Otani — Restaurant in New York

Stopped by Otani for the first time today and I will definitely be recommending this place to my friends!!

Let’s start with the atmosphere - when you first enter, you’re greeted with a bunch of cute LED lights, very cute backdrop if you’re into taking photos. Staff is very welcoming and I was greeted with warm smiles the minute I stepped downstairs. To your left, there is an alcohol bar and a sushi bar. The bar is stacked with everything, so if you’re up for a drink, this place won’t disappoint!! I would recommend going for sake as it is a perfect pair for sushi. The place was extremely clean, even the bathroom was well decorated and spotless.

Service - The servers were phenomenal! They are well educated on each dish and will explain in depth if you are new to Japanese cuisine or have any questions. I’m not able to eat raw fish and they explained all available options to me patiently. Although it was very busy tonight, the servers took time to check in on us and made sure we were good as well as constantly filling our water cups. Towards the end, the owner himself came to our table and greeted us and made sure we enjoyed the meal. You won’t get this type of hospitality anywhere else. The owner seemed very passionate about the food and it goes to show how much love they put into curating each dish!!

Food - oh my, where do I even begin. Everything was amazing, flavors were all on point, fish was extremely fresh, and the flavor palette blended so well with each bite. Here are some of the dishes I would recommend and I think is a must try. Foie gras eel (perfect for eel lovers) Rock shrimp (fried to perfection) A5 Waygu (for my beef lovers) Uni (straight from Japan - freshness overload) Spicy miso soup (paired great with the curly noodles) Botan ebi I cannot rave enough about how good the food was. This is by far one of my favorite Japanese restaurants. Very high quality food but still at a reasonable price and won’t hurt your wallet.

This place has well exceeded my expectations, it is truly a hidden gem. If you’re ever in the area, definitely stop by and experience the hype...

I placed an order ahead in advance to be picked up from 8-8:15pm as a dinner to quickly grab after work. At 7pm, I suddenly got a message saying that my order was ready to be picked up. Very confused about this, I tried calling the restaurant multiple times and no one picked up. At 8pm, I come to the restaurant and nicely explained the situation to the hostess, as I did not want to pick up raw fish that had been sitting on a shelf in 85 degree weather (the front door remained open). The hostess told me my order would be remade and when she brought it to the sushi counter, three different sushi chefs started shouting at me that the order was just made 5 minutes ago. Then they proceeded to shout that they refuse to the order as they are "too busy." I look around the restaurant and not even half of it is filled and the chefs were just standing around. A family of 6 was waiting behind me and they got seated without a reservation. Clearly they weren't busy. A bunch of the patrons started staring at the chefs shouting at me and then back towards me. I opted not to take my food, I'm not trusting some rude sushi boy that my order had just been prepared. Extremely unpleasant experience- I'd def recommend going next door to Sushi & Co instead. The sushi chefs at this restaurant also don't wear gloves FYI... yuckkk. I absolutely invite the restaurant to reply to...

Walked past this new Japanese spot multiple times on our way home and finally decided to give them a try. A cool entrance, walk down a flight of stairs to a very spacious basement restaurant. Greeted by friendly staff and seated promptly on a Sunday night. Had the Spicy Miso Ramen and chicken bao buns. Both were good, not great, but good. And considering an expansive menu with very reasonable prices during these inflationary times, and stellar service, but ultimately it is the food that drives a rating, that said is more like a 3.5. I wouldn't exactly rush back, but in a pinch, worth a 2nd visit since they are within walking distance. Guess it's all relative to one's own palate and range of dining experiences based on fellow yelper's reviews. But do give them a try, always want to support small business...