Kappo Masa

Overpriced and nothing spectacular in terms of taste especially for the price. Next will be going to sushi of gari instead

If I could rate this place a zero I would. Do not go here. The food is horrible, insanely overpriced, the service is heinous, did I mentioned the food was horrible? I am nauseated thinking about the «dancing shrimp» that was supposed to be one of their specialties. We also got chicken dumplings (one of their specialities as well according to the waitress) disgusting– tasted like dirty dish water. The sushi/​sashimi was some of the worst I’ve had. If you are thinking «this place is worth a try, maybe might rank somewhere up there with sushi seki or gari» … Think again !!! Please save yourself 2 – 3 hours of anger and bad food and find another place. I can guarantee you this place will be closed in a few months time.
My only question is: how in the world does this place have any good reviews ??? Possibly it is the staff writing fake reviews to spark people’s interest? Well jokes on me! $ 275 later my husband and I are nauseous and irritated.

I love Kappo masa and bar masa. Very good quality food but portion is small, you will end up eating a lot of dishes. Somehow, I feel Kappo masa the fish is fresher than bar masa, but the cooked food, bar masa tastes better, it is just my feeling. Sushi and sashimi are more expensive compared to any other high end sushi restaurant, but don’t feel particularly better than those restaurants. But one day I sat at the bar, actually this young chef, his name is Charles, really did fantastic job, I totally enjoyed the sushi pieces he made. Those pieces were among the best pieces I got in New York. Service is excellent, very professional.

I’m really surprised who they think they are… Scary overpriced venue in a nice neighborhood. Decent food but when you spend $ 500 for 3 persons you expect at least some courtesy. Management should reconsider themselves… You are representing a big name. Two stars for the food. Won’t come back. It’s not worth it.

Lunch Menu: Sushi tasting, chicken dumpling, duck tacos, and zucchini mango salad
Food: Sushi was top quality. First bite was just heavenly. Fish was delicate like a marshmellow, carefully sliced with precision. It’s amazing. Once you have a bite of the sushi your mind will think…“great, I will not have the same opinion about sushi ever again”.
Appetizers were great. I love the chef’s style of playing with ingredients and how balanced he is with the flavors. Chicken cilantro dumplings were good — they’re not out of the world, but definitely good flavor. Duck tacos were probably my favorite appetizer, small bite, perfect portions, flavor was bold, and there is an orgasmic aftermath. Zucchini mango salad, tasted like there was fish sauce, lime juice, and had a nice spicy kick. I loved the fried squash blossom.
Atmosphere & Service: Walking inside it looks very high end… it is afterall located on Madison Ave. I was dressed in shirt and jeans. The hostess and waiters were extremely friendly. Did not pass judgement, at least they did a good job masking it and to me that means you’re excellent at your job! It’s very elegant and professional there.
I love this restaurant and been there only twice, tried to go a third time but they are currently under construction till August 31^st. There’s so much attention to detail in his food. Masa even creates his own dinnerware. Just amazing and an inspirational chef. This restaurant is amazing on so many level, food, service, and alcohol. One of my favorite things about restaurants is the insipiration it comes with. Gives you ideas to play with in your own kitchen.

One of my top ever meals. I was here two weeks ago for a work function. I did not do the ordering but course after course kept coming out and one dish was more spectacular than the next. The room has a nice vibe with an open kitchen. The service was impeccable. I have become way to used to eating mediocre sushi st Asian fusion restaurants in Westchester and had truly forgotten what great Japanese food tastes like. This food was in a word awesome. Definitely put this place on your list of places to dine. .and try to get a friend to treat you. It’s not cheap.

We had high hopes for this place for masa name but it did not live up to its hype.
Had 6:30 reservation it is under gagosian gallery so it’s a bit tricky to find. The restaurant was pretty empty so we were seated quickly.
Three of us ordered a variation of the early bird prefix menu.
Kale salad
Miso soup
Shrimp pasta
Beef sukiyaki
Shrimp soba
Grapefruit granitee
Miso crème brûlée
And we added
Uni hand roll
Peking duck taco with fois gras sauce
From the prefix nothing was bad but nothing was outstanding. Only the shrimp pasta was a little innovative. Uni hand roll has soggy seaweed and normal Uni with some cucumber on top. Yawn! Peking duck was okay, not special either.
And cocktails are $ 20. It’s refreshing but lack presentation.
All that we each paid 100 bucks!

Came here this past weekend for date night. The first impression I got was quite wonderful. The atmosphere seemed sophisticated and lounge-​like. When my boyfriend called to make a reservation prior he had specifically asked if the omakase was sushi. The person on the other end of the line had said yes, but she was not telling the truth! Wish we would have known before– hand it was kaiseki type omakase and not just sushi/​sashimi cause honestly we would have skipped it.
The dishes that came out were beautifully presented but I have to say there was nothing remarkable about the taste. The Uni porridge had major potential but there was such a mixture of flavors that I could not focus on the taste of… UNI!
When the sushi portion of the omakase came out there was all but 6 pieces all together. Now, to my understanding this is a baby of chef Masa. His reputation for sushi is pretty high standard and this sushi didn’t meet that expectation. Now, I’m fully aware this is not his shining pride and joy at $ 450 a person, but just no.
Also dessert was a plate of strawberries.. .. What?
Dinner vs price of dinner didn’t match up guys.
The stars are mostly for the atmosphere, the presentation, and the service. The staff and service were exceptional, so I’m not sure where the bad reviews regarding that aspect came from.
Overall I would not recommend spending your money here. After dinner we said we should have went to Gari instead.

Kappo Masa is an elegant dinning experience. I felt immediately welcomed by the hostess and manager with warmth and charm. The attentive staff reflected the refined and polished atmosphere, without making the welcome stiff.
The Peking duck foie gras mini tacos where absolutely delicious and complemented quite spectacularly with an aged sake. I will be dreaming about this for quite some time.
Kappo Masa left me feeling pleased. I shall certainly recommend this restaurant to my family and friends. Thank-​you.

Came here for a date the other night. Exceptional service and dining experience. The sushi was very fresh and delicate. Yes, it was a little pricey but you are paying for top quality and a five-​star dining experience.
If you want cheap sushi go to an all you can eat for 20 $ buffet in the Bronx.

We knew the price was high coming in, but the food did not disappoint. Delicious. The fish pasta was amazing. They heard the customers complaints. .coz the staff were all wonderfully polite and gracious. We will be back for sure and so cool it is in this neighborhood…

Best server Stephanie!
She made our meal a dream
Food was lovely
Quiet calm service
We enjoyed the whole experience
Will definitely be back

Good food priced like excellent food (contrary to the findings of the New York Times, not priced like extraordinary food).

The epitome of «expensive but worth it.» The duck salad to start blew us away, only to be topped by the duck/​foie gras tacos. The sushi wasn’t unusual, but it was as fresh as it can get and the rolls were generously sized. We had a gluten free pasta made from fish that was unexpectedly delicious. The somm had great wine and bubble suggestions, and knew sake like nobody else. Fantastic and attentive service. Truly a special sushi experience.

This one star is for a particular server who saw that I had no battery life on my iPhone and asked if i needed the phone to be charged. Such attention deserves a star. Now let’s get down and dirty.
1.terrible entrance with no hostess at the door, the bouncer looking dude at the gallery had to help me with directions.
2.the prices are what you expect at other masa’s which is ridiculously absurd. If the staff they hire is top notch then it’s fine but if a open kitchen full of chipotle cook/​trainees lookalikes then NO.
3. Décor is too simple. again for the price I expect some visual feast for my eyes. Yellow Leather sofas and a giant vase just doesn’t cut it.
4. Food is exactly like bar masa’s …really !!! No surprise whatsoever.
4 dishes in and $ 130 later I decided to stop throwing my money down memory lane.
Service was nice, staff was nice. Just nice.
For the price tag it’s like buying a chanel boy bag for $ 10 000.00 in 2016

The most pretentious restaurant I have ever been to in NYC and that’s saying something! The food is mediocre at best, weird taste with the sea eel, extremely small portions, wayyy overpriced!
$ 12 for half a cup of miso soup!!!
They think they are so special and perfect here.
Waiter didn’t know what he was doing nor could he explain the menu items.
Typical menu like bar Masa. Chef Masa was nowhere to be seen. Bunch of losers here who are only impressed when someone is wearing a fur coat, Hermes bag and jewelry. They should stfu and look at themselves! They look you up and down, it’s disgusting.

The food is excellent, much better the evening but still very good at lunch. The service is usually good Except when you have a pretentious Waiter who doesn’t know the menu and almost insult you when you ask questions. Expensive restaurants i expect always good service. The atmosphere is like the food good at lunch even better at night.

This is a good, but expensive Japanese restaurant where the hype does not match the food. Three of us had a good meal. Standouts were the sushi and beef dishes, as well as the coco sesame and green tea thousand layer cake. However at a $ 200 plus per person tab including drinks and tip, one has to ask if it is worth the expense. Here the answer is a resounding «no». There are much better and less expensive Japanese restaurants in NYC.

I came here last week and heard about this place from a friend’s recommendation.
I was at first lost trying to find this place and found myself poking myself inside a bookstore/​museum which was kind of odd and cool at the same time?
We were greeted by the hostess and seated in the lounge area which had amazing décor/​ambiance. Our waiter from Hawaii, was very kind to us and did a great job making us feel welcome, explaining the menu, as well as providing us with recommendations/​popular items. He really seemed to know the food well and seemed to really enjoy his job. (which is a real rarity in the NYC restaurant industry)
On to food: (We went with most of waiters recommendations)
Wasabi Tuna Tartar = great and is dressed with fresh wasabi so it’s not spicy at all
Kanpachi potato jalapeño = best eaten like a mini sandwich (fish then potato as a filler)
Dancing baby shrimp = mush have and it comes w/​renkon (lotus root) & spicy mayo
Langoustines= good w/​the sauce
Peking duck tacos w/​foie gras = great stuff and I only wish they were bigger
Garlic soy steak = I want more now (bcuz I’m hungry)
Shitake w/​bok choy = interesting plate (come w/​holes in it), but it was good
Cod Spinach w/​daikon = amazing taste, but the fish was much smaller than I expected
Negi toro temaki= they looked like mini tacos, but in sushi form
White truffle= amazingly good for a mushroom sushi (which i never usually order)
Soba ice cream = it was surprisingly good, but definitely unique because it’s made from buckwheat noodles which I never had before in ice cream form.
I know we had a couple more items, but I can’t remember the names of them. Everything was gone before I remembered to take a picture of them. (dang it!)
I heard they have an Omakase (Chef’s tasting menu) on the opposite side of the lounge and want to try it out the next time I visit.
The noticeable stuff:
Prices here are on the higher end and you should just be aware of that if you are coming to visit. (this is not east village, people!) So just expect to pay a little more Madison avenue premium here, but you will save on value compared to the Time Warner Center location prices.
Overall, I had a great time here and would recommend people to bring their business clients here for wining and dining. It’s a high end place, but has a laid back casual feel to it without all the pressure and pompous hype other NYC Michelin star restaurants have. No pressure, great service, and great food to share/​bond with. It’s a humble a high end place. Enjoy the art first and then come down for the food.

Always hearing about the stupid prices at the well-​known sushi bar Masa, I’ve never even bothered going. Now, with the new Kappo Masa opening, apparently a less formal, less pricey version, I figured it was a good chance to try Chef Masa’s sushi.
After taking the elevator down from the Gagosian Art Gallery to the basement level, we entered the swanky dining room, with at least 10 men and women in suits to not quite greet us, but to stare at us as we wondered which direction the hostess’s stand was. We finally spotted it through this sea of employees meandering around, and were shortly after shown to our table.
Once I quickly perused the menu, I thought about how ridiculous the supposedly higher priced Masa must be. Other than the $ 16 or $ 18 soups and salads, everything else on the first page of the menu was around $ 30 to $ 40. There was also the Seared Japanese Ohmi Beef Sashimi that our waiter made a point of recommending, which was $ 120.
The menu is enormous, with tons of choices in several sections spanning four pages. If there were no prices listed, I would have gladly ordered tons of stuff, but in the interest of keeping the dinner to a reasonable level, we just ordered a few things, at being careful not to order the especially ludicrously priced items:
— Beef Garlic Fried Rice ($ 28)
This was very delicious, but was still just a very tiny portion of fried rice that wasn’t really better than you can get at many Japanese restaurants. The only difference was that this one was nearly thirty bucks instead of three bucks.
— Unagi with Cucumber Temaki Handroll ($ 34)
Not actually a handroll, but four small pieces of eel semi-​wrapped in some seaweed with some rice. Again, $ 34 for these few small bites was just criminal.
— Spicy Tuna with Crispy Green Chili Roll ($ 22)
A good take on your typical spicy tuna, this was a delicious roll, with 8 very well-​made pieces.
— Yellowtail with Scallion Roll ($ 18)
Also a very good roll, closest to a reasonably priced item, but still not quite.
— Toro Sashimi ($ 15) and Salmon ($ 6)
Each order of sashimi comes with two pieces, but they probably add up to the size of one decent piece. They were pretty good, but nothing better than some of the other top sushi places in NYC.
OK, sure, we got mostly white people Japanese restaurant type choices, but it was the only stuff that didn’t seem too expensive to enjoy (who wants to order the Uni Risotto for $ 48? Or the Toro Toro Roll for $ 68?)
I understand that this is a restaurant in an art gallery on Madison Avenue, so the prices aren’t going to be fair, but this just seemed out of control. The pieces of sashimi were so minuscule, and while good, were just hard to enjoy knowing what each bite was costing.
They were offering two desserts, a Miso Crème Brulee and Black Sesame Ice Cream, but I was too scared to order them since they weren’t listed on the menu.
If I ever come into some money that I can burn for no reason, I’ll be back here to try some more of that extensive menu. Otherwise, never again.