I’ve been sitting on the info for a bit due to business and/or laziness, but thanks to Sean’s reminder, I’ll give a quick nod to Moto-I, Blake Richardson’s (Herkimer) new sake brewpub in Uptown. My knowledge of sake is pretty weak, but here’s a bit of a description of the place from their website:
moto-i is the first sake brewery restaurant outside of Japan. Located in Uptown, Minneapolis, moto-i is a full service restaurant with liquor, beer, wine and, of course, sake! moto-i makes draft sake or namazake. Nama is unpasteurized, and needs plenty of care as it can never get warm.
Our menu is reminiscent of an Izakaya, a Japanese Pub. With small plates as well as noodles and rice dishes, we incorporate many Asian ethnicities and keep the focus on street food of the best Asian Hawkers
Sean reports that the bar is also well-stocked with Minnesota-brewed offerings. Check ’em out!
You mean Blake Richardson …
Mmmm, street food.
Ugh. Whoops. The problems with posting while on lunch…
Fixed.
Went there a couple days ago. The Sake was good, though maybe a bit on the pricey side for a sampler. The food was so-so, but it had been open for 3 days at that point. I’d give it a month or two to figure things out. I will definitely be visiting again, since the idea of locally made sake is just awesome.
A friend of mine just sent Kris and I a report on a recent visit. He had good things to say, so we’ll likely be making some time in our schedule to stop in. Besides, I like the proximity of the joint to the best fried-egg sammich in town at The Herkimer.
Was there for the soft opening. Had a great meal, learned a lot about Sake and the staff was great. I’ll be going back.
Warning: be careful with the Sake, it goes down very nice.
Do they do sake to go?
They will be soon. 750’s of fresh sake!
Went there last night. Food wasn’t all that good. Chicken wings were VERY under cooked and had to be sent back (both plates). Sake was decent but not all that great. For the price I’d pickup a better made commercial sake instead. I’m sure we’ll stop back in at a later point and give it one more try.
The food was great when I was there last Friday. I had a long leisurely dinner with a date and several people helped us over the course of our meal. They were all highly educated on Sake and the items of the menu. We had a wonderful experience. The food was very good and at first seemed like tiny portions; however, after remembering how much each item cost on the menu it was very easy to order many things. On my date, we had two appetizers, two soups, a side dish, and shared an entree and we were unable to finish all the food. The cost of the food for all of that was around 30 dollars! Sake was great as well. Very Affordable. I highly recommend this new establishment; it is energetic, delicious, and a fun experience.
Unsure where Jay ate on November 18th, but it was either a different restaurant or subsequent to NUMEROUS sake samplers. This past saturday a group of 7 of us had poor food as well as service, including a dousing of water on one member of our group by the waiter. Several dishes were inedible; although the dumplings and the pork hoisin buns were good.
Will give it a chance again, if only to support a local brewer and his attempt to bring sake to MN. However, do not ever plan on eating anything but an appetizer in the future along with happy hour sake!
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