Musashi Japanese Restaurant - Berkeley

Not cheap, but you get what you pay for. Great fresh fish.Food: 5/5

What a hidden gem at Berkeley! This is by far the best sushi restaurant I've been to thats semi close to the campus. The portion size is great and the pricing is fair. I got the soft shell crab for appetizer and tried their chirashi and soboro. This was one of the best soft shell crabs I've ever had. Their batter is a little thick but the flavor is great! Their chirashi had a large variety of fish. They have two pieces for each fish so it was a fun bowl to share with someone to try all the fish out. The sushi rice underneath was perfectly cooked and seasoned. This was my first time trying mappa and the soboro one was very good and comforting. I love that they include the chawanmushi, which was very very silky smooth and delcious. I think the chirashi was very worth the price. It was $29 for a huge bowl of fish and even after sharing half, I was stuffed afterwards. Definitely would come back again.

Not bad at all, good for American standards!Remember to ask for a less salty broth when you order any soup dishes.

They have a really great and fresh fish selection. Including some hard to find varieties. Always made with care and delicious.A nice selection of sake as well.

As a big fan of Japanese cuisine, I can say that Musashi satisfied my Japanese food cravings on Sunday. The restaurant is on a quiet street in Berkeley and there were a lot of street parking spaces available, especially considering I came on a Sunday night. Inside, there are a lot of seating options (sushi bar seating and tables) so there was no queue for my party of 4. The workers were all very friendly and helpful with navigating the menu for some of the items I wasn't super familiar with. I liked how they give you a small complimentary dish (similar to a korean banchan dish) to start off the meal. Some highlights of the meal: takoyaki- delicious chunks of octopus within the warm savory pancake batter, this was so yummychawanmushi- custardy goodness with chunks of crab, shrimp, mushroom and spinach, this seafood concoction was super comforting and delicious chirashi bowls- the fish was super fresh and I loved the variety! I would recommend the chirashi mini set as opposed to the regular sized bowl because it was super filling for the price of only $19! side notes:-they gave strawberry KitKats with the check which I thought was super cute -the staff are very attentive -the soy sauce is the japanese soy sauce that comes in a pipet-type bottle that allows you to drop ample amounts of soy sauce on top of your sushi without having to dip your fish into a dishI highly recommend Musashi for a more affordable and no-frills sushi dinner. I truly felt like I was in Japan and I want to explore more of their extensive menu!