Matuba Japanese Restaurant Sushi & Sashimi

We absolutely love Robert. The restaurant itself is a hidden jem. It’s not very fancy or modern but when you go there it’s like being family. Be prepared for a wait since it really is a mom and pop restaurant, but that is the best part of it visiting with the staff.

Can you do 0 stars? We waited 2.5 hours for mediocre sushi. They automatically added 20% gratuity so we couldn’t tip what we felt was appropriate. Do yourself a favor and go elsewhere

The staff is alway friendly Robert knows everyone by name no matter how long it’s been. Variety of rolls is amazing, I’ve never had anything bad here. Takes time to get your food but we’ll worth the wait! If your looking for a nice place to take your family and enjoy great atmosphere and conversation this is the place!

We haven’t been here in a few years. I wonder why. It is pretty good. Excellent tempura. Very good and fresh sashimi. The rolls are a little small. However you don’t get too much food. So it works. Very large menu with plenty to choose from. If you cannot find something that suits you, then that is a you problem.
Great value here also. You can get a bento box with about a dozen different choices. And that comes with miso soup and salad. For about $ 16. Tasty.

I have eaten here at least 50 times. The service and the food have always been great, stellar. The
portions, the quality, the service, is the best in this cheeseball little town. Actually friendly.
The sashimi/​sushi platters are the best in town, hands down. I have eaten at Woochies, Toyo Grill, So Ho. and all of the other places.
This place has the largest portions, best presentations, best deal overall of all of the sushi places in town. Robert the chef is the penultimate sushi chef in town. Forget that place in Granger, they offer one piece where this place offers two. I will attest to this place till I die. There is no place a better deal for quality sushi in the county. If there ever appears such a place, I will let you know, Forget about Woochis forever! SoHo blows compares to this! The miso soup here is the real deal, so is the salad dressing. Unlike Ichiban, they do have quail eggs for the Ikura. Great place for dates and group outings. I saw someone else who reviewed this place commented that the décor seemed way old and out of place. Beg to differ. I love the huge fish tank, and the posters on the wall showing the different appearance and names of various sushi/​sashimi dishes. The large posters are there to illuminate and educate the common patron who may know what they like or want, but not know it by name, just sight. If you want good eats, this is your place. If your are a hipster looking for small portions, disco décor and overpriced entrees, go downtown South Bend.

After 18 years, Matuba is still my all time favorite sushi restaurant. I’ve tried sushi & sashimi all over the country but chef Robert serves up the most generous portions and tasty creations along with his uncanny ability to remember everyone’s name! The servers are all a joy and never leave you waiting. Every roll that I’ve tried has been fantastic but I really go for the fish (nigiri /​sashimi). Oh the salmon… like butter! I’ve never left without a few orders of mackerel either. We live in Chicago but make the drive to South Bend as often as possible to get the best sushi.

This is really good sushi at a really affordable price. And when you’ve been here once or twice Robert remembers your name every time. Don’t let the looks deceive you, the food here is outstanding. Try it once and you’ll know where the best sushi in Michiana is.

Tried it for the first time. it was hit or miss on the food. Robert the chef is certainly charming, no doubt about that.
Things that were good…
Softshell crab appetizer was great, hot fresh, crabby, served with a dab of spicy mayonaise and some gyoza.
My sons teriyaki salmon, fresh. grilled perfectly. Served with a nice smoky sweet teriyaki glaze.
My tuna roll… great fresh tuna, rice perfect.
My wifes tonkatsu was out of this world, maybe the best Ive ever had. Seriously… this place is worth the trip for the tonkatsu alone.
Maki were good. avocado just right etc
Miso was very good, good quality tofu. was hot
Things That Could Have Been Much Better…
My sashimi was bad… frozen/​old or both. It was also cut into huge thick slabs. The tuna and salmon were very fresh and good… the yellowtail, halibut and swordfish or whatever it was –were awful.
The tomago (egg) on my nigiri sushi was most likely frozen as well. It was rubbery and flavorless. Lacked any sweetness from mirin, saltiness from hon dashi. It lacked any character. it was just there.
Salad was fresh, dressing was flat and flavorless.
My sons stirfried vegetables were overdone.
Presentation overall was a little unimaginative and could have been a little better
Service was very good, things arrived on schedule, drinks refilled, the server was friendly and engaging. When my son dropped his chopsticks, she immediately brought over a fresh set.
If you go to Matuba avoid the sashimi, get the tonkatsu

Delicious. Tonkatsu not as tender as Japanese pork but taste is very good. For some reason we forget to eat here. We are always glad when we remember to stop by Matuba.

It’s been a while since I’ve been back here. So I though I’d call in an order on way home. As usual even having not been there for probably 6 month Robert remembered me and asked about my family etc picked up my take out and as usual it was quality sushi that looked and tasted great !
I know this is not LA or San Francisco and perhaps there this would not be as highly rated but for south bend this is by far the best place.

Not impressed with the knowledge and service of this place. We have a service dog and from the moment we walked in the guy was adamant about us showing paperwork and identification. Federal law states he can not ask for anything! He owns a restaurant and should know that, he stated he had other animals in there so there should be no problem when her vest clearly states she’s a registered service animal! We sat there with him hovering over our table for 10 min and even when we provided her ID he still was rambling on. We left very hungry and beyond irritated with the lack of understanding. Would not recommend this place due to pure disrespectful behavior from staff and ignorance.

I am not a fan of sushi, so all I have to go on is the rest of their menu.
They have good terryaki chicken and there’s some other kind of chicken that’s really yummy, but I don’t remember what it is.
They have green tea ice-​cream that comes as a sundae and they also have the little rice-​papered ice-​creams in green tea and red bean flavors.
It’s really dark in there and the seats are just hard booths like at a fast food place, but the staff are really friendly.

I adore Matuba. South Bend isn’t exactly overflowing with sushi options, but I’m pretty loyal to this one, if for no other reason than that Robert, the sushi chef, absolutely loves his job. He remembers customers, he recommends fantastic options, and he wants everyone to love Matuba as much as he does. Some of the options are a little heavy for my taste– the birthday roll is basically dessert sushi, in my opinion– but I’ve never had anything I dislike there. Don’t dine in if you’re in a rush; service can be slow because Robert makes each roll individually. (But they do have carry out!) I recommend anything with super white tuna. And bento boxes for your friends who are raw fish averse.

Robert and all the staff are warm and friendly. They really make you feel welcome. The food is amazing. It is fresh and authentic. We go there at least once a week.

Went to Matuba last Thursday. This was a truly great experience and the host was attentive and friendly. The food here was excellent. I had the tempura bento that had a wonderful mix of tempura vegetables and shrimp, Maki roll sushi, rice, salad and miso soup. Very reasonably priced and well prepared. Also had their green tea, which is made from real, whole green tea leaves steeped is a traditional Asian teapot — not a from a cheap tea bag. A delightful surprise.

Definitely my favorite sushi place in the area. I love the wide selection and it’s fairly priced. Plus, Robert is the friendliest sushi chef you’ll ever meet!

Lunch box is awesome. Forgot to take pics before starting to eat. But you will like it.

I have been going to Matuba for years and my food experience has been enjoyable every time. My personal favorites are the egg yolk shrimp, shooting star oysters, and most of the sushi maki rolls and hand rolls. Yes, Robert tends to go heavy on the «special sauce» but it’s easy to request him to lighten it up a bit. Overall, I recommend exploring other parts of the menu. They have so many different choices that it’s hard to decide yet it wouldn’t hurt to try something new every once and a while.

Pros: great tasting sushi, easy to locate, parking never a problem, menu fairly straightforward
Cons: service always bad, décor strange and old, hours not great
Neutral (you decide): somehow never, ever busy. (I’m always either the only table or one of two tables in the whole place.)
Overall, great sushi but don’t expect even close to good service.

While the food here is wonderful, the atmosphere is a little dated and worn, but I promise, Robert (the owner /​sushi chef) will keep you coming back.
From the first time I came to Matsuba (I’ll explain the ‘s’ later…) Robert has always remembered my name, he has always greeted us by name when we walk in the door. Everything we have ordered has been great, and the service has always been wonderful!
(The Japanese don’t use a phonetic ‘tu’ sound. hence my use of Ma-​tsu-​ba)