Matsugawa Sushi

My new go-​to to fulfill any sushi craving. Sushi was fresh and delicious, service was better then most Sushi places, and price was reasonable.

The sushi here was delicious! Don’t get me wrong by the rating it was very fresh and tasty.
The service was really terrible. We ordered three rolls, including a crunchy spicy tuna roll, marked it on the correct location on the sushi ordering paper and then were brought a regular spicy tuna roll. The waitress dropped it off quickly and walked away before we could tell her it wasn’t something we ordered. When we finally did get her attention — she argued with us! She said «well we already made you this, and now you want to change your mind?» She claimed she would go check the ordering sheet but then continued to insist and generally talk to us like she was our mother and we didn’t like what was for dinner. Whatever. We take the roll, fine I’m not going to have a blow out with the waitress.
When it comes to the check we ask her, is it easier for you to print up separate checks or would it be easier if we let you know how much to charge on each card?
I know its annoying but it isn’t that difficult and there isn’t a really good reason to make your customers feel so weird about asking for basic services. She says «it would be easier if it was one check and one card» so I sort of chuckle, whatever, and ask her the question again to which she replies the same answer.
This is getting annoying. Finally someone comes over and takes her place and gets us our checks where! We are charged for the sushi we originally ordered and didn’t recieve. Bum bum.
We just leave, it’s not worth it to argue in a restaurant. Needless to say, we will not be back. I go to a restaurant because I want to be able to order what I want, not be talked down to.

Really yummy fresh sushi here! You can’t go wrong with their Lady Gaga’s fashion roll or their Matsugawa roll if you’re opting for a low carb no rice meal.
I also really enjoy their pork belly tonkotsu ramen, because the broth is soo creamy and the boiled egg is cooked just perfectly where the yolk is nice and soft in the center.

Really great experience here! Obviously Japanese, not Korean, owned and very well priced. Came in shortly before closing and were treated well, service was friendly and frequent without getting in the way.
Just had 4 rolls off of the super reasonable Happy Hour Menu — Hawaiian, Caterpillar, CA and Spicy Tuna. All were good. Hawaiian was huge. Rolls were well made but had issues with the bigger ones falling apart (minus one star). At $ 8 for the biggies and $ 4 for CA and Spicy Tuna that were 8 pieces, we had a great cheap date!
You can beat the deals here but not by much. Will definitely return. Recommended.

I do not know what this place was like under old management since I moved to the area after the management change, but this is hands down my favorite restaurant in the area. The sushi is quality (Hungry Roll is my favorite) and there are some tasty non-​sushi options like the Katsu, Gyoza and Yakisoba. They also have a nice selection of sake and beers if it has been a rough day. Everything, including the drinks, is reasonably priced — often shockingly so if you order multiple things off of their all day happy hour menu.
Richard always makes us feel welcome — thank you Richard! Let’s support this place and keep a great small business like this in our neighborhood.

It’s happy hour all day every day so I went with a budget in mind. The happy hour menu is small so I took away one star. The food was fresh and amazing so I added 4 stars. This bill was ½ of what I usually pay for sushi and the service was so friendly. I’ll be back often. Oh by the way, beer is super cheap here.

We ordered from them because we got a coupon in the mail for 20% off with a menu and prices listed. My fiancée asked if it was just for dine in, and they said no it was for to-​go orders as well. When we got there, they told her that the prices on the coupon were «Dine in prices» and that it «says it on the coupon». He tried to find it on the coupon, but it wasn’t there but continued to insist on telling her they were dine-​in prices. It ended up costing $ 11 more than what we calculated with our menu price plus 20%. Very bait –and-​switch. The food wasn’t anything spectacular. Not terrible, but really nothing special or flavorful (except salmon roll didn’t taste good to me at all, kind of like windex). The amount of food was almost decent. I hate to sound negative, but the only thing positive I can say about this place is that they have food that is edible, so I won’t give them 1 star. We still tipped them, because I have been in the service industry and I always tip. It takes a lot for me to write something damaging to a small business, but I would say that this place was an overall let down

Matsugawa is definitely a «budget» sushi kind of place with somewhat smaller portions than more expensive locations. However, they have all-​day, all-​time Happy Hour specials, so that’s pretty awesome. A small beer is $ 2.99, and a bunch of rolls are available for under $ 5.00, which beats most other sushi places in San Diego.
The food is very good, whether you want to consider the price or not. Our waitress was friendly and attentive with a smile on her face, so that’s a plus, too. Enough food for two of us (and I can eat a lot) cost less than $ 30, a price that I’d consider more than reasonable for the amount of food.
It probably won’t beat your favorite sushi place, but it’s affordable and more than comparable to the average sushi place. I have no complaints from the service to the price to the actual taste.

I’m so torn on this place… it is under new management, which doesn’t mean much to me since I didn’t try it before then. So this review is strictly based on the 4 experiences I’ve had so far: 2 dine in, 2 takeout.
PROS:
— Nice quality sushi. Flavorful and creative combinations. Good presentation.
— Protein roll menu w/​*4* options! I always find it disappointing when a sushi place only has one protein roll offering (no rice, wrapped in either cucumber, soy paper or some other creative way). It was great to have choices.
— Yummy gyoza and shrimp fried rice!
— Friendly staff
— Nice ambiance and décor
— Fundraising for local schools! One of the ways I heard about this place is that they are offering a special February promo of 10% of your purchase back to a few of the local schools. I find that really admirable and appreciate the gesture.
CONS:
— Prices are consistently $ 1-​$ 2 more than I would expect to spend. The difference in pricing between their dinner combinations and lunch specials is insane, with unremarkable difference in portion size.
— Serving sizes. For the higher cost, I would at least expect a generous serving size, but most rolls appear to come with only 6pcs. When I ordered protein rolls for takeout, I assumed «maybe they couldn’t fit 8pcs in the box and gave me only 6pcs.» I had higher expectations during my dine-​in experiences and was disappointed there as well. Two of the four protein rolls only come with 4pcs. Especially for protein rolls, I expect the price to be a little higher for standard serving sizes (since you don’t have rice filler, but usually more fish). But to pay more AND only get 4pcs or 6pcs is quite disappointing.
— Staff efficiency. While my server was very lovely and kind, he misinformed me right off the bat. I asked, as we were ordering, how many pieces come on the rolls. He told me all come with 8pcs, except one special roll he pointed to that he said only came with 4pcs. I pointed to the protein rolls and asked specifically… «The pictures of these show only 4pcs, so they actually come with 8pcs?» He said yes. I was skeptical and ended up ordering two protein rolls at $ 11 and $ 12 each. Good thing I did, because they BOTH came out with 4pcs… just like the picture. All 8pcs did fill me up, but was certainly not worth $ 23. Additionally, my husband’s two regular rolls came out with 6pcs each. :-/​Oh! I just remembered also that we ordered a shrimp fried rice in addition to the appetizers and sushi and we were almost done with our meal before I realized we didn’t have it yet. When I inquired with our waiter, it seems the kitchen had forgotten. :-/​
Overall, I loved the food that we got at this place. I’m a huge fan of sushi and try to eat it at least once a week. However, I would be hesitant to go back regularly, given the prices. My wallet just won’t let me. I could get the same amount of food for half the price at Sushi Deli. Granted, I’d have to wait 2 hours just to get a table at Sushi Deli… :-P

Good quality fresh sushi and great service! Everything is served beautifully the staffs really attentive. maybe a bit on the pricey side but u get what u pay for !

Matsugawa has changed owners since my last review and my previous sushi place closed (since UTC is being renovated)…
The new sushi chefs there are Timmy and Ricky. They have happy hour all day, every day (except on Sundays when they’re closed). Happy hour = certain apps, rolls, and entrees at a discounted price.
Timmy is super creative and is very accommodating to requests. My favorite is the Hawaiian roll and my husband enjoys customizing his rolls.
All the food here is really tasty! We’ve had
beef teriyaki (well-​made)
gyoza (my husband’s favorite)
chicken curry (very moist chicken!!! and the curry has decent flavor)
ramen (not bad, but if I really wanted ramen, I would go to Tajima)
Recommend: Let Timmy make you a custom roll!

Wow! We were very impressed… Hungry for sushi and this hit the mark… Had veggie tempura then Cali roll, Hawaiian roll and Spicy crunch roll they were all fresh and flavorful two are on the Happy Hour menu so that made it even better! Had large sake chilled also Happy Hour priced! We will go back… Yummy!

Outstanding. We found our new go to spot! Fresh, affordable, pleasant atmosphere, and superb service. We are VERY picky about our sushi and thrilled to have found this gem! The lemon roll was my favorite and the all day happy hour is awesome.

Everything here is super fresh. People are super friendly.
Affordable sushi that taste good.
All day happy hour.
Defiantly will be coming back real soon.

You might not have known, but this is my first check-​in, however it is not the first time I replenished my body here. The last time I dined at Matsugawa was 2 years ago. Time sure did fly. My housemate from that time came here so often that we almost convinced the owner to name a roll after him. Unfortunately we moved, and the guy was creepy.

This is great! Timmy our sushi chef hooked it up. We asked what is specialty was and he did not hold back. Warm, as it should be eel sushi roll with spicy tuna and all kinds of goodies. Next we got the lobster paradise roll that actually melted in my mouth. I moaned a little. Oops. We will be coming back! Affordable, delicious, friendly, intimate, happy atmosphere.

Disappointing even with new management.
Went here to order food for hubby’s bday. Was told 5 minutes, took 15. Which is fine because good food takes time, right? I guess…
The guys making the food were making fun of my order. Don’t think I didn’t understand what you were saying, jerks! The sushi I ordered was supposed to have eel sauce on the outside and as you can see in my picture, NO EEL SAUCE! (Sharpie included to indicate sushi size). I can’t figure out how to add the picture, the link is here:
I took it home, opened the containers to be first surprised by a little flying something (moth?) flying out and then I saw how absolutely tiny the portions were. I mean, this is dinner, right? I paid dinner price, I should get dinner portion. The rice in my entrée was an ice cream scoop size (and shape), definitely not enough to eat with the protein that came with it.
At least I didn’t find a hair. But I did not get what I expected, especially on the sushi. Thanks for letting me down on a special occasion, no less. VERY disappointing experience and will not return, which is a shame since I live so close and like to stay close when I eat out. I guess this will benefit the other eateries close by.

Very friendly staff, Gabriella helped me thru the menu and explained what was in each dish and how it could be tailored to me. I am gluten free and don’t really like salmon. She offered me water while I waited Ave checked on me a few times.
I ordered a sake while I waited and she poured the first glass for good luck. I will be back! !

Stopped in for lunch last week. Wow!
Great price for a perfect sized excellent quality meal.
Service was top shelf as well.
Can’t wait to take my wife out there for dinner! I’m drooling just thinking about it.

Under new ownership as January 8, 2015.
I’ve eaten here only a couple of times previously, so it’s hard to make any comparisons; however, the new team of servers and sushi chefs, with all of two days experience under their belts, were friendly and eager to please.
The nigiri, shashimi, and miso soup, while not overwhelming, were fresh tasting and hit the spot. Our chef, Danny, tried hard to satisfy, and satisfy he did!
We wish the new owners much success in this sleepy area of University City.