morimoto

had dinner at morimoto yesterday with my girlfriend. we decided to take the omasake menu, which let's the chef set a multi-course meal for you. i also ordered the beverage omasake menu that also gives the chef complete freedom on pairing wines or sake with your meals. the sake and the wine prevented me for keeping an accurate count of the number of courses, it was hard at times to decide which one was the best but we both agreed that the carpaccio on warm japanese lime aoli was the best. the blackberry cheese cake for dessert might not be very japanese but it was truly the best cheesecake we have ever had. the wine pairings were exquisite with two of them being so interesting that we ended up asking the waiter to bring us a bottle so we could photograph it and hopefully find it for sale somewhere. it was probably the most expensive meal we have ever had, and although it was not planned to be that way, we were completely satisfied with our decision.

omakase!. dinner at morimoto was everthing i had imagined it would be. beautiful presentation, excellent service, great food and a calm, albeit noisy, environment. we were a party of six and sat very comfortably in a booth! a platter of the sushi and sashimi was plenty for appetizers. all but one ordered the omakase, an 8 eight course chef's tasting meal. by the 7th course i was stuffed. my only quibble was the lack of explanation of what we were eating. we had many servers placing and picking up constantly, replenishing flatware and chopsticks. i will return!

(a very special) friday night dinners - morimoto. some people will travel for love, others for money -- i travel for food. and to philadelphia i have come, from calgary via new york, to visit a place that has been on my wishlist for a long, long time: morimoto.

after a day of seeing philly, i arrived at the restaurant and was greeted and seated immediately at the sushi bar, where the chef (it wasn't morimoto himself) was furiously working away at each order. and having come all this way, there was no question -- the omakase course was ordered. eight different dishes, from appetizer to dessert.

first course: toro tartare with a cold dashi broth, which immediately reminded of a dish that could have been from morimoto's days on the original iron chef. the flavours were spot on, and the chopped tuna added an intriguing texture to the dish.

second course: trio of oysters topped with three different sauces -- none of which were too strong to overpower the fresh oysters; the thai fish-sauce and jalapeno combo was the best of the trio; ending the course with a nice zing.

third course: jackfish filet with yuzu soy and warm olive oil. looks very traditional, but again invokes some of morimoto's work on japanese iron chef that one could only drool over the tv, but now come to real life. the fish was incredible -- cooked slightly by the warm oil, but still tender.

fourth course: red snapper salad with citrus dressing. what can i say? amazing -- again. this course was followed with a mint soda intermezzo(?), to cleanse the palate for the second half.

fifth course: grilled lobster. yep, you heard right. grilled lobster coated with a eight-spice mixture. a citrus creme fraiche was a perfect match to dip.

sixth course: steak, seasoned with a rub and grilled chicago-style. what can i say? looked and tasted wonderful.

seventh course: (this one was special, since i saw someone else request it) shrimp tempura and tuna roll. i don't know why no one has thought of this before, but kudos to the two gentlemen at the bar who did -- soft crunch with tender tuna, and a slightly spicy mayo with a touch of wasabi...japanese restaurants around the world, get on it!

eighth (dessert) course: berry semifreddo(?) with baileys cappuccino. this one was a bit of a letdown, after all the wonderful dishes. it was a good finish with a light berry mousse on a chocolate cake base -- but one wonders if the finish could have been a little different.

two and a half hours and $160 later, i can for sure say this was the best japanese meal i've had in my life, hands down -- for the very first time in my life, i was sorely disappointed that the meal was over! regardless, the experience was time, money and acela express ticket well spent.

amongst the historical buildings in downtown philadelphia, a neon green glass door catches your eye. morimoto’s zen-like sign on white wall marks that you have arrived for the culinary adventure of your life. as you walk in, you are greeted by a hostess with a kind, japanese courtesy. the interior dã©cor is hip yet zen. chef masaharu morimoto’s casual, elegant flair is apparent in the dã©cor and, as you will see, the food too. start the night off right with a specialty drink. the guava shiso-jito is smirnoff citrus, guava nectar, mint, and lime. this is the best spin on a mojito i’ve ever had. it’s a great drink to relax with. i can feel the tropical breeze just thinking about it. thumbs up with 5 stars! to read more and see photos, please visit: http://www.examiner.com/restaurant-in-anaheim/jet-trip-morimoto-is-an-iron-chef-culinary-adventure-philadelphia-review happy eats! oc food diva

boring food. nothing about it was worth the high price. the sushi rice was dry, the squash tempura inside was flavorless. even worse was the tofu iki bop -spinach was tasteless, daikon was mush, and tofu had no flavor aside from greasy oil. the dessert cake was also dry. i have to say it was one of the worst japanese restaurants i have been to.

extraordinary! our party  all enjoyed the omakase with sake pairings for each course. outstanding meal. each and every course was flavorful, artistically presented and fabulous. the sake pairing for each course was a wonderful addition. we also added more sashimi (various fatty tunas) we had an amazing server who was knowledgeable about each course and each sake (region/notes/% of polished rice etc). well worth the "price of admission" as we say. $1200 for 4.

date night dinner
with hubby

our food was amazing and the service was exceptional! would definitely come back. i highly recommend.

my son has been wanting to go experience the amazing morimoto dinning experience. when we went to philadelphia we were fortunate enough to have the opportunity. we enjoyed the chefs choice nine course meal and it was absolutely amazing.

morimoto did not disappoint. we had the omakase 8 course tasting menu. the yellowtail tartare, bakes miso and wagyu beef were the highlights for me. service was excellent as well. this place is truly unique and an outstanding experience.

we had a horrible experience!
it is not well signed missed entrance, was told half hour wait without reservations, waited an hour and a half and ultimately walked out, another party experienced same delay.
service staff seemed slow, hostesses incompetent. atmosphere seemed nice, but don’t recommend.

atmosphere and service were extraordinarily good. app of tempura items was nice - special item of bacon and gorgonzola amazing but only one. other tempura pieces were good although i wouldn't chase after them again. had a type of bi bim bap item that looked divine and was nice but sour mushrooms turned me off- the servers were eager to make me happy with something else which they did. w.beef and fried rice option superb. felt good to be here as the people and place were nice and they wanted their customers to leave happy. which i did.

this was a much anticipated stop on our philly tour, and turned out pretty great. the wagyu beef dumplings melted in our mouths. the sashimi was very fresh and almost buttery. for the mains, our party tried the duck, the wagyu beef and the seafood plates. all three were huge portions and were delicious, if a bit overly salted. all in all, glad i went.

this place is fantastic! their prices are fair, the service is great, and they have free valet parking!! the food never disappoints no matter what you're in the mood for.it's my favorite place to eat.

i know i'm going to be in the minority with this review but i wasn't blown away. the sushi is fine but my all time favorite sushi is at bar masa in nyc (followed closely by kotobuki in hauppauge, ny). i had the tuna tataki and it didn't have much flavor although the tuna was fresh and tasted fine. i also had the hamachi which was garnished with jalapeño and a mild ponzu. this is usually my favorite dish and it was ok here. i finished with the cold green tea noodles which came 'deconstructed' with sesame seeds, green onion and wasabi to mix with the light broth (also cold) so you can dip the noodles. i had to order extra spices to jazz it up. again - it was fine but overall meh. i'll stick with my favs when a sushi craving hits.

fantastic restaurant with a trendy and modern decor. the food is absolutely delicious and the service very professional and friendly with knowledgable and highly educated staff. the food is very fresh and the standards are high. a pleasurable experience and a highly recommendable place for a top quality gastronomic experience.