Morimoto
New York, NY 10011
Phone: (212) 989-8883
- Price:
- $$$$
- Cross Street:
- Between 15th Street and 16th Street
- Directions:
- A, C, E at 14th St; L at 8th Ave
- Specialties:
- Celebrity Chef, Sushi
- Hours:
- Mon-Wed 12pm-2:30pm, 5:30pm-11pm, Thu-Fri 12pm-2:30pm, 5:30pm-12am, Sat 5:30pm-12am , Sun 5:30pm-11pm
Editorial Review for Morimoto – by Erin Behan
The Scene
"Iron Chef" fans may be disappointed there's no gong, but the dazzling white interior, cleverly lit wall of water bottles and rippling ceiling quickly distract star-struck diners. Downstairs is a cocktail battleground with highly polished professionals elbowing for space at the glowing bar.
The Food
A master at sushi and traditional Japanese cuisine, Morimoto dazzles with a globally inspired menu. The Morimoto sashimi, five-layer towers of sashimi, comes with colorful sauces in tiny squeeze tubes that are easily discarded for fresh wasabi. Want less drama? Try the habit-forming rock shrimp tempura. Sushi, though not show-stopping, arrives fresh and neatly prepared. Mains excel--the duck trio combines remarkably tender roasted meat sandwiched on a croissant, a rich coddled bird egg, and a leg for one ducky dish. For classic Morimoto, try the sweet black cod in a gentle ginger-soy sauce. Point tallying aside, the night's winner is the light-as-air tofu cheesecake.
Editorial content is independent of paid advertisers. Any expenses are paid for by Citysearch.
Insider Tips
Where to SitSushi fans will want a spot at the 24-seat bar; reserve a place at the special eight-person omakase bar for the chef's choice of cuisine and kitchen view.
What to DrinkThere's a long list of specialty cocktails to choose from (the spicy Morimotini and lemony White Lily), but a 10-ounce carafe of Morimoto's honey-kissed Junmai sake is the way to go ($22).
Know Before You GoThe downstairs bathrooms are worth checking out for their infinity mirrors and heated seats.
The ExtrasDon't miss "Iron Chef" star Mario Batali's restaurant Del Posto, across the street.
User Reviews for Morimoto
08/18/2008 Posted by nybapfood
So lately I've been on a Chirashi-kick. All my normal sushi restaurants--What do I order? Chirashi. But this was a poor decision for dining at Morimoto, while it appeared that my fish was fresh and not particularly exciting, the presentation was horrendous. Sure one of my dining-mates called it "paying for the knife-work" I thought of it as eating leftover fish. It was like scraps of fish. Maybe someone can educate me, but at all the mostly "traditional" or at least popular restaurants I've been to around the world served pieces of fish in a long thin style, not cubish ridiculousness. Some pieces were not cubes, which is what was alarming, they were, rather, small pieces that appeared to be rejected pieces. Surely, I know mackerel is not a meaty fish, but is it necessary just to give me the skin? Or the red rejected parts of a yellow tail? I do not think so. We had the toro tartare, which was not particularly exciting, while it did have a nice nori-paste to accompany it. Friends got the foie gras bowls and said it was okay. The ambience was strange. I had a terrible waiter, but that is also because Morimoto was watching our table from his table and because the waiter was serving Morimoto as well. That was the most disappointing, the fact that the celebrity chef was such a distraction to hinder the experience of his restaurant goers. If you are going to Morimoto to see the man, you'll dreams will be fulfilled, he seems to always be at the restaurant, either in his chef pants, or his khakis. The miso black-cod that is probably his original at Nobu was just as good here.
Pros: celebrity chef, okay food
Cons: distraction of celebrity chef also eating lunch (to customers AND waiters), heavy chairs
08/05/2008 Posted by benitokamelo23
I had some out-of-town friends visiting NYC and for their last night they wanted to have sushi. I ate there once a year ago and the experience was good. The second visit however left me with a bitter taste and dissapointment about the restaurant. To start the waitress did not akcnoledge us at all and we had to wait at least 15 minutes to be greeted, she was not knowleageable about the menu at all. The food took forever to arrive and even some unexpected dishes that we did not order which we had to send back. The sushi was plain and unflavorful, very badly presented. Our overall experience was terrible and I had to apologize to my friends for all the praises I had about this restaurant in the first place. For the price of their menu the service should be no less than impecable, and the attitude of the staff should be kept in their locker rooms with the rest of their personal belongings.
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