Modo
S10-31, 3/F, Bldg 8, Sanlitun Village South, 19 Sanlitun Rd,
Sanlitun
三里屯路19号三里屯Village南区8号楼S10-31
6415-7207
www.mostobj.com
info@mostobj.com
Open Sun-Thu: 12pm-10pm, Fri-Sat: 12pm-10.30pm
Price Y300-Y399 per couple
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- City Weekend says
Opened by the owners of Mosto, this intimate restaurant is built around international cuisine, a relaxed atmosphere and a completely open kitchen. In addition to the "small plates" Modo is known for, there is also a selection of larger mains. Don't miss the goat cheese and feta tortelli or the spinach ricotta malfatti.
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Most Recent Reviews
I finally made a trip here last night, prompted by the set menu available for Beijing Restaurant Week. The decor and atmosphere at Modo are amazing and would be perfectly at home in a city like New York or London. The wine selection is great, and I love that bottles are 30% off on Tuesdays. My friend and I both had the goat cheese & feta tortelli and I actually commented that I wanted to bathe myself in the butternut squash foam. The desserts? FANASTIC! We got the profiteroles and goat cheese panna cotta and shared the two delectable treats. HOWEVER, my friend, a vegetarian, had just one main option (an uninspired fusilli pasta tossed in pesto--the best thing he could say was that the cherry tomatoes were "perfectly ripe") and I had the crispy pork belly, which was a complete and utter bust. Also, service throughout the evening was spotty, especially when it came to having glasses of water and wine topped up. I might consider going back, but only based on the atmosphere, appetizers, and desserts... or maybe I'll just stick to Mosto.
Been to Modo a few times now and each time has been pretty good. I think the price point is reasonable and the food is consistently good. There have been a few hit or miss dishes, but overall, the majority of the dishes are good, tasty and well presented. Had a couple of miscommunication issues with the wait staff, but that seems to be quite common in most western restaurants in Beijing. Ambiance is pleasant, casual and comfortable. Would definitely go back for more
I am totally the type to want to order the whole menu when I go out to eat, so Modo's small plate deal really works for me. Had a great salmon dish, and the pork belly is amazing, although it has a tendency to stick to your teeth (as much as your ribs). Can't wait to go back and try more dishes though!
During the summer, I have tried to feast upon as many 'set/business lunches' as I could find. None of the ones I tried impressed me as much as Modo's. The price is slighty higher than most other set lunches but well worth it. I was so impressed with everything I tried (which was a lot considering my friends and myself tried to order as many different dishes as we could between us). I was so satisfied I have returned three times. The only thing I could say negatively about this place was that on my first visit I had made a reservation yet still had to wait 10 minutes for a table. However, the quality of the food more than made up for this so I have returned since and will continue to do so. Portions are small but of high quality.
Went there for lunch last Sunday. A bit disappointed they only had the lunch menu, which had none of that "small plates for sharing" idea. I had 3 courses. For appetizer watercress salad with goat cheese, apricots and toasted hazelnuts. A big pile of nice watercress, and 3 slices of apricot, few crubles of cheese and some nuts. As a main salmon, wild rice and zucchini. Quite ordinary, some nice butter sauce with the salmon and the rice was good. Dessert tasted like vanilla essence ice cream, with some nice tart rasberry sauce and toasted almond flakes. Similar tastes as Mosto, but not as high quality. Might go back in the evening try some of the small dishes.
Have been to Modo a couple of times previously, but this was the first time I've eaten enough food there to comment (previously had focused on wine).
Wanting to try several dishes, we got the "8 to share" chef's menu (or something like that). The dishes ran the gamut, from totally underwhelming (the crab salad, the dumplings) to okay (the meatball) to really good (the goat cheese ravioli, the cod). I also ordered a cheese plate - the cheeses themselves (from local producer) were good, but for ¥98 the portions were miserly.
Which I think gets to the heart of my issue with Modo. I get the idea of small plates, and definitely understand that a great meal should be defined by quality not quantity. That said, most of what we ordered was barely more than 2-3 mouthsfull, which at ¥60-100 per "small plate" qualifies as overpriced, and there were as many misses as hits.
The atmosphere itself is quaint, and service is fine (though far from great... a cocktail took 15 minutes, and adding money to a card for the enomatic wine machine took a good 10 minutes - and the restaurant was VERY light that night). At these prices, the service should be 5-star. In short, you're spending Maison Boulud money for an atmosphere that's only a notch above Element Fresh (for example) and for consistency and quality that pale by comparison to other 5-star spots.
Last gripe - we filled up a card to use the pay-as-you-go enomatic machines so we could try lots of different wines. When done we had leftover money on the card, but were told by the waitress that we could absolutely not be refunded the unused funds. This despite the fact that, printed clearly and in both English and Chinese, the card itself states "Any unused value and the deposit will be refunded upon return of this card."
I'm pretty sure our party ordered one of everything on the menu at Modo, and I am fairly certain all the dishes are spot on delicious. The concept seems to work if you're in a group, want to order a grip of plates and spend the meal sharing, but maybe that's just me. Regardless, Modo is an excellent restaurant.
Been there twice now, to be honest I wasn't really excited after my first visit there. The idea of little plates was nice, and the wine list looked great...but I remember thinking the food fell a little flat. I can't remember exactly what it was, but I remember feeling the food could've been better. That was when they first opened. I've since been back for both lunch and dinner and am now a big fan. Their lunch set is lovely and I like to sit at the bar to watch the chefs work together. They all work with a smile on their faces and I think that says a lot about the management team. I will go back again and again, especially with friends and to take full advantage of the enomatic wine machine!
Wonderful wine selection and perfectly cooked food. love this place.
The hardest part I had with this meal was walking away not completely stuffed. I think that's the standard of Beijing eating. Value is perceived by portion size, and how many holes one's belt needs to be loosened after a meal. Say goodbye to that notion. Modo offers a well rounded small plates menu that generally run 60 to 80rmb each. My wife and I shared 5 dishes, had a dessert each and a bottle of wine. The plating was gorgeous, but the taste. THE TASTE! Every bite was perfect. Every plate was excellent! I went home after this meal trying to justify the cost to fullness factor. Here I am one week later still dreaming of that meal. There's your value. I cant wait
I went here for a girls night dinner, there was a group of four of us. Firstly i must say, its a great location, nice decor and tasty food. however i have some issues with the service and the price. While waiting for my friends to arrive i ordered a sour apple martini, only to be given a coffee... u can imagine my shocked face, it was changed without problem , however it took 10-15s for the drink to finally arrive. In regards to the food. the octopus salad which isnt really a salad was amazing. a definite standout dish. However we were given a dish we hadnt ordered by who i think was one of the owners... confusions happen i get that, but it was a bit awkward. We ordered four dishes in total.. the cod fish was also very lovely. I then ordered a second sour apple martini, only to have my ordered repeated back to be as a cappuccino martini...here in lines the confusion i imagine.... perhaps their staff ought to be clear on the fact that their rest serve a coffee/alcohol drink, so as not to confuse it with a regular cappuccino. When my drink arrived... it was spilt on me, on my coat, on my leg on the table.. they apologized immediately and helped me clean up, however they did not replace my drink, which by this stage was half full due to the spillage. This bothered me. For the drink issue and the price of the food is why i have taken off 2 stars, but im sure this is not a reflection of the general service, just unlucky for me that night.
Went here for a girls night, and had such a good time! The restaurant itself is lovely, and the staff very attentive and with excellent English. The food itself was great - we had the octopus, cod, and goat cheese tapas, plus a salad, and all were delicious! Afterwards we indulged in the nutella creme brulee dessert which was so yum! Add to that some yummy NZ wine (of course! ^_^ ) and it was the perfect evening! Minus one star only cos it was on the pricey side for the size of the portions, but definitely a place I would recommend for a group of friends so you can share as many of the delicious tapas as poss!
I went to Modo for the first time a couple weeks ago and had a fabulous time. We ordered 5 dishes for 3 people and it was just the right amount of food. Had we been a bit hungrier, 6 dishes would definitely have been better. There was a slight uncertainty of what "small plates" meant in terms of portions, and we had to ask the waiter several questions about many of the ingredients. But once the dishes arrived, silence swept the table, followed by sounds of "mmmm". Delish!!! We absolutely loved all the dishes, except one (dumpling-type dish) which was mediocre. The wine was also fabulous, and the service excellent (though perhaps on the over-eager side). The atmosphere is also very chic and intimate. Though I can't afford to eat there very often, it was fantastic dining experience!
Woooaww this is definitely my new favorite place! It's just paradise in the mouth. I went there for lunch and it was amazing food. I took the salad and the risotto... It wasn't too expensive for what we had and seriously I would pay more just because of the perfect taste. Waitress was very nice! It's great to see them prepare the food in front of you! Just LOVED IT!
It's taken me a while to form a complete opinion about Modo. I've eaten there four times now, and talked to many people about their experiences there. Some complain that the portions are too small for the prices, but people who are really passionate about food invariably love Modo. I think it depends on how you define the value of your food, and for me, small portions are totally fine as long as the flavors of the food are unique, delicious, memorable and something I absolutely could not make at home. I would rather leave a restaurant feeling excited about and invigorated by my food than just feeling stuffed but not inspired. Anyway, I love the octopus "salad" with its balsamic sauce, love the white chocolate mousse with blackcurrent sorbet, LOVE the goat cheese tortelli with sundried tomatoes and butternut squash foam. The tuna was a little less exciting, and I didn't think the polenta was as great as other people I've talked to do. I like the idea of small plates and tasting portions but find it a little strange that so many of the dishes come in pieces of one or three-- you certainly CAN go out to dinner as a group of three, but offering pieces in numbers that are divisible by two is probably more logical. Went for the lunch set today and found the portions to be a bit bigger than at dinner -- I had a great chicken soup that was very generous with both the chicken and the cheese and had a very, very subtle spiciness that was lovely, and the passionfruit mousse was excellent. The stress on fruity desserts here is very appreciated. I love the open kitchen and the layout, and I found out today that the big windows make the place really nice and light in the daytime. One downside is that you have to use the Village bathrooms, but it's the same at Hatsune (why??). Great wine list, and while I thought the Enomatic machine might be a gimmick that got old quickly, I was embarrassingly excited when I actually got to use it. All in all, I'd give Modo 4.5 stars, because of the bathroom situation and because Mosto is still my favorite, but this is definitely a restaurant I'm excited to eat at and will return to.
Great wine list, and a short but lovely selection clipped on a wooden board. Foie gras, tuna, shrimp cappelletti and cod were all faultlessly executed.We weren't a fan of the duck.. and didn't have enough room to venture on to desserts, but would definitely return for some.
After wanting to try this resto, last weekend I finally went there. Seems like the concept is eat to share. We ordered Iberico ham and shrimp ravioli to start. Those two dishes we shared. But then I also ordered crispy pork belly with baked apple and my friend ordered beef tenderloin with mashed potato. My pork belly was delicious. Maybe too fatty for some people but the combination tastes of crispy skin, pork belly and baked apple is perfect. Baked apple helps to balance the meat taste. The only thing that bugged me was the crispy skin tend to stick in your teeth. My friend's beef tenderloin was cooked exactly like what she requested, her mashed potato was also delicious. At the end of our meal, we each ordered dessert. I had the mandarin flan, my friend had the creme brulee. I like the flan, very refreshing after eating pork belly, but I liked her creme brulee even more. Not too sweet, just perfect. We chose to sit at the bar, allowing us to look at the chefs in action, saw all of the dishes' presentation and even chat with the head chef from Colombia, Juan. Too bad we didn't try the enomatic wine machine. Will remember to try it in my next visit.
Delicious tasting food (we ate pork belly, squid salad, shrimp ravioli and tuna salad) beautiful presentation, nice wines and yummy desserts (creme brulee and white chocolate mousse)!
[HTML_REMOVED] Second Bite Review, March, 2012[HTML_REMOVED]
[HTML_REMOVED] [HTML_REMOVED]More Modo[HTML_REMOVED]
[HTML_REMOVED] When Modo first opened, it was all about “small plates”— small portions intended for sharing. This went over well with girls out for a light meal and food writers in need of a break from gut-busting dinners, but many diners needed more on their plates. A year and a half later, Modo’s kept a tasty assortment of small plates, but added a list of big, hearty mains and made overall improvements throughout the menu.
[HTML_REMOVED] The main courses are all in the ¥100-200 range and offer substantial portions and rich flavors. Our favorite is the beef tenderloin steak with goat cheese (¥168), served with sweet potato mash and black truffle sauce. The beef is of very high quality, and the dish offers a great combination of flavors. We also recommend the braised sea bass (¥138), a light fish that comes in a roasted pepper and potato stew with flavorful green olives.
[HTML_REMOVED] There’s still a good selection of small plates, for ¥48, ¥68 and ¥98. Our all-time Modo favorites, the spinach ricotta malfatti and the goat cheese tortelli (both ¥68), remain on the menu, but there are additions as well. The beef short ribs soup (¥48) is homey and rich, the tangy bits of apricot essential to keeping it appropriate for spring. The iceberg wedges with Roquefort dressing (¥48) are light and crunchy, but with an extremely strong cheese flavor.
[HTML_REMOVED] Desserts are all ¥58, and we’re happy to report that our favorite white chocolate mousse is even better than before, now that the large pistachios in the dish have been replaced with more finely ground almonds.
[HTML_REMOVED] We also recommend trying the new chef’s menu. You get six courses for ¥338, but even more exciting is the fact that you can add just ¥120 for free-flow wine.
[HTML_REMOVED] [HTML_REMOVED]Sienna Parulis-Cook[HTML_REMOVED]