Masa Japanese Cuisine

Rating: 14
Author: Gault&Millau

Hanauer Landstraße 131, 60314 Frankfurt, Germany

14/20
Chef's Restaurant

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Location: Frankfurt
Chef: Masaru Oae
Cooking: Asian | Japanese
Style: Casual, With friends

Gault&Millau's review 2025

14/20

Chef's Restaurant

Driven by Japanese meticulousness and striving for perfection, the cuisine of Masaru Oae is constantly developing in terms of quality - the third toque is within reach! In the appetizer variation, one highlight chases the next: Unagi eel meets Japanese omelette, gentle veal tartare is crowned by caviar and a formidable snow crab harmonizes finely with yuba and char caviar. Only the duck breast with leek and the Japanese plum with baked shrimp praline fell off slightly here and did not fit so harmoniously into the overall picture. The sashimi variation (including sea bream with yuzu, yellowfin mackerel with shiso sauce and tuna with soy sauce) is always excellent, although Oae-san could concentrate even more on the main products here. As a more European intermediate course, a perfectly fried eagle fish with sea urchin in a rather powerful butter sauce follows – this tastes good, but due to the heartiness, it shakes the lightness of the Kaiseki philosophy a bit. On the other hand, everything is fine with the outstanding nigiri in the sushi course, which are definitely a benchmark in this country in terms of consistency, rice seasoning and fish quality. Surprisingly, the main course, which was again more French, with veal from Holland and a Jerusalem artichoke variation and some braised Wagyu, was simply sensational – rarely have we eaten such a delicately melting veal in this quality! The soy milk as a crème brûlée with coffee, coconut, raspberry and matcha was then a logical, crowning finale. Bravo – if only we had the chance to be pampered here more often...