Restaurant Review: Japonais by Morimoto

The other night, I had the privilege and pleasure of dining at the new Japonais by Morimoto. This River North restaurant recently re-opened and has completely transformed and upgraded the atmosphere, food and ambience. Frankly I couldn’t be more impressed.

From the moment I walked in until the moment I left, every detail was executed perfectly. When we sat down, our waiter, Maro noticed I was wearing black pants and offered me a black napkin (love it) and then asked the table about our culinary preferences. He had an amazingly impressive knowledge of the menu and wanted to ensure our experience at Japonais by Morimoto was one that we would never forget.

With Maro’s impeccable service and the mind-blowingly delicious cuisine, it would be impossible to forget this meal.

Normally I give you the dinner highlights, but since the restaurant is so new, I want to cover as many dishes as possible. I opted to stay away from the main courses so I could try out as many dishes as possible.

1) Hamachi Tacos ($10): These little tacos are jam packed with some of the freshest hamachi I’ve ever tasted.  The shell is a light and crispy gyoza shell that’s fried perfectly.  It’s topped with a house made guacamole and a perfectly sweet and spicy yuzu sauce. The only problem with this dish is that it’s tiny so you will surely want to order more!

2) Spicy Tuna & Spicy Salmon Rolls ($9): With fish deliveries coming in almost everyday, I can promise you that any sushi or sashimi you order here won’t disappoint. I opted for some simple rolls, but you have my full confidence that any roll you order will be just perfect.

3) Waygu Beef Carpaccio ($19): It’s hard to go wrong with Waygu beef. This beef is served with a simple hot oil and microgreens. I loved every second of this dish. It’s a can’t miss for meat lovers.

4) Iron Chef “Chicken Noodle Soup” ($14): Sorry Grandma, but this is the best chicken soup I’ve ever had in my entire life. Is it weird that it came from a Japanese restaurant? Probably, but I don’t care! If you order anything from this list, the chicken soup should be the winner. Wow, just wow.

5) Tuna “Pizza” ($16): This was probably one of the most beautifully plated dishes of the night. Just like the rest of the dishes, the fish was fresh and delicious. My problem with the dish is it was topped with black olives and cilantro (two things I just don’t like). At the end of the day, the rest of the table seemed to really enjoy it, so I’d say go for it if those ingredients appeal to you.

6) “Pop Corn” Shrimp ($16): This crispy fried shrimp was one of the meals highlights. It’s served two ways with a spicy kochujan sauce and a tangy wasabi-aioli sauce. The shrimp came with a ranch dipping sauce that I don’t even think I used. I think the dish had enough flavor on its own. I know this will be one of my staples every time I go.

7) Pork Gyoza Dumplings ($14): I was probably looking forward to this more than any other that night. I mean, how can you go wrong with garlic chives, putanesca and bacon foam? In this case, I feel like something went wrong. I didn’t totally get the dish and to be honest, it was my least favorite of the night. The tomato putanesca sauce at the bottom just didn’t go well with the dumplings at all and the bacon foam was a little slimy. In the end, the group just didn’t love it. With all the incredible bites on the menu, I’d skip this one.

8) Duck Confit Fried Rice with Organic Farm Egg ($9): This rice is fabulous. The duck confit is perfectly cooked and the rice is a little sweet  and sticky. It’s topped with a sunny side up duck egg and chopped up/served table-side to make sure each guest gets a little bit of all the components. No matter what you order, this is a great side to compliment the meal.

9) Coconut Fritters: Oh my god, take me back! These coconut “donuts” were everything I  could ever want in a dessert. They were super crispy and served with an amalgamation of flavors including carmel and passionfruit. This is a dessert that should not be missed. It was the perfect way to finish our meal.

Looking back, we ate a lot (and I’m not sorry). Mark my words, this restaurant will join the cities exclusive Michelin Star list next year. Simply perfect.

After reading this, how could you not want to head over to Japonais by Morimoto located at 600 West Chicago Avenue?

Love always,
Erica