Masa

I normally enjoy the weekend brunch at Masa - the food is reasonable and tasty. Nothing, however, could have prepared me for how rudely I was treated this past weekend. We had called to confirm that the brunch was open til 3 and to make a reservation for 2:45 pm. We were politely told that it would be no problem and that as long as were seated by 3, we would be fine. We made the 40 minute commute from Cambridge and arrived at 2:47 pm. \r \r At this point, we were rudely told that brunch was over and they would not serve us. We reminded them that we had a reservation for 2:45 and we had been told we could sit til3. At this point, the host said that brunch closed at 3 and that it was after 3. We showed him all our watches and phones (which are automatically updated). He said his clock said 3:05 and that was the time he was going to use. He went on to berate us for being falsely late. I was astounded. \r \r Any reasonable restaurant would have apologized that the kitchen had closed early. I could never have expected to have been yelled at for being late, according to ""their time."" \r \r Warning: Masa does not hold reservations well and will blame you in case your reservation cannot be met. They also use a clock that is set to a time someone between EST and PST. Cons: Horrible service; dishonest; do not hold reservations more

On a cold blustery February night while visiting from NYC, we decided to try Masa. We were so glad we did. The restaurant is located in South End, and holds its own among some celebrated Boston spots on Tremont Street. The cozy and sumptuously detailed decor set the mood for a great evening of dining. We were treated to a complimentary appetizer from the chef, and then served a variety of breads with an assortment of spreads. Our appetizer was a smooth as butter spicy ahi fusion roll, which I highly recommend. Our main courses were both fish dishes. I had an amazing pan fried catfish dish with winter vegetables, a smokey tomatillo sauce and gruyere grits. It was a perfect dish for a cold night and the flavors were robust and eclectic. The other entree ordered was a roasted salmon with horseradish, cucumber and a salmon caviar, with creme freche. A more delicate entree that would be good year round. I had a delicious specialty cocktail as well. Our service was impeccable and the bill was quite reasonable. Pros: food, service, decor Cons: none! more

First of all... this is one of my favorite restaurants in Boston. Great decor, great music, great atmosphere. \r \r I'm going to start from the small stuff... the TAPAS! Aside from the fact that they haven't changed their tapas menu in a few months, you can't beat the deal. If you eat here between 5-7 after work... glass of wine.. etc etc etc... you get a plate of 10 different tapas for 5 dollars. I usually go with my boyfriend and get 2 plates (we mix and match our favorites and trade eachother) for 10 bucks. You can't beat that happy hour special.\r \r The entrees are delicious. The braised pork is to die for. Their drink selection is AWESOME, too. They have great tequilas, wines, ecclectic mix.\r \r The service couldn't be any better. The people are fun, cordial, and know how to recommend something...\r \r Definitely give this place a try! Pros: tapas, service, ambience Cons: need to change their menu a little more

I've gone to Masa a couple of times now and I will definitely be back. The first time I went we started out with drinks and tapas and later were seated for our reservations. Everything was spectacular. I had the Crispy Chermoula Chicken Breast with Coconut Mole and it was fabulous. Later inteh evening I asked for a hot cocoa, because I don't do coffee and everyone else had order coffee and it looked like we were going to be a while. Unfortunately they didnt have any but they offered try to make some from scratch using a chocolate ganache and steamed milk. It came out fabulous. Since then I have been back with a couple of friends to have tapas and drinks. Each time the service has been phenomenal. The Watermelon Marg that has habernero in it is excellent. As for the other drinks I have to say the classic marg was lacking but the ultimate was quite good. I highly recommend ordered the flight of tequilas, you receive three shots of tequila of your choosing. Really is the best deal and you can be sure they won't be watered down. :) Pros: Excellent Tapas, Dinner, Tequila Selection and Atmostphere. Wonderful Service. Cons: The Classic Margarita wasn't to my liking (but the ultimate was quite good) more

Brunch at Masa is to die for. The first time I had the Texas Toast stuffed with caramelized bananas - it was rich and delicious. The second time I had the Huevos Rancheros which I declared my favorite brunch dish of all time. It was the perfect combination of eggs, cheese, beans and cream (with tortilla strips for a nice crunch). I am excited to try the Venezuelan chocolate chip pancakes but I'm not sure I'll be able to stray from my new favorite dish. The decor is warm and inviting - the staff is friendly. You wont be disappointed. Pros: Great Menu Cons: Parking can be a challenge more

Peek through the window and you'll never guess this swanky restaurant serves $1 tapas. Head over with your... more

Peek through the window and you'll never guess this swanky restaurant serves $1 tapas. Head over with your afterwork crew, order a round of margari... more

I love this place! I've never even thought about writing an online review, but after reading some of the crazy ones below that say this place should be avoided, I HAD to. The service has always been really friendly and on point, never abrupt or rushed. They make the best drinks- I'm super picky about my margaritas, and Masa gets it right. The food, I swear, gets better and better each time I go in. I love the new menu! Butternutsquash soup is unreal, and the salmon is to die for, and the filet with truffle macaroni is delicious. Masa-whatever you're doing- keep it up! Pros: Seasonal menus, $1 tapas, Drinks, Great Atmosphere more

This place is great. I went there with a few friends and it was my buddys girlfriends birthday. I called ahead to give them a heads up. When we arrived I told the hostes who I was and she asked me to hold for one minute, she returned and asked me to step over to the bar. I agreed and I was greeted by the manager. He asked me what he could do to make the night special for my buddies girl. I told him what wine she likes and asked that a dessert be sent over at the end. Sure enough she had her glass of wine upon us being seated. They went above and beyond for this night. The best part is she had no idea what was coming because she never saw her boyfriend speaking to management. I've never been so impressed by any service and I've dined at a lot of restaurants. Thanks Masa Pros: service, food and service more

I went to Masa with a group of friends last Friday night. We had a dinner reservation at 9pm. After checking in with the hostess we went to the bar for drinks. They had a nice selection of tequilas so we decided to have margaritas. They were excellent. We sat down for dinner 15 minutes later. I had the ceviche appetizer. It was delicious, fresh, and creative. The first citrus ceviche I've had that contains watermelon. Mmmmm! The Sea Scallops with barbecued duck and sweet corn cream was over the top. Our margaritas just kept getting better, and we were on to our next course. I had a braised pork shoulder with port fig jam, a three pepper polenta, and a chile reduction. It was delicious. To end the meal on a good note, I ordered on of there desserts. A chocolate mousse taco. I had never seen a taco as dessert, so I wanted to be adventurous and try it. It had a chocolate taco shell, filled with a light chocolate mousse, and white chocolate shavings on top. And the entire taco is sitting in the middle of a raspberry puree ring. I highly recommend this Masa. They're prices are right on, and the atmosphere is great. And thumbs up on the website! Pros: Food, drinks, and service more

Like slop on a plate. My best friend and I dined here on a Wednesday night and I guess we should have read the CitySearch reviews before we decided to waste our time. We ordered cocktails that were watered down, a selection of appetizers that were bland, chicken and steak entrees that appeared to be haphazardly strewn onto the plates and desserts that were forgetable. I felt sorry for the servers that had to carry out this mess. What we paid ($125+) plus what we received (flavorless slop) = highway robbery. We will not be returning, nor do I recommend anyone else does. Pros: Servers were nice. Cons: poor food quality, poor presentation, poor drinks. more

I have been a regular guest at Masa for almost a year. Now visiting at least once or twice a week.\r I discovered the restaurant through a friend who highly recommended the bar and tequila around relaxing atmosphere and great beats. Masa and the staff have always provided great attention for my guests and me. The hostess is a very genuine young lady and treats her visitors with care and warmth; servers have all great personalities and look joeys of working together. Managers of the house always provided their best to satisfy everyone?s needs!!!!! \r The Southwestern cuisine presented in a very elegant form brings your mouth to a different level of flavor and the drinks will give you the perfect end or beginning of the night.\r Love Masa and I hope to share my wonderful experience with many!!!!!!!!\r more

Went to Masa and was highly disappointed in the whole experience. We arrived twenty minutes before our reservation celebrating a birthday on a Saturday. We checked in, told them about my date's birthday and requested a candle for our dessert. Margaritas at the bar would tide us over we figured. Problem is, it took fifteen minutes. I understand the dining room was full, but the bar wasn't. And for $14 each, for the margaritas, they were not good. They put salt on mine after I asked for no salt, and got an evil sneer from the bartender for pointing out her mistake. After twenty minutes PAST our reservation time, I went to the host stand to inquire about our table. The host told me that our table would be ready soon. Twenty minutes later, I went back to the host stand, this time the host rudely told me they were busy, but that he had no control over the tables. We decided to try the tapas at the bar while we waited, they were not memorable and served lukewarm. Finally, one hour after our reservation time, we were seated by the rude host, who we later learned was the GM. We ordered a bottle of wine, which they were out of. We tried another bottle, which they were also out of. The server recommended a third bottle, which we later found out when we got the bill was twice the price of our other wine picks. We ordered apps, the tuna roll, bland and fishy tasting, and the empanad, which was cold and not worth $13. Our first entree choice was out for the evening, so we decided on the tuna and the duck. both were bland and cold. We don't remember the desserts we ordered, but I do remember the first two tequilas we tried to order with them were also out of stock. The manager came by and asked how everything was and we told him the problems. I also reminded the GM about the neglected birthday candle in my dates dessert. He told me that they were very busy and said that some things do get overlooked. Like someone enjoying their experience in their establishment. Pros: The night finally ended Cons: Manager, Service, Food, Value, Everything more

So disgusting. This has got to be the worst restaurant in Boston. Even there servers told us that while our food took 1 hour to get to the table. Lovely when a server says ""yeah the owners are Idiots and don't care about anything as long as the they make a buck. We don't even have a chef anymore, just linecooks who CANT actually cook."" With that my party of four got up and left. The GM who i guess is also the owner or something, told US ""good riddens, your Not welcome back!"" when we said how awful the food was. Great Business Men here at Masa. The other Owner Phil who I guess was also there was Sitting at the Bar being loud DRUNK and annoying a couple 20 something girls with stupid stories of his Porsche! He gave us the Middle finger as we left the place thru the windows. DO NOT GO TO THIS PLACE. They Should close their doors, lock them, and get jobs as taxi drivers, Seriously. Pros: A New Chef, Great Cusine Cons: Parking, Valet to expensive more

So disappointed! Came here for my birthday with out of town family and friends. Reservations were made over a week in advance for 9:30PM, didn't even get seated until 10:15 after being told 4 times our table was being cleared and we would sit in one minute. The only compliment I can give is that the drinks were great. Other than that, it was, by far the worst dining experience ever! The waiter apologized for our wait and assured us we would be taken care of. Once seated, our drinks took another twenty minutes to arrive. We ordered appetizers, which came out over 40 minutes later and were ice cold. The waiter checked on our appetizers another 10 minutes after we had eaten them and when I mentioned they were cold he said, oh, wow, and we're not even that busy now. WHAT???? He then walked away without clearing our empty plates, didn't take our dinner order and ignored the fact that our drinks were empty. At this point I requested the manager, who did promptly come to our table, apologized and said he would be taking care of us from that point forward. He took our dinner order and then walked away. Our appetizer plates and empty glasses still sat before us!!!! When dinner came, a new waitress was now serving us. We had to hold our appetizer plates ourselves so she could place our meals before us. She did take a new drink order and they took another twenty minutes to arrive. Every meal we ordered was either way over cooked or ice cold. When she returned to our table with our drinks I asked for the manager again and said to please just remove our meal because at this point we're exhausted and so aggravated and disappointed with what transpired that we'd all just lost our appetites. The door man approached the table and told us to leave when we were able to! Again I say, WHAT????? This was the most horrendous dinner experience I've ever endured and they absolutely ruined what was supposed to be a fabulous night out and I wouldn't return here EVER!!! Pros: Drinks Cons: Service, Food quality, Rudeness of all staff, Time it took to be seated even w/ reservations! more

Just meanered into Masa for a impromptu Sunday Brunch and was pleasantly suprised. For a beautiful spot in a good neighborhood the prices were really reasonable and the service excellent. Our brunch was very fresh and yummy. Protions were kind of ""Ehh"" but when you factor in how affordable they were it all fell into perspective. I was with a friend that had been in the night before for tapas and sangria and said that it was wonderful and super cheap (some kind of special?). Most importantly the service was excellent. As a lifer in the restaurant business I am very sensitive to the dying art of good service. Our server (Alfred? Albert?) was really busy and still managed to get us everything thing we needed promptly and with a great personality. I would definatly go back. (Make sure to request a booth to avoid getting stuck at the dreaded center 2 top). more

A group of us went here the other night and it was pretty decent. Our service was great, our drinks were great, but the food was nothing special. Everyone ate their food, but no one said it was good or bad. It's an average place with above average service. Pros: Service, ambience Cons: Pricey, nothing special more

last week i was meeting a guy for our first date at Masa, before i went i did some research and came upon city search's reviews...well you guys were right on! i was warned ahead of time of the limited parking, so i was prepared to valet. once there my date was seated at a table on the bar side of the restaurant, once seated with my date, the bartender/server was immedialty at our table to take our drink order. when he arrived(in under 2 min, no exaggeration) he was armed with two of the BEST margaritas i have ever had(including those in Mexico). to say the service was amazing, would be an under statement. on a very busy thursday night, we never waited long for any of our apps, meals or drinks. our server was so knowledgeable in the menu and Masa's extensive tequila selection. after several of those delicious margaritas, around 930 ish it turned into this great salsa scene. the tables had been cleared out of the dinning room and people were tearing up the floor. overall i had not only a great date, but an amazing time at Masa. we even thought of going back there for our second date! i will be going back to take friends that will be visting boston in the spring. Pros: service,setting,margaritas Cons: none~! more

I enjoyed the atmosphere and food at Masa. I went with a group of friends on a weekend. Best food I've had in a long time! Pros: Food Cons: ? more

We recently went to Masa after having checked out the web-site, and passed by. The decor is warm, all in yellows and copper, South-westernish with style. At the bar I had the best Caipirinhia in Boston, actually made by a Brazilian bartender. The cockatil list is nice. When we ordered the dinner, we decided to go with the Masarita pitcher - obviously some kind of sangria maison. Well non, it was this huge bowl of super-strong margarita ! (good yes, but we couldn't finish it). But above all, we loved the food ! It's very inventive, it has this fusion of Asian and South-Western flavors, very interesting in the mouth. We will definitely go back very soon, frist to try some more entrees on the men, then also for some of those tapas everybody is talking about... Best of all, Masa is not over-pricey, and that makes the food even more delectable. It's really worh the money. Pros: food, drinks, ambience, price - everything ! Cons: ? more