Morimoto

Morimoto

Napa, Califonira

Chef Masaharu Morimoto

Located in the heart of downtown Napa, Chef Masaharu Morimoto, known to millions as star of Iron Chef and Iron Chef America has finally opened his restaurant in the west coast!  An authentic Japanese cuisine with a western flair. 

The restaurant itself is very spacious with a high ceiling. Trendy and chic inside. There are sofas and couches for the lounge area and all the tables are made out of one piece of hard wood.

Semi-open kitchen concept

Since we had a party of six, we decided to order a la carte instead of the omakase. Good recommendation of the sake - smooth and sweet.   

 

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Morimoto's signature dish:

TORO TARTARE

wasabi, nori paste, sour cream

This is the dish he made during his iron chef battle. 

AMAZING! 

This dish has one bamboo board that holds the Super fatty tuna - raw and cold- packed tartare and another filled with a variety of piped accouterments: creme fraiche, wasabi, avocado, rice crisps, chives and dried seaweed cooked in soy sauce to make a sweet paste.  You can then mixed tartare with any of the chefs' suggested toppings.  

I love the presentation where you can use the little metal spatula to scrap the toro. 

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OYSTER FOIE GRAS

market oysters, foie gras, uni, teriyaki sauce

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black sea bass

english pea and wasabi purée, braised lotus root

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morimoto bone marrow

teriyaki sauce, five spices

Interesting concept.  It was definitely different from other bone marrows I've had.  Teriyaki glazed and topped with crisp panko bread crumbs.

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DUCK DUCK GOOSE

duck confit fried rice, frozen foie gras

A medley of duck preparations and frozen foie gras.  It's plain but beautiful and flavorful.

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FOIE GRAS CHAWANMUSHI

duck breast, wasabi, sweet soy sauce

This is by far the most innovative and best chawanmushi I've ever had in my life.  It was packed with alot of foie flavor all in a rich silky goodness, with two slices of duck breast as garnish in the center.  It taste like gelatinous foie gras. They also provide a tiny "dot" of wasabi on the right to aid you with a little kick at the end if you want.

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SEAFOOD TOBANYAKI

lobster, king crab, mussel, clam,

diver scallop, red miso sake broth

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ANGRY CHICKEN

marinated organic half chicken, roasted peppers

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SEA URCHIN CARBONARA
smoked bacon, udon noodle, crispy shallot

It's really an interesting taste to it, it's topped with a sizeable chunk. Every bite of the chewy pasta has a tint of uni taste.   Excellent dish. 

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“doughnuts”

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blueberry & earl grey crème brûlée

lemongrass sherbet & almond caramel tuille

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milk chocolate mousse
citrus ginger sugar & banana orange sorbet

up close of the dessert

 It does get kind of loud and noisy as more diners fill up the room though but since we were seated at a corner, it was okay. 

The service was on par, friendly and pleasant, however he did forget one of the dishes we ordered and somehow he also forgot to charge us for our dessert! As the night went on and the restaurant got busier the service seams to get a lot less tentative.

Overall, the Iron Chef did not disappoint us. Morimoto reminded me of Nobu which is always a fun place to eat with innovative dishes.

Food: ★★★★★

Service: ★★★☆☆

Ambiance: ★★★☆☆

Presentation: ★★★★☆