Musashi Japanese - Palm Desert

This is the real deal the only top notch sushi in the Palm Springs area. I stumbled in by happenstance on a Wednesday night without a reservation and since I was dining alone I snagged the only individual seat at the bar. It's popular with locals and the way I noticed it was driving by at 5:00 there was a line of older people waiting to get in right when they opened the doors. Good sign. Service was a bit dictatorial probably because it was so busy and they had to keep things moving but the host (maybe wife and owner) was nice even though she was firm. She just had a ton of patrons to manage. I saw 5 10 parties get turned away since no resy for the short time I waited for my spot to clear. Sushi bar it took a while to eat since they were so busy. Chefs had their hands full. Also full menu is not available at the sushi bar. On to the sushi excellent fish. Right up there with best I've had at some of the high end sushi restaurants on either coast all in an unassuming old school atmosphere. Nothing fancy but yellowtail, tuna, aji, ikura, uni, mackerel, sweet shrimp were all wonderful. The uni was very special. I also loved my negihama roll. Oh expect to pay handsomely for what you get. Take out pork tonkatsu was good also especially after crisping it up in a toaster oven. Had a delicious hot mustard along with the sweet sauce. Don't go here if you're looking for a Philly cheese roll. There's another restaurant somewhere else for that kind of sushi. Go here for great nigiri and the old standbys.

I am sorry I didn't take any pictures so you will have to trust my descriptions. Sake-Very dry Hizo Otokoyama, such a delight Appetizers-Gyozo, perfectly prepared, fried on one side, steamed on the other. Very tender and flavorful. Vegetable Tempura-Very light crust, lovely vegetables Soft shell crab-Very light and flavorful Sushi-Musashi roll, very fresh, shrimp tempura inside with CA roll, generous avocado on top with sauce Spicy Scallop hand roll-Love, love this. Someone else posted a picture of this hand roll, ours was consistent with the picture

Great little place off the 111. Small, cozy inside and everyone is super nice. It feels like a family owned business and they really take good care of their customers. The food was great, a bit on the pricier side but overall really good quality. I enjoyed the sake recommendation as well, I will definitely be coming back to try other menu items.

This place has such great quality sushi. I always order a chirashi bowl. It was $39 and although it had less fish than other chirashi bowls, it was a perfect size for lunch. The fish was the smoothest and not at all fishy. They were cut thin than what I typically see- the thicker slices. Not once did I bite into a veiny/tendinous piece. It was a small intimate place, with Japanese chefs. Glad I made the stop pre-airport!

So say the owner was rude, disrespectful and totally unpleasant is an understatement. Made a reservation that was not honored but did give us a seat at the bar. Made it very clear we had a very short time to order. We did so and completed our dinner. Other customers were still being served as paid for our fair. She basically said she had done this for over twenty years and was tired of it. We did not feel welcome in the slightest. In the Asian household or restaurant you are welcomed as an honored guest. Certainly not the case here. Sushi was fair. Sushi chefs were quite nice. Have a great day.