Morimoto

Reviews 4

AR

Arman Xavier

A horrible experience all around. I came to morimoto because I was visiting Philly for business and trust the Stephen Starr brand. Being from Miami, I am a regular at Makoto in the Bal Harbour shops and have had great experiences at Starr restaurants throughout the nation. Given that I trust the brand and the establishment had great reviews I opted for the "Classic" Omakase experience. Having dined at some of the best sushi establishments in the NYC and Tokyo an Omakase experience is traditionally mostly sushi (the highlight of the experience) and a few other dishes. However, at Morimoto a "Classic" | "Omakase" experience is very different. The courses started rolling out: a tuna tartare, a sashimi salad, some weird "tiradito" type dish, and then some seared salmon. Where was the sushi?! At this point I thought to myself "there couldnt possibly be any more hot dishes coming" and then moments later a skate fillet and "palate cleanser " arrive at my table. I didnt eat them and explained to my server that I was expecting sushi and sent back the skate, he came back and told me that the they would cancel the next hot course (REALLY 4 hot dishes) and make me more sushi. More sushi was 14 pieces. Following the sushi came dessert. When the check arrived I was really upset. I sent (2) courses back and was charged the full $100 for the "Classic Omakase" experience. I am not tasteless and dont go around looking for freebees, in fact I rarely complain about service in a restaurant, but having worked in fine dining for years I was well aware that this situation warranted some form of discount. I spoke to the manager, expressed my concerns about the horribly misleading menu (CLASSIC OMAKASE is not what I got) and he merely suggested that I should have asked my waiter before I ordered it. He did nothing to rectify the situation and was incredibly condescending and rude. I guess no one ever taught him that you should, at all costs, avoid letting a table leave unhappy. Overall this experience was a HUGE let down, I go to STARR restaurants because I trust the brand, because I know that I will be taken care of. This restaurant does not reflect the quality that I know the STARR group to produce and it is disappointing that this manager was willing to jeopardized my loyalty to the STARR brand. I have spent thousands of dollars at STARR restaurants in Miami, at the very least he could have offered to knock off 10%. All in all I ended up spending $240 on mediocrity at Morimoto. Stay away!

PE

Penn Appétit

A couple of weeks ago, my cousin took me out for lunch at Morimoto. Morimoto has arguably the best Japanese food in Philly, so I was pretty excited for some good quality sushi. My cousin, however, being the experienced world traveler and food guru, recommended the omakase. I had never heard of the word, much less tried it so I decided to give it a shot. For those of you as cultured as I am in the art of Japanese cuisine, omakase (お任せ) translates to “it’s up to you.” Omakase gives a chance for the chef to have a little fun and showcase his cuisine through a series of dishes that change slightly with every visit. I likened it to Iron Chef where the chef chooses to prepare certain dishes to show his skill and creativity. The chef also uses some unique or higher quality ingredients, which makes for a luxurious experience. Unfortunately, I missed out on having the best omakase in the world at the Tsukiji market in Tokyo this summer. That doesn’t mean that I merely “settled” for the omakase at Morimoto. It was still quite good. The lunch omakase prices range from $40 to $80. I had the $60, and it was totally worth it. We had more than five courses and had some imported tuna belly and caviar. My personal favorites were the first and last courses. The first course was toro tartare with caviar, tempura, scallions, and fresh wasabi. It had a very clean, refreshing taste. The spicy wasabi complemented the salty caviar, and the tempura flake added a nice crunchy texture that I really like. The last course was flourless chocolate cake with mousse and caramel sauce. The cake was 56% cocoa and came in just the right portion size. The mousse contrasted nicely with the cake, which made it rich but not overwhelming. I never imagined that the best flourless chocolate cake I have ever had would come out of a Japanese place. Other courses included a shrimp tempura (tasty but kind of average), scallop carpaccio (it just melts in your mouth), Chilean seabass with a black bean sauce (a little salty for my liking), and sashimi that included tuna belly imported from Japan (the best sushi I’ve had since going to Tokyo this summer). Overall, I found omakase quite satisfying. For the variety and quality of foods you try in one sitting, it really is worth every penny. --Samantha Shen

AL

Alice Wang

What a meal! Originally, my boyfriend and I were going to go to Nan Zhou for dinner but they had no more hand-pulled noodles. So we decided to go to Morimoto instead. I was pretty amazed that we managed to get in without a reservation, but there were actually several tables available and plenty of seats at the sushi bar. We went around 10:30pm on a Saturday, which is a time I thought would be packed to the rim. We were very fortunate to have gotten a table at this fabulous restaurant and enjoyed an amazing meal. The interior of the restaurant is very swanky and modern. Dim lighting and trendy decor makes the inside look like we stepped into an ultra hip place, vastly different to the street outside. Theres a large sushi bar in the back where you can watch the chefs prepare each sushi painstakingly and lovingly. We overheard a few servers say that Morimoto himself was actually in the kitchen that night but was too busy to come out to the dining area. For appetizers, we ordered the Kumamoto oysters and the toro tartare. The toro tartare was fantastic. They recommend placing a little bit of wasabi (fresh and housemade) on your chilled spoon and then dipping it into the tartare. Amazing. After all the tartare is gone, finish with the yangmei berries on the side which act as a palate cleanser to the tartare. I ordered Morimotos ramen soup and we shared orders of yellowtail and spicy tuna sushi rolls. The ramen soup, while not much quantity-wise, was delicious. So simple - chicken noodle broth, thin noodles, and pieces of chicken - and yet so tasty and perfect for the windy, cold night. Warms you straight up inside and makes you feel like youve been wrapped in a hug. The sushi was also fantastic and you could tell that the chefs really paid close attention to every detail. The rice was the perfect temperature and ingredients were all fresh. Everything I had here was phenomenal. Oysters were great. Loved the tartare, loved the ramen soup, loved the oysters. This meal definitely deserves 5 stars for the attention to detail the chefs pay to every portion of the meal, for the great service we had, and for the experience.

RI

Ritesh Shah

I went here to try a different take on Japanese cuisine, and may have walked in with higher than normal expectations given the name recognition. Its located right in Center City so I would recommend to plan for parking. I parked a few blocks south and walked to the restaurant. Otherwise, they do offer valet service for $15. The inside ambiance was very hip and trendy with low lighting, and modern aesthetics. The seating seems purposely done to be closer to the ground as is typical for traditional Japanese meals. We sat in the upstairs room which was more secluded and allows for better conversation. I started with the mixed baby greens as my appetizer. It was served with a yuzu vinaigrette. I thought the dressing overpowered any freshness from the greens. I found the dressing to be quite tangy, and I didnt end up finishing the dish since each bite was becoming more dressing and less greens. In hindsight, I shouldve asked for the vinaigrette on the side since I tend to not enjoy too much dressing on my salads to begin with. For my entree, I ordered their ramen bowl. This was pretty good! It was made in a vegetarian broth, with lots of veggies and noodles. I had asked for hot sauce, and it was served on the side for me to add in as necessary :). I thought the dish was hearty and I liked that I could spice it up with the hot sauce at my leisure. I dont think there was anything special about this ramen bowl versus others Ive had at different places, but still a decent option. For dessert, I got the mango pudding! You can definitely taste the mango, which I liked. The presentation was in a popsicle form and I think it works nicely on how its meant to be eaten. There is a creamy center and the outside edge is more tough - allowing you to mix the hard and soft in one bite! The fruity notes and the fresh undertones are captured well in the dish - very enjoyable! Overall, I think this is a nice restaurant to try out, but no need to rush back anytime soon. I think you can probably find similar fare elsewhere at half the price.