I love Ootoro bar. The fish tastes great, the textures are amazing. This is the only place I will eat scallops. There's a large variety of sushi at a decent price for what it is. My biggest complaint is when ordering a set menu, the chefs bring the handrolls SO quickly...back to back to back. No spacing between each roll. I'd say...a 4 handroll set-- done in 15 minutes, and I don't get to fully enjoy them because I feel pressured to hurry and eat. I feel like im being rushed to eat and then to get out. I think I've asked once to slow down, and I still felt like the timing was too close. read more

Great quality fish at a reasonable price. I've been twice now and I enjoy the food BUT I really feel I must say that both times now the experience has been VERY uncomfortable. Let me explain... When I came in on a Tuesday evening it was pretty empty, there were only 3 couples and one small family sitting at the bar, but there were 10+ employees (one waitress/hostess, food runners, and sushi chefs) all standing inside of the bar. Only about 3 of them were actively working taking/delivering/making orders, and the rest of them STOOD INSIDE OF THE BAR AND STARED AT THE CUSTOMERS THE ENTIRE TIME. Like I said this was my second time here and it was the same the first time too. I'm not sure if they're overstaffed or what it is but if they don't have anything to do they should at least not stare at us because it makes for a very uncomfortable meal. The entire time my main focus was avoiding eye contact with the several employees standing 2 feet in front of me watching me eat. I enjoy the food here a lot and I really hope they don't go out of business. So I mean this in the most constructive way as possible but this could be contributing to the lack of customers because although I will come back here again it's a uniquely uncomfortable experience dining at the bar, and it discourages me from bringing my family and friends. I was informed that the 3 tables (booths) are only for large parties. Also the lighting is designed so that it's a spotlight on you and your food and the rest of the dining area is dark, which adds to the awkwardness when there's multiple people standing in front of you and staring. read more

One of best sushi restaurants you could try. The same good quality and service for years. I have recommended this to my friends and all of them have been satisfied. read more

Unique experience every sushi lover needs to have. High quality and super attention to detail. Ofcorse I recommend this place. From the moment you walk in you realize it's all about the food, no unneeded noise or visual distractions. read more

If you live in Orange County area, the Ootoro in Irvine would be a better choice for special lunch combos. Service : 1) while all servers are friendly, the quality of service would be very much improved if it has better restaurant setting and the order process/system. While waiting for our order, we saw servers and chefs were bumped each other inside the sushi bar area. 2) while I was glad one of our dish came out, the server brought to the party sat next to us who were much later ordered the same dishes as us. We ended up waiting for another 15 minutes before our meals showed up. Food: fish head soup - scales weren't fully cleaned. Fish tasted a little fishy. The other order crunchy cut rolls were forgotten. We asked twice and finally showed up. Miso Chilean Sea Bass was the only dish tasted great. read more

Soft open mode. Two sides one for sushi and one for rolls. I tried set D which was good. Felt a bit rushed as they always had my next dish ready for me vs seeing that I'm done or almost done and then working on the next dish. Quality was solid though. Favorites were kinmedai, Kama toro, and each of the crab ones (king, snow, blue). Word seems to be spreading already as they were 50% ish busy on both sides after being open for a week. Happy to have a sushi spot in this area. read more

See all

This location offers a hand roll bar version of Ootoro sushi, which is a change from the regular one in Walnut, a place I used to visit frequently. The quality of the fish remains exceptional, and the service and ambiance are also amazing. However, one significant drawback is the serving size, which many reviewers have noted as being quite small. Despite requesting less rice, I still found the portion of fish to be inadequate. I ordered the Sushi Combo A for $42.95, in addition to some a la carte items, but the chef sliced the fish extremely thin, resulting in portions that felt much smaller than what I experienced at the Walnut location, where the fish cuts are typically more generous. Overall, I left feeling that both my stomach and my wallet were relatively light. PS. I didn't even bother taking pics of the hand rolls because they were extremely small to the point I think it would look ridiculous to post on my IG I hope they consider improving this and I'll revisit again. read more

Ootoro Bar - Japanese Near Me - Tustin, California

See all

This place sucks don't bother. By the time the hand roll comes out the seaweed is all soggy. Not sure why the Uni roll would have a bunch of lemon sauce on it either, ruined the flavor. The seating chairs are also stupid as well. read more

Ootoro is one of my favorite sushi places I Orange County. So when they opened a handroll bar, I had to come check it out. Came during their soft opening. I did a handroll set option as well as a la carte sushi options. Their handrolls are pretty small. Their service is fast, having almost all of my handrolls at the table faster than I can eat them. Even with the first one, the seaweed was already a bit chewy by my first bite. The handrolls came out fast and the quality of fish was good, but they couldn't even get their consistency between handrolls right. Differing amounts of fish and rice with each handroll was a bit of a roller coaster ride. Their sushi was so good, and came out much faster than it does at Ootoro. They didn't have everything on their menu in stock, so that was a bummer. Their service was atrocious, though. What they did well in ambiance was taken away by waitresses who were not familiar with the menu and the training staff were rude. Tldr; would not come for handrolls, although taste and quality is still better than ROL in Huntington Beach, the price is steep for the amount you get and I will just wait for Kazunori to open in Laguna. Sushi is great, faster than Ootoro, and menu had pretty great selection although not always available. read more

Ootoro Bar - Japanese Near Me - Tustin, California

Ootoro is one of my favorite restaurants, so it was no surprise that this place was phenomenal. The outside is very unassuming, but the interior is gorgeous. The food is excellent and the sushi is fresh. The waitstaff was very attentive as well read more

This is a new sushi spot in within the Kensington strip mall in Tustin. The first thing I noticed when I entered was that the interior was nicely decorated, and there are two wraparound sushi bars (one for hand rolls, one for the traditional sushi although you can order either one at each bar). Service was great, and the chefs behind the counter will chat with you and tell you about each entree. However, I thought the price was pretty steep for the quality and portion size (especially compared to other sushi spots in the area like Gurume and Izakaya Osen). We got the #A gurume sushi set which came with a total of 12 pieces of sushi and one hand roll. My favorite was definitely the snapper, and the sushi rice was very good as well. I thought true quality could've been a bit better, especially for the albacore and tuna which I felt were a little bit mushy. Overall, I don't think we'll be back, but this was a good spot to try out. read more

See all

Food is always excellent. Staff friendly and great ambiance. Great place for a date night and yet also family friendly. Love this please!

New sushi restaurant in OC featuring a handroll and nigiri bar. Very spacious Japanese bar with many seating and a modern look. I came when they open at 5:30 pm on a Friday and there were some people waiting already. The staffs were friendly and went over the menu with us since it was our first time. They offer hand roll sets, sushi sets, sashimi, and side orders. I got the 5 hand roll (non spicy) set: bluefin tuna, salmon, toro, blue crab, and lobster. I also got a spicy scallop on the side. The spicy scallop was my favorite! My friends enjoyed their salmon and spicy yellowtail. Overall, a good addition to OC's sushi bar. I would come back to try their sushi menu! read more

Ootoro Bar - Bluefin Tuna Handroll - Japanese Near Me - Tustin, California

this place is great. more casual version of the irvine location that's constantly packed. unsure why but this place is never packed. that's good because i can go whenever i want, and bad because i really hope it stays in business. handrolls are fresh and fish is high quality. nigiri has a ton of variety and is really great. the sushi or handroll combos provide a discount vs ordering a la carte. so many types of fish. so many types of toro. if you order a combo that has the "beef baguette" sushi.....its worth it. read more

My favorite go to sushi and chirashi place close to home. Not Japanese run, but you would not know it by the service, quality of the fish and style of preparation and the all important flavor and texture of the rice, which hit on all cylinders. I hesitated to write this review as this new location is not overly crowded as the Michelson location is and i have walked in for dinner multiple times without a wait. Leo is "the man" there. Staff was new, but service is progressively getting better. read more

Second visit, lunch this time. Augus, the sushi chef, made our experience this time. How friendly and knowledgeable can one be and so fun to share space with. Simply wow....we will be back. Again. And again. And again. Love. Love. Love. read more

Ootoro Bar - Ootoro Tower......wow! - Japanese Near Me - Tustin, California

The food was pretty good, we had the sushi set D and a couple of hand rolls and the food was good. Service was great too, very friendly and accommodating staff, location was quiet and peaceful. read more

So happy that they opened! Now I don't have to drive all the way to Fountain Valley for ROL or Sugar Fish in Newport Beach. Soft opening phase, got lucky with no wait at all. Amazing service, fresh everything & cute ambiance. I'm coming here every week! read more

See all

August made our experience un forgettable! Everything was incredible. We ate a bit of everything, each dish was my favourite until the next one came out. Beautiful place and amazing staff. read more

Wonderful place for sushi... Our family has been going to the one in Irvine by John Wayne Airport, and we love the fact that this is closer to us now. read more

Omakase #B. 36 minutes dining time. Chef did not make one single item. Actually 4 chefs in our little square area did nothing. All of our nigiri came in fours from the back kitchen. By far the most awkward omakase experience ever. read more

Ootoro Bar - Chef did not make one nigiri for us. Just stood there. Most awkward 36 minute $96 meal. - Japanese Near Me - Tustin, California

The food is so good here. The sushi is fresh and melts in my mouth. I especially enjoyed the Albacore tuna, yellow tail, toro, blue fin tuna handroll and blue crab handroll. Service was excellent and the ambiance is casual but sophisticated. read more

See all

Food quality was averaged. Menu is confusing. It's more for a group of friends to grab quick bites, have a drink and hang out

Went during the soft opening and only one side was handrolls and the other nigiri. It was good for the promo price. Fast forward to today we're giving it another try. We wait in the lobby and no one comes out to take our names. We wait for a while, and I go in and make eye contact with several staff members. We're still ignored. A worker finally comes out to get a take out order ready. He doesn't acknowledge us, but another worker finally says that "someone will be with us". I tell them we've been waiting for a long time. They go to see if they have availability. 6 minutes goes by and no one ever comes back so we left. TERRIBLE SERVICE! read more

This place has value written all over it. You won't find better quality to price ratio than this place in the Irvine/Tustin area. Rol hand bar has a hipper vibe, better nori and sauce for their hand rolls but the fish quality there pales in comparison to this place. The sashimi pieces here are HUGE, like gargantuan and amazingly priced. I'll admit, that the sushi experience here is not quite the same as an authentic Japanese sushi place, since the pieces are all served at once so construction leaves something to be desired, and the chefs aren't really interacting with you much. Also, I don't think anyone who works there's is actually Japanese. The cooked items with the luxury ingredients are quite overpriced and probably not worth it. I love that they serve ramen, udon, and many other basic cooked items that my kids can eat. Service is always friendly and there's rarely a wait. Come for the fresh fish and great value. read more

Been here 4 times. The food was amazing! Servers were great. But it was a hassle For my purse. They need purse hooks. I carry a medium size purse and I couldn't put it on either chair beside us because the chairs were taken. **** they need to put purse hooks! read more

Ootoro Bar - Japanese Near Me - Tustin, California

A friend told me about ootoro bar, and here i am. The place have a good ambience, they were busy when i came, fortunately i still got seat. I really enjoyed all the fish here, i love it, its so fresh. I just know that they made the soy sauce and its low sodium. The fish and their soy sauce is perfect match for me. I have Kama Toro, Ootoro seared, they are so good. I will sure back again! Thank you for all good work, they do a good service although they were busy, good job! read more

See all

Thank you Ootoro Bar for your existence and feeding me delicious meals. Today i tried Miyazaki beef fried rice and Lobster fried rice for share. I can tell they used the high quality of everything. The taste is bomb. All staff are super nice and very attentive. We enjoyed our dinner! Ps. Highly recommend and would come back again! read more

See all

The best restaurant! Thank you Leo! for an unforgettable birthday gift! Everyone was very friendly! The ingredients were fresh and delicious! The preparation was meticulous, making it a truly delightful evening. read more

Ootoro Bar - Japanese Near Me - Tustin, California

I enjoyed my first time eating at Ootoro Bar. They have great service and everyone is so friendly. As for their food, you can tell they have good quality seaweed and fish. I will definitely be back to eat more! read more

Love the ambiance, love the food offering, love the service. This is an authentic Japanese experience. This is not an inflated American experience. This is real sushi!!! Love it love it love it! read more

Went here as a last minute dinner choice! They've only been open for a month now and I'm sure as time goes on it'll be hard to get seating because this was hands down the best omokase I've been to! We were greeted and seated right away. The restaurant is relatively small, but I truly appreciate the concept of having a high bar seating situation. I wouldn't recommend this for big parties, at best 3-4 people because the seating is set up in two large squares. The service was great! All the staff was attentive, polite, and more than willing to answer any questions we had. My boyfriend and I both agreed it's probably the best service we've ever received while eating out. As for the sushi, AMAZING! Everything was so fresh and more than reasonably priced. We got the set #B and the 7 hand roll (A) options and that was more than filling for two people! My top 3 from the course was the Ootoro, Toro, and the albacore nigiri. So happy we decided to come here on a whim, it's now our favorite sushi restaurant! We'll definitely be back. read more

See all

i had only been here once and had their chirashi bowl. it was actually really freaking good and i've been wanting to go back again. hasn't happened yet but hopefully SOOON! my mouth is watering as i am leaving this review loll read more

Absolutely delicious, the staff were extremely kind and attentive the whole time! My dad had never tried sushi (and honestly hated the thought of raw fish) but he LOVED it! We definitely plan on coming back often :))) read more

Ootoro Bar - Deep sea scallop, hamachi and kanpachi - Japanese Near Me - Tustin, California

AMAZING, hands down will not eat any other sushi ever again this is our new go to date night place. service is amazing as well.

Rice was VERY dry and 95% uncooked. They had their rice on a tray and exposed to air instead of leaving in a cooker or covered wooden bowl.

Food was really good. You can taste the quality of the fish. I went close to their closing time. So it was a little rushed. But next time I'll go at a different time. read more

Delicious and fresh sushi. Best I've had in a while. The Toro melts in your mouth. Delicious Hamachi Toro and all the bellies were to die for! read more

Delicious, reasonably affordable, and close by in Tustin. Nice place. And bonus for me-staff are mostly Indonesian (which I happen to know LOL) read more

Soooo disappointed... if you don't believe, pls go ahead.... Speechless...Premium price with 99 cents quality. The sauce is leaking on the sushi... come on, you call this sushi? read more