On our recent trip to Disney World, Elyssa and I stopped by the new-ish-ly opened Morimoto Asia in Disney Springs for dinner.

Context

Neither Elyssa nor I would ever claim to be sophisticated connoisseurs of Asian cuisine. (Elyssa would probably be classified as “not a fan”, which means I might end up getting pad thai from a local place once or twice a year or I might occasionally stop by a certain well-known franchise.) That said, we were looking for a place to have dinner with Elyssa’s father (who did not have any park admission) and we’d already eaten at The BOATHOUSE, so we figured we’d give it a shot.

Ambiance

As you’ve probably read 15 times by now, Morimoto Asia is housed inside the same building as the former Mannequins Dance Palace (one of Pleasure Island’s dance clubs.) This means, if though the restaurant is nicely laid out, that it can feel a bit like (as Elyssa’s father pointed out) you’re eating in a warehouse.

We were seated upstairs in a section of reconfigurable, glassed-in hallways and mini-rooms. It’s kind of an interesting layout (it allows them to re-arrange the way doors are opened or closed to allow for some level of privacy between certain tables or groups), but I wonder if having nearly the entire “second floor” limited to an extra-wide walkway around the perimeter might have created an unnecessary limit on the restaurant’s capacity.

Personally, I enjoyed the privacy provided by restaurant layout. It is a welcome change from those places at Disney World where you are seated so close to the party next to you that you feel like you could reach over and grab an item off one of their plates. (NOTE: Josh from easyWDW did find the downstairs a little more chaotic.)

Meal

Being non-adventurous eaters, Elyssa and I wound up sticking with some fairly basic items from Morimoto’s expansive menu (which we’ll get to them in a second.) To start of things, Elyssa’s father ordered a cup of miso soup and an order of the pork dumplings. He said they were quite good, but, though I tried one of the dumplings and enjoyed it, I have no particular comparison with which to make.

For dinner itself, we decided to share the black pepper steak, the kung pao chicken, and the spicy thai basil fried rice. (Since Elyssa is not a fan of mushrooms, we told the waiter “just treat our entire order as if it’s for someone who’s allergic to mushrooms.”) On a whim, Elyssa also added the spicy king crab to the order at the last minute.

The black pepper steak consisted of a nice, tender meat that came with a flavorful sauce that added just a bit of spice. The kung pao chicken (not pictured, unfortunately) was our favorite item, and again had nice bit of spicy kick to complement the flavor from the cashews. Finally, the spicy thai basil rice actually had a pleasant, almost sweet flavor to it that paired well with the other dishes. I could see us ordering all 3 of these dishes again.

(NOTE: My tolerance / preference for spicy food is not particularly high. If I thought the food had a nice kick, I would assume some people would think it was not spicy enough. )

After sampling the above listed items, the spicy king crab was a disappointment. The sauce was more tangy than spicy and it overpowered any meat we were able to extract from the crab legs (this was exacerbated by the large amount of sauce they added). I doubt we would ever order this again.

Conclusion

Morimoto Asia continues the trend of solid, new dining experiences at Disney Springs that was started by The BOATHOUSE. I would recommend again giving it a shot, even if you’re not particularly a fan of Asian cuisine.

You can make reservations via Disney’s ADR system or OpenTable (though the OpenTable method allows for easier cancellations and no $10-per-person cancellation fee.)

Other Resources

If you want to read more about Morimoto Asia, I suggest checking out Josh’s 2 reviews at easyWDW here and here, and this review from Len Testa at TouringPlans.