M Izakaya

From M Test Kitchen to M Izakaya! Some of our old favorites with a bunch of new dishes. Great time, 2-3 dishes across the 1-3 course menu per person, basically 1 dish per course per person. I would say less needed from the 3rd course menu (I.e., Duck, A5 dishes). Meal takes a while but yoga time well spent! Enjoy it.

First time at M Test Kitchen and I was thoroughly impressed! The ambiance was inviting, the menu offered a great variety, and the third course stood out as my favorite. The sake selection was a pleasant surprise too.

Visiting from OOT, Googled for sushi and found this gem. The proximity to RDU airport shows in the exceptional quality of the fish. *Did not eat here to review. Ended up taking pics when I realized how good it was, missed first few plates. The consistent quality of the bite-construction, the delivery and the bar-seating food-prep viewing solidly put M Izakaya on the our small Favorites list that spans the globe. Rarely does a restaurant capture the taste buds from start to finish, and M Izakaya offers that. Sitting at the bar allowed us to see the well-oiled machine of the staff dedicated to the quality. Highly recommend var-seats for those seeking quality sushi.

The food here was absolutely incredible. Highly recommend the bao and the sea bass was probably the best cooked fish I have eaten in my life. Including photos of the salmon tataki, fried chicken skin, boa, hamachi kama, fried rice, sea bass, and quenelle

Very very good food. The rice that took 14 hours prepare - amazing flavor profile. The service stood out due to one person being allergic to soy - not severely just it seems make them flush - so they asked what dishes to avoid ordering (only for her). The chef came out personally spoke with her then when back and marked up the menu for her to know exactly what had soy vs not. Then for one dish he made a special black vinegar dipping sauce as a soy substitute for her. Very thoughtful.

This test kitchen was fantastic. All the food was unique and inspired. The staff was lovely and the food was fairly priced. I did find that the quality of the dishes varied greatly but this is to be expected. I felt the 1st and 3rd course dishes were much better than the 2nd. I in particular was a big fan of the X.O. Rice (pictured below). My favorite dish and one of my all time favorite desserts now is the Matcha Pistachio Cake (pictured below)

Fantastic food experience at the creative food concept M Test Kitchen. We tried just about everything on the menu and all was good. Lots of flavor and innovation on all of the menu items and we all left happy. Ashlyn was excellent and very accommodating to our large table with 3 different generations as guests. You should know that the menu changes and the portions are small, so be prepared to share and try new things. The dining room is small and bit of an industrial feel so not the most cozy of places, although the location is good in Fenton. Nice large bar to grab a small dish and a drink.

As with any M restaurant, this one did not disappoint. From the service to the food, all top notch! You can't go wrong with M for special occasions or a radom Thursday date night. We are regulars at all locations, but this was our first visit to Test Kitchen. It also has outdoor seating available, which is nice. Definitely recommend reservations, but it seems like occasionally, they have walk-in space available.

M test kitchen is located in Fenton alongside M Sushi. M Test features a constantly evolving menu that is curated keeping the ingredients and unique flavors in mind. The menu is tapas style so ordering multiple plates or sharing is recommended so you can try multiple items. It was four of us and we literally ordered everything from the menu. Every dish was unique and flavorful. They put their own unique twist on every that you won't find something similar elsewhere. We enjoyed everything we had. And since the menu changes, I can go back and try something new next time.

M Test Kitchen is supposed to be a foodie friendly restaurant, so we went there for Dinner for two. Starters were not great. We had the tuna, tots, spicy pork belly, lobster shumai and broccolini- none of the starters were impressive, over relying on salts or sauces to impress; pork belly was hard to swallow - cold and covered in sauce; broccolini also covered in sauce and cold; we had better shumai at a modest Chinese place for a quarter of the price just earlier that day. How did your kegs explode? No IPAs available... Entrees saved the meal - we had fish cilantro curry and duck. Both were good. Finally! Service was good, but if you have us sit in front of the open kitchen, cooks should at least look like they are enjoying their work... you are not going to survive real competition like this. Menu and experience would not survive a big city, and we wish we had better in the Triangle.

One of my favorite restaurants, for sushi, sushi related dishes and cool yet intimate ambiance. That said, last night was a disappointment. The menu featured items that were a 180 departure from the fresh, super creative sushi ingredients and flavors that make M restaurants do special. The broccolini was dowsed with a cream sauce. The flavor pairing of bitter crunch from the veggie was completely lost in the kewpie sauce. The tots squash was barely edible- the flavors completely lost in the stick of butter that they were drowning in. There was so much butter that the plate had a thick coating of butter/heavy sauce on the plate even when the squash was gone. Arancini, perfect texture, absence of flavor. Tots, perfect texture, nice flavor. The fish with green curry was extremely heavy, fish was so crispy and a bit greasy that the pairing with the bland and thick, heavy curry made it difficult to eat. Service was nice, however, please offer new places between dishes, especially when each dish has its own sauce, etc. Of course, I'll go back, it just might be a while until the menu changes back to food I can feel good about eating.

I've been to several of the other M restaurants, so I have a baseline in terms of quality in food and service that I expect from one of their restaurants. Out of all the locations so far, I would say M Test has the best service. M Test gets the basics done well, but also goes above and beyond and does the little things right. They explained each of the parts of the dish, which isn't critical, but shows that the staff know what is going on and what is being served. I think the biggest thing was that each of the courses were timed incredibly well. By the time we finished eating each course, the next course was ready and out within roughly 2-3 min. Amazing work by the team. As for the food, I was really impressed with some and less so by the others. The tuna tataki and pearl meatballs I wasn't all too impressed by. I definitely have had better at normal sushi spots/dim sum. Also in my opinion just weren't all that creative in terms of execution. The rest of the courses were fantastic though. The arancini was my favorite, the edamame puree was superb and a very interesting concept that I've never had before. The fish curry was cooked to perfection, and as a fan of bamboo shoots I found this one particularly enjoyable. For dessert, we ordered the cherry & chocolate, which is cherry blossom ice cream surrounded by chocolate ganache cake, black sesame granola, and a sour cherry puree. The contrast between the ganache cake and the sour puree paired well with the light ice cream. Overall, great experience and will be back again.

Wow! This was one of the best dining experiences I've had in a long time. The ambiance of M Test Kitchen was very relaxed but still upscale - similar to their M Kokko location. Service was fantastic. We were immediately seated, our order was taken, and were checked on frequently by our server. Each course came out within 2-3 minutes of each other. The food was outstanding - particularly the arancini and the green curry with fish. Would highly recommend trying these two options - the rich arancini was balanced so well with the edamame purée, and the green curry was a very bright, well seasoned dish. The tuna tataki was fresh tasting and had interesting flavor dynamics (sweet sauce/chili fakes/rice puffs/aonori flake). The pearl meatballs were flavorful but nothing too special. Lastly, the cherry & chocolate dessert was the perfect balance of sweet and sour; a perfect dish to end the meal. Looking forward to coming back again soon!

I've been meaning to try this place for a while now and can definitely it was very yummy. We got a variety of dishes as it is tapas style. The Dan Dan noodles were vegetarian and were absolutely amazing with great spices. The most unique was the curry. It was very tangy and I really enjoyed it but definitely depends on the person. The tater tots were good as well and unique desserts too. A lot of drink options but nothing out of the ordinary. The atmosphere inside is modern and plenty of seating. Definitely want to make a reservation beforehand if possible. Staff was friendly and helped us find the best options for us. Prices were average for an upscale restaurant like this. Overall, really enjoyed this experience and definitely will be back. It looks like they rotate their menu which I really like and can try their new options when available.

I have always been a fan of M restaurants, and finally got the opportunity to try this tapas style establishment. Firstly the service, incredibly friendly, prompt, and accommodating. Asked to make a larger reservation fairly last minute, fully expecting to be turned away or asked to pay some fee up front, instead we were accommodated for quite easily. Some in the group made their dietary restrictions and the servers were incredibly helpful in guiding them through the menu. The restaurant is a bit on the smaller side, but offers seating both inside and out, with options for groups of all sizes. The interior is decorated in a modern/semi-industrial manner, and is quite inviting, creating a friendly casual environment. The food all tasted fantastic, packed with fresh flavors, each dish is presented wonderfully. The menu is a bit limited, however it contains enough options to satisfy most people. With the size of the menu it was a tad disappointing though that they had run out of a couple options though. As it is tapas style, the portions are a bit smaller so I would suggest ordering multiple dishes per person, as with most tapas and as per the servers suggestion. Pricing was a tad on the higher end, but debatably worth it. Would definitely recommend, and will return to see what is on their rotating menu next.

Sat at the booth on a weekend and had a good time. You need reservations to get any type of seating. The atmosphere is trendy and modern, and there are new things on the menu so you can come multiple times in a year and feel it's a "new" place. My partner and I shared four dishes, and our favorite was the Tom Yun Squid ($17). The squid was cooked to perfection and the flavors are familiar and delicious. I wish I ordered two dishes of this. The Rendeng Short Rib ($23) was Okay. It has a nice presentation to it, but I think I would have wanted to try a different protein like the duck. I didn't care for the Pho Salad ($12) at all, because the texture and flavors weren't all pleasing. I would go with a different salad, because you're left with wanting a "salad" still.

M Test Kitchen has a trendy atmosphere. It claims of being a culinary testing ground for new creations. However, my experience didn't live up to the hype. The pho salad, intriguing in concept, was let down by its excessive saltiness and overpowering fish sauce. The loaded tater tots unfortunately tasted like they were made from frozen. The Dan Dan noodles ended up being bland and excessively greasy with chili oil. The most disappointing dish was the lobster shu mai. What sounded like a standout item based on other reviews disappointed me with a mushy texture and the use of a plastic basket for steaming which I feel could leech into the food. The duck in duck sauce was the only dish I enjoyed but it is a very small portion for 25 dollars. The service was great. As a fan of M restaurants, I was excited to try M test kitchen. However, my visit to M Test Kitchen was a major disappointment.

WOW! This was one of the most delicious meals I've had in the Raleigh/Cary/Durham area. We've heard such great things about the M restaurants and this is the first one we have tried. I love the idea of asian tapas so that I can try more things on the menu. My husband and I always talk about our favorite and least favorite dishes and we really struggled to choose a least favorite because they were all phenomenal. We started with the little gem salad which was one of our favorite dishes - the dressing was tangy & flavorful, and the parmesan-like shaved smoked tofu had the perfect amount of smoke flavor and mouthfeel (felt like parmesan cheese). The lobster shumai was our other favorite dish - we normally wouldn't order something like this but we heard such rave reviews about this one on Yelp - the mousse filling was smooth and salted to perfection, and paired great with the dipping sauce which added some acidity. The X.O. fried rice was a great dish - the 1/3 crab to 2/3 rice ratio made it so flavorful and the rice texture didn't stick together which I love for a fried rice. Lastly, the sea bass green curry was great - the actual curry was herbaceous, the fish skin was crisp while the fish was moist, and I am obsessed with bamboo shoots. The service was excellent - The food came out so quick and we got each dish one after another with the perfect 2-3 minute buffer between dishes. The restaurant had limited room but there was good space between people at the tables and bar seating. Definitely make a reservation when you come here.

I am an M Stan so I was 5 *'s before I even ate here, but the food was excellent. Also my wife is hard to impress and she dug it all. All this was good: * Lobster shumai * little gems salad, with grated smoked tofu on top * roast pork daikon wraps * kung pao brussles sprouts * loaded tots * tom yum squid soup thing * kind of weird ice cream + crunchy things dessert Also I got a tequila cocktail with chili's and unfiltered sake that sounds weird but was very good.

Upscale, quiet, and elegant spot! Perfect for a fancy evening out. The food is really incredible, probably some of the best in the Raleigh area. The tataki is a must. Cocktails are fabulous as well!! Service was top tier as well.

This is surprisingly my first visit to one of the M Restaurants. M Test Kitchen is open in Fenton and is a neat concept. I started off with a watermelon margarita followed by a glass of prosecco. For food our table split the roasted shishitos, scallop curd, yaki tori, x.o. fried rice, green curry and carrot cake. The favorites were the yaki tori (it was so tender and the garlic sauce was amazing), green curry and carrot cake. The cocktail was good but the drinks are too pricey. This spot is worth checking out if you like what is on the current menu but it is expensive.

I'm very impressed by the quality of food coming out of M test kitchen! It seems like the menu changes quite often but there are some crowd favorites that stay on more permanently. Among those are the lobster shumai and xo fried rice which definitely lived up to the hype. All the other dishes we tried were delicious as well, though maybe not as innovative as we had hoped. Not all of the elaborate flavors come through, but they do taste good regardless. I thought the scallop crudo was a little too acidic. Most of the dishes we ordered weren't very filling so I definitely recommend getting an order of rice or noodles to beef up your meal. The two desserts were both fantastic. So glad I got both. Service at the bar was friendly and knowledgeable. We got good recommendations and food came out quickly. Overall, I would definitely recommend!

What a wonderful experience! Smallish venue as it is a test kitchen, friendly staff, amazing food! I could not decide on the menu because everything read and looked so yummy! Very modern but simple decor.

First time visiting. Def worth trying out. Asian inspired tapas. Flavorful and very shareable indeed. Bring friends, this way you can try more things. Will go back when the menu changes

This was my choice for my birthday spot. Having dined at several "M" venues, I couldn't wait to try this new one. It did not disappoint! Going into this adventure, I knew that everything wasn't going to be on point (hence the test) , but that only added to the fun because the staff wants to know your thoughts on their creations. Most of the dishes we had were incredible, with the exception of the Taki Yori. I love an oyster from any bird, but these were just okay. I can't wait to go back to try other things!

Love the creativity and how the menu changes and plays with flavors and textures. Cannot recommend it more. If I had more stars to give I would! This is my husband and my go to date night spot.

We expected a much better experience and won't be going back, nor should anyone else. Our reservation wasn't ready and we were told it would be 20-30 min wait...which is NOT what we would've expected for the way this place describes itself. The hostess eventually offers an outside table as the only option other than waiting which 10 min had already passed and it was still a 20-30 mi wait, after 10 min. It had recently rained and they put the tables in the mud and a horribly kept "lawn". The table is poorly lit and crooked. Imagine being in high heels or just nice shoes. We end up being sat next to a table of "mom's night out" drinking it up all while their kids literally run around screaming, guess the nanny's had the night off. And then there's the other table of chain smokers. Eventually we had enough, even the server said she can't blame us and we go back to the hostess. Finally we get a table inside that they end up squeezing us in to an already very cramped little house restaurant. The food was ok, the menu had changed since when we reserved the table and it wasn't that good, twist on Asian dishes that didn't work well at all! Braised short ribs were bland and not a good cut of meat. The duck was ok, but I can get a better Peking duck at Grand Asia. The reviews and pics of others gave us high hopes but in the end we were very disappointed. Maybe it was partly due to the initial experience but if the food was amazing that should have salvaged the night, and it didn't! .

I wasn't sure what to expect, but was really blown away by M test kitchen. We sat at the countertop so it was a fun experience to see how everything was prepared. We had a fantastic server who went above and beyond to explain everything and make helpful suggestions. The food was incredible (think Asian tapas) and my husband and I really enjoyed trying a multitude of different dishes. Great date night spot if you can get a counter seat.

Came here for girls night and we had the best time! Our server was Sammy and he was probably one of the best servers we have had on our nights out. We tried the watermelon margaritas and wasabi martini- both were great. For dinner we tried the tartar, the caviar, wings, yaki tori, fried rice, lobster shumai, and some sort or salad. We had carrot cake for desert. There wasn't anything we didn't like. The test kitchen was clean, nicely decorated. It was a little noisy but we could still talk so we didn't have any issue with this. Awesome experience and we will be back.

Big fan of M sushi, M pocha, etc. This place truly sucks. It feels like a community college culinary school test kitchen pipeline, and a total afterthought compared to the quality of the M family in Durham. Tonight the tuna tataki tasted incredibly fishy, almost like sardines, my dining partner and I both looked at each other after our first bite with confused faces - if a staff member from M sushi in Durham tried this stuff they would've had a fit, something was very wrong. The heirloom tomato dish was poorly thought out, a hodge podge of cream and gel(?) that made no sense flavor wise or texture wise, and the tomatoes tasted like they were from harris teeter. Not good. Cream, "gel," and watery tomatoes, with chewy skin, hmmm, I wonder why it doesn't work together? The ground pork "pearl" meatballs... are a bland watery meatball with sticky rice that falls off of it... just like... who thought this was a good idea? Did anyone even try this food before serving it? I thought the lobster shumai was decent, but would choose a "normal" shumai from any lesser known Japanese restaurant in the triangle. Just know you aren't getting ground lobster in the dumpling, it's some sort of homologous orange compound that kind of looks like play dough or clay. The flavor was ok compared to the other 5 dishes, but my guest was not a fan. Duck was middling at best, I don't think I've ever had a roast duck dish from a restaurant and not enjoyed it, except here. The XO fried rice just a boring, bland fried rice, and some sort of cosmic joke considering it's like $20 or whatever. Anyone with a kitchen at home could make this for $2 or $3, AND have a shot at making it taste good. I'm really blown away that this place flies the M flag. I understand it's a "test" kitchen, but it feels like they're testing recipes from their staff or line cooks, who might be able to follow a recipe but certainly can't create their own if tonight is any indication. We ordered 6 things in total, not one of them was worth eating again. Also, the lighting is terrible. Service felt like a training ground, I was asked multiple times if I wanted any water, mid conversation, when I already (still) had a full glass of water. Why are you asking? The 10,000 lumen lighting rig is clearly enough for you to see that I have a full glass, still. I had to have been asked 4 or 5 times in 30minutes if I wanted more water, but was never asked if I wanted another drink when my actual drink was empty. Oh, and the cocktail ordered upon sitting down came long after food service. It was a highball... and served in, no joke, a German Steiner beer mug with a straw, heavy ice. Food service pace was way off, made no sense. But in the end it worked out, couldn't wait to get out of there, except we couldn't get our check, just offers of more water. Had to wave someone down across the restaurant to pay. I'm only writing this review because I wish I had read one like it before driving to Cary. This is a huge skip, don't waste your time.

My recent dining experience at M Test Kitchen was unfortunately far from satisfactory, leaving much to be desired in terms of both culinary quality and overall concept execution. The restaurant is designed to be an experimental outlet for the chefs to try new dishes and techniques. After trying M Sushi and being very happy with my meal, I was excited about this restaurant - what a disappointment. We got a variety of plates from the menu. A note on that, the M Test Kitchen (MTK) classifies itself, like every other restaurant trying to be trendy, as a "tapas-style restaurant" where you eat "family style"; translation: we are going to serve you small plates but charge you the same price as a traditional restaurant because we want you to order many plates and spend more. I hate this concept and would prefer if the industry would move away from this model. Back to MTK, we ordered the fried cauliflower, gnocchi, fried rice, steak and duck. Starting with the PROS: Overall, presentation was excellent across the board. Taste-wise, the steak ($27) and cauliflower ($13?) were excellent as well. Now onto the CONS: The purple sweet-potato gnocchi ($11), which I was so excited about, was such a letdown. Served with snap peas, which were good, this gnocchi were just slimey that it felt like I was eating slugs. Maybe pan-searing the gnocchi before adding the sauce would help split the textures up. The steak, which took 20 mins to be prepared (we were warned beforehand) was maybe 6 slices of steak about a quarter-inch thick or less with a side of which I cannot remember for $27...pitiful. The duck ($25), same thing, not one entire breast, just 6 or 7 pieces fanned across the plate. Now the absolute worst, the fried rice ($21). This rice was single-handedly the biggest joke to have on a menu. Out came a reasonable amount of rice which was advertised as having crab meat. I do not doubt the few cubes of meat I felt were crab but honestly I would not have noticed. Now, I can get past the mediocre flavor, what I cannot excuse is the fact that it was brought to our table room temp (at best) and the rice itself was hard as if I were eating pebbles. You can serve pasta al dente, sure, but not rice - that was an embarrassment. After our meal, we did not feel confident enough to stay for desert and opted to grab it elsewhere in the hopes of saving the meal. Will not be returning.

Great meal. The two cold plates - tartar and pork belly salad were fantastic. The menu says the szechuan oil with the pork belly is very spicy and that's 100% true. You've been warned. The warm plates - chicken yakitori and short ribs - were very good as well. But they were several steps down from the cold plates which were just ridiculously good. Can't wait to go back and try whatever the test menu brings next.

The long awaited opening of a Test Kitchen is finally over and the wait did not disappoint. The ambiance is great with flowing natural light and a modern industrial feel. The dishes were well thought out and very well executed. My favorites were the lobster shumai and the green curry. The only thing I'd recommend they improve on is speed of service. I think the dishes should've been spaces out just a little bit further apart from one another. Other than that chef Conner's menu is and I'll be back again!!

Three of us ordered the yellowtail crudo, grilled asparagus, Denver steak, Vietnamese chicken salad, loaded tots, crispy cauliflower and lobster shumai, and we all enjoyed everything. The least favorite was the lobster shumaji; it was a trifle boring. There was plenty of food; we could have omitted one dish. The service was excellent as well. The atmosphere is industrial and a bit noisy.

My friends are visiting from Newyork for Thanksgiving,and I take them to M Test Kitchen. The food was okay and too expensive, and the worst part is they charge 24$ for Manhattan drink and they don't know how to make it .Even the top 10 bars in the world don't charge 24$ for Manhattan drink.Overall,I had a bad experience,and I never want to go back to M Test Kitchen.

This place is amazing! Best restaurant in Fenton in terms of food and service. My fiancé and I have been there 4 times already since they opened and honestly there wasn't one dish that was a miss. Their crab fried rice is phenomenal! Highly recommended.

Excellent food and service in a fun(experimental?) atmosphere. Standouts were the beef and broccoli, pork katsu, and XO fried rice. Carrot cake was unexpectedly delicious. We will be back!

Disappointed in this place. Prices do not reflect the quality of the food. I expected it to be much better than it was. Our server was friendly and enjoyable.

Love the concept and the attention to detail. We have been several times and it's always an exciting time. The xo fried rice is so good. They had a salad with smoked tofu that's pure genius. The shumai were great. The cocktails are watered down and disappointed me two times, however, and that's why I gave them 4 stars.

Food was lackluster especially for the price. There was nothing exceptional about the food and given that you sacrifice on the atmosphere with the size of the restaurant , it just doesn't add up

Food was incredible, service was on point, ambiance wa entertaining. Lobster shumai are the greatest deal in dine out, broccoli beef redefined creativity. Drinks were fuego. Would recommend everything but some bad other clients who complained because they were so botoxed out they couldn't taste or chew.

Love the other M restaurants, but this one let us down a bit. We LOVED the crab rice, carrot cake and green curry, but the other dishes left something to be desired. The meat dishes - ribs were so dry, and the fat on the steak was not rendered correctly. This left a good portion of the dish inedible. The lobster shumai would have been excellent, but it came out cold. I have to say - service was incredible, they just need to work out a few of the kinks with the food. It's not up to the M standard, especially for the price point.