Morimoto Asia at Disney Springs officially opens its doors on September 30

Sep 02, 2015 in "Morimoto Asia"

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Posted: Wednesday September 2, 2015 12:27pm EDT by WDWMAGIC Staff

Morimoto Asia today announced it will be officially opening its doors on September 30 2015.

Morimoto Asia concept art - Exterior

The new pan-Asia restaurant, which is a collaboration between Iron Chef Mesaharu Morimoto and the Patina Restaurant Group, will be one of the centerpieces of the new Disney Springs - a redevelopment of Downtown Disney.

“This has been a project of passion for our team and Chef Morimoto. We can’t wait to open our doors to everyone visiting Disney Springs this fall and beyond,” said Nick Valenti, restaurateur and CEO of Patina Restaurant Group.

Morimoto Asia construction

Boasting a 36ft tall, two story layout, it includes lounges, dining spaces, and an exhibition kitchen that allows guests a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the culinary action. The second-level sushi bar and lounge have a separate entrance.

The restaurant’s main entrance features a three-story glass corner, revealing the dramatic interior design including a multi-level bar and spiraling chandelier made of illuminated glass bottles. The sculptural bar at over 270 feet in length is one of the largest in the world, as it leaps through the soaring 36-foot tall space to connect the grand dining room on the ground floor with the upper level, wrapping around the grand stairway. Custom glass beaded chandeliers evoke the ocean delicacies of Chef Morimoto’s cuisine, and are reflected in antique mirrors, interspersed with glass mosaic artworks based on ancient Japanese prints. Chef Morimoto’s exclusive sushi bar is sculpted from hundreds of pieces of hand-selected ash wood, backed with a wall of hammered copper. Morimoto Asia’s two-story outdoor terrace provides patio seating with sweeping views of Disney Springs.

Morimoto Asia concept art - Interior

The Menu

The menu is Chef Morimoto’s eclectic take on his favorite Asian flavors including moo shu pork, Peking duck, lobster chow fun, sweet and sour crispy whole fish, and kung pao chicken. Dim sum will be served during weekend brunch service, and will include a variety of dumplings, shumai, bao, spare ribs and more.

The sushi, an intimate 14-seat counter, will offer pristine sushi and sashimi options from around the world. Items include toro, kanpachi, Japanese red snapper, uni, sea eel, hamachi, fluke, and salmon, as well as more ocean delicacies. A variety of specialty sushi rolls and selections from the raw bar will also be offered. While traditional sushi service will be limited to the guests seated at the sushi bar, a selection of specialty rolls and sushi platters will be available to the main restaurant’s diners.

“I am excited to create a menu that allows so many of my favorite Asian flavors to come alive all in one place,” said Chef Masaharu Morimoto. “I hope the guests at Morimoto Asia have as much fun eating this food as I have creating it.”

Mormimoto Asia promises a destination-worthy line-up. The beers will feature mostly Asian varieties in both bottle and on draft, including the Morimoto signature beer by Rogue Ales.

In addition to the collector’s edition Imperial Pilsner and Morimoto Soba Ale and the highly coveted Black Obi Soba will also be available by the bottle. The restaurant will also offer an assortment of sake, including the Morimoto signature line, plus a wine list showcasing wines of the world, signature cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks.

Kid's are Welcome

Being a true family-friendly destination, kids will have a variety of Asian-infused dishes including chicken ramen, kakuni pork bao, and karaage fried chicken.

Lunch, Dinner and Weekend Brunch

Morimoto Asia will be open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. serving lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch with dim sum

Discuss on the Forums

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wdwmagicSep 19, 2016

NYC Design Awards gives more insight into the creation of Morimoto Asia

flyerjabDec 02, 2015

It is funny, though, how different people can have completely different experiences at the same restaurant. We ate there in October and we thought that the food was excellent (to me, pretty much everything is overpriced at Disney so it is something I have come to accept). The Kung Pao Chicken was the best I have ever had. The service, however, definitely needed some work.

French QuarterDec 02, 2015

Thank you. I appreciate your detailed review. Based on it, I would still give it a go. I actually think our local nicer sushi place charges similar prices and it's not in a touristy area. So, these prices still seem good to me. But value is always a personal opinion. I also don't want it to be just like what I'm used to. The creative flair is mostly why I want to get there. I am sorry that you didn't find it tasty. It sucks when you shell out a bunch of cash and don't get what you are hoping for.

WDWtravelerNov 18, 2015

Photo update as of Wednesday, Nov. 18. Behind the construction wall at the end of Morimoto Asia Street Food ground level outdoor patio, the kitchen has large windows for guests to view the action inside. A chef can be seen working in the below photos. This area is not yet open to guests. STK steakhouse construction is in the background.

wdwmagicNov 17, 2015

Thanks for your comments, If you get a minute, would love to have your review at http://www.wdwmagic.com/dining/morimoto-asia/reviews.htm and you can also thumb up and down individual dishes at http://www.wdwmagic.com/dining/morimoto-asia/menus.htm

TimeTripNov 17, 2015

Hamachi Tacos - $12 This was ok, but it was essentially 2 mini tacos. Probably should have cost $9-10 at most Pork Bao - $8 Our favorite part of the meal, and most cost effective. Portion was pretty good for $8 Shumai - $8 This is different from the typical sushi-place style shumai that you can get for ~$5-6 other places. It was 3 larger pieces with multiple ingredients as opposed to 5/6 smaller pieces usually focused on shrimp only. The price wasn't as over-the-top as others, but the shumai itself was just bland. Even with the strange addition of olives. Why olives? Tuna Pizza - $15 One of our favorite appetizers we've ever had was the tuna pizza as a sushi-place that didn't last long in Apopka (Ocha Sushi, we miss you!). This pizza wasn't really comparable. The tuna was in decent quantity, but the crust was overwhelming with a fishy taste. For $15, it wasn't so great. I'd rather pay like $12 for some tuna kobachi someplace else. Did i mention this also had olives? Not sure what their fascination is with olives. Spicy Tuna Roll - $10 This is usually a $8 roll other places. This was barely spicy, and the tuna taste was definitely lost. I suspect it was less from the "spicy" sauce/approach and more due to the amount of tuna (or lack thereof) in the roll itself. Egg Fried Rice - $8 This was the most overpriced item we had. There was about 3-4 small little micro-size pieces of egg in there. I can't figure how they think this was even worth $5 In summary, generally for the quality it was overpriced. If these items were all "excellent", the pricing wouldn't feel so bad. It is definitely in line with DTD pricing, in that its generally overpriced as opposed to equivalent/better quality off-property dining. So it's not really "out of bounds" for DTD, I just wanted to chime in with an alternate POV given previous "good pricing" vibe earlier in the thread. Would I go out of my way to go to Boathouse for quality Surf + Turf? Yes, because it feels like a generally better/equivalent experience/quality than off-site. Would I go to Morimoto for asian? Generally no. I would have to say however, that I would by far rather eat at Morimoto than Tokyo Dining in Epcot, for what that's worth :) Oh, a few more things. We were told they were still figuring out how to run the restaurant because they had "only been open for 38 days". I forget the exact days but it was in the 30s. I would hope a restaurant as high-profile as this one would have figured it out better after being open for more than a month. The party next to us was told that if they wanted to pay the way they wanted to (not sure if it was a gift card or something), it would take 30 minutes to get a manager to coordinate it, since their "system" was still being upgraded. They opted to pay with another credit card instead. We also were told a story that a group the previous evening had ordered a filet mignon, and fried rice. It took them 30 minutes to get the filet mignon (understandable) and an hour for the fried rice (awful). I do wonder what is going on behind the scenes. Our worst part of the service itself was getting wet plates, needing to ask for chopsticks, and waiting way too long for our fried rice.

French QuarterNov 16, 2015

What specifically did you find out of line in terms of prices? I am used to high Canadian prices so I might just not be seeing it but a $30 entree for fine dining here is right on par.

TimeTripNov 16, 2015

Service was also a bit off. When chatting with an employee, they still don't know how to handle weekend crowds yet. The pork bao was delish... Everything else was "meh": shumai, hamachi tacos, tuna pizza, spicy tuna roll and fried rice. If we go back it would probably to try the sushi bar upstairs. Still I worry about it being horribly overpriced.

flyerjabNov 16, 2015

I know, same here. We were there not long after it opened. The location and interior decor is phenomenal. The dim sum and Kung pao chicken was excellent. The only issues I noticed was with regard to service. One of our servers was not familiar enough with the menu to answer our questions so he had to get someone else to help. One weird thing that we saw was when a glass was dropped near the table next to ours. I think 8 employees rushed over to clear the area and clean it up. I was waiting for a hazmat team to come in at one point. Our first overall impression though was very positive.

French QuarterNov 16, 2015

I'm sorry yours is a bad experience. This is the first bad review I have heard.

TimeTripNov 15, 2015

Eating right now. I am very underwhelmed. The food is "OK" with a good dish here or there. The prices are way higher than they should be for the quality. That's generally a DTD thing... But thought I would mention it given the previous "good prices" commentary in this thread. If you're in the Orlando area and want something that is way better, hit up SushiPop in Oviedo. It blows morimoto away in quality food offerings and pricing. It is a bit of a trek if you're at Disney though.

WDWtravelerOct 21, 2015

Photo update as of Wednesday, Oct 21. A view of the downstairs patio and quick service window for Morimoto Street Food, to open next year when the Disney Springs area opens. Note the roll up window partition at the end of this space. For now, a construction wall on the left side hides the area under construction. From the outside, the Morimoto Street Food sign is already in place. The STK building is under construction in the background. Note the new street lamps installed in this area of Disney Spring.