Morimoto, New York City
Located in Chelsea (next door to the Chelsea Market, another of my faves and definitely a place to go for any foodie), Morimoto is a big place. This is fine dining (it’s definitely pricey) but the environment is casual and comfortable. Soft white and cream surround you in the open dining room.
My favorite place to sit, like most sushi restaurants, is at the counter so you can watch the magic as they meticulously prepare each piece of fish.
Speaking of the fish – it is crazy fresh and everything raw is delectable. There are traditional dishes, fun and whimsical rolls, and an a la carte menu to please any sushi loving palate. If I’m there for a quick lunch, I like to order a sushi combo or a lunch set, but if I’ve got time or I come for a big dinner, I like to skip the sets and order a couple of dishes and get the exact sushi I want a la carte. The selection is extensive and living in Florida, there are a lot of options I simply can’t get down here. My favorites are all the jacks, striped jack, amber jack, etc. For cold starters, the tartares are my favorite, but I honestly haven’t had a bad raw dish.
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| Lunch sushi combo |
If you are looking for a meal in New York City, the options can be overwhelming. Some of the best restaurants in the world are in NYC and while Morimoto does not go down as the best sushi I’ve ever eaten, it’s strength lies in how much it does well.
The soups are big, can easily feed two, and the abundance of cooked options means Morimoto is a safe bet if you are bringing folks who don’t like raw fish. My absolute favorite sushi in NYC, Sushi Yasuda, doesn’t have much for people who don’t eat sushi, and while I tend to stay away from the hot dishes at Morimoto (I prefer Nobu’s hot dishes) I’ve had cooked fish, ramen, pork belly and more from the hot menu at Morimoto and they were all well made and will easily please the less adventurous eaters in your group.
Dessert has never been a strong point in the menu to me, so I tend to skip it and have a cocktail or sake instead. The drinks menu is pretty darn delicious and there is a good choice of sake to sample, or go one step further and get a flight.
Service is usually friendly and attentive. I say usually because I’ve eaten at Morimoto several times (not only the NYC location, but also in Philadelphia and Napa) and the New York location is where I’ve had both the best and the worst service experience. I don’t have a horror story to tell, nothing seriously bad, but at its worst, the service was inattentive, with dishes coming out at random intervals and the server coming very rarely to check on us. Extremely annoying when you are spending a lot of money for dinner. That being said, that was only one experience of the four times I’ve dined at the NYC location. The other three times service was warm and wonderful. Because the food is so good, I can forgive the one bad experience.
Morimoto
88 10th Ave.
New York, NY 10011
212-989-8883
morimotonyc.com