Matsuhisa, Denver

Well denv.her. babes, I finally found myself back at Matsuhisa for a friend's birthday & I’m thrilled to say they have officially redeemed themselves in my book.

We had dined at Matsuhisa Denver back in 2017 (#oof) and our experience was less than ideal lol lol - so it was great to see the Denver location is certainly on its feet and running at the same caliber of Matsuhisa's Vail and Aspen locations!

We started off our meal with a bottle of Mionetto Prosecco Brut & continued drinking bottles throughout our meal.

This prosecco is fruity with strong hints of golden apples - it's dry, fresh & light in body SO it's delightful paired with sushi and seafood.

& it’s always a necessity to have bubbly in hand when celebrating a birthday! 

Sushi Bar Starters - I had an oyster shooter and the table shared two orders of the Spicy Tuna with Crispy Rice.

The oyster shooter consists of an oyster, soy sauce, vinegar, sake, quail egg, masaga, green onion and ponzu served in a shot glass. You are meant to shoot this exactly like a regular shot.

This was a rough start to the meal lol - I don't like sake so this shooter was hard to stomach IMO. However, the mix of flavors was certainly interesting & should I have been a bigger fan of sake, I think I would have enjoyed this starter.

The Spicy Tuna with Crispy Rice is made with freshly chopped spicy tuna that is mixed with spicy mayo & scallions and then served with crispy sushi rice cubes on the side. 

This starter is wonderful. The rice cubes are flash fried so the outside is crispy while the rice on the inside remains sweet and chewy. Pair the toasty fried rice cube with a spoonful of spicy tuna then lightly dip your cube in some soy sauce for an irresistible flavor & texture combo! This starter can be easily split between two people should you choose to do so!

Kitchen Starters - Nobu Tacos with Tuna & Lobster. These tacos are an extremely popular menu item at all the Matsuhisa and at Nobu Restaurants!

The Nobu Tacos are made with a small corn tortilla, your choice of seafood (lobster, crab, tuna), salsa, garlic, cilantro, and onion - everyone loved the tacos.

Matsuhisa Signature Style Sashimi - the table had the Yellowtail with Jalapeno. The Yellowtail is dipped in minced garlic and then plated with a yuzu ponzu sauce and topped with jalapeno.

This Yellowtail sashimi is a prime example of Matsuhisa's top notch quality seafood where the fish shines on it's own. The Yellowtail sashimi is so freaking fresh & the other ingredients served to enhance this freshness. The thin slices of Yellowtail are smooth and then complimented by citrus tang of the yuzu and jalapeno crunch. 10/10

Soups - the table had the Miso Soup.

This is what I would call an “elevated” miso soup due to Matsuhisa utilizing homemade ingredients - the soup is made with Nobu's homemade Dashi, thinly sliced firm tofu & scallions, and white miso. Solid little side dish to have with your meal.

Matsuhisa Specialties - the table had the Rock Shrimp Tempura (creamy spicy) and the Black Cod, sweet Miso.

Matsuhisa's Rock Shrimp Tempura is made with battered shrimp fried until light golden and then coated with a creampy & spicy chili garlic sauce and topped with a lemon juice and chives.

This tempura is awesome and I tend to be fairly skeptical of tempura dishes as a whole (I think a lot of times tempura just tastes like something that has been overly breaded & fried). Matsuhisa's Rock Shrimp Tempura is served hot and although there is a crisp exterior coating on the shrimp, they manage to keep the shrimps' internal texture integrity as to where it's not too tough. The sauce on the shrimp is SO tasty and is what every homemade spicy mayo sauce should taste like!

The Black Cod, sweet Miso is a black cod that is marinated in sake-miso for 2-3 days.

The Black Cod, sweet Miso is a signature dish at Matsuhisa and Nobu restaurants and is a MUST ORDER. The cod came to us PIPING hot (just how it should be served) and the buttery miso marinated fish melted in our mouths. The miso marinade adds a sweetness to this elegant dish and the Black Cod goes down silky smooth. I now see why the Black Cod, sweet Miso is one of Matsuhisa's most popular items on the menu.

Desserts - the table had the Nobu Style Shaved Ice. The shaved ice is served on top of vanilla bean ice cream and then paired with a condensed milk & fruit sauce.

This dessert is refreshing and one of those craveable summer desserts on a hot day. They also up the presentation should you have a birthday at the table!

Matsuhisa Denver

• Address: 98 Steele St, Denver, CO 80206

• Menu: matsuhisarestaurants.com

• Reservations: opentable.com

• Phone: (303) 329-6628