Japanese restaurant Sushi Masato to open Wednesday in downtown Bethesda

Eatery will offer Hokkaido fresh milk soft serve to guests, teasing their forthcoming dessert shop

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August 11, 2026 11:29 a.m.

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Sushi Masato, a family-owned Japanese restaurant, is set to open in downtown Bethesda on Wednesday, according to a Monday press release from the eatery.

Run by husband-and-wife team Raymond and Amy Yu, the restaurant at 4914 Hampden Lane in the Shoppes of Bethesda shopping center will offer seasonal seafood, sushi, sashimi, nigiri, specialty rolls and omakase-inspired tasting menus, according to the release. There will be three tiers of the omakase tasting experience priced at $58, $78 and $98 per person.

“We wanted to create a place where guests can experience the quality, care and attention to detail that define Japanese hospitality, while still feeling comfortable and welcoming enough to become a neighborhood restaurant people return to again and again,” Raymond Yu said in a statement emailed to Bethesda Today.

In addition to sushi, the menu will offer “premium” seafood including toro, salmon belly, amaebi (sweet shrimp), uni (sea urchin) and ikura (salmon roe), the release said. Other dishes to be offered include Miso black cod, Chawanmushi (a savory steamed egg custard dish), Unagi Don (grilled eel rice bowl) and chicken and salmon Teriyaki.

A selection of Japanese sake, beer and wine is also expected to be available, according to the release.

Raymond Yu said in his email that opening a restaurant was a “dream” he and his wife have shared for many years. Now, that dream is coming to life starting with a soft opening on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the restaurant will open its doors at 11:30 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. Sushi Masato will host a grand opening event on Aug. 19.

“We’re excited to finally open our doors and become part of the Bethesda community,” Raymond Yu said in the statement.

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The restaurant will take over the former space of Tako Grill, a long-standing restaurant in downtown Bethesda that closed in December 2025.

During the first few weeks of opening, dine-in guests at Sushi Masato will receive a complimentary Hokkaido fresh milk soft serve ice cream for dessert. The soft serve will give guests a taste of the Japanese-inspired dessert shop that the couple plans to open alongside the restaurant soon.

The shop, which will be called The One Cake, will open inside the restaurant and offer Japanese-inspired desserts, cakes and soft serve, according to the release. There will be a rotating menu of seasonal soft serve flavors as well as matcha and oolong.

An opening date for the dessert shop will be announced at a later date, according to the release.

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine