Otsu! — Restaurant in Knoxville

I visited this restaurant on August 6th and became severely ill after eating food labeled gluten-free. I have celiac disease and Type 1 diabetes, so I’m very careful about what I eat. I ordered the Saku Sai Mu (tapioca dumplings) and the Lobster and Pork Dumpling Soup, which is labeled “gluten-free without wontons.”

I told the staff I needed the soup to be gluten-free and didn’t realize at first that the wontons were served on the side, but once I saw that, I assumed the dish was safe, like the menu said. After eating, I became very sick, including vomiting and a dangerous drop in blood sugar due to type 1 diabetes. Nearly had to take a trip to the emergency room. I’ve had celiac for 25 years and I know a reaction when I have one. The dumplings in the soup even looked and felt very different from the tapioca dumplings and seemed like they were made with wheat flour. My boyfriend noticed this too. I decided to trust the label on the menu and finish my food.

Now, I can’t say with 100% certainty that the menu is incorrect, but I am 99% confident that it is and that the soup dumplings were NOT gluten-free. After checking the restaurant’s online menu, I noticed that a previous soup (Egg Drop, I guess they updated their menu recently to the Lobster Pork Dumpling Soup) was also labeled gluten-free without wontons. I very strongly suspect that label was carried over without verifying the ingredients in the new soup that contains dumplings.

Afterward, my boyfriend called the restaurant to let them know what happened. The person on the phone was condescending and defensive, implying we made a mistake reading the labels or possibly shared food (which we absolutely did not, why would we?). They insisted they couldn’t have done anything wrong because they take allergies “very seriously” and showed no concern or willingness to even investigate further. All I am asking is for full accountability and for the restaurant to take even more precautions. You can never be too careful. Please atleast investigate the issue.

This was a serious medical incident. If you have celiac disease or food allergies, I strongly urge you to...

I am editing my review as it was a negative one with a negative exp my first time, my issue was mainly the service my original waiter forgot to add in some of the stuff we ordered and it took a whole hour and a half to get 5 things and just some other things that really upset me but this time our waiter (who’s name I forgot but it was the dude with the awesome mustache) was AMAZING both times I did a big order to put into consideration that everything is made to order so things will take time ofc especially when making dumplings this guys repeated our whole order back to make sure he got everything he checked up on use every couple of minutes made sure if we were good needed more drinks wanted to order more and not just on us but a lot of the tables inside and outside as well. Our food was flying out the shelves I was so happy to get my orders together me and my husband were finallly able to enjoy our own skewers together without sharing 1 lol I also want to thank Erica for reaching out and taking my feedback on my first experience and actually listening. me and my husband really did enjoy our experience this time thanks to her our waiter, and a couple of the other waiters that helped bring our dish out as well I can’t thank them enough we will definitely be returning!! This place is one of the few business that I feel is truly ran properly and by...

Overall great experience, and will definitely be back! Menu was really fun, each dish had completely new flavors and textures. Some dishes were exceptionally better than others.

We loved the Kanom Gui Chai and Saiku Saimu. The Portion sizes are small for the price, especially the grilled items. Think 1-2 bites, not enough to share. I did not leave overly full (which is a good thing, in my opinion but I can see other’s disappointment).

The star of the show was dessert: Pumpkin Tang Yuan, pictured. (Forget everything you assume this will taste like and order it.). One of the best desserts I’ve ever had. So complex.

The cocktails were ok— I got the Liquid Mari…something. It was far too sweet in contrast to the very savory meal. The cocktails with colorful bendy straws seemed out of place with the rest of the theme. Wish I would’ve ordered a dry wine or sake to better complement the dishes we ordered.

Service was attentive and friendly, but not fantastic. Could’ve given us more time to look at the menu, and an explanation of how to navigate it. Did not realize there were daily specials until after we had ordered (because they were not offered to us).

Overall really fun new concept and the food itself will have me coming...