Umami Moto

This business is closed and has been replaced by Charro taqueria

Sushi Press! This is the only restaurant that does a sushi press. They have the smoked organic trout and another one. I’m addicted to the trout press. Another thing that makes this Asian fusion restaurant unique is the edamame. The chef doesn’t steam it like everyone else from here to Japan. Instead he flash fries them with seasoning. You will never want steamed edamame again. We also had the Kobe burger, the Panko Ahi Tuna, Salmon Udon and my friend had the spicy tamarind beef kung pao. She has it everywhere we go and she said it was the best she’s ever had. The service was perfect. The environment is very urban — a surprising change for chain loaded Brookfield. Locally owned. Very friendly and accommodating. Has a great lounge with bottle service for under $ 100!!! A true diamond.

Kind of a mixed experience. We had a sashimi platter to split, then I had some sort of beef stirfry while Julie had a pork shank dish. The sashimi was decent, but seems quite overpriced for the quantity, compared to other local establishments. The pork shank was really great, but the beef dish was muddy, overspiced and really not very good. I’d give it 4 stars, but at this price point, everything needs to good at a minimum.

I ordered a sushi roll, Sri Lankan fried rice, and Thai wings. Everything was OK — but seriously bland. The umami soup I had to start was not, but that had way, way too many mushrooms.
Really attentive service with knowledgeable staff. They probably thought I was a food critic with everything I ordered. I would try again because the menu is pretty extensive, features 6 – 8 new items from a chosen Asian region each month.

What a fun place this was. I had a dish from their Sri Lankan tasting menu. It was scallops with plantains in a curry sauce. I think this was a temporary offering, and I think it’s often worth exploring these. For my side I had Chinese long beans with hoisin sauce, and that was quite good. The rioja went very well with the meal. And the dessert, that was something else. It was their signature dish, banana wrapped in fried wonton and cinnamon, accompanied by vanilla custard. Very good service, also.

Pretty good, Asian fusion w/​interesting menu. Menu is very large w/​lots of options depending on your appetite but I got scared when I saw no prices! Not sure why they left them out… it was kind of annoying. Not that I’m cheap but it made me wonder.
We started w/​rolls. My husband had the tuna ($ 9) and I had the avocado ($ 7). He loved the marinade on the tuna. My avocado had a nice marinated pepper garnish on top. They were good but too tall and difficult to eat gracefully.
For my meal I had a special based on Malaysian cusine (I was thrilled I’ve travelled to Malaysia many times and love the food). It was a vegetable curry. It was pretty good, not as spicy I like and it was a thick sauce.
My newphew had a beef stir fry which he liked but was suprised how spicy it was (the waiter did warn him), he stil liked it. My husband had the beef tenderloin ($ 27) at the waiter’s recommendation. It was good, a cute presenation with a scoop of rice and some onion rings. We also got a bowl of garlic noodles which were good and simple and went along w/​everyhing we ordered.
I love the selection of hot teas. They also have interesting «bomb» drinks (too bad I gave those up like 4 years ago). Waiter told me the sake bomb is cool because the shot sits on chopsticks and you pull them out so the cup drops into the red bull glass. Funny.
Décor is very cool and modern. I loved the blossoms painted on the bathroom walls and I sent my husband to take notes on the trim for next time we remodel!

Umami Moto is the new name for the former Monsoon Wok and Lounge in Brookfield. A partner of Johnny V. of Mo’s fame bought out the restaurant and remodeled a bit, gave it a new name, a «new» menu, and reopened in late January. 2008.
My wife and I had eaten at the old Monsoon and were underwhelmed by the experience there. We had high hopes for the «new» incarnation. Unfortunately, our hopes sunk back to reality after our recent dining experience. The atmoshphere is quite nice with a large bar area, private rooms and some spread out dining areas. The drink and sake selection is quite expansive and they did a good job with the sake and specialty drinks that we had.
Our server was a bit overbearing and a bit under-​trained in many areas. The whole process of ordering and suggestions from her seemed like a bad experience at Chili’s or any of the related chains with 3 – 4 «suggestions» at every turn. We felt we were being «sold» rather than «served» throughout our meal. Now, onto the food. The spicy tuna roll was average at best. No true fresh flavors in the roll itself and not the best or worst sushi I have had.
Our entrees consisted of Shrimp Pad Thai and Szechuan Chicken, two entrees that should be easy for any Asian restaurant to do somewhat correctly. The Pad Thai was a HUGE messy bowl, consisting mainly of greasy rice noodles mixed together with a few shrimp with cabbage, onions, bamboo shoots, and carrots in an odd sweet sauce. Not exactly the correct sauce you are used to with Pad Thai with the hint of oyster/​fish sauce and just a bit of sweetness. Umami’s version was more of a sweetened soy that seemed a bit out of place. The «flash fried» rice noodles were treated with too much oil to keep them from sticking togther which made the whole bowl a slippery mess. The chicken was a bit better with some heat in its chili sauce and some long beans that were a bit crispy, but not too overdone. The chicken was a bit overcooked and the huge onion pieces distracted from the overall dish. Overall, the chicken was the winner of the two entrees, but not by much.
For dessert, we tried the Bananas Moto which is a low-​quality variation of the PF Chang’s favorite, banana spring rolls. The banana is rolled in sugar and cinnamon, wrapped in a wonton wrapper, deep-​fried, drizzled in caramel sauce and served with vanilla ice cream (we skipped the chocolate sauce on the ice cream). Overall, the banana they used must have been one of the new mini-​bananas as we received about 6 small slices of banana in a flavorless wonton wrapper with just a hint of sugar. The wrapper was not crispy and the overall dessert was a dissapointment. Also, the ice cream was fine, but why not do something a bit more flavorful, like a coconut sorbet or something a bit different.
On top of the food and service, I made the mistake (yes, a mistake) of leaving my credit card at the restaurant. We dined on a Thursday night and called first thing Friday morning (9am) and left a message. We then called at 11am and 7pm. The card was not found until the evening and a message was left with me on Friday night saying it had already been destroyed. Speaking with a manager the next day resulted in nothing but a «it’s our policy to hold a card for a day and then destroy it for liability reasons…» Well, seeing as though we made three attempts and spoke to the restaurant twice within 24 hours, I would think a courtesy would be to call and give a deadline to pick up the card, rather than destroy it within 24 hours of our visit. A perfect example of a lack of communication between the front of house staff and management.
Overall, good atmosphere and maybe a good place to grab a quick drink and a starter, but don’t pin your hopes on a great meal or stellar service. Unfortunately, the latest Asian restaurant added to the greater-​Milwaukee area isn’t doing itself any favors by serving a rehash of a PF Changs menu along with some holdovers from Monsoon and throwing in some average sushi for good measure. They could and should do better and Milwaukeeans are expecting more…