Ota-Ya Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Lambertville

You will not regret going to this restaurant if you love delicious fresh sushi that is high quality. Ota-Ya is one of my favorite sushi spots in central NJ. Their prices are fair, the fish is always fresh, and the service is good. I always order a hot tea and bring whatever plum wine or sake I like—Ota-Ya is BYOB and I love that. The dining room has at least 10 tables but it isn’t huge; so, making a reservation is a good idea. But, walk-ins are welcome and I’ve never had an issue just walking in and getting a table relatively fast. The staff is friendly, helpful, informative, and accommodating. I ordered the sashimi platter and two orders of toro (tuna belly) in addition to my hot tea; and, I was not disappointed. My sashimi platter came with an included ginger salad that I didn’t get a picture of; but just know the ginger dressing tasted fresh, sweet, and delicious. I paid about $84 before tip. In the picture shown, you only see one order of the toro because it was so good that I ordered a second plate of it before leaving. The picture of the toro alone is the second order. While it is small and not the most updated spot in terms of decor and appearance, it makes up for that in its cleanliness, excellent service, and high quality, delicious sushi. I highly...

When we arrived at the restaurant, it took some time before there was a waitress who came to the table with menu and to take a drink order.

The sushi tasted extremely salty and for the price it was just average.

Service was horrible. Once the waitress served the food she disappeared and when we wanted to order an additional item off of the menu she was nowhere to be found.

We left a tip that was fair for the type of service that we received, but as we were getting ready to leave the restaurant the waitress stopped us and demanded a 15% tip (repeatedly saying that it was a known rule that you are supposed to leave 15% tip for the waitress). There was nowhere that said that and we could understand if it were a large group then yes an added gratuity would be added to the check, but it was two people and the tip that was left was based on our poor dining experience. I am definitely not planning on returning to this restaurant in the near future nor will I go...

The best Japanese food around, hands down. I've been going to Ota-Ya for years and have recommended it to numerous friends. There are lots of regulars who return, and the wonderful waitresses are on a first name basis with many of them. The food is top notch. And it's not just the fresh sushi. It's the appetizers that keep me craving to always return! Here are my staples that I always get and I HIGHLY recommend others to at least try: Spicy Tuna Pizza, Volcano Salad, Agadashi Tofu, New Style Sashimi,. I've tried the tuna pizza and agadashi tofu at other restaurants, but they all fail in comparison to Ota-Ya's versions. Oh and they are BYOB and fairly priced! I love this place and wish I wrote a...