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Mochi ice cream—the Japanese sweet rice flour dough stuffed with ice cream—has long found an audience at restaurants and in the supermarket frozen dessert section. But Mochidoki, opening in SoHo on Thursday, claims to be the city’s “first” dedicated confectionary shop focusing solely on mochi ice cream, with an experimental menu to boot. It opens at 176 Spring Street, between Thompson and West Broadway.
Garnishes on the desserts make Mochidoki’s mochi distinct from others around the city, an elevation designed in collaboration with Michael Laiskonis (the former executive pastry chef at Le Bernardin). There will be a seasonal roster of flavors with opening options including “Oreo Sandwich” (vanilla chip mochi, dark and white chocolate dip, crushed oreo and oreo wafer), “PB & Passion” (passion fruit mochi, peanut butter, passion-raspberry coulis and peanut butter cookies) and as well as its signature flavor, the “Matcha Latte” (matcha mochi, pistachio crunch, Italian meringue and gold leaf). In addition, other spring flavors include “Sesame Cup” (black sesame mochi, black sesame paste and a dark chocolate cup), “Cookie Dough” (vanilla chip mochi, cookie dough, dark chocolate and sea salt), and, lastly, “Snowball” (coconut mochi, dark chocolate coating, coconut and almonds). There will also be vegan flavors such as lychee and chocolate.
There’s the option to try the mochi as single (starting at $3, with prices going up to $5-$6 for the more experimental flavors) pieces or in customizable boxes of four and nine ($10-$20).
Though this is Mochidoki’s first brick-and-mortar location, the company, founded by Ken Gordon in 2015, has sold its mochi direct-to-consumer and has partnered with restaurants around the city such as Nobu, Sushi Seki, Chef Masa’s Tetsu, Starr Restaurants, Tao Group, Blue Ribbon Restaurants, Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ and more.
The nearly 300-square foot space is intended to feel like a gallery, where the colorful, jewel-like orbs are displayed in six-foot glass casings alongside marble top counters and wood accents.
In addition to all the dessert options, there will also be matcha, nitro cold brew and hot teas available on the drinks side.
Mochidoki joins the growing number of mochi-centric dessert shops in New York, such as Chinatown's Alimama (which offers mochi donuts), the East Village's Mochii and the East Village's Cha-An Bonbon inside the restaurant's teahouse.
Mochidoki SoHo is located at 176 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012 . The flagship will be open Monday-Sunday, 11:00am-10:00pm.
