Matsuyama - Japanese, Novato

939 Front Street, Novato CA 94945
(415) 209-9823
Parking: in parking lot and street parking
Hours: Lunch Mon - Fri 11:30-3pm, Dinner Mon - Thurs 5pm - 9pm, Fri - Sat 5pm-9:30pm, Closed Sundays

Last Visited: May 11, 2010

Food: 2 to 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $ to $$

I've probably been to Matsuyama for lunch a handful of times now during the last three years. For lunch, it's a great value, and the service is super quick. I've never tried it for dinner, but there are a wide array of offerings for both meals from bento box combos to sashimi and sushi lunches to entrees like tonkatsu and shioyaki. Dinner offers a few more entree offerings like sukiyaki and ginger beef. Udon, ramen, and donburi are available throughout the day.

Enter Matsuyama and there is seating in a large square shaped area with a divided section as well (perhaps it was converted from the previous owner), but both areas are used for dining. It's a low maintenance environment without tablecloths, but the place is clean and simple.

For lunch, the prices are extraordinarily reasonable. A two item bento lunch combo runs for $6.95 and a three item combo for $8.95. Dinner bento combos start at $11.50. Udon during lunch runs between $5.95 and $7.50. Prices are higher by three to four dollars for dinner. There are no complaints about value during lunch.

Most of my visits have consisted of Bento Lunch Combos. With 20 items available to choose from to design your own Bento Lunch combo, it's a wonder why people would choose anything else. Of course, the sashimi lunch and sushi lunch are pretty good deals too. They also offer nigiri and maki too; for dinner, combinations on a boat are also offered. I also thought it was interesting that their kid's plates provide a choice of rice or fries with each dish.

- Bento Lunch Combo - Choices range from teriyaki to tempura to rolls. I typically choose Salmon Teriyaki, Mixed Tempura, and Tuna Sashimi (3 pieces). On occasion, I've ordered the Tonkatsu and Vegetable Tempura instead. Each lunch combo comes with salad and rice. However, they usually send some miso soup over too. While the soup is pretty typical, the lettuce and carrot salad is topped with a bright yellow salad dressing. From the looks of it, you might think it's almost neon, but it tastes okay. Not my first choice in salad dressing, but I still eat it. The ladies serving are always very fast about bringing both the soup and salad to the table. The picture here shows the salmon, vegetable tempura, and tuna sashimi. The salmon is sometimes slightly overcooked, but usually okay with the sauce that accompanies it. The tempura batter is medium in coating and could be lighter. The vegetables usually include broccoli (not what I consider to be a typical tempura vegetable), carrot, yam, and zucchini. The sashimi is fresh, but it's definitely not the highest grade I've had. A big bowl of rice also comes with the box. While it's not the best quality that you've ever had, for the price and how quickly it comes, I still continue to go back to Matsuyama. Two item selection $6.95, Three item selection $8.95

From the description, it's not clear why you might go to Matsuyama, but there are lots of people going for lunch which means a high turnover of the food. The food is fresh and very reasonable. The waitstaff is quick on their feet and you are done with lunch in an hour. For Novato, it's a decent Japanese place. If you want an elegant sushi restaurant with higher quality fish and dishes, you're better off heading further south to Sausalito or Mill Valley, but to appease your appetite for Japanese, Matsuyama might be just the thing.