Matsuhisa Aspen

You don’t need to say much about this place just go experience it first hand and you will see what the rave is all about. My absolute favorite spot to hangout, have a drink, and a bite to eat. The best sushi I have ever had and every time I go in they have new specials. The staff is excellent they already have my drink poured when they see us walk down the stairs. It may be pricey (what isn’t in Aspen) but it is WELL WORTH IT. I would spend my entire paycheck here if I could. It’s a place I crave while I’m in other cities.

Lovely décor and great service, nice lively and buzzing scene.
Crap sushi slightly above supermarket level.
If you live in. LA or NYC do yourself a favor and don’t eat here unless you want to do the tourist thing.
They should ban chef brand name restaurants like this.
Don’t eat sushi in Aspen, be realistic.

Being from Florida and living on the coast, we catch seafood, such as fresh tuna, and cut it open and eat it on the boat, so my expectations are always high. We were blown away how amazing this meal was. We ordered six or seven different items from the menu, enjoying the fact that they are willing to have an entrée, and everything was incredible. The black cod lettuce wraps are amazing!

You know you’re going to pay through the nose. Might as well enjoy it as the food and service are excellent. I particularly like the Cod appetizer (2 small pcs.)
I ate at the part of the restaurant which is upstairs near the bar. I’d rather eat there than downstairs which has no windows and seems claustrophobic. However, upstairs does not have the full menu that downstairs has.

It’s my first time in Aspen, however I’m a very big sushi eater. I live in Florida so things like Tuna and Yellowtail taste a lot fresher there, however this place actually wasn’t that bad. The prices are very high, but what can I say, you are eating sushi in Aspen. I can recommend the adam roll to everyone, since it is exactly what everyone looks for in a sushi roll, tastes fresh, and a good variety of fish, giving it a colorful and unique look. I decided to order 2 orders of this roll because it was just really good. It did leave me a bit hungry still, but I came to this place, starving. The beef skewer was a bit tough, and the tuna roll was really mushy. The Adam roll however made up for the tough skewer but not so much the tuna since it was really bad. I would maybe go here again, knowing to just get the Adam roll and nothing else. Oh and I almost forgot, the Uni (sea urchin) is very good, probably the best I’ve ever had.
For more photos check out my Instagram @ James. eats
Oh and make sure to reserve your seat atleast 2 weeks ahead, otherwise you might be lucky to slide into a seat at the sushi bar, but you will have to deal with the annoying hostess that screams «Welcome» in Japanese, and the sushi chefs that echo what she says, every minute

I am not going to spend a lot of time on this place. Its fantastic! We let our waitress order for us. We told her what we were in the mood for and she nailed everything on the head. The only surprise was the seaweed salad. I imagine what they served was traditional. It was fine but not what I am used to.
The place was packed. Great people watching here. We did make reservations prior to walking in. I think that is necessary or you are sitting at the bar. We had dinner for 4 people with alcohol under 300, this did not include the tip.

The sushi here was great quality and I enjoyed it very much. Right up there with restaurants I frequent in NYC and also some great ones I’ve tried in Japan. However what you really must have if here is the coconut mochi cake with miso caramel. This literally is the best desert I’ve had in my life! I plan on eating it every day the rest of my vacation stay in Aspen.

I read about this place and I just had to get in here. There were no reservations available, but based on another review stating they have room for walk-​ins, I took a shot on a walk in and we were able to be seated at the sushi bar — which btw, if you have the choice, I would recommend. It was really interesting to watch the sushi chefs prepare the plates. We did get there early, which I think allowed us to be seated. The place filled up pretty quickly and if we had gotten there an hour later, I’m not sure if we would have been seated as promptly.
Service: Our server was really nice and he recommended some very good options for us. We ordered a few things and then added more later. When you sit at the sushi bar you can order from the sushi chef or from your server. So, if you see something you like being prepared, you can just point to it and order one for yourself.
Food: Everything was just excellent. Here’s what we had.
Scallop sashimi new style — this is served right in the scallop shell. Melts right in your mouth
Salmon sashimi new style — this was a special that day and wow, it was just delicious
King Crab sashimi
House special roll — this has 4 different kinds of fish in it
Lobster and Tuna tacos
Creamy spicy crab
Mochi ice cream — they have a few choices, we did the red velvet, chocolate peanut butter and vanilla.
We enjoyed every last bite of everything we ate. All of the above were just fantastic. I don’t think you could go wrong with anything on the menu here.
Drinks: I wanted sake, but I don’t know much about it. Our server recommended the Hokusetsu Dai-​Ginjo. It was perfect, I just loved it. It is also served in bamboo.
If you like sushi then I definitely recommend trying this place out if you’re in the area. I recommend making a reservation ahead of time and if not, give it a try to walk in, just try to get there on the earlier side to ensure you’ll be seated quickly.
Tips: Try any of the sashimi new style options

Part of Nobu restaurants, my all time favorite. I would drive 12 hours to go to Nobu in Vegas. But thank goodness I don’t have to! You absolutely cannot go wrong. Everything is phenomenal. I dream of the jalapeño yellowtail! And my husband loves the miso cod, his all time favorite dish. Cannot wait for the one in Cherry Creek to open! Love love love.

Great Nobu restaurant with fresh fish and great delicacies! But we didn’t really like the fact that the host lured us to sit in the upper lounge so they can keep more availability downstairs. The food is the same however the atmosphere downstairs is much better!
And you should insist on sitting there! :)

You can never go wrong with Nobu! I got the uni sushi (sea urchin) all the way up in the mountain and still taste fresh. For entrée, I got the salmon teriyaki with rice and miso soup. Hubby got the gindara (obviously the best dish there). Service was great and our server was friendly. The price is not as bad as people thinks. Would highly recommend esp since there are not many good asian place in Aspen.

Wow this place was a scene! Pretty much Nobu Malibu, but on a mountain…
It was definitely quite crowded due to the New Year rush. We were a few minutes late, so they gave up our table, and we ended waiting 20 minutes to sit… Sort of annoying, but life goes on.
We ordered a ton of specialty dishes /​rolls which were all delicious.
We had the New style Salmon, which is a must, and always a fan favorite. Foie Gras /​Tuna on a chip — it was out of this world! Miso cod lettuce wraps were delicious. Eel roll, veggie roll (for my pregnant wife), crunchy roll — they were all really good!
The only dish I was a little disappointed with was the tempura uni — which was highly recommended by the waitress. Don’t get me wrong it tasted fine, but the tempura really overpowered the taste of the uni. I love uni, so it wasn’t nearly as good as having a nice piece of fresh glowing orange Santa Barbara uni sushi.
Minus one star for the wait… Overall a great meal!

One of the finest restaurants in Aspen. Excellent destination if you’re looking for great Japanese food, be it hand rolls, tempura or Sushi/​Sashimi.
The atmosphere is always good as this place is busy every night. The place gets quite noisy as a consequence as well, but that just adds to the charm in my opinion. Definitely a must try if you’re in Aspen.

From service to food, we had a 5-​star experience. I still dream about the tasting menu we had 5 years ago with the amazing «Frenchy» as our waiter. Our tasting menu:
Kampachi Jalapeño
New Style Wild Salmon
Miso Tai
King Crab Tempura (amazing!!)
Seared Sea Scallop
Waghu Beef Balsamic
Toro Tartare
Sea Bass with Truffle
Adam Roll
Dragon Roll
Tuna & Toto Sashimi
Lobster Taco
Heart of Palm Salad
Chix with veggies
Crispy Tuna Roll
I literally had Frenchy write our menu on a receipt because it was one of the greatest meals of my life!!!

Excellent Japanese food, whether you want Sushi/​Sashimi, hand rolls, tempura, or some of the best fish you’ll ever eat. So what’s wrong with it that it only gets 4 stars instead of 5??? The noise level is almost unbearable!!!
Our table was next to the sushi bar, and every time the hostess seated a table, she yelled a greeting in Japanese to the sushi chefs, and they responded by all yelling a response to her (I believe there were at least 4 of them). Between the restaurant’s crowd and its turnover rate, this was happening about ever 3 – 4 minutes, and it really got to be an annoyance.
Foodwise, we had 3 – 4 sushi dishes, all of which were as good as we’ve eaten. We had a couple of hand rolls (a California roll and something called a Dragon roll), both excellent. My wife enjoyed a shrimp & vegetable tempura dinner, and the other three of us all had fish dishes – mine was a Black Cod in miso, but I can’t recall the other two. Everyone raved about the entrees. We drink wine by the glass, and were pleasantly surprised by how low the bill was: roughly $ 425 for 4 people, including gratuity. (We had heard it would run about $ 150/​person, so it was a very pleasant surprise.)

The food was so good I wanted to eat in slow motion.
There are no bad choices — only awesome, excellent, and exceptional choices.
The best things? Not. Even. On. The. Menu.
Seating. Downstairs, great view of the kitchen. No windows, awesome view of food accompanied by an assortment of fantastic smells.
Wine. Red. Sommelier. He knew what he was talking about. We had a bottle of red from France that went perfectly with our sashimi type apps, and then a bottle of red with a similar feel from Oregon with the rest of the meal. There is only one (that I know of) so you can just throw a few words at him (red, light, sushi, Volkswagen, $ 91, mountain, dance music) and he will deliver something that meets all the criteria. Even Volkswagen.
Food. From the top, in no particular order, all recommended…
–Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeño
–Copper River King Salmon New Style (special)
–Whitefish with Crispy Spinach (special)
–Organic Miso (the mark of any good Japanese restaurant)
–Lamb Chop
–Beef Short Rib (special)
–California Roll
–Soft Shell Crab Roll
–Spicy Tuna Roll
–Dragon Roll (off menu)
–Two other rolls (both off menu)
–Bento Box Dessert
I took a lot of pictures, so you will probably see most of what I listed in its food form. If I am missing anything… we dug in before I could open up the camera app on my iPhone… which only takes about 2 seconds, so that should serve as an indication of how good THAT particular dish looked when it hit the table.
Advice: Look around and see what other people are eating, then ask your waiter/​waitress what it is. That’s how we found out about the awesome off menu items.
Other Advice: They can probably make almost any roll you could imagine. It would be a much longer menu if they listed everything, so work with your waitstaff to identify other super delicious choices.
Other Other Advice: Focus less on «ordering a meal» and just order small things over time to share. That worked very well for us.
This won’t be the cheapest meal you’ve ever had, but after every bite you will think… this is totally worth it.
We ate here my first night in Aspen, and as tonight is my last night here, it only seems fitting to be going back again.
See you in 81 minutes, super awesome delicious food that I will miss very much upon my departure.

I expected to be blown away by Matsuhisa, but unfortunately I was not. Nobu in Vegas is amazing, like the best meal of my life, I was expecting the same!
The Tuna Tataki was great. But everything else was kinda just ok.
The Bartender was a doll and was super attentive to my husband and I who had just been kicked off our flight and were just trying to grab some dinner.
I’ll try it again, when I’m in a better mood. :)

Previous reviewers suggested that you can’t go wrong with Matsuhisa and I beg to differ.
Here is how you can go wrong:
— if you expect a hip edgy space vs worn eighties
— if you like craft made cocktails
— if you have previously tried Miso cod. Theirs was firm and overdone and not sublime melt in your mouth good as I have had before
— If you expect exemplary service. Our waitress was slammed and inattentive
— if you hope to spend under $ 200 for a good meal and a couple drinks
At this price point I expect a lot more and was disappointed. Go to the bar, have a couple rolls if you need to cross this off the list.

No one would expect to find such an well known Japanese restaurant in remote Aspen so we made reservations and looked forward to a treat. Beautiful preparation, outstanding service and ambience are always worth paying for, but after this first visit I’d call Matsuhisa’s pricing excessive. We were there outside ski season and found that although most of the dishes we ordered were attractively presented and fresh there weren’t many unique tastes. Except for the wagyu beef, which I thought was remarkable and should not be missed.
The interior of the restaurant dining room had a natural softness. It was finished with slats of light-​colored wood which would have made for a seductive dining experience had there not been a sizeable teen celebration that got seated right nearby. We enjoyed excellent wait service, sipped wonderful sake and carefully checked our long bill (one error) at the close of the evening. Expect to spend a bundle for dinner here.

Always amazing
Friendly accommodating staff.
A bit pricey fir the portions but worth every bite.
Lobster tacos, uni tempura, yellowtail, organic salmon sashimi, soft shell crab hand roll, freshest fish in Aspen. Flown in daily.