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$$ | Japanese/Pan-Asian
Restaurateur and brewmaster Blake Richardson has made Minneapolis the home of the only sake brewpub outside of Japan. In addition to fermented-on-the-premises rice wines, this Pan-Asian tavern serves up an assortment of snacks, small plates, and noodle dishes.
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- Critics’ + Eaters’ Ratings »
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WHAT THE CRITICS SAY
Critics' Scoring
Scores will be assigned based on a 0-100 scale broken down as follows:
100 = Perfect
90 = Excellent
80 = Very Good
70 = Good, not Great
60 = High Average
50 = Average
40 = Low Average
30 = Disappointing
20 = Nearly Without Merit
10 = Poor
00 = Worthless
87
Heavy Table | James Norton
04/13/09
Some questionable menu items appear to have been eased out to pasture; new arrivals are perfectly calibrated to the restaurant's Tokyo-meets-Andalusia small plate approach to food that's directly inspired by the Japanese neighborhood pubs known as izakayas.
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85
City Pages | James Norton
11/03/08
Moto-i is less a restaurant than an onslaught, a tsunami of small tastes and diminutive glasses of the house-brewed sake that gives the restaurant its name.
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81
Twin Cities Eats
10/30/08
Red faces aside, I am really excited about Moto-I and am excited to return. I didn't think that the food was phenomenal but at such affordable prices and in the casual atmosphere that has been created, it was arguably great.
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80
Minnesota Monthly | Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl
01/09
But even those misses did nothing to diminish my enthusiasm for this utterly novel place. It's dinner, it's drinking, it's smart, it's inexpensive-what more could you ask from a bar?
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80
StarTribune | Rick Nelson
03/25/09
The new Lyn-Lake-er's steamed dumplings come five to a plate, so tender and delicate that they require a healthy bit of chopstick dexterity to lift them in one piece.
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78
Twin Cities Eats
06/28/09
I think Moto-i is still trying to figure out its identity and it might take a little while longer. Is it a bar? (lots of bar space) Is it a sake brewery? (they are pretty obsessed with marketing that) Or is it a restaurant? (the menu is wide-reaching and more than a bar menu but not incredibly delicious).
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75
Mpls.St.Paul Magazine | Peter Lilienthal
03/09
As far as I'm concerned, I love this fun, casual, lowcost, and creative approach to dining. I can sample a medley of different items, and if a few of them prove to be duds, so what? I'm only out a few bucks.
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72
We Got Served
04/09
The portions were smaller and it felt like more effort went into the presentation (which was excellent) than into the taste.
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69
Gayot
The kitchen turns out a laundry list of Japanese-inspired small plates that range from savory steamed buns and dumplings to a wide variety of rice and noodle dishes aimed at vegetarian and meat-eating diners alike.
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BUZZ
Metro
Sneak Preview
The mixed greens with miso dressing were outstanding.
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Mpls.St.Paul Magazine
Best New Restaurants '09
03/09
Pan-Asian small plates and dishes for sharing hit high notes of steamed buns, bulgogi, and coconut green curry. Snacks such as the Thai beef jerky and lotus chips are meant to be paired with the house brew: unpasteurized nama (sake).
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Minnesota Monthly
Best Restaurant Patios
06/09
America's first sake brewpub also boasts the first rooftop bar in the Lyn-Lake neighborhood of Minneapolis.
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City Pages
Best Of: Best Japanese Restaurant 09
The sleek, dark, Lyn-Lake watering hole has deep, cozy booths and Japanese soap operas playing on the TVs.
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- No Smoking
- Kid-friendly
- Wine and beer only
- No alcohol
- Entertainment
- No credit cards
- No personal checks
- Notable
- Our dining editors' favorites
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