Japanese-Inspired Cascadian Cuisine in Ashland
An intimate dining destination in downtown Ashland, chef Josh Dorcak’s MÄS comprises only sushi-bar-style counter seating and three small tables — with a kitchen that’s just as tiny. With just two services per night, it’s equally appropriate for food lovers in town for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival or road-trippers enjoying the Rogue Valley’s tasting rooms.
Named one of America’s Best Restaurants by The New York Times in 2022, the restaurant and its chef were a James Beard Award finalist in 2023. Undeniably Japanese-influenced — Dorcak opened it after a trip to Tokyo — the restaurant also shares the diversity of the Rogue Valley in the 13-course tasting menu and optional wine pairing.
Because of its size, a meal here is uniquely intimate; diners at the counter can observe the assembly of each course as it takes shape, like a cube of grilled eel placed over steamed egg custard, then a spoonful of caviar and a finishing pour of black-soybean tea.
Although the menu changes with the flow of the seasons, it always relies on farm produce and flowers grown nearby especially for the restaurant. Wild-caught and foraged food includes the local mushrooms that flourish in the Cascade and Siskiyou foothills in spring and abundant Pacific seafare year-round. Expect the unexpected, like a tiny sushi hand roll or a glaze of rosehip barbecue sauce atop a single mussel. Each meal starts with a simple yet ever-evolving seaweed dashi broth and ends with a wealth of stories and laughter shared among diners and the culinary team.
