On Monday night, Morimoto (88 Tenth Ave., 212-989-8883) opened its doors for the first time for a party hosted by “Iron Chef” Masaharu Morimoto, Philadelphia-based restaurateur Stephen Starr, and Ruth Reichl, editor in chief of Gourmet magazine. The trio stood on the dining room’s mezzanine welcoming the near- capacity crowd of 400 guests, a who’s who of the industry including Mario Batali, Daniel Boulud, Tom Colicchio, Scott Conant, Rocco DiSpirito, Ken Callaghan, Laurent Gras, all the Maccionis, Danny Meyer, Eric Ripert, Aaron Sanchez, Phil Suarez, Laurent Tourondel, and Jonathan Waxman. The party served to introduce Mr. Starr to the neighborhood – and to an industry that has been anticipating his arrival with a dash of skepticism.

Morimoto is the first of Mr. Starr’s ventures in New York City. He began his career in the entertainment industry, as a club owner and music promoter, then in 1995 he founded the Starr Restaurant Organization (SRO) in Philadelphia, making his focus dining as the new entertainment. Mr. Starr’s formula of food, music, and cool settings garnered him a solid client base that allowed SRO to expand to more than 12 properties, including Continental and Buddakan (the name of the renowned Tokyo concert hall), all in Philadelphia. He has three additional projects scheduled to open later this year in Atlantic City: Buddakan, Continental, and a beach bar at the Pier at Caesars.

The $12 million Morimoto, designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando (recently publicized as the designer of Tom Ford’s New Mexico residence), will open to the public on January 31.And it is the restaurateur’s first foothold in the Big Apple. The dramatic entrance is marked by a bright red noren curtain (the traditional Japanese curtain hung in front of business as both a sunshade and open sign) within an archway of the steel facade. Almost a full story in height, it’s the largest noren curtain ever created. The design combines traditional elements such as Japanese woods and rice paper with a minimal modern aesthetic.

The 12,000-square-foot space will add an additional 200 seats to the meatpacking district’s burgeoning restaurant scene. The expansive ground floor has 160 dining room seats, including a 1,500-square-foot open kitchen with 24 seats at the sushi bar and a special omakase (chef’s choice tasting menu) table for eight. The downstairs bar and lounge have room for an additional 40 guests. The two spaces are connected by a central open staircase, decorated with a two-story wall of 17,000 plastic Tynant water bottles hung horizontally and lit from within.

Gourmet’s party invitations tempted guests by touting a “first look at Morimoto” and a taste of his menu, which included signature dishes such as yellowtail pastrami and sake/miso glazed king salmon, along with new creations like Japanese lobster fritters and toro tartare “Five Layers” with osetra caviar. The restaurant’s dinner menu offers appetizers and salads from $11-$33, entrees from $26-$48, and the omakase menu at $120 a person. The bar features specialty cocktails and Mr. Morimoto’s signature brews from Rouge Ales and his own brand of sake. (The chef is also a sake sommelier.)

Mr. Morimoto first appeared on the New York scene in 1993 as the executive chef of Sony’s exclusive executive dining room. In 1994, chef Nobu Matsuhisu hired him for the opening of Nobu in TriBeCa. Mr. Matsuhisu’s restaurant quickly became the top sushi destination and is still one of the city’s most coveted reservations. It was there, as executive chef, that New Yorkers first got to know Mr. Morimoto.

In addition to his duties behind the sushi counter, Mr. Morimoto was making regular trips to Tokyo to film Fuji Television’s “Iron Chef.” The Japanese production ended in 1999, and the Television Food Network debuted the program to American audiences that summer. The show and Mr. Morimoto’s fame grew from cult favorite to phenomenon. TVFN created the new “Iron Chef America” series in 2004. Coincidentally, the restaurant is located in the Chelsea Market Building, which houses Kitchen Stadium, where the competitions take place.

In 2001 Mr. Morimoto left Nobu for Philadelphia where he opened Morimoto with Mr. Starr. The Television Food Network chronicled the opening of the $3 million restaurant in a special titled “Morimoto RAW.” Designed by Karim Rashid, the Chestnut Street venue has a modern pop design. It was Mr. Morimoto’s first American eatery and Mr. Starr’s seventh.

In 2004 Mr. Starr acquired the Striped Bass restaurant in Philadelphia, of interest to New York foodies because Alfred Portale of Gotham Bar and Grill was hired as consulting chef. Around the same time, Mr. Starr announced his plans to expand to New York, with Morimoto followed by an outpost of Buddakan (75 Ninth Ave., 212-989-6699).

Buddakan is a 16,000-square foot restaurant also located in the Chelsea Market on the Ninth Avenue side. The bilevel Christian Liaigre-designed space cost $14 million to build. The 260-seat restaurant is scheduled to open in mid-February. It features the modern Asian cuisine of consulting chef Angelo Sosa (formerly of Jean-Georges and Spice Market) and executive chef Michael Schulson, who has worked for Mr. Starr since 1998 when he opened the first Buddakan in Philadelphia. The dinner menu offers assorted dim sum, soup, and noodles for $8-$17 and entrees ranging from $22-$56.

For Gourmet magazine’s Ms. Reichl, the soiree at Restaurant Morimoto wasn’t just another office party. “I’ve been waiting for Morimoto to open his place in New York for four years. When I found out that one of my favorite architects, Tadao Ando, was designing the interior, I knew the place was not only going to have great food, but also look spectacular,” Ms. Reichl said. “I knew it would be the perfect place to kick off our 65th anniversary celebration.”

At the party, Mr. Morimoto said this restaurant is his dream and dreams do come true. He asked the crowd, “How do I look?” Dressed in traditional Japanese silk, he looked like a shogun – a sushi-slinging shogun with many happy followers.