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.
