Thoughts on Morimoto Asia

[Doug S]

My friend from Miami was up in the Orlando area today and saw a billboard for Morimoto and quickly texted me to ask if it was at Disney. The only Morimoto in the Miami area now is within the Boca Raton Resort, which is guests & members only.

I'm guessing he's now pretty well set on wanting to go to it when we're there over Labor Day weekend. I tried to damper his excitement by saying the reviews are so-so. Am I correct in thinking that? If I'm wrong, then I definitely will want to work it into our plans. I was planning on spending our first night at Disney Springs anyways and was struggling to think of what to suggest for dinner.

 

[Alyssa Hamilton]

Morimoto is one of the best restaurants I've ever been too. I done out frequently and I can honestly say this is my favorite restaurant. its been consistently amazing for me.

 

[KJSJpipe]

We went last August and we all loved it! The four of us enjoyed our entrees and the apps we got. It's not cheap but it was actually cheaper then the dinner DH and I had at the one in Philly.

 

[MHDTS]

We were there the week it opened and return often. Morimoto's unique style is well represented there, with excellent noodle bowls and appetizers that can make an entire meal.

 

[Jennasis]

Food was outstanding as is the atmosphere. The service we experienced was not great though.

 

[wilkeliza]

Food was good but our server was not to the standard we get at the Morimoto in NYC. I don't know what was up by the guy knew nothing about the menu. Thankfully we were familiar with the menu but just asked a few questions and he had no clue how to answer any of them. Also we ordered a drink and it never came. It was one of those situations where the food was good and what we wanted but the service put a damper on the whole thing. We will go back because a bad server is usually fixed relatively quickly but we were lucky that we already were familiar with Morimoto's style so I could chose what I would be okay with since the waiter was of 0 help.

 

[chalee94]

Loved it - try the spare ribs!

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I've eaten at this one and Vegas.

If you have never done any of his other restaurants I expect this is great. If you have your find yourself wondering "where's the creativity he's known for". So check the menu, I felt like I was at a glorified PF Changs. Food was fine, just not what I was hoping for.

Service is also not up to par IMHO.

 

[ssei7802]

Excellent food, service is hit and miss!

 

[AnnaS]

We thought it was very good!

 

[Marthasor]

I wasn't impressed with Morimoto Asia and thought it was really hit or miss. The biggest problem for us was the kitchen and sushi bar aren't working on the same schedule, so, for our order, for instance, everything came out at a fairly decent rate, except the sushi which we almost cancelled because it was literally time for dessert once the sushi came out - and it wasn't very good. The restaurant has a nice vibe, but I wasn't impressed. If you want much better sushi, head over to Kimono's at the Swan. If you are looking for better food, in general, at DS, go to the Boathouse.

 

[steg]

tl:dr Entrees are great, good harder to find japanese beer/alcohol, sushi and apps are underwhelming for the most part, Cocktails sound great but weren't well executed.

Service is hit and miss, as are the fancier Tuna's Chu and Oh Toro are also hit and miss, at $12 per piece of Oh Toro I won't be ordering it again.

I've had:
LA Kalbi
Peking Duck
Ped Thai
Pork Ramen
Sweet and Sour Whole Fried Branzino
Pretty much all of the Dim Sum/Apps
Pork Ribs
Some of the more basic Sushi Rolls

All entrees I had we're fantastic, apps and sushi were ok. Stand outs are the Pork Ribs, Kalbi, Duck, and Ped Thai.

Morimoto Asia is one of the rare places that has the pedal operated jet afterburner style Woks that can produce Wok Hei/Hai so anything stir fried will have that subtle smokiness created by the high heat that these burners can get to.

You can also get some of the rarer Hitachino Beers and Yamazaki Single Malts all of which are exceptional. Steer clear of the Morimoto Branded Beers, they're vastly overpriced for what they even by Disney Standards are which are contract brewed basic beers brewed by Rogue Ales some of which use asian ingredients and grains in the brewing process but are largely underwhelming.

Cocktails sounded excellent but after trying a total of 4 different ones they sound better and more interesting than they actually are.

 

[Doug S]

Thank you for the opinions everyone! My friend will be happy to hear I was wrong.

 

[sls404]

I love traditional Chinese food and most sushi, so I was excited to try this out last December and I was not impressed.

I had the lunch special with house salad (either there wasn't a lot of dressing or it was very bland), California roll (just okay), & orange chicken (again just okay). We also got the chicken fried rice and it was good but we didn't realize it came with a spicy sauce on it, so we didn't enjoy too much of it.

 

[soniam]

We had a fabulous meal there and great service. I think it's a little more low key than his other restaurants, but we loved it. The interior is beautiful too.

EDIT: I should state that the sushi is good, solid sushi. It's not inventive sushi. Sushi is not the main reason to go. However, it's probably some of the best, if not best, sushi on property. It's more of an Asian theme.

 

[Disney Freak Numero Uno]

I wasn't impressed with Morimoto Asia and thought it was really hit or miss. The biggest problem for us was the kitchen and sushi bar aren't working on the same schedule, so, for our order, for instance, everything came out at a fairly decent rate, except the sushi which we almost cancelled because it was literally time for dessert once the sushi came out - and it wasn't very good. The restaurant has a nice vibe, but I wasn't impressed. If you want much better sushi, head over to Kimono's at the Swan. If you are looking for better food, in general, at DS, go to the Boathouse.

We had the same issue. Never got the sushi my husband ordered as his entree so he really didn't get much to eat.

 

[Alyssa Hamilton]

The cod dinner is the best piece of fish I've ever eaten !

 

[randumb0]

A lot of money for a small plate

 

[wilkeliza]

I love traditional Chinese food and most sushi, so I was excited to try this out last December and I was not impressed.

I had the lunch special with house salad (either there wasn't a lot of dressing or it was very bland), California roll (just okay), & orange chicken (again just okay). We also got the chicken fried rice and it was good but we didn't realize it came with a spicy sauce on it, so we didn't enjoy too much of it.

Morimoto is Japanese just fyi and there is nothing authentic about orange chicken. It is about as an americanized dish as you can get from any eastern restaurants.

 

[Leelo]

Their Spare Ribs were hands down the best I have ever eaten and definitely one of my favorite things I have had on our Disney trips! I would go back just for those. We had several other things on the menu and we liked everything except the Buri-Bop which is their famous dish. It just wasn't that good. LOVED those Spare Ribs!!!!