Its the disinterest that's always gotten me about the place. I have yet to find any sincerity with anyone there. There specialty makis are quite good, though.

Any more recent commentary? It was recommended to me by a friend, I ALWAYS try to check here first.

I recommend it for any occasion. It's loud and fun upstairs, chill and relax downstairs/outside. The soft shell crab sandwich, sushi, hot rocks, etc. are amazing.

Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto is teaming with the group behind Japonais to open Japonais by Morimoto in early 2014.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20130812/BLOGS09/130809772/iron-chef-morimoto-teaming-with-japonais

I ate at Japonais by Morimoto last night, and came away impressed, although not blown away. I had only been to Japonais in its prior incarnation once, so I can't recall exactly, but it doesn't seem like much was done by way of decor - it seemed pretty much the same.

Service was very good, and the food was great, as we took direction from what we had read online and what our server recommended. What ultimately impressed us most were the desserts, as each was as good as the next, and better than I've had at most restaurants in Chicago. Apologies for the poor quality iphone shots.

I ate here with 6 friends about a month ago and was extremely impressed. Yes, it was pricey but I thought it was worth every penny. The cooked items were innovative and outstanding, and the raw items were as good or better than Katsu on his very best day. Going in, I was concerned that the Morimoto re-branding could possibly be a big red flag but as it turns out, the name actually seemed to mean something in the way of quality. I look forward to returning, sitting at the sushi bar next time and focusing on exclusively on the raw offerings.

=R=

I had a very nice dinner here over the weekend. The highlight for me was definitely the Sea Urchin Carbonara - thin udon noodles, uni, pancetta and quail egg yolk (sorry, no pic . . . I inhaled it). While I personally would have preferred thicker udon, I thought the balance of the dish, particularly in terms of the uni-pancetta-egg balance, was terrific. Fortunately, my table-mates were not the uni fans I am so I pretty much had this dish to myself.

There were some other very nice bites too. The tableside tofo was perhaps a bit gimmicky but it was still decent and the accompaniments (ginger, scallion and bonito and two sauces: dashi soy and kimchi), were quite good.

I only had a small taste of the ubiquitous black cod but I enjoyed it. The fish was beautifully cooked (that is, not too tender) and the sauce was less sweet than similar versions I've tried.

I also ordered several pieces of nigiri:





I was generally impressed with the sushi, particularly the number of specials for the evening. However, I thought the fish and rice both could have been seasoned better -- really no wasabi and minimal seasoning to the rice. Still, very nice fish.

We also shared a couple of terrific desserts. First, a beautifully plated mango pudding pudding with a coconut-green tea sorbet and meringue. Even better were the coconut fritters with vanilla gelato, morello cherry and passionfruit sauces and crispy black rice:





Aside from some very good food, service was fantastic. They just seemed to do all the little things right. From a knowledgeable bartender, to the hostess taking our cocktails from the bar to our table, to them paying attention to the note on the reservation that we were celebrating a birthday, to the excellent service throughout dinner, this was about as conscientious service as you can find.

Overall, this was just a much better experience than I was expecting. Though I was less enamored with the nigiri than I hoped to be, the Sea Urchin Carbonara, desserts and service left me with a big smile. And the longer I allow the memories of that Sea Urchin Carbonara to linger in my mind, the more that smile will stick with me.

*Poof*

Japonais by Morimoto (600 W. Chicago Ave., 312-822-9600), a chic Japanese restaurant that once was one of Chicago's most hip dining destinations, is calling it quits.

The restaurant will close its doors in a month; the final night of service will be Oct. 10.

Japonais by Morimoto to close

I really enjoyed the quality of the fare here, especially the fish and rice. I'd heard rumors that this was going to happen but hoped they were unfounded.

=R=