Restaurant Review: Morimoto, Mondrian Hotel

by Erika Smatana

As a wine professional of over 20 years with majority of those spent primarily in New York City, I have worked with many iconic wineries of Napa Valley, and experienced the exceptional and innovative cuisine developed by renowned chefs who have also made Napa a culinary destination.

Master Chef Masaharu Morimoto, whose name-sake flagship restaurant Morimoto, now in the city of Napa for 20 plus years, has set ground-breaking standards for delicious, multi-cultural cuisine. Chef Morimoto continues to draw from his Japanese heritage and opened his first restaurant in his home city of Hiroshima in 1980. He then ventured to seek out new ideas, worked at renowned restaurants world-wide, notably as head chef at Nobu in New York city, to finally settle in Napa Valley.

He has now opened his first restaurant in Europe with Morimoto at the Mondrian Bordeaux. From his training in sushi and traditional Kaiseki cuisine, to his influences of Western cuisine that led to his development of Asian fusion cuisine, he has intertwined the best of the terroir cuisine of the southwest into this newly-opened restaurant, in place since December 2023.

Overseen by Bruno Tailly, the highly-knowledgeable general manager of Mondrian Bordeaux Les Carmes hotel who comes from opening Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa in Champillon, nearly 80% of their clientele are regulars after just four months. This alone speaks volumes to the quality and diversity on offer.

There is plenty here for wine lovers. The hotel is set within the iconic former cellars of Calvet négociant, excellently renovated by Patrice Pichet, owner of Château les Carmes Haut-Brion, together with architect Philippe Starck*.

Upon entering you are greeted in a salon area which opens into an inviting bar next to the sushi bar and open kitchens. As you are guided through the 160 seat room to your table the various tables are set as mini private dining areas. The room reveals itself to you. The sushi bar gives way to the second kitchen and onto a central terrace enclosed by the hotel. The large room feels warm, inviting, expertly laid out, with contemporary design furnishings that vary in type and hight to further enhance the feeling of privacy yet being part of a whole.

Chef Morimoto has worked with famed architect Tadao Ando in the design of his Chelsea New York restaurant featuring exposed concrete, Mr. Ando’s specialty. In Bordeaux, the room is reminiscent of Morimoto Napa with warm concrete elements, with Starck focusing on luminescent origami lamps to accentuate the warm woods, brick columns, earth tone fabrics covering the banquettes and accessories, highlighted by touches of texture and colour of the tiled floors around the kitchens. Anchored on the other side of the room is a concrete wall decorated by three large photos showcasing classic Geisha hair styles.

The food
Morimoto offers a multitude of options and price points. The Sushi Bar is open daily until 10pm with ample seating around it. The main dining room offers a Menu du Jour plus à la carte. Small plates and sharing is one of the best ways to enjoy Morimoto. The two-choice option appetiser/main or main/dessert course selection is 30€ per person, choose all three courses for 38€ per person, and you can add anything from the sushi bar at any point. Dinner is a la carte, and the bar menu offers a great selection of small plates, many choices of alcoholic, non-alcoholic drinks, saké (no sparkling just yet, but on its way), and wines from around the world.

We chose a variety of small plates from the Menu du Jour and à la carte. Our table afforded us the view of both kitchens where our dishes came from: sushi bar and main kitchen. There is also an elevated chef’s table that directly overlooks the kitchen.

First up, popcorn shrimp prepared two ways. The crisp tempura batter coated in wasabi mayonaise and, for those that like an extra kick of Korean flavours, the second coated in gochujang mayonaise. To temper the heat and add another layer of flavor to the dish an accompanying Ranch dipping sauce was so delicious you wanted to take some home. We all know Gyoza dumplings and sometimes they are not particularly exciting or for that matter well cooked. The Morimoto Gyoza stuffed with pork are perfectly steamed, accentuated by spring onions, ginger, sunflower oil, and rest in a suprising warm saké sauce. We all agreed this is the only way to eat Gyoza.

The Bao-buns with sticky ribs, pickled cucumber, mayonaise, and mustard is that comfort food pleasing to the eyes and flavors. Nicely presented and flavored, with the bao buns steamed just right. Morimoto’s signature dish, Tuna Pizza, takes on a flavor profile more adapted to Bordeaux tastes with a milder spiced version than you’d experience in Napa. Just as delicious you’ll find super fresh thinly sliced tuna over a tortilla base with red onion, tomatoes, olives, secret mayonnaise, covered by a layer of coriander microgreens. One experiences a dance of flavors and textures in the mouth, and it is no wonder it has become the iconic Morimoto dish. (An impressive side note, the microgreens have a dedicated refrigerator set in a column left of the kitchen. On the opposite side is a colourful fridge with the by the glass selections.)

The star of the show comes through skill and seeming simplicity in the sea bass carpaccio. Elegantly presented on a long dark ceramic tray to highlight its whitish pink colour and accented by coriander microgreens and purple violets. A surprising preparation where hot sesame oil is poured over the fish creating a sauce enhanced by chives, garlic, ginger, soy, and yuzu for a fresh lift. Followed by the showstopper, Aburi Sushi, that pleases on all sensory levels with a bit of theatre added for its table side preparation. Five pieces of supremely fresh sushi (salmon, eel, wagyu, amberjack, scallop) each topped with ingredients to enhance them while they are being flamed in front of your eyes by a kitchen torch. The sight, colour, aromas, and crackling sounds create a sense of anticipation of deliciousness. Beautifully presented on a round thick black pebble like platter you savour in the overall art of dining, somewhat reminiscent of one of Morimoto’s super creative NYC restaurants, Brushstroke.

To continue our experience, we tried one more dish representative of the Southwest Morimoto fusion, lacquered duck, which Charlotte paired with Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion 2004 Pessac-Leognan out of magnum. The duck was accompanied with spring onions, cucumber, and a trio of pico de gallo, hoisin sauce, and a chilli apricot sauce, all presented on a large white platter. I am a fan of perfectly rendered duck breast with crispy skin, beneath it a line of duck fat, beautiful pink flesh, and melt in your mouth texture. Sliced thinly and arranged in a flower pattern it formed the base for the beautiful duck leg on top. However, as delicious as the meat on the duck leg was the fat was not rendered enough and we were left with a rather thick piece of it under the flesh.

Not that there was any room for dessert, but a perfect way to finish the meal is the refreshing, surprising, elegant Lemon Consommé. A marriage of yuzu meringue, exotic fruits, coconut sorbet in a lemon consommé. For those with a sweet tooth I highly recommend the apple and soba cha. Essentially Chef Morimoto’s Japanese version of a deconstructed apple pie a la mode. It will not disappoint.

Chef Morimoto’s skills are in full action here, as you may have witnessed his talents on Iron Chef. They emanate the skilful precision in every slice of sushi and presentation of each dish from beginning to end. He has been to Morimoto Bordeaux several times to ensure his high standards maintain the experience his clients enjoy. His chefs train with him in Napa and work in his restaurants around the world, of which he has 26, to hone their craft. They collaborate with Chef Morimoto at their flagship location in Napa to create new dished that will then be passed through his various restaurants world-wide.

The wine
Chef Sommelier at Morimoto is Charlotte Tissoire. Most recently from Le Pressoir d’Argent, Gordon Ramsay’s outpost in Bordeaux, and previously from L’Univerre, Bordeaux, and Sketch in London. We tasked her to pair some wine with our first selection of varied dishes and she came up with the brilliant idea to showcase three different Rieslings, from a current selection of 30 Rieslings on the wine list.

Two of the Rieslings came from Germany:  Koehler-Ruprecht 2019 Kallstadter Saumagen Kabinett from the Pfalz and Weingut Robert Weil 2022 Monte Nostrum from the Rheingau. The third Riesling came from Ribeauvillé in Alsace Trimbach Riesling Réserve 2020 from magnum. Maison Trimbach has been crafting some of finest Rieslings in the world since 1626, and although I was given this one by chance, I was able to recount my first encounter with Jean Trimbach some 21 years ago.

Charlotte’s goal is to also present a broad selection of wines by the glass and when possible in magnum format – you can also find a steep vertical of Carmes Haut-Brion, back to the 1982 vintage, with a range in magnum, double-magnum and marie-jeanne, reflecting the close links between hotel and château. C de Carmes 2017 is available by the glass for €14. A new, enlarged wine list will be ready within the next month.

Champagnes by the glass
A. Bergère “Soléra” Blanc de Blancs, Extra-Brut (€19)
Laurent Perrier “La Cuvée” (€20)
Champagne Geoffroy “Rosé de Saignée” 2018 Premier Cru (€25)

Morimoto Bordeaux
81 Cr du Médoc
33300 Bordeaux, France
morimoto.bordeaux@mondrianhotels.com

Open:
Breakfast: Every day|7am to 10.30am
Lunch & Dinner: Sun – Tue: 12am to 2pm – 7pm to 10pm | Wed – Sat: 7pm to 10.30pm
Sushi Bar open daily without interruption until 10 pm

*For more Philippe Starck designed hotels in the South West visit Ha(a)itza in Arcachon, and La Co(o)rniche on the edge of Dune du Pilat.

Restaurant photo copyrights Mondrian/Gaelle le Boulicaut