Downtown Phoenix's Hilton Garden Inn, a historic art deco skyscraper built in 1932, has a new tenant. Japanese restaurant Motomoto Sushi & Izakaya moved in on June 3.
Motomoto is a sibling to Nanaya Japanese Kitchen, an Arcadia area restaurant in the charming space behind Gaslight Square at 36th Street and Indian School Road. Both are owned by Eddie Chow and Akira Nakasu of Jin Hospitality. At Nanaya, the Chicken Miso Katsu Sando served on Japanese milk bread and the Tuna Lover Roll are the stuff that dreams are made of.
Expecting a similar quality, we went to Motomoto with high expectations.
Outside the new restaurant sits a simple patio with high-top tables and black iron chairs. A couple of diners chatted while they noshed on Asian fare and sipped on beer.
Inside, a host led the way to our table, passing a hexagon-shaped bar with black marbled tiles and a gold bar footrest.The space, which housed Nook Kitchen for four years before it closed in June 2020 due to the pandemic, looks very much like the hotel restaurant that it is.
Our half booth faced a glass-encased wine display separating the bar from a small dining area. In another room, the ceiling was covered with white and red wagasa, traditional Japanese umbrellas made of bamboo and paper. Purple lights illuminated the wagasa and a fake cherry blossom tree sat on one side of the space, creating the most festive area of the restaurant.
The wagasa, traditional Japanese umbrellas made of bamboo and paper are illuminated by purple lights.
Natasha Yee
"Our menu is made to encourage sharing across the table in spirit of Japan's dining culture, where eating 'family-style' is standard," the menu read, and the advice was heeded. There are lots of options at the sushi and izakaya restaurant, from small plates to sushi and sashimi, and main plates of ramen and robatayaki skewers grilled over Japanese charcoal.
An izakaya is a Japanese bar where small plates are served to accompany alcoholic drinks. In Japan, people go in groups and share various plates among their party, yelling "sumimasen!" to summon the server amid a noisy dining room.
But this dining room was rather quiet and our server probably wouldn't appreciate the same sentiment, so we ordered the standard American way, working through the menu from small to heartier fare.
The Daikon Salad came first with curly endive lettuce and shaved daikon tossed in a sesame shoyu dressing placed atop charred okra. The whole thing was topped with bonito flakes, which gave a smoky flavor to the earthy dish. It was one of the highlights of the night, the crisp lettuce blending with the charred okra for a refreshing yet unique salad.
Looking a bit mummified, the Moto Tempura Set was next. A pile of shrimp, shitake mushrooms, kabocha squash, and lotus root seemed thrown onto the plate haphazardly aside tentsuyu, a salty and sweet tempura dipping sauce. The thick, doughy battered shrimp and veggies tasted better than they looked, though we wouldn't order the dish again. It wasn't crisp, airy, or delicate as tempura promises to be.
The Hamachi Sashimi was our favorite dish of the evening, perhaps the only one we'd return for. Yellowtail sashimi sat in a bright yuzu dressing with chili flakes and micro cilantro, at once spicy and invigorating. The sauce could be sipped on its own, and the himachi, topped with sliced Fresno chiles, was fresh.
At this point, our server came by to tell us that the kitchen would be closing soon and that we needed to put in our final orders. It was 9:20 p.m. on a Friday night and the restaurant closed at 10:30 p.m.
Feeling the pressure, we chose the Spicy Vegan Ramen and the Matcha Tiramisu based on our server's recommendations. It was awkward ordering dessert before the meal was over, and though the restaurant wasn't busy, with just one other table inside, we felt rushed out.
The vegan ramen featured rich coconut broth, green spinach noodles, shitake mushrooms, Chinese broccoli, and diced tofu. And the Matcha Tiramisu was a fun play on the Italian version, the grassiness of the matcha blending with the creaminess of the mascarpone cheese, topped with powdered sugar-coated raspberries and a matcha cream slathered lady finger decorated with delicate flower petals.
By this time, at about 10:15 p.m., chairs were being stacked and blinds were being lowered. If Motomoto expects to excel in the competitive downtown Phoenix space, it's going to need to up the ante on presentation, atmosphere, and service.
We're hoping that they're simply growing pains for the new restaurant, as nobody likes to feel like a nuisance instead of a paying customer. Perhaps Motomoto could take some cues from its pleasant and tasty sister restaurant Nanaya.
Motomoto Sushi & Izakaya
Inside the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Phoenix
15 East Monroe Street
480-868-7981
Monday through Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 4 to 10:30 p.m.; Sunday, 4 to 9 p.m.
