A note on the words: omakase is a meal left entirely to the chef’s discretion, and sakizuke is the seasonal appetizer opening the course. Chawanmushi is a savory steamed egg custard, served chilled here with shark fin. Chutoro and otoro are medium-fatty and extra-fatty cuts of tuna, kue is prized longtooth grouper, and aji is Japanese horse mackerel. Akazu is aged red sake-lees vinegar used to season sushi rice with a mellow acidity. Uni refers to sea urchin, with sweet bafun uni and delicate murasaki uni featured alongside tender aori ika (bigfin reef squid) and yuba (tofu skin).
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Sushi Matsumoto on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. There are plenty of famous sushi restaurants in Akasaka, and having had the chance to visit one of them, I went! “Sushi Matsumoto.” It has apparently earned Michelin stars in both 2019 and 2020, so expectations run high. This time was for lunch! Under the scorching sun (the rainy season seems to have gone off somewhere), I headed into a seasoned building along Akasaka Misuji-dori. It is the building right next to Yomo, an old-school liquor store well known in Akasaka. Up to the fourth floor in a small elevator.
Oh, quite stylish.
Stepping inside, there is a cozy counter, with private dining rooms further in the back. At the counter, four pairs of two is probably the limit, I think? The person preparing inside the counter right after I walked in was wearing stylish black trousers and a shirt, so I thought maybe they worked front-of-house? But no, it was completely the head chef, ha.
Lunch: Chef’s omakase nigiri course — 11,000 yen (tax included)
For lunch, this omakase course is the only option!
Once the drinks were ordered, the course began! As usual, since it was lunchtime I could not drink alcohol, so I went with green tea, ha.
On the upper left are mibuna greens in dashi, and next to them a simmered tomato. In front are shiroebi okizuke (white shrimp cured in soy) and yuba (tofu skin). The combination of the cured white shrimp and yuba is exceptionally delicious!
To my surprise, what rests on top is cabbage. A chilled chawanmushi with cabbage on top and shark fin and onion inside. It is ridiculously tasty — chilled, yet the dashi flavor comes through unmistakably. On top of that, the pieces of shark fin inside are huge! Who knew they would be tucked in there in such generous chunks!
A tuna piece truly fit to open the meal. It pairs wonderfully with the mellow acidity of the akazu (red vinegar) rice. It softly melts away and tastes delicious!
By the way, the gari (pickled ginger) served alongside had quite a punchy sourness!
The thick white fish boasts a deep, savory umami and tastes wonderful. This one is enjoyed with salt, which brings out the flavor beautifully.
The aji (horse mackerel) — there is an absolute world of difference between this and your everyday aji nigiri. I wonder if it has been aged? The umami is so concentrated and delicious! If anything, it was so good that it ranked among the very best bites of the day.
Inside, there is about one piece’s worth of sushi rice. Salmon roe at a proper sushi shop really is unbelievably delicious, isn’t it! I wonder if it is because it is not steeped in soy sauce? The uni is plump, sweet, and flavorful bafun uni. The marriage of shredded snow crab meat, uni, and salmon roe is superb. Straightforward, but an undeniably delicious bowl.
The uni placed atop the red vinegar rice is apparently murasaki uni, wrapped in a thin slice of aori ika (bigfin reef squid). The squid has a soft, melt-in-the-mouth texture. Right after that, the savory richness of the uni bursts and spreads out. I had never seen sushi like this before, but it is delicious. Nicely done, Chef!
Yet more uni. Wrapping up the three-in-a-row uni streak is a shrimp fritter topped with uni. Wondering to myself, “Is this even sushi!?” I took a bite, and it was so good! Surely because it is high-quality shrimp. Beneath the crisp batter, the sweetness of the shrimp floods out. And there, the umami of the uni joins in. A brand-new experience! Delicious.
Marinated lean tuna. It offers a taste distinct from ordinary lean tuna and is delicious. There is a sharp hint reminiscent of yuzu kosho, a citrus-and-chili paste, which makes for a very nice touch.
This sublime sweet fat is wonderful — juicy and richly flavorful!
Next is another rather intriguing dish. The sauce on the bottom is shrimp bisque, and the noodle-like element on top is apparently beehoon (rice vermicelli). And on top of that sits uni. Truly an uni extravaganza this time! What a delight. They told me to mix it well before eating, so giving it a thorough stir and taking a bite: delicious. Being chilled makes it a perfect fit for this season too. Really tasty.
Finally, into the home stretch. Hon-maguro otoro. Despite being otoro, the high fat content does not feel heavy at all. It has been a while since I had otoro that goes down so smoothly! Delicious! Aside from the sweetness of the fat, the savory flavor is remarkably potent.
At the end comes tamago, the sweet omelet, with a caramelized surface. Finished quite sweet, it eats almost like a dessert!
For the 11,000-yen course, counting them up, there were roughly sixteen dishes or so, I think? Man, it was delicious sushi. Truly satisfying! Just what you would expect from a Michelin-starred restaurant. Rather than being sushi alone, the chef’s own creative twists — like the fritter topped with uni or the shrimp bisque — made it a fascinating course. Next time, I would love to visit again at night when I can properly enjoy some drinks.
Sushi Matsumoto (Sushi / Akasaka Station, Akasaka-mitsuke Station, Tameike-sanno Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.7
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
