The DIS Unlimited team recently enjoyed a re-visit to Morimoto Asia, located in The Landing at Disney Springs. This table-service restaurant is open for lunch and dinner and offers Asian cuisine with a menu created by Chef Morimoto, famous for his Japanese-American fusion recipes and being the original Iron Chef on the Food Network.
The menu offers a wide range of options including sushi, ramen, rice and noodles, Peking duck, and a large selection of sake. You can also dine in the lounge-area or at the restaurant’s quick-service walk-up window, Morimoto Asia Street Food.
The atmosphere is modern and elegant while still feeling comfortable enough to enjoy after a day in the parks. Morimoto occupies the former space of the Mannequins night club from long-gone days of Pleasure Island. Now the restaurant is said to be in the old bottling factory for the Springs and features two-story dining with exposed beams and steel, alluding to its past as a “working factory”.
We started our meal with a favorite from Morimoto – the Sake Sangria. Most of the group had tried this unique sangria before and agreed it was a must have.
Sake Sangria Carafe (serves 3 – 4) – sake, light white wine, plum wine, Asian pears, apple, and tangerine juice for $48.
We had more than enough to share between the four of us – making each glass $12 versus $18 if ordering one glass. This is a great deal for Disney Springs! The subtle flavor of the sake with the pear and apple was so light and crisp. We cannot recommend this one enough and even by itself is worth visiting Morimoto the next time you’re at Disney Springs!
Morimoto Spare Ribs (half rack/ 6 ribs) – pork ribs, cilantro, and hoisin sweet chili glaze for $18.
Whether dining for lunch, dinner, or the walk-up Street Food window, you absolutely MUST order the spare ribs. They are tender, fall-off-the-bone, ribs with just the right amount of char and smokey sweetness from the glaze. Honestly, the spare ribs with a side or another dim sum item would be the perfect meal.
Pork Dumplings (4 pieces) – pork, mushroom, Napa cabbage, and scallion for $16.
We also decided to split the pork dumplings as an appetizer which paled in comparison to the spare ribs. The dumplings were steamed perfectly and tasted fresh but ultimately weren’t memorable or worth $4 per dumpling.
Morimoto “Buri-Bop” – Korean style yellowtail rice bowl, served in a hot clay pot and prepared tableside with egg yolk for $36.
Teresa chose the winning dish from our Morimoto lunch! The Buri-Bop has been made famous by Chef Morimoto and it lives up to the hype. The yellowtail and egg is prepared tableside in a sizzling hot clay pot and smells incredible right away. Despite it being one of the more expensive dishes, this is worth splurging for.
Shrimp Tempura Sushi Roll (6 pieces) – made with asparagus and spicy mayo for $16.
Kung Pao Cauliflower – flash fried cauliflower floret, pepper, carrot, mushroom, tobanjan chili for $16.
Chloé chose a combination of sushi and the cauliflower appetizer. Despite shrimp tempura being one of Chloé’s favorite sushi rolls, this one missed the mark. The tempura was soggy and if not for the spicy mayo, the flavor would have been completely missing.
In contrast, the cauliflower was delicious. Fried perfectly with tons of flavor. The price is a little high for a plant-based appetizer but the portion-size was decent.
We visited Morimoto on a weekday during lunch and not only was the restaurant quiet but we were also offered a specially-priced menu. There is both a weekday and weekend lunch menu with unique menu items, multiple-course specials, and reduced pricing. You can also order of the regular dinner menu at lunch.
Course Lunch Set – Kanikama Sushi Roll (4 pieces), House Salad with Yuzu Dressing, and Pork Katsu Curry for $24.
Pork Katsu – Japanese style curry rice with pork katsu.
I ordered the Pork Katsu lunch set and was blown away by the value. The Pork Katsu was tender and flavorful with enough curry to enjoy with the rice. While the sushi and salad weren’t anything spectacular, it added a nice variety to the meal and I would order it all again.
Course Lunch Set – fried Chicken Dumplings (3 pieces), House Salad with Yuzu Dressing, and Tonkotsu Ramen for $22.
Tonkotsu Ramen – rich pork bone broth, wheat noodles, roasted pork belly, woodear mushroom, pickled ginger, soy marinated egg, and scallion.
Ryno also order a lunch set but instead chose the fried chicken dumplings and Tonkotsu Ramen. The lunch special was only a few dollars more than the price of the ramen on the dinner menu, making it another great value. The ramen was flavorful and had plenty of pork belly and other accompaniments. It wasn’t the best ramen Ryno has ever had but still very good. Next time he would likely skip the chicken dumplings – they were nothing special.
We had a great lunch at Morimoto Asia and all agreed we will definitely be back! Morimoto is a great place to celebrate a special occasion or to enjoy the value of the lunch menu pricing. Overall, the Spare Ribs, Buri-Bop, and Sake Sangria are the stand outs from everything we’ve enjoyed at Morimoto.
Be sure to watch our full Morimoto Asia dining review and let us know in the comments where we should eat next at Disney Springs!
Hannah Anderson is a Dreams Unlimited Travel Agent, DIS Contributor, former Disney Cast Member, and Orlando local. Mostly importantly, she is a mom and loves spending time in the Disney Parks each week with her family.
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