitress over. My only criticism would be that some of the dishes have Chinese writing on them... which doesn't quite make sense at a Japanese restaurant. The food was so incredibly good though. The shrimp cake appetizer, the unagi appetizer, the kumomoto oysters, the miso cod was INCREDIBLE!!!! and the heavy husk soba.

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes No Request Removal
73 out of 148 people found this review helpful.

Elegant and Delicious Japanese in TriBeCa

By HenryNYC on 6/21/2008

  • Overall Rating: 9
  • Food: 10
  • Service: 8
  • Décor: 9
  • Yes, I would go back!

People tend to be bitter when the slightest thing goes wrong in a restaurant, but keep in mind that this place just opened! I came her last Friday and everything was pretty wonderful. My only problem with the service is that they were at time too accommodating and a little overbearing, but nonetheless the waiters were all very knowledgeable and the hosts very polite and welcoming. Food was amazing, some of the best sushi I've had an very yummy (and reasonably priced) noodles. Cocktails were cool too! I had a green tea cocktail that blew me away and my girlfriend loved her "yuzu" lemondrop. I didn't have the pleasure of meeting Mr. Vongerichten that night but if I did I would have shaken his hand. A must-try for Japanese fans.

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes No Request Removal
82 out of 149 people found this review helpful.

a very very long dinner.......

By mellowbunny on 6/21/2008

  • Overall Rating: 5
  • Food: 6
  • Service: 2
  • Décor: 8
  • No, I would not go back!

It is probably the longest dinner I have ever experienced. We went there around 8:30PM and we finished at 11:30PM!! Why? It took them more than a hour to bring us the 4 simple appetizers we ordered, and they are not any complicated dishes. Basically 3 out of 4 are raw dishes. The restaurant is not busy at all, only half full. I would only recommend this place if you have that much time to spend in a restaurant on a Friday night. The food are decent but doesn't have the "wow" factor. The waitress who serve us is nice but very forgetful. Often recheck with us what we order. I was surprise how inexperience for such "world class known" for Mr. JG's establishment, not to mention HE WAS THERE in the restaurant that evening. If you really try to open a TRUE japanese restaurant, go to Tokyo and take note...

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes No Request Removal
90 out of 161 people found this review helpful.

Add Comment

You will be prompted to sign in with your NYMag or
Facebook account.

  awful average excellent
In determining overall rating, food and service are given more weight.
Rate
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Food
Service
Décor
Would you go back?

Some Hints:

  • The best reviews give a clear sense of why you liked or disliked a restaurant, bar, or store. And that means details. Mention specifics dishes, type of crowd, pros and cons...
  • If it's helpful to compare one place to another, go for it.
  • Come up with clever, funny, pithy subject lines, and write in the first person.
  • Don't forget to read the user rating guidelines and rules.
CloseUpdating your review
By
| Not you?
Advertising
Advertising