MATSURI

Matsuri

369 West 16th Street

New York, NY 10011

(212) 243-6400

Matsuri is most likely my favorite restaurant, period.

When you first step inside and turn the corner to overlook the grand, expansive dining area, it is an image that stays with you. One that lingers in the mind every time you go out to eat, popping up to unfairly compare itself.

Everything about it's design is executed perfectly and my first meal there years ago was also one of the first moments I can remember being blown away by a physical space.

As for food, it is vibrant contemporary Japanese cuisine of matching caliber to the incredible atmosphere. The New York Times once claimed Matsuri chef Tadashi Ono's work is "a natural idiom for culinary poetry." If that doesn't sum it up, I don't know what will.