TORI TORI — Restaurant in Orlando

This place is relatively new. I believe it's from the same genius people that brought us Domu. It's a bar, not a restaurant. Do not expect to make reservations, or to be seated by a pleasant host, or even for someone to come up to you and take your order. But you can expect apparently great drinks, and surprisingly yummy food.

I came here one Saturday night. I showed up around 8PM, and thank God that I did, because at 9PM, the faux bouncer had to form a line at the front where people had to wait to get in. The options for sitting were plentiful, but there were also plentiful people, so we ended up searching around for about 15 minutes for an open seat.

We ended up finding them, though. Once we established ourselves, we went up to the bar and found a menu and an ordering form. You can go right up to the bartenders and verbally communicate your order, or you can tick off how many of what food items you want and just hand it to them. Then, you are given a number and the servers wander around the entire place until they see your number and deliver your food items as they are ready, one by one.

So a quick review of the food we ate.

From the yakitori section, we ordered "thigh tare" which was chicken thigh that was glazed with their sauce. It made my eyes pop out of my head. Chicken is kind of boring, you know, but the glaze and the grilling on the open flame on the stick made this really stand out and impress me and want to try every other part of the chicken they offer.

From the kushiyaki section, we got the "pork belly tare" which was a pork belly version of the previously mentioned chicken thigh. This had a dynamite flavor, and the crisp attained on the outside of the pork cubes was really nice. I think the cuts they used were really low on fat content. The unctuousness just wasn't there, but I'm still glad I tried it.

The last three things we ordered were from the bar food section.

We got the "okonomiyaki" which is an egg and yam savory Japanese pancake that's topped with barbecue sauce and pickled ginger. This was probably the best thing I had all night. I can't even describe it. It was like a super delicate quiche with a crust made of potato slices? I tried. It's so unique. I haven't had it before, but I loved it, and I recommend you get it, even if you get nothing else I'm talking about here.

The next bar food offering we ordered was the "susume ika" which was a gilled entire squid. They grilled the whole thing, which was almost a foot long, on the open flame grill they have in the kitchen, it really is a sight to behold, and they slice it up. So you have the body and you have the tentacles to choose from. This was great. There was a Japanese mayo to dip them in. There's a natural chewiness to any squid, but this squid was definitely not over-done. The char on the outside really made this like a tasty grilled version of calamari. So nice.

Last, but not least, was the "crab fried rice." They put blue crab in fried rice and they plop it on a plate for you. It was absolutely incredible. The best fried rice I have had in a very long time. If you like fried rice at all, order this. You'll thank me.

My girlfriend said her drink was very nice, and they gave me Diet Cokes for free, which I always appreciate.

Overall, this whole experience was perfect. We go mainly for the food, not the drinks, so we will probably always come here early, because the drink scene shows up and necessitates a bouncer. Very enjoyable, and at very enjoyable prices,...

This is without a doubt, one of my top favorite restaurants in Orlando.

The food is beyond exceptional, and it greatly makes up for the poor service and atmosphere.

The atmosphere is OK, but the real issues that they are blasting music at a volume that is too loud. It is not even easy to converse without resorting to yelling. Luckily, it’s a little quieter outside on the patio.

The concept is very unique - you order your food at the bar and then go sit down anywhere and have it brought out to you as it is ready. We had an issue where all the bartenders saw us, but kept ignoring us and wouldn’t take our order for about 15 minutes.

The food though is incredible. I started off with chicken kaarage which is beautifully fried chicken with a delicious mayo dipping sauce. The seasoning is also so tasty!

Then, I got a chicken skin skewer with tare (type of marinade). This was my favorite skewer of the night. Really crunchy, has a nice chew, and the char along with the marinade makes for a delicious bite.

Next was the quail egg skewers with chili oil on top. I really enjoyed the flavor in this, however, I feel like to be a better way to eat this because as soon as you pick up the skewer, the eggs rotate and dump all the chili oil off. It is a umami bomb of flavor.

My other favorite skewer of the night was the chicken thighs. This was so juicy and moist, and again with the tare marinade, it’s so delicious!

If you enjoy pork belly, this will easily be some of the best pork belly that you will get. You can’t go wrong with any of their pork belly options, but we got all of the variety that they had.

I also really enjoyed the chicken meatballs. These had a somewhat curry flavor, which reminded me more of Middle Eastern cooking techniques. It was really good, but definitely on the lower end of my ranking.

The Gyoza is super juicy while being really crisp on the outside. The presentation is also top-tier.

Both the garlic fried rice as well as the crab fried rice are amazing. If you like garlic flavor, these will really hit you.

The other last really great dish we had was the red pepper pimento cheese with pork rinds. The pork rinds themselves are good and freshly fried, but the stand out is the cheese itself. The flavor is extremely fresh, cheesy, and somewhat nutty.

Overall, this was one of my favorite meals in the city, and while the service is lacking, the quality of the food is incredible and generally impressed me throughout the...

Tori Tori has been nothing but great during their soft opening, and now that they are officially opening (10/16/19!!!) I can't wait to see them truly live up to their concept and fully be the real deal.

The food is fantastic, and while this IS a Bar first (not a restaurant) - you will NEVER have bar food as good as what you get here. Also: they use paper to keep the Nori crisp and fresh on their hand rolls and it makes such a difference! It literally melts in your mouth. I highly recommend the torched salmon. I am obsessed and have to have one every time I go.

But don't forget to vertically hold your hand roll as you gently pull the paper out from the top. (Gravity is your friend. No need to make a mess, it is not that deep.)

Now, more about it being a BAR. Carefully curated craft cocktails with Tori Tori's own special twist on each drink made. One of my favorites is called "the citrus" it's made with kombucha and whiskey.. and it's to die for! Another definite must is any of the sake - they have a list with high quality options including detailed descriptions, with everything from cold sake to their house hot sake. You can't make a wrong choice.

Now onto the service: It's great. Lots of polite, helpful, quick and capable employees who love where they work. As most things in Orlando are when they first open, Tori Tori often has a line out the door every night. Face it. Orlando has way too many people especially for the number of cool places there are to go to - and if you're at all familiar with Domu and it's 2 hr wait then this should not be news to you. Just because you have to wait to get in, doesn't mean they're magically any less busy on the inside.

Tori Tori's official open is TODAY. That says a lot. Not just about the hype, quality, and "return-ability" that Tori Tori offers... but that it's not slowing down any time soon. So be patient with the employees. There's nobody on this earth that can handle a continuous Orlando style stampede and you know it. Remember to be human.

Tori Tori is a Traditional Japanese style bar meant to feel just like one you would come across in Japan. As a sister concept to Domu, this feels just right and as far as I can tell, they nailed it. From having high-quality and AUTHENTIC ingredients imported from Japan, to their extensive sake selection... there is something for everyone and lots to take away culturally at the end...