Morimoto Asia Review at Disney Springs
This article reviews Morimoto Asia at Disney Springs. Below, we’ll discuss the menu, tips for dining here, and a few of our experiences at this location.
Morimoto Asia is a table service restaurant specializing in higher-end Asian cuisine. If you have visited Disney Springs within the past few years, you know the venue is home to numerous dining options. Those options include a few restaurants owned by celebrity chefs. In this instance, Chef Masaharu Morimoto is the name behind Morimoto Asia.
Chef Masaharu Morimoto is known for his presence on the Food Network’s television series, Iron Chef. He is also a recipient of a James Beard Foundation award for “Outstanding Restaurant Design,” among many other accolades and mentions from notable sources.
Morimoto Asia quickly became our go-to dining location after our second visit. Our first experience was mediocre, mainly due to terrible service. However, that was many years ago, and the quality of the food from that experience encouraged us to return. Since then, we’ve dined at Morimoto Asia numerous times.
Here are a few quick references for Morimoto Asia.
| Morimoto Asia | Disney Springs |
|---|---|
Location: | Town Center |
Type of Food: | Asian Cuisine |
Type of Service: | Table Service, Signature Dining |
Disney Dining Plan: | Yes, one table service credit for lunch and two credits for dinner. |
Annual Passholder Discount: | Yes, 10% on food and non-alcoholic beverages. |
Menu: | Morimoto Asia Menu |
Morimoto Asia sits near the center of Disney Springs directly underneath the Springs Bottling Co. signage. If you’re coming from the resort’s bus stop or the Lime parking garage, you will head straight through Town Center and eventually run into the restaurants. It’s on the left past Frontera Cocina and Sprinkles. Raglan Road sits across the walkway. We have a guide with tips for transportation to and around Disney Springs if you want to learn more.
Morimoto Asia has a stunning interior with a black-and-white color palette. An exquisite chandelier serves as the centerpiece of the restaurant.
Each part of the chandelier is about 20′ long delicately hanging from the restaurant’s second story ceiling.
Larger portraits line the walls of the restaurant’s first floor.
Here and there, sheer curtains create private seating areas. But most of the restaurant is out in the open, including the kitchen. I would recommend sitting as close to the kitchen as possible if you are interested in culinary arts.
This interior row of tables runs the length of the outdoor patio.
On one visit, we were seated at Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s personal table. Our server told us that Chef Morimoto always sits at this table there when he visits the restaurant. There is an excellent view of the open kitchen and the restaurant in its entirety from this table.
I would imagine it might be a little unnerving to wait on the Iron Chef. Our server told us that he commonly stops servers and inquires about ingredients in a dish. He expects accurate descriptions of each menu item. This is a testament to the quality of service and food you should receive when dining here. As you can see in the photo below, we had an excellent view of the kitchen.
While you’re dining you can see the servers coming and going. A chef constantly stands at the prep area on the opposite side, putting the finishing touches on each dish. You might notice a few ducks hanging in the next photo. Morimoto Asia has a popular menu item called Morimoto Peking Duck that serves two. Per the menu: carved house-roasted whole duck, served with steamed flour tortillas, apricot sweet chili, hoisin miso and choice of steamed white or brown rice.
Other popular menu items include Orange Chicken, described as tempura chicken, Chinese broccoli, wok-tossed with a sweet Florida orange sauce. Then there’s the Morimoto Spare Ribs, described as pork ribs, cilantro and hoisin sweet chili glaze.
If you’re interetested in trying the ribs, they are also available at Morimoto Asia Street Food, the restaurant’s quick service window on the lower level patio. They usually have a couple of types of ramen, the ribs, and a few other items.
Morimoto Asia has a bar right inside the restaurant’s entrance. You might like to order a drink here while you wait for a table.
They also have an accessible bar.
A mosaic tile wall adds a splash of color near the restaurant’s entrance.
Regarding food, we’ve tried many menu items over the years. One evening, we stopped in the Forbiddden Lounge for cocktails and sushi. I tried the Shirayuri or White Lily drink. It’s described as Hangar One Makrut Lime, Calpico and Yuzu served with a twist.
They had me at lime. Overall, this was a delicious drink that was much stronger than I anticipated. I sipped it throughout the meal and found it enjoyable.
As far as sushi, we’ve gone through quite a variety. Previously, I’ve enjoyed the spicy salmon and spider rolls. On this last visit, I had the spicy yellowtail roll.
This yellowtail spicy tuna roll was fresh and cut into small pieces, similar to a ceviche. I thoroughly enjoyed this dish. My only complaint was this roll did tend to fall apart a little more than others.
I also might be terrible at eating sushi property. So I wouldn’t let that keep me from ordering this dish. The fish was of nice quality, and there was a hint of a spice flavor as promised per the menu.
We’ve also tried the Jyo Sushi combo. Wow. This comes with nine pieces of nigiri, sashimi, and an entire sushi roll. This is one of the most incredible sushi platters I’ve ever had the opportunity to enjoy.
As of this update, this sushi selection runs $55.00. It came with so many kinds of fish that I can’t remember all of them. But the one with the split skin is sardines, an option I had never tried. Amber-Jack was another selection that was new to me.
On another visit, we had lunch at Morimoto Asia and I ordered the Duck Ramen. This is a dish that I had wanted to try for some time. But something else always seemed to take a precendence.
As an example, I tried the popular Morimoto Buri-Bop on a previous visit. A dish Chef Morimoto won against Chef Bobby Flay in the past. It comes to the table like this, and the server cooks it in a clay pot before you.
This dish is hot, so you have to be careful. Nevertheless, it’s a great option, and the presentation adds something a little interesting to your meal.
Back to this meal, where I finally ordered the duck ramen dish.
Morimoto’s Duck Ramen is described as Peking duck broth, egg noodles, duck meat, scallions, soy-marinated egg, cilantro.
This was a fantastic dish that was every bit as hearty as you would expect. The broth is exceptionally flavorful and you’ll find an abundance of noodles underneath the heaping portion of duck meat. Warning, this is a huge portion. My only complaint was that it was topped with cilantro. But I was able to remove it.
My son usually order the fried rice when he dines with us at Morimoto Asia. He has a good deal of food allergies and considers this one of his favorite places to eat. It is rare for him to be able to enjoy Asian cuisisine when dining out.
His food allergies include dairy, fish, eggs, tree tuts, peanuts, and tomatoes. So they prepare a special chicken fried rice that includes scallions, broccoli, and carrots. He really enjoys it and says it’s so flavorful that he doesn’t need to add soy sauce.
The servers are very knowledgeable in the ingredients and food preparation. They consult with the chef to make sure your meal is handled properly. A gluten-free menu is also available upon request.
On another visit, I enjoyed the box lunch special. It came with rice, salmon, bokchoy, and pork dumplings.
It also came with a choice of soup or salad. I ordered the miso soup. This was a substantial meal that came in at less than $30.00 at the time.
On our very first visit to Morimoto Asia, we had the spring rolls. My son ordered the Mongolian Filet Mignon described as wok sautéed scallion, enoki mushroom, and sweet szechuan sauce. That dish was prepared tableside and ended up being mostly beef due to his allergies.
If you are looking to secure reservations, you can via the My Disney Experience app or OpenTable. We’ve also had good luck getting walk-ups. But if you visit during high crowd times, you will want to get reservations for all table service restaurants in advance if possible. It’s not uncommon to visit Disney Springs on a weekend and find guests lined out of the doors of the restaurants. We’ve even been when signs were posted apologizing that the restaurants had reached capacity.
As common with most of the restaurants at Disney Springs, Morimoto Asia has a third option for dining called the Forbidden Lounge. This part of the establishment is intended for sushi, bites, and late-night dining.
It is open later than the regular restaurant and has a separate entrance. You can find the entrance on the right side of the restaurant. It looks like a warehouse when you enter. Then you’ll take the stairs or elevator up to the second level.
Overall, we’ve enjoyed our experiences at Morimoto Asia. We consider it to be one of the best restaurants at Disney Springs. That says alot given the amount of restaurants at the venue. For more of our favorites at Disney Springs, you might enjoy the following:
- The Polite Pig Review
- D-Luxe Burger Review
- Wolfgang Puck Bar and Grill Review
- Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ Review
- Rainforest Cafe Review at Disney Springs
- Blaze Fast Fire’d Pizza Review
Resorts Gal specializes in resorts and hotels at Walt Disney World. If you are planning a trip, we have a variety of reviews for on and off-site hotels:
- The Best Hotels Near Disney World (Off-Site)
- Best Marriott Hotels Close to Disney World
- Benefits of Staying at a Disney World Resort
- The Best Hotel Pools at Disney World
What Do You Think?
Have you ever dined at Morimoto Asia? We’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment and let us know your review if you’ve eaten there. Or feel free to leave any questions. We’ll be happy to answer them based on our experience.
