Please note, the husband-and-wife team that used to run this restaurant, then known as Sushi-Say, are no longer working there. This review reflects the original restaurant Sushi-Say and not Sushi Masa. Time Out Food editors, FEBRUARY 2020.
For more than two decades, the wife-and-husband team at Sushi Masa have been dishing up an ample selection of Japanese staples at this inconspicuous Willesden haunt. Little changes, apart from the odd lick of paint, but this is no bad thing. Locals come back time and again, so the dining room is almost always full; even if you’re planning on eating early, it’s worth booking. The chef/proprietor mans the counter at the front, where he crafts all manner of sushi, thickly slicing the faultlessly fresh fish. His wife manages the narrow monochrome dining room with confident authority: greeting regulars, taking orders and overseeing a team of young waiting staff. The extensive menu includes sushi, tempura, noodles, grilled fish, simmered dishes – name any form of classic Japanese cooking, and Sushi-Say probably does it. From the specials list, a generous portion of silky squid sashimi was accompanied by soy-splashed grated horseradish (not wasabi), which had a nose-tingling effect. From the list of reasonably priced set lunches, the salt-grilled mackerel was sweet-fleshed and also large. A cup of cold saké made a decent accompaniment.