Moshimo

Japanese, Sushi·
££££
·

SquareMeal Review of Moshimo

The best of the conveyor belt sushi chains was also the first to open outside London. Housed in a spectacular, specially designed building, its eccentric appearance is strangely reminiscent of a huge, red lantern circa Tokyo 1966 (think You Only Live Twice). Soft lighting and belt-fed table seating alongside the customary stool option make it more a lingering, less fast food affair than its London competitors. Moshimo offers a step up from the usual sushi experience: raw fish and Japanese tapas are good quality as are the sake cocktails. Staff follow Japanese custom in not accepting any tips.

Good to know

Average Price
££££ - £30 - £49
Cuisines
Japanese, Sushi
Eat at Home
Deliveroo, Takeaway service
Ambience
Cool, Fun, Lively
Food Occasions
All day dining, Dinner, Lunch
Special Features
Vegan options, Vegetarian options
Perfect for
Child friendly, Group dining [8+]
Food Hygiene Rating

About

This modern Japanese diner has built a reputation in Brighton for easy-going Japanese small plates. As well as offering table service, Moshimo also has a conveyor belt with a constantly-rotating selection of dishes - you can grab as many dishes as you like during your stay, and you pay at the end based on how many plates you have. Plates are colour-coded, with different colours indicating different prices.

The interiors are slick and sophisticated too - tables and booth-seating are made from dark wood, whilst a stepped, geometric skylight allows plenty of natural light into the space from above. Much of the restaurant is decked out in scarlet red, providing a lively pop of colour that brings life to the whole space.

The menu is extensive and includes all manner of Japanese dishes, from sushi and sashimi to temaki handrolls, dumplings, soups, rice and noodle dishes and more. The restaurant also offers a range of ‘Kozara’ small plates, which include dishes like prawn tempura, tuna tartare with ginger, pork ribs in sticky soy and a salmon katsu burger. Alongside dishes like Japanese curry udon, chicken katsu on rice and yaki udon stir fry, there’s plenty to choose from, before you get to various sushi items.

Moshimo is also a great choice for vegans and vegetarians, with a huge array of plant-based alternatives on the menu. Plant-based sushi is especially inventive, including vegan salmon and avocado, tofu, green leaf and sun dried tomato maki, and crunchy allotment vegetable futomaki. There are also plant-based mains like vegetable tempura, vegan chicken kang jung and deep-fried agedashi tofu.

On the drinks front you’ll find a small selection of wines alongside plum wine, sake, Japanese whisky and Japanese beers, as well as soft drinks and some smart cocktails like the Tokyo Mule (vodka, sake, lime juice, Angostura bitters, ginger syrup and Asahi beer).


FAQs

Do I need to book?

Booking is advised.

Helpful? 0

Can I takeaway?

Yes, you can takeaway from the restaurant or order via Deliveroo.

Helpful? 0

Location

Optikon, Bartholomew Square, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 1JS

01273 719195 01273 719195

Website

Opening Times

All day
Mon 12:00-22:00
Tue 12:00-22:00
Wed 12:00-22:00
Thu 12:00-22:00
Fri 12:00-22:00
Sat 12:00-22:00
Sun 12:00-22:00

Reviews

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3 Reviews 
Food/Drink
Service
Atmosphere
Value

Anon

18 December 2023  
Food & Drink 0.5
Service 1
Atmosphere 0.5
Value 0.5
Awful service!! Avoid at all costs.

Awful customer service. Their terms and conditions for booking a table are unclear and misleading, had a group dinner and multiple people had food spilt on them by staff, poor attention to diners, we were left waiting almost an hour for food. Then we had an extortionate service charge added to the bill which we had to prove we would like removed, and then finally when we recieved a surprise additional charge to our bank account a few days later and we called to ask what this was for, we were shouted at down the phone by a rude employee stating that this was a "small family-business" and that its tough and we should just cough up £50. Great look Moshimo. Won't be coming back again.

marki N

26 March 2023  
Food & Drink 0.5
Service 1
Atmosphere 1
Value 0.5
Disgusting Gruel that has to be the worst food we have EVER eaten!!

Extreemly poor and i would say on the verge of disgusting food.  The excuse for rice - how can you cook rice wrong?!! - was cold, old unused over cooked glup rolled in to hay stacks for sushi and had old sloppy fish disguised in it.

The shshi had a ton of mayonaise from a jar slopped on the plate as flavouing under the sushi... ughhh

Nothing delicate about this place.  It was what we describe as "revolting" as we could not finsih the dishes.  4 dishes £50... ummm thats not a happy price for this stuff.

 

It has to be the worst place we have ever eaten in.... Who eats here????!!!!

Richard E

31 December 2013  
Food & Drink 2.5
Service 2.5
Atmosphere 3
Value 3
Training ground for eating sushi
There are very few rules to eating sushi: • it is perfectly acceptable to eschew chop sticks and use your fingers when eating sushi: indeed, if you are lucky enough to sit at the tiny sushi bar at Mizutani, it is de rigeur (and whichever way you roll, don't forget to pop the thing in whole, otherwise it will be less sushi and more a heap of rice in front of, or all over, you); • do not mix the wasabi with the soy sauce: they are two distinct tastes; hot and salty. You put a bit of each on, or sometimes one and sometimes the other, but never mix them in the same bowel; and • if you pick something off the kaiten you DO NOT put it back. Nobody else wants your germs added to what they pick up later, so if you take it, you eat it. Stuck away in the Lanes behind the Royal Albion (don't go there. No really, do not, under any circumstances, go there) Moshimo has a kaiten – a long one that wends its way around three separate counters. Some have stools, some have tables, with two of the seats at the belt and the others away. OK, with a table, it is not always easy for the person sitting farthest away from the belt to see what is going around, but that is no excuse for anyone to pick up a plate, pass it around to see if anyone wants it and then to put it back. We went on a quiet Sunday afternoon and the place was packed with people, lots of whom were kids and lots of whom were the ones sitting kaiten-side. It is terrific to see that young kids enjoy eating raw fish, and good on the parents for encouraging their offspring to pass on the McCrap burgers and dimethylpolysiloxane soaked fries, even to let them sit belt side and choose the grub, but please, please don't set them a bad example by breaking a pretty obvious rule. Fortunately Moshimo also allows you to choose things off a long, rambling menu that covers a variety of different Japanese styles, yet also trips across the Tsushima Strait to Korea. Why? Japan has so much to offer, so many varieties of cooking or preparing raw food, who needs a Bulgogi, sitting there on the menu like a turd in a swimming pool? I know I shouldn't be expecting Jiro Dreams of Sushi, but really, start with the most basic of things, the bedrock of the sushi; the rice. Get the rice right first, then maybe move on to fish and other dishes: the rice at Moshimo is cold, doesn't have the right texture and lacks the vinegar punch it needs to set it apart from just plain rice, to become sushi rice. The best dishes were the ones ordered off-belt: the tempura, the teriyaki and the dumplings all went down a treat. Some of the fish was too, but the uni and the tuna were just a bit past it. Service is hit and miss, but the atmosphere is pleasant enough. I visit Brighton a fair amount, but I'm not sure that I would revisit Moshimo, other than with a group of kids, so that they could learn the basics of eating sushi, before moving on to the real thing.
Delivery or takeaway

Order takeaway from Moshimo by calling 01273 719195.
Book a table

Call Moshimo to make a booking on:

01273 719195 01273 719195

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