Morimoto Asia coming to 'The Landing' district of Disney Springs in 2015

Oct 27, 2014 in "Morimoto Asia"

Posted: Monday October 27, 2014 6:04pm EDT by WDWMAGIC Staff

Famed celebrity chef, Masaharu Morimoto and the Patina Restaurant Group, will open Morimoto Asia in 'The Landing' district at the new Disney Springs development.

Opening in summer 2015, Morimoto Asia will be a pan-Asian dining experience, including open terraces, grand hall, private rooms, long bar, cocktail lounge, waterside seating and more.

The restaurant is being designed by STUDIO V Architecture, and will be a 2 story layout with  36ft tall interior space.

Flavors will come from across Asia, while exhibition kitchens will showcase the continent’s traditions. Included among them are street-food stalls, Peking duck carving and dim sum.

“We are delighted to work with Morimoto to create this one of a kind restaurant, which will be a spectacular dining destination at the new Disney Springs,” said Nick Valenti, restaurateur and CEO of Patina Restaurant Group.

“I’m very excited to bring this new concept to Disney, something I’ve always dreamed of,” said Chef Morimoto. “It’s a wonderful chance to share some of my favorite foods from across the Asian continent.”

The restaurant will be taking up the space of the former Mannequins Dance Hall in Pleasure Island, which has been under construction for the last year.

“We’re thrilled to bring Chef Morimoto’s renowned culinary style to Disney Springs as we expand the range of dining experiences for our resort guests as well as local Florida residents,” said George A. Kalogridis, president, Walt Disney World Resort.


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wdwmagicSep 19, 2016

NYC Design Awards gives more insight into the creation of Morimoto Asia

flyerjabDec 02, 2015

It is funny, though, how different people can have completely different experiences at the same restaurant. We ate there in October and we thought that the food was excellent (to me, pretty much everything is overpriced at Disney so it is something I have come to accept). The Kung Pao Chicken was the best I have ever had. The service, however, definitely needed some work.

French QuarterDec 02, 2015

Thank you. I appreciate your detailed review. Based on it, I would still give it a go. I actually think our local nicer sushi place charges similar prices and it's not in a touristy area. So, these prices still seem good to me. But value is always a personal opinion. I also don't want it to be just like what I'm used to. The creative flair is mostly why I want to get there. I am sorry that you didn't find it tasty. It sucks when you shell out a bunch of cash and don't get what you are hoping for.

WDWtravelerNov 18, 2015

Photo update as of Wednesday, Nov. 18. Behind the construction wall at the end of Morimoto Asia Street Food ground level outdoor patio, the kitchen has large windows for guests to view the action inside. A chef can be seen working in the below photos. This area is not yet open to guests. STK steakhouse construction is in the background.

wdwmagicNov 17, 2015

Thanks for your comments, If you get a minute, would love to have your review at http://www.wdwmagic.com/dining/morimoto-asia/reviews.htm and you can also thumb up and down individual dishes at http://www.wdwmagic.com/dining/morimoto-asia/menus.htm

TimeTripNov 17, 2015

Hamachi Tacos - $12 This was ok, but it was essentially 2 mini tacos. Probably should have cost $9-10 at most Pork Bao - $8 Our favorite part of the meal, and most cost effective. Portion was pretty good for $8 Shumai - $8 This is different from the typical sushi-place style shumai that you can get for ~$5-6 other places. It was 3 larger pieces with multiple ingredients as opposed to 5/6 smaller pieces usually focused on shrimp only. The price wasn't as over-the-top as others, but the shumai itself was just bland. Even with the strange addition of olives. Why olives? Tuna Pizza - $15 One of our favorite appetizers we've ever had was the tuna pizza as a sushi-place that didn't last long in Apopka (Ocha Sushi, we miss you!). This pizza wasn't really comparable. The tuna was in decent quantity, but the crust was overwhelming with a fishy taste. For $15, it wasn't so great. I'd rather pay like $12 for some tuna kobachi someplace else. Did i mention this also had olives? Not sure what their fascination is with olives. Spicy Tuna Roll - $10 This is usually a $8 roll other places. This was barely spicy, and the tuna taste was definitely lost. I suspect it was less from the "spicy" sauce/approach and more due to the amount of tuna (or lack thereof) in the roll itself. Egg Fried Rice - $8 This was the most overpriced item we had. There was about 3-4 small little micro-size pieces of egg in there. I can't figure how they think this was even worth $5 In summary, generally for the quality it was overpriced. If these items were all "excellent", the pricing wouldn't feel so bad. It is definitely in line with DTD pricing, in that its generally overpriced as opposed to equivalent/better quality off-property dining. So it's not really "out of bounds" for DTD, I just wanted to chime in with an alternate POV given previous "good pricing" vibe earlier in the thread. Would I go out of my way to go to Boathouse for quality Surf + Turf? Yes, because it feels like a generally better/equivalent experience/quality than off-site. Would I go to Morimoto for asian? Generally no. I would have to say however, that I would by far rather eat at Morimoto than Tokyo Dining in Epcot, for what that's worth :) Oh, a few more things. We were told they were still figuring out how to run the restaurant because they had "only been open for 38 days". I forget the exact days but it was in the 30s. I would hope a restaurant as high-profile as this one would have figured it out better after being open for more than a month. The party next to us was told that if they wanted to pay the way they wanted to (not sure if it was a gift card or something), it would take 30 minutes to get a manager to coordinate it, since their "system" was still being upgraded. They opted to pay with another credit card instead. We also were told a story that a group the previous evening had ordered a filet mignon, and fried rice. It took them 30 minutes to get the filet mignon (understandable) and an hour for the fried rice (awful). I do wonder what is going on behind the scenes. Our worst part of the service itself was getting wet plates, needing to ask for chopsticks, and waiting way too long for our fried rice.

French QuarterNov 16, 2015

What specifically did you find out of line in terms of prices? I am used to high Canadian prices so I might just not be seeing it but a $30 entree for fine dining here is right on par.

TimeTripNov 16, 2015

Service was also a bit off. When chatting with an employee, they still don't know how to handle weekend crowds yet. The pork bao was delish... Everything else was "meh": shumai, hamachi tacos, tuna pizza, spicy tuna roll and fried rice. If we go back it would probably to try the sushi bar upstairs. Still I worry about it being horribly overpriced.

flyerjabNov 16, 2015

I know, same here. We were there not long after it opened. The location and interior decor is phenomenal. The dim sum and Kung pao chicken was excellent. The only issues I noticed was with regard to service. One of our servers was not familiar enough with the menu to answer our questions so he had to get someone else to help. One weird thing that we saw was when a glass was dropped near the table next to ours. I think 8 employees rushed over to clear the area and clean it up. I was waiting for a hazmat team to come in at one point. Our first overall impression though was very positive.

French QuarterNov 16, 2015

I'm sorry yours is a bad experience. This is the first bad review I have heard.

TimeTripNov 15, 2015

Eating right now. I am very underwhelmed. The food is "OK" with a good dish here or there. The prices are way higher than they should be for the quality. That's generally a DTD thing... But thought I would mention it given the previous "good prices" commentary in this thread. If you're in the Orlando area and want something that is way better, hit up SushiPop in Oviedo. It blows morimoto away in quality food offerings and pricing. It is a bit of a trek if you're at Disney though.

WDWtravelerOct 21, 2015

Photo update as of Wednesday, Oct 21. A view of the downstairs patio and quick service window for Morimoto Street Food, to open next year when the Disney Springs area opens. Note the roll up window partition at the end of this space. For now, a construction wall on the left side hides the area under construction. From the outside, the Morimoto Street Food sign is already in place. The STK building is under construction in the background. Note the new street lamps installed in this area of Disney Spring.

bub72ckOct 19, 2015

I ate here on Friday night and it was delicious. The service was top notch as well. Highly recommended.

French QuarterOct 16, 2015

I am glad to hear about this. I figured it would be tasty. Love dim sum and Kung pao.