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Ootoro Bar

4.4 (211 reviews)
Closed • 11:30 am - 2:00 pm, 5:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Updated a few days ago

Ootoro Bar Photos

OOTORO BAR ATMOSPHERE

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Intimate
Outdoor seating

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Recommended Reviews - Ootoro Bar

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Amanda L.

Arrived on a Saturday around 5:15 and there was plenty of seating! We had to wait a little to get seated as the hostess was attending another customer. There's two big bar counters and a couple booth tables. I appreciated how spacious the bar seating felt, unlike other handroll bar seating where it could feel cramped. We opted for the 6 set, non-spicy since the non-spicy option comes with salmon while the spicy sets do not. Another tip to know is that it's way more worth to order a set as the prices for individual rolls can get pricey. Important to note that there are no substitutions with these sets, although, you are able to request for them to make 1-2 rolls spicy if you'd like. The size of the rolls are quite hefty and the quality of the fish is super fresh! We definitely left the restaurant feeling stuffed!

Chirashi
Zeeshan Q.

Wow, just wow. I was fortunate to experience ootoro via a catered meal, and got to try both the sashimi and rolls . The flavor of the sashimi is exquisite, you can tell it's quality meat; my favorites were the yellowtail and salmon. The rolls were super underrated, i really enjoyed the thicker seaweed as it added good texture. The crab and tuna were my favorite rolls. Overall, they have delicious sushi and sashimi, definitely need to visit in person next time.

Toro & Salmon don
Pammy N.

Came here on a Friday at lunch. It wasn't too busy, the service was great as usual. Cute date night spot, clean and lighting is dim. We got the salmon toro don. SOOO good, it came with miso soup. Literally perfect amount for lunch. 10/10, would definitely come back and get that again for lunch

Chloe N.

Imagine, thick cut sashimi, sushi, grilled dishes for less than $30?! I am impressed. It's the second location of this restaurant. Cheap efficient with plenty of choices. For lunch specials you get to choose 2 dishes. It's way too much in the good way. Sashimi platter is a lot of food for $26. Staff super sweet and friendly. Inside is beautiful love the bar sit and vibe. True 5 star

Blue crab handroll
Anh H.

My new favorite sushi restaurant in the OC area! Everything as top tier quality matched with very reasonable pricing. Parking: Located in the Village at Tustin Legacy plaza alongside other numerous shops but there is plenty of parking. Ambiance: Very cozy and chic. The restaurant features two bar top seating and around five booths. It's very dimly lit and feel very intimate. Service: Very attentive. Every dish came out in a reasonable timing. Food **The fish here is very high quality and proportions are very far. The rice was cooked perfect and the seaweed remained crispy and light. I would put this restaurant above Rol Handbar and Kazunori. We ordered the 6 Handroll Set (A) (Spicy - Loved that they even offered a spicy set alongside a non-spicy set) - Bluefin Tuna - Blue Crab - Toro - Spicy Scallop - Spicy Yellowtail - Spicy Lobster Separate from the set, I ordered the soft shell crab handroll and this was also amazing. (2pcs minimum per order) The crab was so soft and had a perfect light batter. The rolls were 5/5 across the board! Fish tasted to fresh and the rolls were stacked. Hope this never changes. I also ordered the sushi set to-go and the portions were also up to par.

Sashmi lunch!!
Calli Y.

I've been craving sashimi so I finally made it back to here. They are closed Sunday & Mondays so make note of that. I wanted it the other day and was out of luck. We made it here today for lunch. Always friendly service. Our sashimi today was beautiful and tasted very fresh! Great food and plenty of parking.

Tiffany C.

This is now my go to location as it is starting to get busier but still not crowded like the other location. I've returned for lunch several times and have enjoyed sitting in the booths with my family, as well as sitting at the bar where you have constant attention by the sushi chefs and staff. There are actually two full bar areas and I've seen them utilize both areas when they are busy but often they just start with one side. The place is not too loud but you hear the hustle bustle of guests and staff doing their thing. Everyone there is friendly and happy to help. They were even able to accommodate when I placed my order and 5 minutes later changed my mind and asked if I could swap out an item. They've updated their lunch menus a bit more to remove the super premium Sea Bass and move the Miso cod to the left side of the lunch combo. I still miss the old menu but I understand it's business and they need to be able to make money as prices for the ingredients have also increased. Food is still amazing and fresh and we always leave full and satisfied.

Elisa T.

We were craving sushi and decided to stop by here for a quick dinner, and I'm so glad we did. The restaurant is intimate, with two separate sushi bar counters and a few tables along the side. The lighting is dim and romantic--perfect for a date night. The service was excellent: super friendly, attentive without hovering, and always checking in at the right moments whenever we needed something. We started with the toro tartare, which is an absolute must-order for me. It's topped with uni and tobiko, then finished with freshly grated truffle and truffle salt. Scooping it up with the seaweed chips was such an umami bomb--rich, savory, and incredibly satisfying. All of the hand rolls and nigiri we tried tasted very fresh and flavorful. I will say the spicy hand rolls were pretty spicy for me, but still delicious if you enjoy heat. I'm so happy we found this spot, this is definitely becoming our new go-to sushi spot for me and my husband.

Blue crab cut roll with added avocado $8.50
Kathy S.

Ootoro Bar doesn't compare to its other location on Michelson. The was no wait at 5:45pm on a Saturday for a table. Even when we left at 730pm the bar was half empty. Is this usual for a Saturday night?? Sushi Set A includes 2 scallops, 2 kinds of white fish, 2 tunas, 2 yellowtail, 2 albacore, and 2 salmons (that we never got), and 1 daily hand roll. I don't recommend the sushi here as the sauce that paired with the fish was too overwhelming (either too tangy/sour or salty). Unless the fish isn't fresh there's no reason to drown it in sauce. 6 Hand Rolls: that's what we ordered but we only got 3 due to the lack of communication between the server and sushi chef. After the server brought our "Daily hand roll" from sushi set A she thought we had received the first 3 rolls from the hand roll set. We ended up getting only 3 rolls from our order. After waiting for 20 minutes (having given them grace for possibly a busy night plus we were seated in the back corner so we couldn't tell what took so long) we canceled our order especially having to explain to the server what we have eaten 20 minutes ago and what we didn't. We were over it! Blue crab cut roll (4 pieces) with avocado (extra charge): pretty standard Crunch cut roll (4 pieces): nothing special Servers were nice but lacked communication with the kitchen/chef. Also they stopped checking on us toward the end. When we were heading out there were probably 3-4 parties at the bar. Not sure why service was so slow. This won't be added to our sushi rotation.

Donna L.

I was craving sushi so I decided to swing by here. I did a walk-in (no reservations) and was easily accommodated. I may have only waited 5 minutes to get seated. I really like the ambiance. The restaurant is very modern and simple. It is a great spot for a girls night out or a couple date night. It was pretty loud but it was not unbearable. I ordered the sushi set A, which came with 12 pieces of sushi and 1 hand roll for roughly $43. I like the pace at which I was served each piece. I did not wait too long or felt rushed to get to the next piece. One thing that really stood out was the size of the fish slices. They were big enough that you could barely tell there was rice underneath. I was impressed by the fish to rice ratio.

Paulina N.

No lie Ootoro Bar has the best sushi I have ever had. My boyfriend and I came on a Friday night around 6 pm and it was pretty busy. The restaurant had a dim setting with two sushi bars and a couple tables. Luckily they had a table open, so we were able to get sat right away. We decided to order the Sashimi Deluxe, a couple sushis, and the 3 hand roll set. Everything tasted absolutely delicious and melted in our mouths, but our favorite was the ootoro sushi which was mind blowing lol. My boyfriend said the sushi here tastes just as fresh as in Japan when he went. The hand rolls to me were just okay.. The blue crab hand roll was my favorite from the 3! Service was also great and all the servers were very attentive. Ootoro Bar is a bit pricey but it is so worth the money. I think we found our new date night spot hehe

Lunch menu
Tom L.

Amazing sushi and incredibly fresh fish. The toro was buttery and melted in my mouth, and every piece was beautifully prepared. Great service, nice atmosphere, and definitely worth the price for the quality. One of the best sushi spots in Orange County! Friendly staff and lunch deals are great!

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Reviews are largely positive. People highlight the fresh, high-quality fish, friendly and attentive service, and a modern, cozy ambiance. Many also appreciate the good value lunch specials.

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Great sushi, reasonable prices and the best part - great service and almost no wait. This is our go to sushi spot.

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Ask the Community - Ootoro Bar

Can they accommodate a gluten allergy?

Rice is gluten free - if you order fish + rice, that's gluten free.

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A long-time favorite for authentic Japanese cuisine. Family-owned and the only place in Orange…read moreCounty specializing in Okinawan fare. I've been here a few times and enjoy the food and the ambiance. FOOD: I've had a few of their popular items and enjoyed them all. I recently had the Okinawa Soba, which is different than the usual Japanese soba. It's thicker, similar to udon. The broth is light and flavorful. They also mention that they don't serve ramen. The Beef Sukiyaki Bowl is also delicious, with flavorful, slightly sweet thin cuts of beef, tofu, kimchi, and mushrooms. It also includes a soft-poached (slightly jammy) egg and miso soup. A few sharebles we enjoyed were the grilled and fried squid, fried soft-shell crab, corn tempura with truffle salt, and chicken karaage. The musubi options and grilled fish are also popular. All pair perfectly with one of their many beers and shochu. DRINKS: They have a variety of Japanese and Okinawan beers, Awamori (Rice Shochu), and soft drinks. If you like lemonade and citrus drinks, try the Shikwasa juice. It reminds me of calamansi juice, not as sweet, yet refreshing. SERVICE: The staff is kind and attentive. Sometimes they keep the mood lively and fun. They don't rush you, but please be courteous if there are people waiting outside to dine in. Just like in Japan, don't overstay unless it's not busy. They are open Wed, Thu, Fri, and Sat. No reservations are available for Fri and Sat. The waitlist is through their website link and the sign-up list at the door. The average wait time is 30-45min. VIBES: The dining area is small, so there can be a wait, especially at dinner. They have a few tables and counter seating. There's plenty of decor and stuff to look at throughout the interior. I always discover something new when I visit. If you enjoy authentic Japanese food and want to try something new, this is worth a visit. Parking can be challenging in the evenings.

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Everything was very delicious. Pavi was so sweet and helpful! Loved a lot of the songs they were…read moreplaying too.

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The food here did not provide good quality. The edamame I had was alright and edible, just steamed…read moreand lightly salted. I also ordered their cheesy udon noodles, but after a couple bites I felt really sick and got a bad reaction to the food. They dumped an enormous handful of what looks like a Mexican blend type of cheese on top and flame torched the top by hand. The dish did not look like how it was displayed through their flyers. The food had a taste of butane which made me feel disgusted. I ended up getting really sick from this dish. I also noticed how the servers would skip on checking up on my partner and I to attend all the other guests but us? Overall a really bad experience here :/ I ended up paying the entire $20 for this bowl and extra for my other items and just quickly left.

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TANAKAYA - Matcha Soba

TANAKAYA

4.0(890 reviews)
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There are plenty of parking spaces. I ordered the Ume Shiso Cold Noodle Soba and it was so good…read more The flavor was perfect and delicious! They say it has a plum taste, it does have a unique taste and I couldn't really figure out what it was, but it was good. Recommendation(s): - Ume Shiso Service: 5/5 Tip(s): - The place gets pretty packed - Plenty of parking spaces - Accept Apple Pay

We visited TANAYAKA around 7 pm on a weekday and were seated immediately. There were only a few…read moreother parties dining at the time, and there's plenty of parking available. We love soba, so we were really excited to try this spot and ordered the Soba Sampler along with the Karaage. Unfortunately, the sampler was pretty hit or miss for us. Some of the soba was good, while other portions had a strange, almost soapy aftertaste that made them difficult to eat. The Karaage was where our experience really went downhill. When we cut into it, the chicken was very pink inside and had a soft, almost squishy texture. Both of us believed it was undercooked and weren't comfortable eating it. We brought it to the staff's attention and were initially told that it couldn't be taken back or replaced and that it was supposed to be that way. Regardless, neither of us felt comfortable continuing to eat it, so we set it aside untouched and asked for the bill. After bringing us the bill, the server seemed to notice that we hadn't eaten the Karaage, took the bill back, and returned with a new one that removed it from our total. I appreciated that he ultimately did that, but I still have mixed feelings about how the situation was handled leading up to it. The staff otherwise seemed nice, but between the inconsistent Soba Sampler and our experience with the Karaage, the meal unfortunately left us disappointed.

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4.5(2.1k reviews)
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Ootoro Bar - japanese - Updated October 2026

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