Ototo Sushi

Amazing rotating lunch special - Monday has short ribs bento box with salad, soup, tempura veggies, and Cali roll for $15 !

Happy hour 3-5 daily as well

Ototo Sushi Co.

Our favorite gyoza in San Diego are right here, so we come as often as we can!

Order the gyoza because it's a perfect 10/10
Mitch really enjoyed the red tonkotsu ramen and also gave that a 10/10
The salmon carpaccio: 9/10 light and refreshing!
Tempura Udon: 8.8/10 a classic comfort, just wish it had a little spicy and more of a variety of tempura

We went in last week on a Tuesday and had to order our food to go because it was so busy and the servers were backed up. Most of the time we go , the service is quick!

The ambiance is clean and has the cutest little patio when the weather is nice enough to enjoy the food outside.

We didn't actually order sushi this time I did this review we will definitely be back for that!
Overall 10/10, come get an order of gyoza if you are in the area!

Instagram: @thegourmetsketch

Ototo has been around for a long time and you know they are doing something right.

The quality of the fish was amazing, and probably because they are so close to the water. And the price for everything was INSANE!!! The chef's choice nigiri was less than $40 and it was basically an omakase, which you normally pay around $90 for anywhere else. I really enjoyed the dynamite roll and the lemon roll as well. If you are looking for good fish and a quick dinner this is the spot. I would not suggest it for ambiance though. It's for sure more for family or casual dinner.

Yelp Review for Ototo Sushi, San Diego

I recently visited Ototo Sushi for the second time and thought it would be a sweet spot for a date night with my boyfriend. The restaurant has a charming outdoor seating area, which we enjoyed, and there's plenty of parking--a big plus in San Diego.

When we arrived, the place was busy, which is always a good sign for a restaurant. The sushi was good, but not outstanding--the quality didn't quite justify the price. We also tried the teriyaki chicken, but it lacked the bold flavors we were hoping for, especially considering the cost.

Unfortunately, the service left much to be desired. We had to flag down or remind our server a few times, which made the experience feel a bit disconnected. For the price point, I was expecting more attentive service and higher-quality dishes overall.

While the ambiance and location are great, the value and overall experience fell short for us this time. Ototo has potential, but I'd recommend it more for a casual bite than a special occasion.

It's rare that I give a Japanese restaurant such a low rating since it's one of my favorite cuisines, but this was bound to happen eventually.

After a long day, we selected Ototo for takeout since it was just a short walk from our hotel. On a Sunday around 4:00P, several other customers were grabbing takeout as well and the patio seemed popular as guests arrived for happy hour.

+ TEMPURA UDON ($14.50): A generous amount of noodles were cooked well and had that bouncy, chewy texture. It contained two pieces of tempura shrimp, some seaweed and one small fish cake. Given that this was mostly noodles, there wasn't much substance to this dish and the broth was pretty salty.

+ SUNSET ROLL ($13): Imitation crab and cucumber inside with tuna, avocado, sesame seeds and tataki garlic sauce. Per the menu, the tuna was supposed to be seared, but it didn't have any indication of even being singed by the torch. This was disappointing since the sear would have added an extra layer of flavor and honestly was why I was drawn to this roll in the first place. The tuna itself seemed fresh although the texture was unfortunately a bit chewy in some spots. Also, the menu stated the inside of the roll should contain gobo (burdock root), but that was missing as well. The tataki sauce had a strong ginger flavor, so I'm glad it came on the side in a cup. I'm not a huge ginger fan, so I didn't use much of it, but that all comes down to personal preference.

One of my dinner companions ordered the POINT BREAK ROLL ($14) which was also supposed to have seared tuna, but she said it tasted completely raw.

While the rolls were fine overall, it's tough to look past the fact that neither one fully aligned with their descriptions on the menu. Due to this, I probably would not come back again and for that reason... 2.25 stars.

We ordered the Katsu Curry and White Tonkotsu Ramen. The katsu was a little dry. The pork in the ramen was very good, but the rest was just ok.

We used to come to this spot often when it was called 'Sushiya'.
It was our all time favorite restaurant where we always looked forward to getting our favorites.

I have been to this location as OTOTO SUSHI a handful of times before our recent last visit and were always very satisfied with the service and food.
This time was just different and we were sadly disappointed by the food. The service was great, but the food was not. It just didn't taste the same and the quality is not as good.

Items we got:
1. Agedashi Tofu- tofu is normally cooked longer, outside crispy but uber soft in the middle. Later on, the tofu turned into soft blobs. 3/5

2. Sunset roll- This over the years was the main reason why I would dine here.  The seared tuna on top with the garlic Tataki sauce was perfect. This time the rice was harder, the tuna pieces were not cut very well and long, hardly any searing and there was a drop of sauce. We had to flip over and inspect to see if there was any sauce at all.  The seasoning was way off and the roll was not good. Sadly disappointed since this roll used to be insanely tasty. 1/5

3. Chicken Karaage- This dish should be made with dark meat, but they use white meat. I have had this in the past here and it was not bad, but this time, it was too dry and overdone. I will not be getting this again if they continue to use white meat.
1/5

4. Salmon skin roll- My sister got this roll and she said it was fine. 5/5

5. Crunchy roll-  This roll was our favorite from this location, other places do the crunchy roll as well but it was the best here. This time, it tasted off, the seasoning was missing something and the rice was too hard. 3/5

6. Mr. Miyagi 2.0 roll-
We decided to try this one out.  (top) seared salmon, avocado,  soy marinated jalapeño,creamy jalapeno sauce (inside) shrimp tempura, krab
This one was pretty good, the soy marinated jalapeno was different and made this dish 4/5


I won't be heading here again for a while. I expect the food to be dang good especially for the prices.
I hope they check out some reviews and improve their food.

Service: 5/5
Ambiance: 4.5/5
Food:2.5/5

Great dinner spot!

We got 3 rolls:
- Lemon Cilantro: refreshing and tasty! Highly recommend if you have any spicy dishes, it's a great palate cleanser
- Pointbreak: our fav. It reminded me of a poke bowl sushi roll
- Bruce Lee: great roll with spicy mayo and garlic

This place has a better ambiance than most casual sushi spots and something on the menu for everyone (rolls, apps, noodles, entree dishes, and sashimi/nigiri). They also have a great drink menu (beer, wine, sake, sodas and teas)

Lots of parking!

The sushi was fresh. We ordered the Point break special roll, Salmon belly sashimi and a few others that were part of the happy hour. Got the warm sushi during happy hour as well. We got the Deep fried banana for dessert. Ambiance is decent - typical of a busy sushi restaurant. The service was great - our server was very cheerful, kept the humor up and was prompt at taking our orders and serving us. I'd recommend this place to anyone visiting San Diego.

Pretty good. Rolls were good, good ratios of ingredients, fish was fresh, prices were reasonable, and restaurant and bathrooms were clean. I love lemon on sushi, perks up the freshness of the fish--the lemon cilantro roll was perfect. The salmon belly nigiri was very buttery, and the eel nigiri had good texture and flavor.

Ordered the baked miso salmon, and this was just OK. I probably wouldn't order this again. I was going for a protein heavy dish, and this wasn't terrible, but it didn't wow me.

Service was very good, and the rolls came out so fast! Garlic edamame deserves some recognition, too. Would order it again.