Morimoto Napa

Checked out Morimoto Napa over Memorial Weekend, after
hearing how good it was from Daniel W.

We weren't able to get reservations, so we settled for the
sushi bar. The wait was about an hour. It was definitely worth
the wait. The restaurant is located in Downtown Napa,
so there are shops nearby to keep busy.


Walking by the open kitchen on the way in.




toro tartare
with a palette of nori paste, wasabi, sour cream, chives,
avocado, crispy rice balls, and dashi



morimoto sashimi
four layer sashimis of seared toro salmon, eel, tuna,
hamachi, with five sauces in pipettes



wagyu beef carpaccio
yuzu soy, ginger, and sweet garlic



rock shrimp tempura
(left) wasabi aïoli, (right) spicy kochujan sauce



(left) uni on shiso leaf (middle) uni sushi (right) wagyu sushi



clam miso
white miso broth with manila clams



sea urchin carbonara
smoked bacon, peas, udon noodle, nori, egg yolk,
and crispy shallots



ishi yaki buri bop
yellowtail with assorted veges+mushrooms on rice, in a hot stone bowl,
served table-side.
(Japanese version of bibimbhap.)



The entire meal was amazing, never have I experienced such explosion-of-flavors. My two top dishes would have to be the morimoto sashimi and the wagyu beef carpaccio. The flavors that came from in each of those dishes left my mouth wanting more. I was really sad that I had to share the wagyu beef carpaccio dish with Vicky. Looking back, I should of gotten one all to myself. In my opinion, it's a dish that you definitely don't want to share, lol. The toro tartare came in a close 2nd--I recall this was a dish Chef Morimoto made on one of his iron chef battles, pretty cool. The sea urchin carbonara was also delicious, very rich and creamy. You can taste the "uni-ness" all in between the noodles. The portion was just enough; the richness makes this a good dish to share. Overall, a wonderful dinning experience worth trying if you're a fan of Japanese cuisines.