Matsuri High Holborn

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Small dish of cold flaccid vegetables. Teapot of clear soup with about 2 mushrooms and a slice of yam floating in it, ceremoniously presented but utterly bland. Small plate of (admittedly high quality) sashimi - predictable salmon and tuna, nothing particularly interesting. "Mixed tempura" = 2 pieces of vegetable tempura and 1 prawn. 2 fairly decent main courses (teriyaki steak; black cod with ginger)

Demitasse with 1/2 scoop of ice cream. Typically fastidious Japanese service. Reasonably priced bottle of wine. 25% discount voucher. For two = £150.

If you like the sound of that, go to Matsuri. If you would like food with lots of flavour at half the price, go pretty much anywhere else.
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Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Sunday, September 27, 2009

I love food and I love the fact that London offers it in such variety. I was exctied to dine at Matsuri as I thought I'd be in for a real treat. We opted for the £69 per head set menu (the mid price range set menu). I've not be so disappointed in a long time. The first offering was a plate of flavourless pickled vegetables which were all over and done with in 60 seconds. Next a teapot was set down before me containing hot water, assorted mushrooms and a slice of yam. Again this was completely without flavour. After this the tempura selection arrived, which consisted of a single prawn a raw piece of red pepper and a few other bland vegetables. At last the main courses arrived - some decent slices of sushi and some wonderful beef. There was not very much of it. Dessert - a choice of either a shot glass of vanilla ice cream (probably Wall's) or an extra charge for a pancake. At £69/head this menu was a real disappointment. Flavour wise it left me bored, value wise it left me feeling cheated (and still hungry when we left). The service was as polite as you'd expect from the Japanese, but still not especially attentive since they managed to top up our wine glasses with another tables cheap plonk!

If you want to pay a lot of money for ingredients that cost £15 and leave hungry having tried nothing of flavour then this is the place for you. If you are a foodie and like a good meal - go elsewhere.
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Neil Sheppard
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Sunday, September 27, 2009

This restaurant was a surprise find in my neighboorhood. After reading reviews on this site we called a little before 10 to see if it was open. Although they were preparing to close, they held the kitchen open for us while we walked over. Matsuri has a great menu, a nice relaxed atmosphere and very friendly staff. Overall it was a great experience for the price range. I would definitely eat there again.
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Franklin
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, September 01, 2009

This is easily one of my favourite restaurants in London. The Sushi and Sashimi is always exquisite; the Teppan delicious and the service is extremely friendly.
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John
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, September 01, 2009

We have been to Matsuri High Holborn several times and they have never disappointed us. Their teppanyaki sets are lovely and well balanced with a flambe ice cream show at the end. The ice cream was sweet and delicious, with bits of freshly cooked pineapples in it. Teppanyakis are done downstairs and other dining done upstairs on the ground floor (where the scenery is much nicer). Our favourites are their salmon carpaccio, agedashi tofu, pickles and tempura anything. They have sushi sets but we prefer the sushi we get at Ginnan and Donzoko. The dishes are a bit pricey but their salmon carpaccio is worth every penny. We found the service good and have never had any complaints. During the teppanyaki sets, the servers are very attentive and come with the next course the moment we finish each course. Very good for a relaxing night out and for treating yourself to a genuinely good Japanese meal in London.
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E Chan
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Saturday, June 20, 2009

We ate downstairs in the teppanyaki room, seemed a little soulless but then we were early and therefore the only ones there for half of our meal. The food, however, was exceptional - beautifully fresh, and served directly onto your plate by the chef who cooks it on a hot plate in front of you with wonderful theatrical flourishes - all part of the show! The service was also great, although they were clearly nervous that our young boy might explode and create carnage - suspect they're not used to children (or maybe they are, hence the nervousness...)

My only reservation is the high prices - there aren't a lot of places that do good Japanese food in London (and this is one of them), but it's still a bit toppy.
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abu892 - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Monday, June 08, 2009

I was amazed with the authentic real sushi.I used the dining room of this restaurant for my wife's birthday. The qualiutyfood is the best in London. I am a Japanese, but I think the quality of sashimi and sushi is beyond the level of the famous sushi restaurants in Tokyo. The atmosphere is nice and staff are friendly. Next time I will try to book the sushi counter which is the same style of Japanese sushi. Anyway if you want to feel the real sushi, I recommend this restaurant.
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Nick
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, May 28, 2009

First time I've been here and I'm impressed. We went to the separate room where they cook the food in front of you on a hot plate (Teppan-Yaki). Only a few people in there at the time, but the decor was certainly impressive. Service was very friendly, while being attentive but not overbearing.

Had a set menu which was reasonable value, starting with some pretty tasty scallops, then moving on to a surprisingly large steak. Was expecting thin slices, but it was a full size steak cooked as we wanted and served up in larg-ish chunks. It was a little tricky to eat with chopsticks, as rib-eye is pretty fatty, but it was good.

The dessert was flambe'd ice cream, which looked pretty impressive when cooked but was very tasty and a good finish to the meal. Cost was about £45 with some beers, so reasonable value, and overall recommended.
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Stephen H - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Saturday, May 09, 2009

We had a pre-emptive Valentines meal at Matsuri; all I can say is that the experience was unforgettable. I have lived in London for the past 10 years in which time I have not tasted sushi so fresh, even the ginger was moist and succulent!

If going to Matsuri, the best room to dine in is the Teppan-yaki room where your meal is cooked in front of you - all I can say is fire-ball icecream is a sight to behold!!

It is a little pricey there, but I think its more of a special occasion restaurant; I will definitely be going again for various birthdays throughout the year and will definitely recommend it to everyone I know!
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Toni x
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Saturday, February 14, 2009

Went for lunch at the sushi bar recently and had a very delicious experience.

The hotate, toro and hamachi were so fresh that I kept ordering more and more. Needles to say the bill was a little steep but it was well worth it. Flawless sushi and sashimi (did not eat any hot dishes) and the rare and mindblowing chu-toro.

Totam oishi.
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Mimi
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 7
Thursday, October 23, 2008