| rev:text
| - I'll preface the review by saying that Masa in NYC is one of my favorite restaurants. I fully understand that, often enough, Vegas satellites tend to be only a shadow of their non-Vegas counterparts, but I was not prepared for the level of my disappointment at BARMASA.
Even approaching the hostess desk at BARMASA I felt a sense of excitement (despite the incorrect signage in the Aria Casino directing you to "Masa"--I can now speculate on the story behind that). That excitement immediately evaporated the second I turned the corner around the entryway and viewed the main dining area: Certainly "consistent" (to put it as kindly as possible) with the rest of Aria's decor, but uninspiring and, frankly, gloomy. Granted, it was 6pm on a Wednesday, so possibly the "vibe" of the restaurant was not at its peak, but I could not help but feel utterly deflated...and this was even before I thought about the food.
Even though I was meeting up with a friend, I was first invited to dine at the bar. I thought this could be a real treat--the "bar" area at Masa (where your food is prepared right in front of you) is an incredible experience, especially on top of the NYC restaurant's beautiful Japanese hinoki wood counter. Not at BARMASA: Their bar is just a plain, old uninspiring bar. A little surprising for Vegas not to splurge on a highlight like a hinoki wood counter (even if it might be at the cost of the quality of the food). I opted for a table--the host explaining how the bar overlooks the entire restaurant reminded me of a real estate agent trying to explain away a defect as a design feature.
With respect to the food, all of the reviewers are spot-on in saying that it is overpriced. I would be okay with the prices if the food was of matching quality, but this was not the case at BARMASA. The Kobe Beef and Garlic Fried Rice ($34) was rather pedestrian, and nothing about the dish appropriately highlighted the kobe beef. The Nameko and Tofu Miso Soup was okay and a relative bargain at $9. The Masa "Toro Toro" Roll ($48)--a slightly-on-the-large-side five-piece roll featuring the fatty Bluefin tuna--was a bland mess. I would recommend instead just getting a $9 piece or two of toro from the a la carte menu. There was very limited substance taste-wise to the Chicken Yakitori Skewers ($30). The lone bright spot among the dishes we had was the Peking Duck with Foie Gras in Moo-Shu Skin ($26). It was so good (and relatively small at just four pieces) that we got another one. (This, sadly, should also give you a sense of the small portions you get for your money at BARMASA.) In fact, the Peking Duck is the only thing that is saving BARMASA from getting a one-star review in my book.
Service was good, although maybe a little lacking in attentiveness. Do not expect a high level of service that you might expect when spending the same amount of money at another restaurant.
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