OTARU Japanese Restaurant Pittsburgh — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

I don't normally write reviews, but the food here was terrible and not worth the fine-dining price tag. A way better meal could be had at other high end sushi spots such as Umi, Gi-Jin, Umami or even Kiku and you would still spend way less. We spent about $580 for a party of 3. We each got the Otaru Experience (tasting menu style - $128 per) and all 3 of us were extremely disappointed. One of our party members ordered an old fashioned ($22) that was not muddled correctly. I had ordered a sake and that was very good. I had overheard the table next to us say that they did not like their cocktails, so that was not a good sign. I ordered a Wagyu and Uni handroll to begin, and while the uni was delicious, the seaweed paper was soggy, which made the whole thing too chewy. The first few courses of the Otaru experience, the shrimp and yellowtail were well prepared and presented beautifully, but the "experience" started going downhill with the chawanmushi. It was excessively salty and overloaded with soy sauce. The sushi courses were the most disappointing. We received dry and chewy sushi, it was warm and it tasted as if its been sitting out for a while. One of our party had to chew one of the sushi pieces for a very long time. The majority of my sushi pieces had too much wasabi underneath. This was not the melt-in-your-mouth quality that I was expecting that I have had at similar places. The fish should speak for itself, and it sure didn't. The toro hand roll was probably the worst item. It had no flavor, was a chewy consistency, and the seaweed paper lost all its crunch and was soggy. I could barely choke it down. The final course of a roasted salmon consisted of a sauce that had no flavor. I believe it was some kind of citrus sauce, but I could barely taste it. A seltzer water had more flavor than this sauce. Finally, our mochi ice cream was melting and falling apart when we received it. Overall, the quality of the fish is much to be desired. I'm not sure if the chefs cut the fish and prep it hours beforehand and that's why it tastes so dried out, or prepped food is sitting there for a while before it gets to the table. I don't think its the latter, because our server Autumn was very quick and attentive. This failed experience is entirely on the food quality. The atmosphere was very nice and gave off vibes of a beautiful date night spot. However, these things don't matter if the food is not good. We did have a manager come to our table, probably because they must have overheard us talking about the poor quality of food. We did share our concerns and complaints with her, and it was a nice gesture to have received a discount on the bill. We received a $50 gift card upon leaving to make up for our negative experience. I'm grateful that the management did this to try to make it right. However, even with a gift card, I don't think I will return for quite a while, if ever, unless the kitchen makes some...

My boyfriend and I live on Mt. Washington and had to try the newest restaurant! Overall, the food was a 4/5. The appetizers were very good and fresh. We ordered the Gyoza $15.00, New Style Sashimi $18.00, Yellowtail Jalapeno $18.00, Tar Tar Layer $18.00. I will say I’m a bit skeptical of the New Style Sashimi…is it just me or does it not look like the fresh fish is served on Pringle chips!? Tar Tar Layer was our favorite and would order again. For our main dish, we ordered the Longevity Noodles $38.00 and Beef Udon $27.00. Both were great choices for the cold weather - we liked the Longevity Noodles the best and impressed with the whole lobster tail being served in this dish! The Beef Udon definitely needed more flavor. All in all for food- rating it a 4/5 based on the price, they were not worth the expensive prices. I was not blown away!

The overall experience was a 3/5 and that’s me being nice. Our server was terrible. We were seated downstairs and she had a total of two tables the entire time and spent most of her time behind the bar talking to other staff members and doing nothing. Our experience took two hours and had multiple couples come in after us and leave before us because of how slow she was. Our waitress never came over to refill our waters or ask if we wanted more cocktails, same with the table next to us. She never cleared off our table of empty plates and glasses sitting in front of us the whole time and when we were finished, she took 15 minutes to finally come over and ask if we wanted our check. I had to ask another waitress to refill our water and clear our table. Just my opinion- but I would try to hire more waitresses who will be attentive and who know to complete SIMPLE tasks like refilling waters and asking how we are doing, which she did not do.

Also, we waited for our main dish for 45 minutes. The busboy walked past us 10 times with the wet bucket of dirty dishes which I thought was pretty gross while we were eating. I know he has to get through to the kitchen, but I would advise finding another path or route for him to walk instead of through a bunch of tables with people eating.

All in all, I don’t think we would go back again by ourselves but if we had friends who wanted to try it, we would go with them. I just didn’t think it was worth the $200 bill and was not impressed. Word of advise is to hire more attentive servers who are ultimately going to help the experience of a...

Have you ever experienced a restaurant where everything* hit just right? It can feel joyful. I recently had that experience at a new restaurant in my neighborhood, Mount Washington, in Pittsburgh. I had noticed that a new Japanese restaurant was opening in a spot where the Tin Angel had been. I made a mental note to go; & then a couple weeks later, I saw it was open during my walk home & decided to stop in.

The front door was the beginning: beautiful, carved & heavy; but the slightest tug & it began to swing open for me with a powered assist.

It opens onto a familiar space (I had bussed tables as a teen at the Tin Angel). But the decor was all newly beautiful, tasteful & modern with the right touch of Japanese sensibility. As I came in, were the stairs to the lower dining level. Directly ahead & to the left was the main seating floor with its famous views of the Golden Triangle. This space is framed off a powerful, beautiful, naturally edged sushi bar. My guess is it's a single piece of silver maple at least 4" thick.

They were already busy, dining sounds drifting up from downstairs; and a couple dozen folks seated on the main floor. A very pleasant, smiling young lady greeted me & asked how she could help me. I said I'd like to eat, I was alone; and she offered to seat me downstairs. But I saw space at the bar and asked if I could sit there. She smiled "Of course."

I placed my order: Age dashi tofu. Temaki: unagi Nigiri: Tako, Hirame, Kinmedai (golden-eyed snapper).

Then, 1 of the 3 itamae behind the board smiled at me & said: "Thank you for joining us. This is a gift." As he handed me an otōshi with both hands & a small bow, an unexpected & warm Japanese touch.

otōshi is often a simple dish. A gift from the chef; like an amuse bouche in a European restaurant. This small bowl may have been simple but it was excellent! Madai (sea bream) with ponzu & soy ginger glaze. I enjoyed it so much he gave me a second after my meal with a wink.

The rest of the meal matched that excellence. Excellent fish elevated by: House made tofu like clouds House made Soy sauce rich, nutty unctuous Real, grated wasabi with its bright, sweet...