Not since Momofuku Ko (with Gael Green's "I am forced to taste it again and again to be sure I hate it as much as I do" to Bruni's, "You'll love it, provided you ever get access to it.") have two major critics diverged so dramatically on a new restaurant put forth by such a heavy hitter.
When reviews of Matsugen appeared shortly after its opening, it was again Bruni who sang praises (and awarded 3 of 4 stars) and New York Magazine's Platt who leveraged his wife's torrent of complaints to trash the food, prices and atmosphere, awarding the restaurant a paltry 1 of 5 stars.
In his review Bruni framed the restaurant in TriBeCa's, and also the city's, culinary landscape, "Matsugen hasn't chosen to be flashier, more conventionally approachable or more accommodating to American palates." Jean-Georges Vongerichten reiterated this on his blog two days after Platt's review, "It seems [Platt] may have misunderstood the concept behind Matsugen--it's commitment to pure, authentic Japanese cooking." Shortly after Alan Richman also weighed in, saying, "[Matsugen] is excellent and even more than that, it's an important restaurant, offering high-level, classic Japanese dining unavailable anywhere else in Manhattan."
Whether you agree with Bruni or Platt may depend most on your interest in and openness to eating traditional Japanese cuisine. If you were a fan of Honmura An or if you've ever enjoyed a meal at Sugiyama, Kai or Donguri, Matsugen should be right up your alley. And even if you're not a Japanophile you may find that you love it.
Watch our new Matsugen video below featuring co-owner Masashi Matsushita to learn about Matsugen's cuisine and why it's so difficult to make proper soba noodles in New York City.
Matsugen
TriBeCa
241 Church St
(at Leonard St)
Phone: 212-925-0202
View the Matsugen listing on Savory Cities
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