Mochi (Japanese restaurant)

Mochi is definitely one sushi restaurants in Vienna for which you have to book a table the longest in advance.. I am talking about 1-2 months, even though no star chef is cooking in that kitchen.
Well this can be explained when you have been there once, as the restaurant is rather small –  there are tables for 25 people inside and maybe for 15 outside when the weather is nice.

Service it great, and so is the atmosphere with an open kitchen and lovely smell of Asian dishes in the air.
Despite my assumption that Mochi is mainly a sushi restaurant, it does offer an equal amount of hot dishes, sushi and tapas on its smallish menu.

I had one tapas dish that was recommended by the waitress, and it was really nice: grilled brussel sprouts with coriander and lemon. I tasted all components and as a whole it was a great combination.

We then shared two rolls:
Dragon roll with tempura prawn and avocado and the second was spicy tuna tartar on a roll.
Both were delicious and one of the best rolls I ever had. Great flavours, soft meat, lovely sauces and it looked amazing as well.
And now I know why demand is so high and you need to book so far in advance. It was a delight.
Nomen est omen, so we had to have two mochi for dessert – one coconut, and one white bean with peanut cream. So far I only had prepackaged mochi in America but  it was prepackaged. Dessert was lovely – the rice flour dough was nicely soft and the coconut filling as well as the peanut cream filling was great. I’d order it again even though the price is pretty high with €2,5 for one mochi.

Due to high demand you can only have a table for 1,5 to two hours ( you get informed about your time slot when you book your table); but still, the waitress did not rush us in ordering. Only five minutes before the end of our time slot, when she cleared he table after dessert, she asked if she could bring the bill right away, because the next customers are already waiting. But that was fine, because the only thing that I do not like is if I get rushed while dining.

I’d say get your smart phone and try to book a table via email (they respond quickly – but be fair and suggest a date far enough in advance) or phone, but the latter might be trickier than expected as the hours when someone picks up the phone for bookings are limited. And if the line is blocked, then you are not put on hold but you get kicked out of the line. But all the trouble is worth it when you finally have can dine in that restaurant.

For people who do not want to spend that much money on sushi/rolls from Mochi, I suggest sushi from Soya Sushi or Natsu Sushi – which is nice, fresh and unbelievable cheap. I have also been to DOTS experimental Sushi in Vienna, but even though price of the rolls is similar in these two restaurants, I think the whole package – food, service and ambience is nicer in Mochi.