Ma Soba

Recommends

Eric Grossman

Joined 10 years ago

Beacon Hill restaurant rolls some of downtown's freshest and most innovative sushi.. In Short
Area residents and nearby hospital workers fill Ma Soba's airy, multi-tiered dining room to satisfy their sushi hankerings. While the restaurant offers above-average interpretations of familiar Asian favorites (cloyingly sweet pad Thai, savory Bulgogi), it stands out for its innovative sushi offerings. Around 50 different rolls are available, including offbeat varieties like the "disco shrimp" (baked shrimp and scallop atop spicy crab) and "ninja" (albacore tempura, crab and avocado).

Doesn't Recommend

rayrassi

Joined 5 years ago

Bad service, bad sushi, worse management. Ruined our 30th Anniversary Dinner.... On July 15th I was celebrating my 30th anniversary and had in mind to take my wife, sons, their wives, my mother and sister to Ma Soba. I chose Ma Soba because of the reviews and ratings I saw online and because it was relatively close to the Blue Man Group show which was next in the agenda. I made my reservation for 6PM and explained to the person taking the reservation that this was an important event in my family. I trusted everything would be OK. First the server took forever to come to our table and ask if we needed anything despite the fact we were one of the largest tables that night (10 people), I literally had to get out of my seat to ask for help because waiter after waiter they kept passing by our table and never offered help. Finally someone came up (Name was stated as "Goeun" in the bill) and asked if we needed anything. We had nothing! Finally she took our order for appetizers and drinks and again I had to get up and ask about our service since no one came to bring the stuff we asked for. When I got up I then saw some movement and conversation among the wait staff and our miso soup arrived and the drinks. Needless to say the miso soup was cold and the beers warm. It took forever to serve the food and sushi boat and finally when it came the sushi did not feel or taste fresh. All of this without the customary smiles and hospitalities one expects when waited on in a nice restaurant. Finally we were whacked with a 18% mandatory tip which did not allow us to show how displeased we were. What should have been a perfect night was ruined. Today I took the time to call the restaurant and apparently spoke with Yun (Manager?) and Lina (Owner?). Both offered apologies and asked us to come back so they could provide better service. I thought they were kidding. They did not offer anything complimentary or any refund. I was appalled! Never again!

Doesn't Recommend

yomoma724

Joined 5 years ago

What's wrong with the rice???. They used basmati rice instead of sushi rice, and it was clear they didn't even bother adding rice vinegar to it! Ridiculous, who do they think they're fooling! On the other hand, f I was only rating the sashimi, I'd give it 3 stars... Needless to say, trying to cut corners by using cheap long-grain rice is unacceptable, never again.

Doesn't Recommend

foodaddict39

Joined 6 years ago

Disappointing! Avoid this joint if you know your raw fish!!. I consider myself as a pundit when it comes to Japanese cuisine. Tonight was my first time at Ma Soba and let's just say after paying $100 for just food for 2 people, I was horrendously letdown. Service between average and a tad below average. Portions are small for the price but apparently Ma Soba thought they could make it up by piling each roll up with rice. Restaurant had both mango and avacado but refused to make mango-avacado roll on the spot for a first-time vegetarian guest. Sweet shrimp hand roll had two pieces of shrimp and more rice than a rice ball plus the seaweed tasted rubbery and old. Uni was not fresh at all. The pieces of sushi were cut unevenly. Overall, there's no real skill in sushi preparation. If you're looking for great and authentic sushi bar offerings, do not waste your time here. Even if money is not an issue for you, you should not squander your pretty pennies here. It's just not worth it. FYI, the soy sauce is extremely salty and the wasabi tasted like the kind made with powder. Edamame comes in a small wooden basket that is only good for max 2 people --- if you're only interested in about 12 edamame each. I'm disappointed with the quality of the food. I don't mind the price, but for the price I paid, I felt like I was not getting my money's worth in both quality and quantity. The one thing that I could not complain about was the miso soup. DO NOT order the vegetable dumplings, it's just not worth while. Most importantly, the Baked Lobster Roll tonight tasted not like lobster at all but crawfish. I don't know how Ma Soba made it to the top 10!

Recommends

k1peters

Joined 6 years ago

Can't believe it kicked Ginza's butt. Look, I love Ginza. I LOVE Fugakyu. But there was something just impeccable about the sushi I had last night that i actually felt compelled to write a review. This was, by far, the freshest raw fish I've ever eaten...and I've done my share of sushi joints in Boston. I must say I wasn't a huge fan of the combinations of ingredients in the specialty rolls, but oh my LORD, the fish was DELICIOUS. My white tuna just melted in my mouth; the salmon was so buttery I almost went to heaven, and the veggies were fresh. What a treat!!!

Recommends

sunshine1985

Joined 6 years ago

Great Sushi. Amazing sushi. Nice resturant and great service. A little on the expensive side, but definately worth it!

Recommends

mteich

Joined 6 years ago

Best sushi in Boston. We have been here 3 times. Each time we have tried different maki orders. Here some of our favorites:

ROCK & ROLL -Tobiko, Spicy Tuna, Baked Scallop, Gobo, & Cucumber;

T.N.T. ROLL- Shrimp Tempura, Tobiko, Special Sauce, & Cali.Roll;

NINJA ROLL - Albacore Tempura, Crab, Tobiko, & Avocado;

BAKED SPICY LOBSTER ROLL - Baked Spicy Lobster, Tobiko, Cali.Roll;

DISCO SHRIMP ROLL - Baked Shrimp, Tobiko, Scallop, Spicy Crab, & Avocado;

Recommends

looxor

Joined 6 years ago

Good but expencive and NOT romantic. Let me say a couple of things before: This is my first review but many others will follow. I like reading the reviews here but the people seems to forget that there are 5 different rate to choose from, not only one star or 5...

(Sorry for any grammatical mistake, I am Italian).

OK, I went to this place last Friday, I reserved (I recommend doing it) and we were promptly seated immediately. The place is nice but definitely NOT romantic at all, who said it is...sorry guys you have no idea what is a romantic place...This is way to bright, and the table (all in one room) are too much close to each other to be romantic, you end specking with the table next to you...and listening...

The food is good, I can not complain about it.

But overall I found the price way to high, bottles of wine almost start at 28$, for nothing special and I ended pay 100$ for two, eating a mixed tempura, 6 California rolls, and a mixed sushi and sashimi, with a bottle of France risling (I don?t remember how to spell it) that was nothing special at all. 70$ could be a fear price.

Recommends

princessork

Joined 6 years ago

Yum. I had a great dining experience here. Great food and atmosphere. Although we had to wait for a table it was worth it. parking is a plus too!

Recommends

jet777

Joined 6 years ago

Wonderful Place!. I'm new to Boston. but I've been to enough to know that this has to be one of the best! Everything from the appetizers to the sake exceeded my expectations. I'm not a fan of big restaurant, preferring the smaller one that have the owner's exclusive attention, but is the exception to that rule. Great decor, very friendly environment and service, and best of all, a great menu. I went with a couple of friends and let them order and there wasn't one dish I didn't absolutely love. Great!