totoya sushi lounge — Restaurant in Orlando

This was the last restaurants I chose to go to for this year's Bite 30 event. I like to try and make sure that I get to go to a sushi restaurant during this event each year, and Ootoya had the best menu out of all of them. So I stopped by here just before an Orlando City game and chowed down.

The locale is great. I absolutely adore the Thornton Park area. I'd live there if I was rich. So beautiful and so many quaint little places to eat and shop and there's a Publix at the bottom of a skyscraper. That's really cool.

We got seated outside and our friendly server came to us and catered to our every whim. We got our hands on the Bite 30 menu and layed out the whole plan for him.

Course 1: Yellowtail Sorreno (thin sliced yellowtail, jalapeno, cilantro, onion, yuzu). This was great. The tuna tasted nice and fresh and the little minced pieces of stuff on top really complimented the fresh fish very well, especially that tiny little zing from the jalapeno.

Grilled Baby Lamb Rack (2 pieces of baby lamb rack from New Zealand grilled in cumin sauce). The seasoning of this lamb was bonkers ridiculously good. I thought it was cute how they wrapped the end of the bone in foil for the bougie folks who don't wanna get their hands dirty. And I really didn't see that cumin sauce. I don't think it was on the plate. It didn't need it, don't get me wrong. Just a curiosity.

Course 2: Sushi Dinner (6 pieces chef's premium nigiri with toro scallion roll). This was solid. Each piece of nigiri had a fresh flavor that was uniquely unlike the others. I had pretty good guesses about what fish they were, but I'm not 100% sure because our server didn't outline the plate for us. That's always appreciated at sushi places, in case a restaurant rep reads this.

Blue Crab Fried Rice (fresh blue crab lump stir fried with Japanese rice, onions, corns, and scallions). This was the star of my show. Crab fried rice might be my favorite meal of all time, and this did not let me down. Flecks of crab throughout. And surprise edamame! Not on the menu. But appreciated. I also wondered why there were random cucumber slices on the plate. We might never know.

Course 3: Lava Cake. So they were out of the other two dessert options, but that was ok, because the lava cake was SO good. Melty and not-too-sweet with a big glop of vanilla ice cream. A great way to end a good meal. I will come...

Terrible first time experience, and we didn't even get to eat. My wife and I decided to have nice date night before she has surgery the following day. It has been our tradition to do so before any of her other surgeries. She is a stage 4 cancer patient , so there have been quite a few, although not as many date nights this past year because of Covid-19. We decided on trying the new sushi restaurant that used to be Shari Sushi which we used to frequent often. Upon arrival , there was no crowd waiting, just another couple ahead of us. We were all told it would be about a 30 min wait. So, we said ok, gave them my cell number and we decided to take a small walk to Lake Eola. As we left I took notice that 3 of the outside tables were vacant but had not been bussed yet. We walked for about 35 mins and still had not received any call from the restaurant. Upon returning , I noticed the same 3 tables still had not been bussed. Not a good sign. As we walked in , I saw the same couple that were waiting before us, checking in as well . There was not a host at the podium, but a gentleman walked up and asked if he could help. They expressed they had been waiting and were checking in for an update after 35 mins. He was able to get them seated . At that point the host returned , and told me it was going to be another 20 to 25 mins. Seriously ?! I told her no thank you and we decided to leave . Upon walking down the sidewalk, the same gentleman chased us down and offered us a spot at the bar stating the bar wasn't as busy and we would get swift service. I appreciated his offer , but we declined seeing we would have liked a nice table alone to enjoy our date night. Plus, at this point, it was too little, too late. I assume that the place is just understaffed, and if the serving staff was struggling, then the kitchen very well may be too. But, guess we won't know the answer to that question, for we never got to dine . This was a very disappointing night, which is unfortunate as it's been quite awhile since we have been able to dine out due to Covid-19, as previously mentioned, and we were excited to be trying...

Don’t waste your time or your money here — pure chaos and a rip-off.

We had the worst dining experience we’ve had in a long time at this restaurant. We came in looking forward to a nice meal, but instead we got slow service, ridiculous prices, and a manager who couldn’t care less about their customers.

My wife waited almost an hour for her “crazy roll”—a simple deep-fried roll that should take minutes — while tables all around us finished their food and left. We tried to follow up, thinking there might be a mix-up, but the manager was dismissive, annoyed, and openly acted as if we were a nuisance for asking about it. So much for honoring your diners’ time and loyalty.

The waitress was the only glimmer of kindness in this mess — apologetic, understanding, and clearly stranded by a restaurant team that drops the ball and then doubles down with awful service.

And the food itself? I ordered their $25 premium roll, expecting something worth the price tag. What I received was a sad piece of food barely the size of my index finger — a complete rip-off. This isn’t premium; this is highway robbery. We've had much better at much better establishments.

Save yourself the frustration and the insult. There are plenty of Japanese restaurants that appreciate their customers, serve food that’s worth the price, and know how to treat diners with dignity and fairness. This place is a mess. Trying to pawn itself off as upscale but with bottom shelf customer service.

We ended up walking right next door to F&D Cantina and had an incredible experience — warm service, generous food, strong drinks — everything we hoped for in a night out. It just goes to show there’s a dramatic difference when a restaurant actually values its customers.

Anticipating their boilerplate response — the kind where they blame a busy night or say they’re “working on training their team”— save it. We saw how much you cared when we were there. All we ask is that you do better. Or, honestly, just get out of the restaurant business if you’re not up to the task....