Musashi Exotic Japanese & Sake Bar

This is an authentic Japanese restaurant, interior is traditional, no tv’s on the wall! It’s also ran by Japanese people! If you want «American style» Japanese food I’m not sure if this is the spot for you or not (there’s no fried rice or hibachi) but if you are looking for authentic Japanese food this is the spot! I been here twice in the past month and both times were pleasant, I had the seafood soup pot special last night and it hit the spot! I never had tofu that smooth! The soup base was very rich in taste overall amazing! The sushi is also very fresh! This place is all about quality! Finally found an authentic Japanese restaurant that serves high quality authentic fresh Japanese food! This place is in a small strip mall so you could easily miss it when driving! Look for the Subaru dealer as a land mark (the strip mall is like next to it)

Amazing Ramen, I’ve been to Japan and I’ve been searching for good Ramen ever since then. I’ve finally found it! I hardly ever write Unilocal review but the Ramen is a must have! The eel bowl is amazingly gooooood. Has a crazy buttery taste. Thumbs up!

Just finished a fantastic meal. Started with the sushi (spicy crab, shrimp tempura and California rolls) and miso soup. We finished with a huge ramen bowl that was truly awesome.
Our servers, Kinjiro and Keiko were attentive, Sincere and very helpful.
I would highly recommend Musashi to all of my friends.

Awesome ramen. Great prices. Easy to get to. Everything is made to order so make sure you have time to enjoy your meal.

Wonderful place, great atmosphere, very friendly owners and staff and most importantly fantastic food.
I just found this place tonight and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve tried to keep my eye open for local places that offer ramen and one snuck in under my nose (all ninja like). Up until now I’ve had to travel to Chinatown area of Philadelphia to get ramen; good, bad, or forgotten. So to find a shop with ample parking and a reasonable drive is wonderful.
Tonight I tried their tokontsu ramen (pork bone broth) and it was excellent. Very rich broth and just the perfect portions of seaweed, green onion, and pickled ginger. The chasu (roast pork) slices were wonderful, thick sliced and perfectly seasoned and cooked. The noodles were tasty and had a great bite or tooth to them, they were not chewy or even sticky as I have had at other places. Now I did add 2 marinated eggs to my bowl as I can’t eat enough of these marinated eggs and they add a wonderful creaminess when you mix the soft cooked yokes into the broth.
My friend tried the seafood ramen and that also tasted great but be wary if your too Americanized as there is a whole (I’m assuming) baby squid, cooked, sitting on top of your soup. It looked super cute but my broken inner workings prevented me from being able to enjoy the soup until my friend enjoyed the squid.
We also shared the takoyaki (almost like a pancake ball with a piece of squid inside) and I loved it. I have never been a fan of squid as the texture and chewiness always threw me off but these were great and I could tell the squid was there but my teeth didn’t chatter like a pair of novelty wind-​up toys trying to eat them. Tender squid — I never knew those words could actually work together!
Finally on to the staff and I will assume was one of the owners. The owner (assumed) greeted us upon entering in her kimono and apron and was very cheerful and a delight to meet. Our server was great and knew the menu well and guided us to try the takoyaki as well as the hot green tea (which was wonderful, not grassy as some green teas). They had some great Japanese music playing and I know I recognized several Yoshida Brothers songs playing through our meal. Very few people still play the shamishen and those two do it so well.
I will be returning as often as I can and I hope you will too.

Horrible. Do not be tricked into going here based on the reviews. They have to be paid for. The place smells like a straight up ash tray. We sat for 25 minutes before anyone offered us water. It took another 10 minutes to get water and then another 15 to get sake that we ordered with the water. We ordered a few appetizers to get a feel for this place so we could leave if it wasn’t good. We had an escape plan from the moment we entered the front door. It’s obviously a section of the old bar turned into this restaurant but they didn’t tear it down correctly. I couldn’t breathe in there! The rice on the sushi was old and hard. The vegetables weren’t very fresh and the avocado wasn’t ripe. It was the worst attempt at a nice night out. Do not go! This is NOT vegan!

I was really disappointed because this place has so many positive reviews. The edamame, hummus & Summer vegetable roll were good. The steamed vegetables were not fresh, they were frozen & it seemed like the potato dumplings & pork dumplings also seemed frozen. The grilled yellow tail was tough & overcooked. I won’t go on, but the rest of our food was not good either. The waitress was nice, but had no clue what anything was & most menu items give you no clue either. Everyone was nice & the restaurant was clean & attractive, but the food is not good.

It was so nice to get authentic ramen soup, the owners are the friendliest people and take the time to make a personal connection with their customers. That made this a awesome dining experience. I have to say I think I just found my new favorite place to go and eat. The food in fantastic and I cannot wait to go back again. Thank for a great dining experience and I can’t wait to see you again. The reason I gave 5 stars is cause there is not a 10 star option.

If you think you know Japanese food because you have been to many Japanese restaurant owned/​operated by non-​Japanese people, or if you think Japanese food = sushi, you really don’t know authentic Japanese food and may be disappointed. As a Japanese grew up in Japan and lived in Bucks county for 18 years, I have given in and dined at local Japanese restaurants that serve cheap sushi, but I was dying for authentic Japanese food close by. I had vegetable miso ramen. It was excellent! I usually go to Philly for ramen, but this will be my ramen place now on. I like how they use real chopsticks, and give us «oshibori,» a wet towel to wipe hands before dining. the owner Keiko-​San was very friendly and took good care of us. If you love Sake, you would love collections of Sake they have. Only downside was that they didn’t have variety of raw fish for sushi/​chirashi.

Great, warm service from our waitress Keiko, and most importantly, AUTHENTIC Japanese food in the Bucks County area. As a frequent traveler to Japan, this restaurant does a good job to make me feel like i’m at a mom and pop restaurant somewhere in a Japanese suburb.
You won’t find fancy fish flown in from Tsukiji here. DO NOT expect fancy and swanky morimotos (I really hope you werent, considering the huge price difference) or heck, a typical sushi joint. there’s more to japanese food than just sushi. I believe another Unilocaler here gave it a poor review due to mismatched expectations. The food they do have is cooked very well. there is a great selection of different Japanese foods, including:
donburi (rice) bowls — unagi, salmon and ikura don bowls are well prepared and delicious
Ramen — I would put the musashi tonkotsu ramen broth up with any of the current ramen joints in philly
agedashi tofu — fried tofu.
shrimp tempura — pretty hard to mess up shrimp tempura. it’s pretty good here
their house salad is much better than other places i’ve had in this area.
the best variety of sake and shochu choices i’ve seen outside of philadelphia. I highly recommend Dassai 50.
there are some basic sushi choices, along with vegan choices which i didn’t have. Honestly, I think the restaurant needs to take a step back from advertising itself as a vegan restaurant as it’s sort of misleading. they should mention that they happen to have vegan choices. It’s a cheap restaurant that does its best with low-​cost (but good quality) ingredients.

I seriously don’t understand all the raving reviews!!! Went there last week with friends because of Unilocal reviews and had an eye-​opening experience of how much you can’t trust Unilocal reviews. But only 3 tables on a Friday night should’ve been a give away.
First of all, do these people understand what VEGAN means? And that a VEGAN sushi restaurant that serves fish AND meat is an oxymoron?
But moving on. The menu. Worst I have EVER seen, and I am a sushi fanatic. It’s badly written and design, how are you supposed to understand an entrée that’s in Japanese and the translation is A BOWL. A bowl of what? Oh that’s right, we could ask the waiter, well we did, but both waiters were American who I’m pretty sure never had sushi in their lives, let alone served, so they had to call the owner for every question we had, let’s just say after 2 times being called this woman seemed pretty pissed off.
Now the variety… Salads? just a house one, no seaweed, kani, or anything else you would be used to. We asked if they have a kani salad, the owner said «Yes we can make that», ok. so they did. The portion was so small that I felt bad even taking a small piece to try, because there was barely anything to eat. And they charged us $ 8 for it.
Now for sushi… their specialty rolls are rainbow roll and spicy salmon roll, and they are extremely overpriced. There is zero creativity from the chef. or options really. Ok, let’s say real authentic sushi are not specialty rolls, I agree. So do they have sushi and sashimi? NOOOPE. They have NO sushi (just rice and fish on top) and the only sashimi they served was a special appetizer for $ 30 that was not even on the menu. Are you kidding me? And no fried rice and other dishes you would expect at an American Japanese restaurant. There was seriously nothing to choose from and nothing either one of us loved. I got a basic spicy salmon roll and white rice and poured soy sauce over it, just to eat something. Half hour after eating I was nauseous, which tells you something about fish quality.
I mean if this is your first time eating sushi, sure try it. But if like me you’ve been to most sushi places in Philly — you’ll be very disappointed. The only reason they got 2 stars instead of 1 is because the drinks were ok. But the long bar they have was completely empty. No people or a bartender.
Waste of time and money.

Superb ambience, food, customer service.
Wow, where do I begin? No other restaurant have been deserving of a second review, but Musashi is so amazing in every aspects that it blown my mind and blew all other restaurants out of the water.
First, the moment I stepped in, Keiko-​san instantly recognized me and welcomed me back even though the last time I visited was about two months ago. Keiko-​san was just as friendly, polite, and helpful as she was when this place first opened.
Secondly, the food is still fantastic. The ramen noodle is springy, the broth is rich and creamy, and the nitamago (marinated egg) is creamy on the inside and savory. We ordered the Musashi Sampler filled with dim sum, shui mai, curry beef and chicken, and gyoza for $ 12 which was excellent. My family ordered the Unagi (Eel) Rice Bowl and the deep caramel colored eel was a melt-​in-​your-​mouth sensation, I have always been wary of bones in the eel but there were none here! Also, the salmon and tuna nigiri are amazingly fresh. The salmon has a vibrant orange and white color and tastes rich and buttery. The tuna is red as a rose and has no gristle.
Lastly, we finished with the green tea crème brûlée and ani tofu (almond tofu). The almond tofu dessert has fruits, almond tofu, and green tea agar tofu, both are fantastic and the agar jelly is light, milky, and slightly sweet with a fragrant almond aftertaste. The green tea crème brûlée was subtly sweet with the hidden bitterness of the green tea. The brown sugar crust was crunchy, sweet, and smokey. It was a sweet finale to the meal.
I am definitely planning to visit again.

Tried this place last night based on the reviews. Loved it!
**Side note my husband did not want to venture in when we pulled up. It’s very bright & looks almost like a strip mall pizza joint or something from the outside. Once inside, he changed his tune. Light music, charming Asian accents & the friendliest people working. Then the food blew us all away & he thanked me for making him try it! :-)
We tried a variety of rolls — all were fresh & delicious. There’s a lot of yummy sushi spots popping up but the food here was superior. The rolls were all fresh & excellently prepared with the perfect portion size. What stood out to me were the other sides we ordered. The usual potstickers (dumplings) melted in your mouth here! The miso soup, which I’m usually not a fan of, was the tastiest I’ve eaten, I ate ½ of my daughters. The spring rolls were excellent as were the dipping sauces. My 8 year old ordered the beef on a stick & had to order another! So yummy.
The owners were delightful & were so friendly & accommodating even tho our group showed up very close to closing time. They bring you damp cloths to freshen your hands & real chopsticks & Asian dishes.
A charming touch is the origami with toothpicks given out at the end.
They have a full bar. I ordered red wine & received a very generous amount. I can’t wait to come back & try some of their saki varieties.
When you pay you’re given a frequent diners card which can add up to a free t-​shirt or your own chopsticks kept for you in the display case. Something tells me my sticks will be on display shortly!;). Check it out!

My partner and I have visited this establishment 3 times in the last few weeks and are in love with it. Our first time here, we were warmly welcomed by Keiko who was available to answer any questions about the menu. We were astonished to find such a vibrant selection of both vegan and non-​vegetarian dishes.
Throughout our visits, we have ordered an array of appetizers, meals, and ramen. Both the pork and vegetarian gyoza are phenomenal with lots of fresh ingredients and lots of FLAVOR. My partner loves the shrimp and pork spring rolls and cannot speak highly enough about the eel (unagi) avocado rolls. You couldnt ask for fresher ingredients.
I love love love the vegan ramen which I add marinated bamboo shoots, marinated egg (I am veg, not vegan so this is just a personal preference). I have ordered it all three times and the best word to describe it is savory. Its a full meal in the bowl, loaded with fresh mushrooms, zucchini, and corn.
Please go try this restaurant. Its fantastic, AUTHENTIC and owned by people who genuinely want to provide you with a wonderful dining experience.

It’s official; this is the best Japanese restaurant in the Northeast Philly vicinity. As someone who has indulged in many lackluster meals at numerous sushi bars I can safely say that this place is a step above the rest.
One would never expect such a place to be in this run down little strip joint on Street Road, so I had some reservations in trying them out. Once inside I was pleasantly surprised by how clean and modern the interior is. You’ll see a bar to your left stocked full of various sake brands, and boy, you need to try the sake.
I was lucky enough to come during happy hour, just in time to have one of their five dollar sushi appetizers. I had the non-​vegan option and got five pieces, all delicious and perfectly made. The nori was perfect! For one of the very first times eating sushi in this neck of the woods all of my sushi had crisp, easy to chew nori that wasn’t rubbery. I was beyond pleased, and while non-​soggy nori should be expected, it is so common around here that I was losing hope. Their menu is quite expansive for being a small restaurant, and I decided to try out their ramen. I was not disappointed; it was a huge, flavorful dish and even though I only got the vegetable option, it was very filling.
The woman running the front of house is very pleasant and sociable, and she made sure we had a great experience. The hospitality here is top notch. My dining partner and I even got to sample some sake for free which was great! They don’t just have generic hot sake here like most other Japanese style restaurants, but tons of brands and flavors to choose from. Anyone who likes to indulge in sake needs to come here — scratch that, anyone who likes food in general needs to come here, because the food is great. Don’t let the exterior or the location deter you, this place is worth a stop.

My boyfriend and I went to Musashi for the first time today for dinner and I am so excited to have such an amazing restaurant close by! Everything about this place is amazing! The owner was so sweet and you could tell she was so excited and proud of her restaurant! The food was absolutely fantastic! The vegan options are unique and delicious! They also have sake cocktails which are so good! I am 100% sure we will be back over and over again !

This place is excellent! Very nice people that make some surprising dishes that can’t be beat. The vegetarian dishes are superb. I had the veg cream soup that is vegan and so good, along with veg curry also great! First time I had a curry dish and I will definitely get it again! Try it! It’s better than you can imagine in that shopping center.

THIS IS THE SPOT FOR AUTHENTIC JAPANESE CUISINE!
Yes, I know people will roll their eyes and say «how can this be» and «it’s Feasterville,» but all your skeptical notions will cease to exist after a few bites of anything on the menu. This place is better than Ajihei in Princeton and it better than Morimoto.
Hell, it’s the best true Japanese restaurant in the whole Philadelphia region.
As you enter you are very warmly greeted by Keiko (wife of Nobu san) who makes you feel that you are not entering a «restaurant» but you feel like they are letting you into their home.
The menu is MASSIVE in size, it’s the biggest menu I’ve seen at a place like this outside Bar Masa/​Tetsu at Aria. Lots of potstickers, shumai combo’s to pick from. Multiple salads to choose from with choices of ginger and sesame dressings (both top notch). Many full dinner choices. Multiple soups to choose from, nice Sake menu, imported beer from Japan, etc etc etc. On to the sushi, they lean heavily towards rolls which I will address later in my review with a very unique twist on vegan rolls.
I ate here back to back days and tried seven different shumai, a few which had a very special twist to it. The shumai is of high quality and the prices range from 5 — 7. If you like shumai, you can fill yourself up here and spend less than $ 20. I intend to try everything on the menu.
The salad was very good which a very delicate tasting dressing, in this case the sesame.
Miso soup hit the spot, VASTLY better than 90% of the places in the USA.
Now on to the rolls. If you are a vegan than you FINALLY have a place to eat sushi. Tried the shitake mushroom roll, asparagus roll and the absolute most have PINK VEGAN ROLL. The latter roll is one of the most memorable twist on sushi I’ve come across in the past few years. It’s a roll with the body of it being sun dried tomatoes with fresh tomatoes on top. The balance between the two creates a unique taste. A true work of art from a three time Iron Chief Award winner.
The Dynamite Roll is top 5 rolls I had in 2015 and is a must when visiting. Tried the spicy salmon roll, Sam’s roll (wonderful combo of salmon, avocado and mango) and shrimp tempura roll.
Now, most people eat at Chinese run sushi joints which they think are good, but in reality are total garbage places to eat at… those places are like downing a quart of Laser Malt Liquor while eating here would be like slowly sipping a Chimay. It’s that monumental a difference.
I will come here at least once a week every time I’m in the area. I ask anyone reading this review to forgo their next plan to eat sushi (or anything Japanese related) and come directly here because you will NOT be disappointed. I plan on taking many friends here the next few months to get the word out.
A note to sushi novices, the menu can seem overwhelming due to it’s size and if you do not have a sushi background knowledge, some parts may come across as reading Latin. Do not be afraid to ask any question you have about the menu because they will answer anything you ask with crystal clear clarity.
A few final notes. They have a card that when you acquire points in relation to how much you spend, you receive your own pair of PERSONAL CHOP STICKS that will be kept there to use each time you return. I already earned mine, I suggest you do so too. The husband and wife owners are just about as friendly as can be and a true delight to talk with, they appreciate your business as much as I appreciate them.
Now, drop what you are doing and go to Musashi!

Totally legit, vegan sushi + other authentic Japanese cuisine. The husband and wife team are from Japan, and have a varied menu. What sets this place apart, aside from the casual suburban digs, is the outstanding service, and especially shoyu, Japanese vegan items. Blue Sage customers, I’d recommend checking out Musashi to switch things up.
A few notes:
— Service is so pleasant. You’re immediately made to feel welcome, lots of smiles, all around good, relaxed vibe
— Location is a bit divey in that it’s a strip of shops, but that’s par for the course in suburbia, and some of my favorite sushi-​yas are in very unremarkable digs. That’s part of the allure
— Nobu-​san worked at Pabu in Baltimore Harbor and Morimoto in Philadelphia where he earned his chops. His knife work, rice, and draping are all top notch
— Lots of traditional items, not only vegan dishes. You’ll find donburi (bowls topped with items such as eel or salmon), Japanese katsu (think fried chicken), ramen (noodles my friend!), etc. but what interests me more are the Japanese pickles, radishes, and even real wasabi and ginger (not the fake pink stuff), which was a real treat!
— I’m not much of alcohol person, but they seem to have a good selection of sakes
— I’m grading this on a curve, since we’re talking suburbia not too far away from a plethora of diners and tire shops. This is not Karuma-​zushi in NYC, but it’s leagues ahead of its nearby rivals, in fact, it’s second only to Morimoto in Eastern PA based on my experience, and it even has real chopsticks (take note Morimoto, the cheap wooden ones are a downer)
I had the Shojin Sushi Teishoku, which is essentially a balanced vegan meal featuring nigiri, maki, and small dishes. It’s a lot of food for a small amount of money, beautifully presented!
Here’s a rundown of what it included:
— Japanese pickled vegetables, hijiki salad (seaweed), and edamame dumpings. Yes, the dumplings are outstanding!
— The main item was the sushi platter — this was very inventive, and all vegan, straight up, even though it might look very much like regular sushi
a) Vegetable maki roll — loved this. I got it hosomaki style (smaller with paper on outside), which I enjoy. They have a very good soy paper
b) Paprika nigiri — what a treat, I know, you’re thinking it’s maguro, but it’s not. Very interesting, maybe the most complex bite of nigiri of the lot
c) Avocado nigiri — nice and fresh, perfectly green. Always a treat, since the avocado melts in your mouth over the good shari (I opted for brown rice to be ultra healthy, but they of course have white rice, and I saw the traditional rice cookers)
d) Kampyo nigiri — another favorite of mine. This is sweet Japanese gourd (think sweet potato but less fibrous), you’ll often find it in rolls
e) Sun-​dried tomato gunkan nigiri — a lot of fun, very rich taste
f) Tapioca gunkan nigiri — very creative, interesting take on ikura
g) Tofu gunkan nigiri — this was one of my favorite bites, a little heartier, topped with greens
h) Japanese pickles nigiri — another one of my favorites; it came in a leaf wrapping
h) Inari nigiri — fried tofu, a stronger taste
— Side salad with two dressings (ginger and sweet), as well as miso soup and a small dish of fruit. Perfect balance to wrap up the meal
They are flexible with the menu, and you can add some cool Japanese touches such as shiso leaf, ume (plum), and kaiware (sprouts) to your items.
On a sweet note, the owner’s mother made little origami gifts. You can see what I mean by excellent service and relaxed, cool vibe.
If you’re a New York sushi aficionado, Musashi is akin to Kanoyama, Nobu’s secret sake bar in the back.

We were so excited to find out this place, where you can enjoy the authentic Japanese food and relax with the gorgeous smile. The food were very delicious, and beyond expectation, at a very reasonable price. The owners were so nice and thoughtful. We will definitely go back and recommend to our friends and family.