Lincoln has another all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant – this one in south Lincoln.
Masa Sushi opened Oct. 22 at 1701 Pine Lake Road, where Issara used to be. The restaurant is locally owned, with the new owner wishing to remain anonymous.
Open for lunch and dinner daily, Masa has dine-in, all-you-can-eat menus for lunch ($19.95/person) and dinner ($30.95/person), with a choice of beverage as part of the price, including dinner-only glass of wine or domestic beer.
The restaurant makes a point of catering to families, with all-you-can-eat pricing available for children ages 4 to 12.
For those not wanting to eat a lot, Masa also has a la carte menus, with individually priced appetizers, sushi and kitchen entrees. Rolls range in price from $5 to $16 and kitchen entrees cost between $12.50 and $19. The a la carte menu is available for takeout and delivery orders.
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Of course, the better deal is dining in and ordering all you can eat.
Food
The nice thing about all-you-can-eat sushi is being able to try new foods without worrying about the price. We discovered a new favorite, the Nemo Roll, which we may not have tried based on its description.
The Nemo Roll, priced $14.95 on the a la carte menu, featured white tuna, snow crab and avocado topped with salmon, thinly sliced lemon and black tobiko (fish roe). We weren’t sure about the lemon, but it gave the roll a tarty zing, complementing the tuna and crab nicely. It proved to be the most flavorful of the five rolls we ordered.
Four of us dined together, with each of us sharing our selections from the dinner menu. We tried a little something from nearly every category: salad, sashimi, sushi appetizers, basic rolls, specialty rolls, appetizers, tempura, katsu, teriyaki, fried rice or noodle and desserts.
We didn’t sample any of the hot kitchen entrees – katsu, teriyaki, fried rice or noodles – because all of us were in the mood for sushi, soup and appetizers.
From our selections, we were incredibly impressed with the squid salad, the miso and hot sour soups (with my friend Jill saying she’d order the miso for takeout on a cold, blustery day), fried calamari, the Nemo and Caterpillar (imitation crab tempura, cream cheese and asparagus) rolls, and, believe it or not, fried Oreo cookies – the cookies were dipped in a tempura batter and then fried.
The sashimi we ordered – tuna and salmon – was fresh, but thinly sliced. You may want to order more than one piece. Grade: B
Atmosphere
When the restaurant was Issara, it was one of the more elegant in Lincoln. This still holds true for Masa. The new owner has kept the room as is, with one major difference – the bar is now a sushi bar, where diners can sit and watch the sushi chefs work their magic.
The room is attractive, with hardwood tables and chairs dotting the carpeted floor. The ceiling features sound-absorbing panels situated among the hanging lights. The combination of carpeting and panels helps keep noise to a minimum on busy nights. Decor is minimal, with a handful of framed prints on walls. There’s also a TV on a wall at the back of the restaurant. Grade: A
Service
Service is a work-in-progress, front-of-house manager Daniel Nichols admitted. When he learned that we had dined on the previous Sunday evening, he groaned and apologized, saying it was a rough night because the restaurant had several new hires working on an evening when several large groups arrived at the same time.
We had food we didn’t order delivered to our table, and while our soups and appetizers came out in a timely manner, our sushi, and, later, our desserts, took awhile to reach us. We weren’t upset; it was the restaurant’s second weekend after all. I expect service will improve as chefs and servers become more comfortable, especially during the lunch and dinner rushes. Grade: C
Specialty diets
Masa’s all-you-can eat menu features several soups, appetizers and rolls that are vegetarian-friendly. Kitchen entrees include a veggie teriyaki, fried rice and noodle. Gluten-free dining isn’t notated in the menu, so diners should check with servers. The sashimi, of course, would be safe, but the specialty rolls and kitchen entrees may contain ingredients with gluten. Grade: B