The Office of Mr. Moto is an omakase speakeasy-style restaurant now offering two evening seatings at 120 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue.
And there is some detective work to take part in before dinner via the fictional master of ceremonies, Mr. Moto, "a gourmand and art connoisseur [who] traveled alongside Commodore Perry aboard his flagship, the USS Susquehanna" in 1853.
To enter the restaurant, you'll need to decode a cipher sent to you prior to your reservation. That code, entered on a pin pad inside a mailbox outside, will allow you entry to the Office of Mr. Moto. Once inside, you'll be greeted by the host and whisked away to either the Gallery or the Counter. The former is an eight-seat space serving a 23-course menu, while the latter is a six-seat sushi counter offering 21 courses.In either spot, the $185 menu curated by executive chef Toshio Matsuoka features high-quality fish sourced from the Toyosu Fish Market in Japan.
Following your meal, you might linger in the Library, where you can enjoy a drink while listening to Mr. Moto's collection of jazz. The cozy space is decorated with leather furnishings, antique items and even a self-playing Yamaha piano.As previously reported, Mr. Moto is from the team behind TabeTomo, which opened in December 2018 on Avenue A and is billed as NYC's first tsukemen-focused restaurant. (They also run TomoTomo on West 52nd Street.)
Mr. Moto is open Wednesday-Sunday from 6 p.m. to midnight. Find more details here.
No. 120 previously housed the retail outlet for Squish Marshmallows. Owner Katherine Sprung's lease was up here after five years, and she now focuses on custom and catering orders.
🙄
ReplyDeleteNo special occasion can justify that bill.
ReplyDeleteLuckily I'd never be allowed in this sort of place.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure someone will instagram their 23-course experience so the rest of us can smugly say we'd rather go to Ray's any day.
ReplyDeleteNot even that expensive, in comparison to the common omakase prices nowadays.
ReplyDeleteAnd TabeTomo is excellent, so this one might be as well.
I've seen way too many "businesses" in Manhattan with NO signage.
ReplyDeleteI guess the message is: "if you don't know what this is and if you have to ask what we do and what we charge, then you do not belong here."
This is pretentiousness raised to a fine art.
ReplyDeleteOr the message is: if you're curious about us, Google our address.
ReplyDeleteWay too complicated.
ReplyDeleteGood for them, Tabe Tomo is great.
ReplyDeleteWow, can't wait to try. The price is not bad it's omakase. I love TabeTomo so will give Mr. Moto a visit on my birthday
ReplyDeleteThe hate seems a bit much...it's just a little theater wrapped around an omakase that's on the lower end of those prices these days. It might end up sucking, but there's no reason to trash it preemptively. Would I rather it was a nice 24-hour diner, or a locally-owned pharmacy? Sure. But there are also many MANY worse things it could be right now.
ReplyDeleteWhat was the answer? Have looked everywhere but can’t find details on who travelled with Commodore Perry!
ReplyDelete