Matsugawa

Haiku for a Fallen Favorite:
No Matsugawa
Where did you go and for why?
Brings tears to my eyes

Just driving by and decided to give them a try. We were warmly greeted by the staff and promptly seated at the Sushi Bar. Placed our order and was very impressed by the generous size of each piece. I liked the Mackeral and Albacore (very meaty, smokey flavor) and it was the best Unagi I have ever had. Our sushi Chef Charles from Vancouver (He never said Eh once) was a lot of fun although a little too self-​confident… in a good way. Even the gentleman who took care of the «behind the scenes» portion of the restaurant added to the light and friendly mood.
Sorry Michael W. but the quality of the product was the best so the few additonal bucks were not a problem.

Sushi was fresh and preparation was innovative. A little loud.

I was in Del Mar visiting friends during Labor Day weekend and it was a madhouse trying to get a table for dinner anywhere on the main drag because of the horse races on Sunday. We decided to walk to the other end of the strip and came upon Matsugawa.
We were immediately seated as there were several tables open — which should have been a sign this wasn’t going to be a good experience… This was a «do it yourself» order system which didn’t help because many of the rolls didn’t have enough of a description outside of the obvious ones to know what to order so we stuck to the basics of sushi, sashimi and a few basic rolls.
Our waitress came over nearly 5 minutes after we were seated and didn’t seem to have the best grasp of the menu nor did she make any convincing recommendations.
Then the waiting started… One member of our party order a onion-​laced tempura udon which came out after about 15 minutes. Then we waited at least another 20 minutes and still nothing came from the sushi bar. We finally asked the another waitress why it was taking so long and her snippy answer was «it’s only been 20 minutes» when in fact it was closer to 35 minutes. We then asked for some edamame to hold us over thinking it might be comped (but, to no surprise, it wasn’t).
Now anxiously awaiting something to eat, we studied the dynamics between the wait staff and the sushi chefs. There seemed to be a lot of confusion around our order and a «reeducating» for how our server place our order. The real back up became supremely evident — the sushi chefs were two twentysomethings that seemed more into socializing and flirting with single women sitting at the bar than preparing the sushi. Several times we watched our order get reviewed and then placed back into the slot.
Finally, nearly one hour after ordering, our sushi started to arrive as there were only two occupied tables left in the restaurant. The fish was pretty fresh and some of the rolls were actually quite good but were pricey for what we got.
My bottom line: when you’re craving sushi in Del Mar, keep walking and look beyond Matsugawa. While the food may be OK, the service leaves a lot to be desired.

We just finished a bike ride along torrey pines/​blacks beach (lots and LOTS of danglies. Old, extremely tan danglies) and somehow put us in the mood for sushi. We wanted to try something new, and were fairly close to Matsugawa and it looked ‘casual’ enough that we figured they wouldn’t mind sweaty and sandy money in their seats. We were right; they were very kind and even pretended to not be able to smell us.
I really wanted wine. Though that’s no shocker, what WAS was the price. $ 8.50 for a glass of wine? C’mon now, at least give me the *option* for a $ 6 glass. But nooooo… the single option of ‘premium’ wine would have to do.
The sushi was very tasty, but not stunning. We got the ono, which was on special. The taste was stellar, but the texture was a little watery… for lack of a better adjective. The crunchy roll was also good, as was the sashimi plate we got. All in all, it was all very tasty, but quite expensive considering I could get equal (if not better) quality at a dozen places in that area for a bit more bang for my buck.
So the next time danglies put me in the mood for sushi, I’ll probably head to one other than Matsugawa. My wallet deserves a little more respect, anyway.

Mediocre sushi at a crazy (near-​insulting) price is a real shame, so I won’t waste much time on this place (nor should you). I’m downright angry at myself for dropping so many hard-​earned shekels on this place.
Some say you get what you pay for and a higher price often means higher quality. This is not the case. You’re not paying for good sushi, you’re paying their Del Mar rent.

Wow, people either love this place or they hate it. I’m in the first category. Based on my experience with many other sushi places, I started by telling the waiter/​host/​guy doing upfront (the only one there) that we were hungry, could he recommend something that would come quickly. He said the tempura would be fast — and it was. Also very crisp with distinct veggie flavors inside. GOOD.
Then we ordered one roll and one bento box. They took a little longer but of course we had something to eat in the mean time — the miso soup also came out quickly. We enjoyed everything — all good quailty. He refilled our tea, the sushi chef got us water when we asked for it (and we weren’t even sitting at the sushi bar, he just did it).
Bottom line: one very good experience. The décor is also appealing. I like the informality.

I don’t know why this place was awarded any starts at all. This is THE worst and most overpriced sushi I have ever eaten. The food and service was so horrible it makes me feel nauseous even thinking about it. This place sucks.period.

I should start out by mentioning that I would give this place a 2.5 if I could. When deciding between 2 and 3, it really came down to the price and the service.
I dined here for the first time recently with my girlfriend, and we took advantage of the daily special: buy three special rolls and get the fourth free. The food took a while to come (especially considering how empty the restaurant was,) and was of decent quality. Really nothing special, but also nothing terrible. I would describe the quality overall as «fine.»
Where Matsugawa loses points, IMHO, was in two areas: the service, and the price.
First, the service was atrocious. We were one of maybe four occupied tables in the place, and it took forever to get our food, no refills on water, and a long time for the check. I can totally understand that wait staff can get bogged down with a lot to do, but there were two waitresses for four tables…
Second, the price. I feel like the sushi was priced at about the level of Sushi on the Rock or Zenbu, but at about the same quality as sushi deli. I should mention here that I LOVE Sushi Deli. The major difference is that ordering the same thing at Sushi Deli would have been just as good (maybe a tad better), and about half the price.
Overall, I would not recommend Matsugawa… although I also wouldn’t strongly recommend against it. The food was pretty decent, but the other things definitely detracted. Just my two cents…

I give this place 5 stars because we had an amazing night there. Food was great (loved the Vegas roll… my favorite) the staff was really great, the chef came over and talked to us about all the rolls… it was just the perfect night out for sushi with friends!
btw, we were a group of 14 people and as long as you take the time to make a reservation ahead of time, they will make sure they accommodate everyone. I personally think they did a great job to make sure we have a good time!

Good service, but the food was not that good. Seemed old or stale. Staff gave me a different dinner but it was more of the same. I do not think I will go back.

Not the best and not the worst sushi place. My team took me out to sushi today. It was not that good. Dragon roll was just ok nothing amazing. Sashimi some was a hit other pieces were not:(Service was good food was sub-​par.
I wouldn’t go back and spend my money there. Way too pricey for the quality of sushi.

I can see why this place gets little reviews! It is so small and tucked in a corner you can easily miss it going by on Camino Del Mar.
The sushi here is just as good as Taka! Fresh and you don’t get that fishy after taste. The sizes and portions are fulfilling for sashimi, miso soup two thumps up, sapporo and sake.
The sushi chef very friendly and will drink sake with you if you offered! As for the wait staff their ok, I didn’t care for them they seem stubborn.
It’s always fun to sit at the bar and make friends with your neighbors…
Kampai!

We are locals, first time there, and the food was just OK. Spicy tuna was very spicy. Service was OK too, took forever to get our food and the miso soup came late, actually they had forgotten we ordered it. The restaurant is pretty small so I was surprised at the lack of service. There are a lot of specialty rolls like the «Del Mar» roll, which is actually pretty good, if you’re into those kinds of rolls.

Atmosphere: Very small and intimate. I was on a journey with my husband to look for a place to eat when our first sighting was Matsugawa. Upon entering, we were greeted by a young lady who seated us promptly. The place had a modern feel from what I remember. The tabletops at the time had candles lit which definitely created a wonderful ambiance. We went around 5PM and it was perfect timing. I couldn’t really tell who our server was since it seemed as if we had two people waiting on us simultaneously. That’s when I figured that this place must be family owned.
Food: We ordered a variety of hand rolls and saporo. The sushi was really good! We didn’t have to wait long on food at all! The miso soup was fine. It wasn’t bad at all.
Price: Reasonable. Fresh and good fish doesn’t always come cheap! You can’t really go wrong with the fresh seafood selection they use to prepare your food. The atmosphere is intimate making it great place to bring those you love. The people coming in looked like they knew the sushi chef as they spent all night sitting at the sushi bar. It was a comfortable setting making it easy to stay awhile.
Because this is an intimate setting, you’ll most likely find the servers standing around and watching or shall I say «keeping an eye» out on your finished plates so they can retrieve it out of your way. Just part of their job. At first I felt like they were watching me eat, but the way I looked at it, I just stopped paying attention to it. The food was good and the service was prompt. You can’t really go wrong with that. At least try this place once if you haven’t done so!