Where sushi meets the all-you-can-eat buffet

Minado brings its recipe for success to Natick

By Clea Simon, Globe Correspondent, 9/17/2003

NATICK -- Unlike most sushi bars, Minado is wedged between a Recreation World and a Party City. One of a growing East Coast chain of pay-one-price Japanese seafood buffets, the restaurant, tucked into Natick's Sherwood Plaza, is more of a toy chest than a jewel case. It's packed with bright colors and whimsical touches -- a school of fake sharks hangs from the ceiling, directing diners toward the buffet -- that are just shy of garish. But with its lilac and tangerine color scheme, fake flowers, and neon signage come top-notch Japanese fare.

This Minado is the third opened by the New Jersey-based Masheta Group (the first two are in Little Ferry, N. J., and Long Island, N. Y.). When the Natick branch opened in April, it advertised primarily in Asian-language community newspapers, said manager Tommy Ng. But following the plan laid out in the other restaurants, the buffet soon aimed at a larger audience.

"It started out with a lot of customers of Asian descent," explained Jonathon Lee, president of the Masheta Group. But these early eaters served partly as a lure. "It seems a lot of non-Asians feel if Asians eat there, then the food is authentic," he said.

With four extensive serve-yourself buffets -- one each for hot dishes, salads, sushi and sashimi, and desserts (including fresh fruit) -- and stations for the hibachi grill and for noodle dishes, you can customize your plates. Dinner prices are $23.95 on weekdays, $25.95 on weekends and holidays.

At the hibachi bar, beef and chicken on skewers are grilled to order with an array of vegetables. Noodle dishes are also tossed on the spot. Hot dishes linclude tender gyoza (dumplings), teriyaki-glazed salmon with a soy marinade, and crispy fried shrimp and vegetable tempura. Salads range from cold beef in a soy-based dressing to bright green wakame, a sea vegetable, with sesame oil. Minado, which translates as "ocean wave," has the open and sparkling clean appeal of its name. On the phone from New York City, where he was overseeing the August unveiling of the latest Minado, Lee explained the concept of customers watching the cooks. "A lot of people are apprehensive about ordering something without seeing it," he said. "Particularly about sushi. If they only see it on the menu, they won't order it. This is a great way to introduce people to the food we serve." It's also a strong business model.

Minados in Atlanta and Parsippany, N. J., will be launched within a year. All follow the same strategy as Natick: sited in densely populated areas, in or near shopping malls and large metropolitan areas. "Highway access is very important," added Lee.

Although such buffet restaurants may be new to the East Coast, the idea has been tested throughout the West Coast for a decade. There, eateries like those of the Todai chain, have targeted both the large Asian-descended population and non-Asian customers well accustomed to sushi. When the Masheta Group opened its first Minado in September 2000, it understood all this. Like the Natick room, which seats approximately 400, all the Minados are quite large, although careful design breaks up the space; partial shoji screens separate the black and white seating areas, for example.

The food is all fresh, prepared without MSG, and standardized. (According to Ng, Natick's three main chefs all worked at the other outlets.) Although the daily menu changes somewhat -- one evening's lobster tails might be replaced the next night by stuffed shrimp -- about 40 dishes are always available. The policies focus on efficiency: Posted notices warn that guests who regularly waste food will face a 30 percent surcharge, and children's prices are based on their height (half price for 4 1/2 feet and under, $4.95 for 3 1/2 feet and under, free at both lunch and dinner for 2 1/2 feet and under.) Patrons help themselves to the buffet, but there are friendly staff hovering to bus tables, explain the food, and encourage diners. "It's good," one of several sushi chefs said as I contemplated tuna sashimi in a mildly spicy sesame dressing. "Try a little. You'll like it." He put words to the Minado philosophy. He was right. Minado is at 1282 Worcester Road (Route 9 eastbound) in the Sherwood Plaza Mall, Natick; 508-647-0495 or go to www

.minado.com.