168 replies to this topic

[ulterior epicure]

that is a truly impressive array of dishes.  i'm not sure what i had expected out of morimoto as a restaurant - maybe a restaurant catering more to the masses - but those pictures kind of dispell that thought.  all menus were creative and interesting combinations.  and no repeats!! 

i like the 2nd night.  almost looks like a bargain.

also, based on these photos - they're a lot less "fusion" (ie. westernized) than the omakases i've had at the philadelphia locale.

u.e.

[CherieV]

Having eaten at Morimoto in Phila many times I can tell you that he really raised the bar on his Omakase for NYC. He needed to and I believe his efforts will not go unnoticed. The food is creative and looks amazing. Good for him.

[ulterior epicure]

Having eaten at Morimoto in Phila many times I can tell you that he really raised the bar on his Omakase for NYC.  He needed to and I believe his efforts will not go unnoticed.  The food is creative and looks amazing.  Good for him.

looks like it... darn! i wish i were nyc right now! i have a whole list of restaurants i need to do and re-do... so i'm a'comin'!

u.e.

[magic168]

I've NEVER eaten such a high priced meal in my life, BUT my parent's THIRTIETH anniversary is coming up. :) All huge Iron Chef fans, so this might be the ticket. If I can think of some way to justify the cost.

What do you think the omakase actually runs with drinks and tip? What about no drinks (we don't drink alchohol at all really...)

[oakapple]

Anywhere from $120 to $250 is my understanding.

[Leonard Kim]

Blogger Augieland has already had the Morimoto omakese five times. Obviously the guy has a lot of disposable income. Amazingly, there have been no repeated dishes.

See here, here, here, here, and here.

Checked back here and the count is now up to 7. Also posted a summary review. Marc/Oakapple, do you or anybody else know this blogger? He claims Morimoto is better than Nobu and Masa.

[magic168]

Anywhere from $120 to $250 is my understanding.

$120 is the "menu price" -- right? No tax nor tip included yet?

[ulterior epicure]

Checked back here and the count is now up to 7.  Also posted a summary review.  Marc/Oakapple, do you or anybody else know this blogger?  He claims Morimoto is better than Nobu and Masa.

maybe chef morimoto blogs?

whoever it is, they must love morimoto - and morimoto must love them!!

u.e.

[bpearis]

Andrea Strong visits Morimoto...

...if Starr actually thinks Morimoto is more interesting than any restaurant New York has seen, clearly Mr. Starr has either (a) never eaten in New York City, or (b) is suffering from a rare and little known ailment I call Chronic Culinary Delusion (hereinafter, “CCD”), and needs a major dose of restaurant therapy. My prescription for a CCD cure would be visits to several restaurants that are far more interesting than Morimoto: WD-50, 71 Clinton (while it’s still with us), Annisa, Fatty Crab, Momofuku, Gilt, Tia Pol, and yes, how about Nobu? After my meal at Morimoto, Mr. Starr, I respectfully submit that you will need to start eating your words.

The quote is indicative, she pretty much slams the place. Read the whole thing in this week's Strong Buzz.

[Fat Al]

Wow, that was one harsh review. I enjoyed my meal at Morimoto in Philly, but if Ms. Strong's experience is at all typical, I'm not sure I'll be going to Morimoto here at home any time soon. Pity. And with Del Posto across the street, we may have a new jinxed block in town.

Al

[Lreda]

Having dined at morimoto in Phily and all of Batali's place sans Lupa, I'm afraid after all the bad news and including Starr's pompous diatrabe about being the man in NYC, I have little desire to dine at either DelPosto or Morimoto, NYC. It's a shame as I thought they were all very good to excellent. Especially at their price points.

[lindaterry]

hey-I'm looking for Morimoto NYC opinions and experiences?! (looking in from Philly)

[banquo]

The conclusion I'm drawing from what I've read is that one should dine in the omakase area, and perhaps avoid the other parts of the restaurant. The pictures and descriptions of the omakase given by the guy who's eaten there 7 times strikes me as compelling. At least I hope that's the right conclusion seeing as I'll be trying to get a reservation there very soon.

The price variations noted above gives some pause: the difference between $120 (what their official menu states) and $250 is obviously significant. Can anyone confirm this either way?

[ulterior epicure]

Where are people getting the money to shovel into these places? And how exactly do they plan on making it back?

while i'm sure strong was half rhetorically asking this question....

Hey, if you are going to design a restaurant for $12 million, I might chose a material other than Ty Nant water bottles, which by the way, the restaurant is given for free, but charges guests $8 a pop.

i suspect there's part of the answer... sheesh - $8 for water? not even 3-star paris restaurants are going that far... okay, so maybe they are - but that's a 3-star restaurant!! (still not justified, imho).

u.e.

[herbacidal]

Where are people getting the money to shovel into these places? And how exactly do they plan on making it back?

Well, there's lots more hedge fund managers than there used to be.
Bonuses at i-banking firms all over are up again.

Aren't benefactors behind most of Broadway?

Something like 80% of Broadway shows lose money, unless that show interviewing one of the producers was incorrect.

I'm sure beyond a certain level (let's say a million or so) restaurant financing operations overall are similar levels of vanity/love.

[philadining]

Katz's deli is often clotted with tourists, sitting under the arrow and reenacting Meg Ryan's fake orgasm, but that doesn't make their pastrami taste any worse.

Morimoto (the restaurant) is meant to be a big, spashy, flashy, exciting place, that will indeed thrill the out of towners with it's dramatic decor and throbbing techno music. But that doesn't mean that Morimoto (the chef) won't serve up good food.

I'd just like to read something from someone whose opinion we trust here on eGullet, who has actually gone there. How many pages are we up to in this thread without a single first-hand report?

[allister]

had the omakase in the special 8 person seating area. The omakase starts at $200. You can go up by $50 dollar increments. We were not told whether there was a ceiling, nor were we told how the experience would change in detail based upon how much money was spent. We were only that fugu (blowfish) and 'black' truffle were available.

As you may have seen from pictures, the special omakase table is 'L' shaped. Four diners sit facing morimoto and his sous chef that prepare the meal, the other four seats face an open kitchen and sushi bar.

We purchased our meal at the 250 price point and i was not impressed. There was not one standout dish. The memorable dishes were memorable only because they were bad. An example of this was lobster and crab risotto with black truffles. This dish did not have the consistency of risotto, rather it seemed much like rice and seafood broth. The soup was very thin. It was served with 2 slices of black truffle. As a whole, the dish did not mesh well together. I felt that there was little difference between this dish and the chinese comfort dish rice and hot water.

Service was ok, but i felt that in some ways it was lacking as well. We were never asked if we wanted coffee. We were never told when the savory portion of the evening ended, and when the dessert portion began, though this became obvious when our chopsticks were taken away. We were not given the correct instuments to eat certain dishes. What i really didn't like though was the constant 'iron chef' marketing approach. I feel like the entire evening the staff was making continuous 'iron chef' remarks, even identifing the two sous chef that appear on 'iron chef' with morimoto.

Needless to say, i will not be back.

[Vadouvan]

At those prices, I just head on down to Masa.....or Yasuda blowouts

[allister]

At those prices, I just head on down to Masa.....or Yasuda blowouts

That was my thought exactly when i finished the meal. At $250/person, then drinks, then tax and tip, why not just go to Masa. Morimoto offered no value.

[Pan]

[...]That said, of course, I agree we should all get down there and see for ourselves.

Are you buying?

But seriously, at those prices, any negative reports would carry a lot of weight with me.

[philadining]

Allister, thanks for that review, and I'm sorry to hear that nothing was very pleasing to you. And wow, omakase really starts at $200?!?

Having tried the omakase at his place in Philly, for $80, and having thought several parts of it were outstanding, and all of it at least good (except maybe dessert, which was a bit dull) both the price and the quality that you report are surprising to me. Nonetheless, again, thanks for the report.

Is there a less-expensive omakase offered at the tables, with the 8-seat inner-sanctum reserved for the higher-end?

[ulterior epicure]

Having tried the omakase at his place in Philly, for $80, and having thought several parts of it were outstanding, and all of it at least good (except maybe dessert, which was a bit dull) both the price and the quality that you report are surprising to me. Nonetheless, again, thanks for the report.

ditto - except i've had the $120 omakase (twice) in philly. ditto also on the desserts both visits... not bad - but "dull" - any reports on the sweets in the nyc venue?

u.e.

[edited to enable formatting]

Edited by ulterior epicure, 21 February 2006 - 10:55 AM.

[Vadouvan]

Where did the bleu cheese sauce come from? 

Morimoto South in philly has a rock Shrimp Tempura with Roquerfort cheese, I am assuming its the same dish.

The average middle America tourists who stream into NYC 24/7?

Ding Ding Ding Ding......correct answer.
So I am curious why supposedly food knowledgeable people go out and order a dish that is the only food combination that has never been pulled off by any chef on the planet.

Bleu Cheese/Shellfish.

Ewwwww!

[adamru]

Sneakeater, you asked earlier about how your friend could get a table. This morning my girlfriend called up for a table for this Saturday and they put her on a twenty-five name call back wait list for a reservation. I called myself just now and they offered me a late table Saturday night or a more reasonable one for next Monday and I opted for the latter. I've eaten a number of times at the Philly restaurant and they recognized that "I'd eaten there before," I assume they meant Philly since I canceled my table for last night so it seems that repeat customers even this early on are getting the priority.

[SobaAddict70]

Folks,

I've just removed a great deal of posts which have crossed the line from criticism to mean-spiritedness.

Please keep it civil.

Thanks.

[a geek]

This might be off-topic for this thread, but I actually ate at Morimoto's two weekends ago. Three of us went the table Omakase route (which really ought to be termed a tasting menu given that it appeared to be fixed for all tables on a given night). One went with an a la carte selection.

We all found the food and experience to be excellent. Highlights included the toro tartare that oddly Andrea Strong didn't get along so well with and the steamed chicken, which was served with a strong and divine sesame sauce. Some absolutely delicious wagyu beef was served as part of the tasting menu, but I can't recall the exact preparation at this point.

The tasting menu was a lot of food. One course included a buttery/creamy lobster tail and claw which I felt was too large and rich for the rest of the menu, as well as a bit pedestrian (though well prepared).

Unfortunately I waited a bit too long to post this - as such, I can't remember much about the meal (the great wine and cocktails also have something to do with that). I wanted to at least put a positive word out there as we truly enjoyed our experience.

[M.X.Hassett]

This might be off-topic for this thread, but I actually ate at Morimoto's two weekends ago. 

Right on topic, thanks for the report. You mention the food experience how did you find the service?

[ulterior epicure]

The tasting menu was a lot of food.  One course included a buttery/creamy lobster tail and claw which I felt was too large and rich for the rest of the menu, as well as a bit pedestrian (though well prepared).

While I can't confirm without seeing the actual dish - this sounds identical to something I had at his Philly restaurant over a year ago on his "omakase" tasting menu (which, in my 2 experiences at the Philly location, is the accurate term to describe the format).

u.e.

[adamru]

I arrived for my 10pm reservation tonight around 945pm. It was somewhat busy but not so much as it appeared the same time last Monday. The hostess suggested we have a cocktail downstairs in the lounge and we did. All the cocktails in part are made with teas, sake, and japanese liquers and were an improvement over those we had last week at Morimoto in Philadelphia. The lounge seats about twenty people in alcoves and behind screens and was quite intimate. The service was excellent. The menu downstairs has a limited number of dishes plus the entire raw bar menu. When our table was ready we went upstairs and our waitress followed with our drinks which she would transfer to our checks. All was well.

Then we were seated in a busy but not full restaurant.

In the Urbandaddy interview, Morimoto mentioned there is not a bad table in the house. Let me tell you where he may have overlooked. When you walk in, and you're at the hostess stand, turn to the left. Apart from the main dining room there is an alcove with a few tables. We were seated at a corner table at the back of the alcove surrounded by walls closing in on us. There was no view of anything but the empty table beside us in the corner and we couldn't be more detached from the vibe or mood Morimoto is meant to evoke than if they seated us at a table in Del Posto.

Nothing against the wait staff. When our waiter brought our menus I said to him, I hate to bother but is it possible to seat us anywhere else? I think he understood and he came back a few minutes later and said there were none then but may be one opening soon. We waited but in all honesty when you've been drooling over a menu for weeks and craving a certain experience, and ready to drop hundreds of dollars and then you're in a dim concrete alcove, the mood has passed. So we finished our drinks and asked the waiter for our check. I said there were no problems, we just wanted our check and thank you. Then the manager came. And he seemed to feel horrible for us and told us there would be a table soon and then he comped our drinks. And we said thank you and we went to get our coats. And then the manager stopped us again and said we could go down to the lounge and they'd buy us drinks until a new table was ready but we just wanted to go and it wasn't his fault either. He gave us his card and told us we'd get a better table next time and we left.

I think it would have been a perfect night if they seated us anywhere at all in the main dining room or at least in view of it or if we never left the lounge. But when you make a reservation weeks out and when you go to an establishment of a certain quality, well, they should either reserve this space for walk-ins or convert it to a coat check. I still love Morimoto in Philadelphia, it was as good as ever last week and if anyone's ever been there they know there really isn't a bad table in that room.

I still look forward to eating at Morimoto here but as I told the manager, tonight was just not meant to be that night.

Dinner at Pastis was awesome though.

[slkinsey]

Just a quick moderator's note: I've moved a number of posts from this thread that focused mainly on Andrea Strong and touched on Morimoto only in a vaguely tangential way. These posts now reside in the Bruni and Beyond: NYC Reviewing (2006) thread, which is our thread for "reviewing the reviewer" and other NYC-related review metadiscussion. Let's keep this thread for discussion of Morimoto. Thanks!