New York Restaurant Week comes around twice a year, once in July-August, once in January-February. During this week, participating restaurants offer a menu of 3-course meals (appetizer/entree/dessert) for $42. In New York City that’s often the price of just an entree, so put it all together and it’s a pretty sweet deal.

Uncharacteristically, I planned ahead for Restaurant Week this winter – I was that excited about it. When I snagged a Saturday night reservation for Morimoto, of Iron Chef fame, I was thrilled. This was something I’d tried to do during previous Restaurant Weeks but always failed – Morimoto is one of those New York restaurants that you must book well in advance. I’d never watched an episode of Iron Chef, but with that kind of exclusivity and because this restaurant consistently appears at the top of every Best of Restaurant Week list, I knew it was going to be a good meal. 

But before I get to the good stuff, let me share:

A Trio of New York Restaurant Week Fails

1. Not making a reservation

Restaurant Week is popular and the best restaurants get completely booked, so do this in advance!

2. Expecting to share anything

My fella and I aren’t big eaters, we always share dishes when we go out. Well, we got shamed for trying to share dishes during Restaurant Week this year! We got away with it in the past…so I don’t know if they cracked down on NO SHARING this year, or we just got lucky before with a chill server. The moral of the story is, if you go out for Restaurant Week, everyone should plan on getting the prix fixe 3 courses (for us that means a ton of leftovers).

3. Check the participation of the specific restaurant! Lots have specific stipulations!

I say this because I learned it the hard way. Turns out, Morimoto only participates in Restaurant Week on weekdays!!! This is how I was able to get that Saturday night reservation! I was so bummed when we learned this – after we’d already sat down and looked through the menu!

I was worried we wouldn’t be able to afford the meal without the deal, but everything worked out in the end. We shared an appetizer, each got an entree, and skipped dessert. That bill was about the same as the prix fixe would have been. My waistline is thanking me for not getting dessert (but my taste buds are still cursing me)!

Dinner at Morimoto, NYC

So, how was dinner at Morimoto, even with the disappointment of missing the killer Restaurant Week deal?

It was still amazing. The food here is so creative and fresh, everything we ate (and peeked at on neighboring tables) was exciting and delicious. The whole experience of this restaurant was a delight.

For an appetizer, we ordered the “Heirloom Carrot”. Which I know, sounds like a terrible thing to order anywhere – a plate of carrots?? – but oh my god it was so good!

Miso marinated carrots that were cooked perfectly on top of an incredible pistachio-fennel paste and topped with Asian pear. It was truly one of those meals you have to taste to understand. But seriously, the most delicious plate of carrots ever!

For entrees, we ordered two to share, thinking the portions might be smaller than what’s typical here in America. We got the Seabass and the Ishi Yaki Bop with yellowtail. Portions were actually pretty substantial, but we didn’t have any problem clearing our plates.

The Ishi Yaki Bop was prepared tableside, making it a total dining experience. Raw fish was seared on the side of a hot stone bowl and our server walked us through everything he was doing to make this rice dish absolutely awesome.

The Seabass was cooked perfectly. It’s the first time I’ve ever eaten cooked fish and not wanted to squeeze lemon all over it. The flavor was perfect, miso and umami are used expertly here. Tempura avocado and Japanese eggplant were the perfect complements to the fish for this dish.

The desserts looked excellent and as I sit here writing about the meal, I absolutely wish we had gotten one. But, at the time, I was perfectly full and leaving a restaurant feeling stuffed isn’t my favorite. Besides, now I have the perfect reason to go back! Here are some dessert descriptions from the Morimoto menu to get you excited too:

Nama Tofu  
soy cloud cheesecake, kuromitsu coffee, almond, shiratama, shiso

Shiro Choko     
kinako, white chocolate, sesame, passion fruit sorbet, marble meringue

Hoji Mori   
hojicha entremet, cinnamon, miso snow, hazelnut, sesame, orange ice cream

I can’t identify all the ingredients in any of those, but that’s part of the fun. I have zero doubt that they all taste phenomenal – I think it’s hard to go wrong when ordering from this restaurant. There is so much thought put into every dish and aspect of this place. I say this as someone who isn’t a foodie at all and doesn’t really get hyped about eating out – the dining experience at Morimoto is absolutely worth it. Go for a fancy meal, especially if you enjoy eating outside the box.