Japanese cooking on Federal Street — fish cut to order over ice, a grill worked in the open, and a bar that stays busy until close. Dinner seven nights, lunch Wednesday through Friday.
Two counters run this room. One is a grill, worked in the open. The other is cold — stacked with ice, and cut to order. Between them they account for most of what arrives at the table: skewers and fillets off the fire, sashimi and oysters off the ice, and tempura fried to order in between.
Guests describe it as an occasion rather than a meal. Several mention taking the set menu, and the cocktail list comes up almost as often as the food. Google places MASU in its most expensive bracket, at around $100 a head.
Fish and meat go straight over the coals, and come out when they are ready rather than when the ticket says so. The grill sits in the open, which means the timing is done in front of you instead of behind a wall.
It is the part of the kitchen guests notice first — the skewers, the smoke, and someone standing over it the whole service.
Pictured: salmon from the grill, plated on stone.
Sashimi, rolls and oysters are prepared as they are ordered and served on ice or stone — which is why the cold counter sits in the open rather than out the back. Reviewers keep returning to the same word for it: freshest.
Scallops arrive on a hot stone in a wooden box. Oysters come shucked, on crushed ice, alongside whatever was cut that evening.
Larger shellfish plates land in the middle of the table rather than in front of one person. Google lists MASU in its most expensive bracket — most tables spend upwards of $100 a head, and a set menu is available for tables that would rather not choose.
Vegetarian dishes are on the menu. Booking is recommended.
MASU sits on Level 3 of Federal Street, off the SkyCity walkway. Low light, heavy timber, and a bar that runs most of the length of the room. It fills early on weekends and stays that way, so a table on Friday or Saturday is worth booking ahead.
The cocktail list draws its own following — it is mentioned in the reviews about as often as the fish is.
Taken by guests and by the restaurant, straight from its Google listing — nothing here is a stock photograph.
Quoted from the reviews Google returns for MASU. Nothing has been edited or translated.
★★★★★“Amazing experience at Masu! Service was next level and the food was incredible. We did the set menu and every single dish was a highlight.”
Hayley Berendsen · Google
★★★★★“Wow. This was an amazing experience!!! We were well looked after by our waitress who was very attentive.”
Adrianna Matthews · Google
★★★★★“Will definitely be back again soon! Fabulous cocktail menu — just love ones that are a little different — and the freshest fish.”
Karen Moffatt-McLeod · Google
Booking is recommended, particularly Friday and Saturday. Dining in only — no delivery or takeaway. Lunch runs Wednesday through Friday; every other day is dinner.
Dine-in and reservations. Vegetarian dishes available.