Morimoto Napa: A deeply disappointing dining experience…read more
My wife and I recently returned to Napa, one of our favorite places, and decided to try Morimoto while celebrating 40 years since we first met. We ordered the $180-per-person omakase and added the $95 A5 Wagyu supplement for each of us. With drinks, tax, and tip, our final bill was over $800. We were perfectly comfortable spending that kind of money for a special occasion, but unfortunately, the experience was a tremendous disappointment.
And to be clear, this isn't about the money. Even if the entire meal had cost $50, I would have been disappointed. The food simply wasn't good.
The omakase nigiri was particularly bad. The rice was atrocious, and the preparation of the fish was hardly better. Sushi rice is fundamental to good nigiri, and getting that wrong undermines the entire dish. Several of the other courses were excessively salty, with little of the balance or refinement we expected. The presentation was also surprisingly uninspired. My wife commented on how ordinary everything looked, especially for an omakase experience where you would expect some thought and craftsmanship in how each course is presented.
Then there was the A5 Wagyu. Before ordering, I asked our waitress about it, and she described it as wonderfully buttery. We've had excellent Wagyu in Japan, so we had a reasonable idea of what to expect. Unfortunately, this wasn't remotely close. The appearance was unappealing, the flavor disappointing, and the texture lacked the richness and tenderness we were looking forward to. At $95 for a small portion, it was a particularly poor addition to an already underwhelming meal.
My wife is Japanese, and we travel to Japan regularly, so we're familiar with excellent sushi and Wagyu. But I wasn't expecting Morimoto to replicate a traditional Japanese restaurant. I knew it was fusion, and I have no problem with that. Good cooking is good cooking, regardless of the style. What I expected was quality, proper technique, balanced flavors, and some genuine attention to detail. Unfortunately, we found very little of that here.
The service didn't help matters. When our waitress asked how we enjoyed the nigiri, I told her directly that it was terrible and explained why, particularly the rice. I made clear that I wasn't blaming her personally. She seemed genuinely surprised by the criticism, but there was no apology, no meaningful acknowledgment, and no attempt during that conversation to address our dissatisfaction. She was pleasant enough otherwise, but there's a difference between being superficially pleasant and actually caring about a guest's experience.
What bothers me most is the disconnect between Morimoto's reputation and what actually arrived at our table. I've had far better food at small, unpretentious restaurants where the people preparing it clearly care about what they're doing. A celebrity chef's name and an impressive bill don't substitute for craftsmanship.
We went there to celebrate something meaningful, and instead we spent the evening wondering how a restaurant with this reputation could get so many basic things wrong. Perhaps others have had better experiences, but ours was genuinely awful.
I wouldn't return, and I certainly wouldn't recommend the omakase. Not because it was expensive, but because the food wasn't good. The price just made the disappointment that much worse.