Matsuya Japanese Grill and Sushi Bar

Under new management, Matsuya kosher Japanese Restaurant has only gotten better. Matsuya is as close to Japanese cuisine as the kosher world gets. Chef Yaniv has made a study of Japanese food and has brought some authentic dishes to the table.


By day the Matsuya restaurant is filled with business professionals from the local offices. By night the restaurant attracts young people and folks from all over Gush Dan who enjoy the pleasant atmosphere and good Japanese cuisine.

Is that you?
We didn't know whether we like Japanese cuisine. So we tried a good variety of the new dishes at Matsuya, and the votes are in. Thumbs up for a special dining experience..

The menu at Asian restaurants is usually long and detailed with an endless number of dishes. Not so at Matsuya. The minimalist menu offers just 4 pages of Japanese dishes with the emphasis on the sushi, plus a full page of alcoholic drinks. Refreshing, my dining companion and I agreed.

There are several new Japanese dishes on the menus but you will still find your old favorites.

Items from the previous menu still available include cold appetizers, hot appetizers, salds, soups and 5 - 6 crispy rice cakes. There are just a handful of main dishes including Tapenyaki beef and Tapanyahi Rib Eye steak. There are also wok dishes. Then there are 2 pages of sushi dishes and combinations.

The extensive sushi menu includes the classics Salmon, Tuna, Yellow Tale and specials like Vegetarian Rainbow, Salmon Sakin Nori, Nigiri, Maki, Fotomaki (inside out), Cones, Sashimi. And if you feel you want to try the Beast from The East try the Dragon Roll.

We started our meal with a round of veggie sushi. The sushi was served in a large bowl, with the pieces placed along the rim and the wasabi and ginger in the center. Between the pieces were mounds of grated raw vegetables, flavored with a very nice sauce. Looking around at the other tables I could tell that this dish is a favorite.

What goes better with sushi than beer? Choose from the usual Goldstar and Heineken, but when in Rome (doind what the Roman's do) it is worth trying the Sapporo Japanese beer. It is a little lighter and sweeter than the beers that we are used to.

One of the authentic additions to the Matsuya menu is the Japanese bun, which are rolls that are steamed rather than baked. The result is a no crust roll with meat. The dish includes 3 buns stuffed with entrecote and vegetables. These are each speared with a wooden outsized toothpick. In addition to the meat the sandwish includes cucumber, lettuce, tomato, and fried onions. It pleased my companion, the carnivore.

Then came the piece de resistance. Matsuya offers a new Japanese fish dish that we have never seen before. A platter was served containing a grilled whole denis, with smal bowls of lemon and miso sauces and sea weed cups filled wth rice and vegetables. The fish was cut in bite size pieces. We were instructed to insert a piece of fish into the vegetable cup, dunk in sauce and eat whole, as you would sushi. Wow. Just delicious. We'll be posting a photo of this dish when available.

This culinary experience does not finish with sushi. Also Japanese cuisine features a delicious selection of Kushiyaki, grilled skewers of meat Fillet, Sirloin, Chicken Breast and Pargit.

The popular Japanese dessert is the Apple Gyoza, the Japanese equivalent of Apple shtrudel with a nod to the Israel sweet tooth. This yummy dessert was a crispy dough filled with apple and cinnimon served on a platter with cream topping. One was enough for the two of us, and was a nice sweet end to a lovely meal.

From the menu: Bun sandwiches with entrecote NIS 69. Wok dishes NIS 62 - 68. Tapanyaki mains NIS 145.