Morimoto Philadelphia

Morimoto Philadelphia brings an upscale, trendy vibe to Japanese cuisine. Executive chef Masaharu Morimoto, best known from the TV Series Iron Chef and Iron Chef America has crafted a menu filled with authentic Japanese flavors. Morimoto has locations in both Philadelphia and the Meatpacking District of New York. 

The interior of the restaurant has a very modern vibe with color changing walls and a ceiling that seems to roll into the kitchen. A friend and myself picked Morimoto to celebrate a birthday. The vibe of the interior is very chic and refined. 

The menu includes an extensive cocktail list as well as Japanese Sakes, some of which are Morimoto's own label. There is an array of appetizers both hot and cold, and dinners can choose between entrées or the tasting menu which takes all the work out of picking items on the menu. We opted to select our appetizers and entrées ourselves. 

We started off with rock shrimp tempura, tuna tartar, and I also had a cucumber avocado role.

I had the wasabi salmon for dinner which was prepared in a creamy garlic sauce with a wasabi vinaigrette and scallion bubbles. 

All in all the food was good, but note that if you are not a big seafood lover this may not be the place for you as the menu is heavily based on seafood dishes. I would like to try the New York location just to see how it compares.