Restaurant: Morimoto

We went to two, quite different, restaurants on successive nights in Napa – Morimoto and Bistro Jeanty. They were different as to type of food, décor and “scene.” Both were worth the evening we spent there.

Peggy and Mike suggested that we have dinner at Morimoto, a restaurant that offers contemporary Japanese cuisine.

The restaurant is quite large and very modern in design. As you enter there is a regular seating area to the right, and as you head further into the restaurant there is a large open kitchen on the right. You can stop and watch the kitchen in action, but there is a lot of traffic as dishes are conveyed from the kitchen to diners.

The back of the restaurant is divided into two large rooms that are essentially open one to the other. In the area you first enter there is a large bar to the left and a comfortable seating area to the right. Folks that are either in the restaurant for a drink or waiting for a table hang out in this area. By the time we left it was quite crowded. The back end of this first room holds a number of tables that seat 4 or more.

We were led through the first room and into the second where we were seated.

My notes for the evening are less than perfect. On the appetizer front I ordered sushi and I had a tempura calamari salad. I think Peggy passed and I did not record Debbie’s choice. For entrees, Peggy chose sushi and sashimi; Debbie selected the whole roasted lobster ‘epice’; I went with the black cod, working my way through a crispy whole fish. Each of the cooked dishes had unique tastes that made them particularly enjoyable.

The service was excellent.

The whole place is a bit of a scene and at least on this weekend night, it was very loud. So loud, in fact, that holding a conversation was somewhat difficult. The cliental trends young and well off.

The restroom fit the modern style of the restaurant.

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