Masuya

Nishi-Azabu gets a new take on ambient fusion

Photos courtesy of Masuya

It takes something special in a neighborhood like Nishi-Azabu for a restaurant to fill its seats every night with patrons including everyone from celebrities to salarymen. But Masuya is a special place, quite simply because it plays off the culinary concept of fusion by injecting something new every so often into its old, rustic self—both on the menu and on the map.

Having heard that the restaurant featured a brand new lineup of chefs and waiters and a revamped menu, we ducked into its petite outer entrance and made our way across a footpath resembling an Edo-era stone road, lit by cubic floor lamps and supported by beams of bamboo. The blend of old and new, as well as East and West, was apparent in everything from the bonsai tree sitting in the middle of the triangular table, to the contrast between the bronze-beige cobblestone flooring and the polished planks of warm wood under the eight-seat counter. And the collection of paintings strewn about Masuya’s gray, minimalist concrete walls stood out with their psychedelic shapes and shades.

We sat at one of four tables against the wall and sifted through the wine list, skipping over the French and Italian labels and selecting an Aruga Branca Clareza (¥6,300) bottled in nearby Yamanashi Prefecture. Homegrown wines, one of Masuya’s fortés, are interesting to say the least, and ours proved to change from mellow and sweet when chilled, to crisp and dry when warmed to room temperature.

The wine’s subtleties were all soon forgotten, though, as the first dish, the sashimi platter of the day (¥2,500/market price), arrived brimming with chu toro tuna, slivers of squid so fresh they tasted creamy, and firm, tangy pieces of saba (mackerel).

As soon as the coral-shaped dishes had been picked clean and cleared, an order of Masuya’s homemade roast beef (¥2,415) appeared, a mouthwatering dish of pink wagyu strips touched up by high-grade Worcester sauce and mustard along with fresh seasoned greens. The kushiage go-shu mori (a selection of five fried and skewered delicacies, ¥1,890) was equally tasty, with a mix of shrimp, beef with melted cheese, and Kyoto-style yuba. Excellent, we thought, as far as new dishes went.

But as some things change, others remain the same, and knowing Masuya’s legendary homemade soba would always figure into our menus, we ordered a portion each (¥1,050), and as ever, were not disappointed by the al dente noodles. Dipped in a golden wasabi-laced sauce and deliberately cut shorter than conventional helpings, the soba was easy to grasp with our designer chopsticks.

By night’s end, thoroughly impressed with the new and warmly reassured with the old, we toasted with the last of our wine in celebration of rediscovery.

B1 Nishi-Azabu FT2, 1-10-7 Nishi-Azabu, Minato-ku. Tel: 03-5775-4563. Open Mon-Sat 6pm-midnight, closed Sun. Nearest stn: Roppongi or Nogizaka. Menu in Japanese only. No smoking at the counter. Reservations recommended.

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