damnlines.comdamnlines.comA Bogart Street sushi-and-izakaya spot whose Friday/Saturday crowds got so bad that owner Philip Gilmour opened the sister bar Moku Moku next door in 2015 just to give overflow diners somewhere to sit while they wait.
damnlines hasn't pointed a lens at Momo Sushi Shack yet. The most-wanted lines get a camera first.
Bushwick Daily's history of the two restaurants explains why Momo has a sibling next door: when Momo Sushi Shack got busy on Friday or Saturday nights, waits stretched up to two hours with nowhere for anyone to sit, so in 2015 owner Philip Gilmour opened Moku Moku right beside it — the two spots share a kitchen, a bar, and an entrance at 43 Bogart Street, with Moku Moku's high bar tables built largely to hold the overflow crowd while they wait to be seated.
The food blog I Just Want To Eat, reviewing the restaurant more recently, described the room as crowded on their visit and noted the kitchen was slowed further because the restaurant was short-staffed that night; they'd landed at Momo as a backup after finding neighboring Roberta's Pizza had "an hour wait that we did not even consider," a sign of how much weekend demand the surrounding Bogart Street restaurant row pulls in generally. Momo's own seating — long communal tables — fills fast once a wait sets in.
On getting a table without waiting: the restaurant's OpenTable listing indicates that only the Omakase tasting menu can be reserved in advance, and only up until 5:30 p.m. the night of dining; the regular à la carte menu at the communal tables is walk-in only, which is consistent with the queue pattern Bushwick Daily and I Just Want To Eat both describe.
Patterns as reported by press and regulars — not measured by damnlines.
Reservations: Omakase tasting menu only, bookable via OpenTable up to 5:30 p.m. the night of dining; regular menu is walk-in.
Walk-ins: Required for the regular à la carte menu at the communal tables.
Open Tuesday–Sunday, roughly 5–10 pm; closed Mondays, per restaurant listings.
Bushwick Daily reports that on busy Friday and Saturday nights, waits at Momo have stretched up to two hours with no seating available inside — the exact problem that led owner Philip Gilmour to open the adjacent Moku Moku in 2015 as overflow space. On a more recent weeknight visit, the blog I Just Want To Eat found the restaurant crowded but didn't clock a specific wait length.
Only partially: per the restaurant's OpenTable listing, reservations are limited to the Omakase tasting menu and must be booked by 5:30 p.m. the night of dining. The regular à la carte menu, served at the communal tables, is walk-in only.
Yes — walking in is the standard way to eat off the regular menu, since only the Omakase tasting menu can be booked ahead per OpenTable's listing. Expect a possible wait for the communal tables during Friday and Saturday dinner service, per Bushwick Daily.
Bushwick Daily reports owner Philip Gilmour opened Moku Moku in 2015 specifically because Momo's Friday and Saturday night crowds faced two-hour waits with nowhere to sit. The two restaurants share a kitchen, bar, and entrance at 43 Bogart Street.
Sources: Bushwick Daily — "East Williamsburg's Momo Sushi Shack and Moku Moku" · I Just Want To Eat — Momo Sushi Shack review · OpenTable — Momo Sushi Shack listing