OTOTO

Let me get to the important part of this review: chicken karaage & black pepper tofu!!! Wow! Now that that's out of the way, will get into the nitty gritty. Came here on a Sunday night around 6:30pm, very busy and rowdy inside a narrow seating area. Easy to miss, but put your name down on the clipboard inside to the right of the entrance. There was one waitress working all the tables so props to her! It was insane in there, so bring your patience. We ordered: - Black Pepper Tofu (10/5): this was SO delicious, you could taste the five spice that really gave this a unique twist from agedashi tofu. - Pumpkin Tempura (2/5): can skip this, not that it was bad but the tempura could've been crispier to contrast more from soft pumpkin texture - Branzino (4/5): fish cooked beautifully, getting a bite of the Branzino + lettuce + dill = beautiful balance - Chicken Karaage (5/5): crispy on the outside, JUICY on the inside, and the little pops of roe!! are you kidding...- Steak (4/5): cooked very very well, super tender, sauce DELICIOUS but not anything mindblowing - Okonomiyaki (3.5/5): not my favorite type of okonomiyaki, I like it better when the other ingredients overpower the pancake texture so that it's not mushy, found the sauce to be a little too ketchupy for my liking But this place is a VIBE, glad we got to try it after getting rejected from Tsubaki

came around 5:30pm on a sunday and they were able to seat our party of 3 right away. it's a small restaurant but we got a little nook that was hidden away and only had one other table, which was nice and private.food- shaki shaki salad: delicious dressing! wasn't the biggest fan of the cabbage, but with the fried wonton strips, it was an overall great tasting salad.- yakisoba: pretty good, but it kind of felt like i could have made it at home. but we go out to eat for the convenience too, right?- okonomiyaki w/ mushrooms and cheese: definitely a fan of this one. there might have been a bit too much sauce for my preference, but i think if i had asked to adjust it a bit, it would have been perfect. they are generous with the bonito flakes. i've never had okonomiyaki with mushrooms but i thought it went so well together i want to try making it at home now. - butter mochi: honestly it was a very strange texture.... half gooey/uncooked feeling, half stale rice cake. this one was a miss for me. service was super attentive and warm. there was a miscommunication about the dessert, but they took care of it professionally and quickly and i really appreciated that.overall a good experience!

Such an amazing find on a random Wednesday night!We had a party of 3 and were seated immediately when we came in at 7:30pm. It's an intimate sized izakaya restaurant and was fully packed!No private parking lot, but it looks like there's shared valet parking with the restaurant next door. We parked up the street in a neighborhood and walked over. One of the owners was in and working the bar and giving amazing recommendations. They are super knowledgeable about their sake and offer samples based on what you're feeling. We got a hot (or warm sake) that was probably the best hot sake I've had. Had a floral sweetness to it that reminded me of white wine. We also finished our meal with cold sake that was sourced directly from Japan.Food wise, it's Izakaya style, so basically like Japanese tapas. I'd recommend ordering a few things and sharing so you can sample a bunch of food. They change the menu pretty often so odds are you may have different things when you go.We started with the otoro sashimi special, which basically melts in your mouth. We then got the potato salad with mustard greens, which was amazing and came with kurobata sausage and a perfectly soft boiled egg. Super good to start the pallet going. We also got chicken karage which was super super moist on the inside but crispy on the outside. We also got yakisoba which was pretty mid, but filling. We also got the chicken katsu sando, which comes on toasted milk bread and has a chili jam/sauce on it that was too spicy for me, but still super good. The highlight for me was the branzino, which came with a Filipino chili jam that was super good and went great with the salad...I'd definitely recommend this place to anyone and will definitely be back. I've been to Japan multiple times and must say this really takes me back to the izakayas I've been to, ambiance wise and in terms of how the Mamasans (or host/managers) take care of you.

Recently I grabbed dinner with a friend here. We had a great time. The uni toast super fun but only has two smaller pieces. The black pepper tofu was great and a little bigger a true starter size. The shumai was really yummy. They're bigger bites and had good sauce. The highlight of the night was the chicken Katsu sandwich. Super flavorful, a solid size, and great textures. Definitely will be going back to get that again.

TLDR: OTOTO was fantastic, friendly & attentive service, great recommendations, super tasty food and great sake! We came around 6pm on a Saturday and were seated promptly in the window. Our server was friendly, kind, and provided some spot on recommendations. They were incredibly knowledgeable about every sake on the menu and sold us immediately on the Moon on the Water (we even sought this sake out at a local store after our visit, it was that great).Food:Katsu Sando - very tasty, a little spicy, pretty big so easier to eat with chopsticks - recommend!Shumai - nice and light dish to share, sauce was tasty but probably wouldn't order again - somewhat recommend.Yakisoba - this was hands down the BEST Yakisoba I have ever had, you could taste the flavor of each ingredient, noodles were fantastic. My husband who doesn't like noodles loved it, we've been talking about it since - highly recommend! Steak - really good, juicy, I love a medium rare steak, maybe not for everyone but it was great - definitely recommend!

Sake School? Really? Okay, story is that during the Covid Pandemic, Owner and Sake Sommelier Courtney Kaplan and her husband Charles started some sort of online Sake School. So go figure and that in this present day, they offer the same comfort and Sake education in the flesh at OTOTO. Not sure of the hours but we were there on Sunday and the school starts before they start serving their meals.I can't speak of their listed Teishoku meals because we didn't have any. We did have their chicken katsu sando and their renkon (lotus root) namasu. Both were good. One important thing is you need to look at your bill as there is a 18% impound to it. You may dispute that fee impound and they will remove it I think; or you can consider it your tip or not! Just check is allA must try.Fun Fact- Same owner as Tsubaki next door. Parking is a problem. Valet parking is available if street parking is not available when you get there. A definite must try if you're in the area, or not!

Small plates. Japanese high end cuisine. Delectable. No reservations required. Delicious and delicate.

I was craving Japanese food and heard about this being good from foodie reddit.The food here wasn't bad but it's not "real" food, mostly greasy bar food like karaage chicken, burgers, or pork belly. I would only recommend it for happy hour.The sake menu is fun and the waitress made good recommendations although there weren't any top shelf sakes. The execution is too casual for me. I think it may be sake on tap. They just bring you a pour in a mystery glass without showing you the bottle/label so half the time I can't even fully conceptualize what I'm drinking unless I sit at the bar.The waitress also didn't offer me tastings to make sure I find a pour I liked and the menu didn't have any flights which is a bummer.The food came out deplorably slow. They must have like 1 cook in the kitchen. We ordered 7 things and the fried chicken dishes took 50 minutes to come out! My bf was so hangry I felt bad.The food is decent but menu seems skewed to just bar food. The fried scallops were down right nasty so avoid.Service is slow. Maybe come here, sit at the bar and try the sake but otherwise I wouldn't recommend it.Btw we didn't have the 18% forced fee. Maybe they got rid of it due to complaints on Yelp.

Staff is very nice and will give you honest recommendations at this hip and cozy spot that feels like it is straight from Japan. Portion sizes are great for tapas style sharing and prices are fair. Everything was fantastic and we got everything on the menu that wasn't shellfish or pork. Some of the best fish and chips I have ever had. The chicken matzo is great but I prefer the karage. Get the tofu. The sauce the tuna comes with is phenomenal. I wanted to and did drink almost every sauce that was brought out. A full 5 star review as I don't see a reason not to do so. A fantastic dining experience. I highly recommend. Parking can be tricky but they have valet parking. Dine in with bar seating options.

Honestly this place here was delicious!!It was authentic Japanese food! We showed up just before the restaurant actuallyOpened because they have saki tasting, they change every week! They imported I believe, and honestly they all smelled and tasted like juice! The service was pretty good, they brought the food out in a specific order and most of the food is for sharing which is pretty great!The menu isn't huge so it's not too overwhelming. Everything I tried was pretty great! And honestly even the prices weren't too bad for what we get !The restaurant inside is pretty small, so we're in close proximity to the next person. But overall i had a great experience! Definitely recommend!