Ootoya — Restaurant in Tokyo

It was Sunday around 1:30 PM, and my husband and I were craving something simple yet tasty. I also remembered they had a new Korean food menu, so we decided to come to this restaurant.

When we arrived, the restaurant was quite full. The waitress at the cashier asked us to wait—but without a smile.

After a while, we got seated. We had been here before, but we noticed that their ordering system had changed—we now had to scan a QR code on the table and order from our phones. I don’t mind digital ordering, as long as I can still see and hold a physical menu in my hands.

Disappointing Service & Missing Menu

We noticed that there was no Korean food menu on the table, and we couldn’t find it on the phone menu either. So, we asked a waitress about it. She seemed unsure and had to check with another, older waitress.

The older waitress looked annoyed and quickly told us it was on the phone menu before trying to walk away. We asked her to help us find it, showing her our phone, and after checking her own phone, she bluntly told us that all the Korean menu items were sold out.

We were very disappointed—not only with the service but also because the food was unavailable. It would have been much better if they had still displayed the menu with “sold out” labels, so customers wouldn’t get confused.

Our Order

In the end, my husband ordered a glass of beer and a set of 甘からだれの鶏唐揚げ (Sweet & Spicy Fried Chicken Set). I ordered a single item of 辛旨鶏とつくねのキムチチゲ土鍋 (Spicy Chicken & Tsukune Kimchi Hot Pot) because I wanted udon instead of rice, but unfortunately, they don’t sell udon.

The beer arrived quickly, followed by my husband’s 甘からだれの鶏唐揚げ set, served by a friendly young waitress with a big smile.

His set came with miso soup, a small appetizer, salad dressing, and a bowl of rice. I didn’t try the 唐揚げ, but my husband said it was very good, especially with the sauce—though he noted that the sauce would probably be too sweet for me.

I waited 15 minutes for my 辛旨鶏とつくねのキムチチゲ土鍋, which was understandable since hot pots take time.

My Hot Pot Review

It looked good and comforting, but it was very hot, so I had to let it cool down a bit.

The soup had a nice flavor and wasn’t too spicy. Inside, there were kimchi, tofu, chicken, two chicken meatballs, and an egg. However, I really wished it had udon—or at least an option to add udon separately. I felt like something was missing without it, as the soup would have paired perfectly with noodles.

Overall, it was okay but nothing special, and for the price, it was a bit disappointing.

Extra Order: チキンかつ (Chicken Katsu)

After my husband finished his meal, I was still eating, and he couldn’t resist ordering more food. He decided to try the チキンかつ (Chicken Katsu).

It didn’t take long to arrive, and it looked good. The outside was crispy, but it was quite oily. The inside was juicy, but the chicken was too thin and had too much fat. It wasn’t bad overall, but nothing outstanding either.

Final Thoughts

We were quite full after our lunch. The food was okay, the atmosphere was okay, but it was a bit too hot inside, with a big temperature difference from outside.

I really wish they sold udon—even just a plain udon option as a single item. Sometimes, I just don’t feel like eating rice, and some dishes pair better with udon.

Also, we noticed that most of the young waitresses were polite and friendly. I hope that all the staff can be like them so that everyone can have a better...

Had a really nice meal for dinner after a long day in Disneysea. The meal was nice. Ootoya style nanban chicken was good and well liked by the whole family. Stir fry beef on a hot plate was excellent, flavorful and really yummy. Kimuchi hot pot was nice too. Really would recommend this place. They asked their English speaking staff to explain and attend to us. Excellent. Nice, clean and quiet place to enjoy...

Food was simple yet tasty. Priced reasonable. My waitress served us warmly although we did not speak any Japanese. They have menus in several different languages (English, Chinese, etc). They even gave my daughter a small origami game to play while waiting for the food....