Morimoto’s new menu serves superb fare at down-to-earth prices

Pau Hana Patrol is on a roll, with great discoveries to kick off the new year. This week’s prize is Morimoto, which recently launched a new bar-menu option, R&D, available each weekday.

The experience

I’ve long appreciated chef Masaharu Morimoto, a former executive chef of Nobu who graduated to open multiple namesake restaurants around the world. A gregarious personality and exacting designer of menu and milieu, he’s best known as the Iron Chef on both Japanese and American TV series. Morimoto’s celebrity cachet adds a certain stardust to his Waikiki restaurant, which has served as a backdrop to scenes from “Hawaii Five-0,” so that’s sugar on top.

The Waikiki restaurant is beautifully designed, spacious and comfortable, with a view looking out over the Ala Wai Boat Harbor, toward the sunset. No other restaurant in Honolulu resembles this one, with its oversize artworks, glass-boxed seashells and vibrant color scheme.

The R&D menu is offered only at the bar, making the experience less formal, but no less rewarding. At the bar, you’re in a catbird’s seat to see action throughout the restaurant, with a good view out to the harbor.

My bartenders at Morimoto were great — personable and well-informed, sharing details about the house wines and cocktail recipes, and inquiring frequently to check on our satisfaction. When he saw that we’d ordered a hamachi taco, one bartender asked if we wanted extra jalapeno — and proceeded to slice it for us at the counter. Nice touch.

Note that while R&D availability was originally announced as Monday through Thursday, Morimoto very recently made it available through Fridays. Bonus!

The food

Morimoto’s dishes are exuberant and draw on a variety of culinary traditions. His sushi is excellent, and it’s a treat to have a daily special roll available on the R&D menu, at $8. On my visit, we were served a spicy tuna roll (normally $10), ultrafresh, made with perfect, pearly rice rolled in black and golden sesame seeds.

The revelation for me was a dish of shishito peppers ($6), flash fried in oil, topped with spice and sea salt and served with a wedge of lemon. I could not stop eating these crunchy peppers with their hint of heat. Compliments to executive sous chef Andy Reagen, for the execution on these dishes.

The sticky ribs, with a tamarind glaze, are served falling off the bone — so, so good. The R&D menu is meant to try out dishes that may appear on Morimoto’s full menu, and these deserve a place. These are offered at $10, happy hour only — but I’m advised that menu items may rotate in February, so get there quick if you want a guaranteed bite.

The R&D menu also included a Morimoto favorite, hamachi tacos ($8 for two, normally $15 for three), a super-delicious blend of crunch, fresh fish, avocado and “secret ingredient” nuoc cham, a spicy Vietnamese sauce.

Soba noodles in a chilled broth, topped with shrimp tempura ($10) and a daily dessert special ($6) were also offered, but by the time I’d sampled these dishes, I couldn’t eat another bite.

The drink

The bar menu is another great incentive to sample Morimoto’s attractions. Specialty cocktails are usually $14, but the special offerings for pau hana are just $8.

Cocktails reflect Morimoto’s impish sense of humor: the Can I Have Another? is his tequila drink, made with Jose Cuervo, and flavored with vanilla, banana and pineapple.

I tried the Waikiki Mule, made with cucumber-infused vodka, Barenjager (a honey liqueur), lime juice and ginger beer. Drink this — you won’t regret it, unless you drink too much.

The wines offered are also unique to the R&D menu: a Broadbent vinho verde from Portugal, and the El Cortillo tempranillo from Spain. Both are also just $8.

The verdict

So far, this delightful pau hana has not been overrun by fans, but as the word gets out, that may change. I advise you to get yourself to Morimoto’s bar, and enjoy.