Robataya Oton — Restaurant in San Diego

Ambience: 4 stars Food: 2 stars value: 1 star

I don't normally write reviews, but I feel so jaded and ripped off, that I have to write. This place was highly recommended by a friend of ours. Our friends are foodies, so I trusted their judgement.

Before you enter the establishment, you must first find parking. Parking is incredibly hard to find, and you have to spend a good portion of your time driving around. Once you enter, you are greeted by very friendly hostesses who guide you to your booth. The place is in traditional Japanese decor and layout, something you would see on Anthony Bourdain. Its very nice and novel if you haven't experienced anything like this before.

However, the pillows are worn, the decor is old and drab. The wood is fading. The place generally needs an update.

My friend and I, there was only two of us, ordered the traditional HotPot and a sake. Our bill came out to be a little over $80. That is $40 each person for a bowl of soup and a couple glasses of Sake. This is extremely expensive and in my opinion not worth it.

First, the menu is confusing and difficult to follow. Its poorly laid out and hard to figure out what you want. So we asked for advice and went with the traditional dish. So, what do we get for all this money? Did we get better service? Better food? Incredible food? Little details that make you go "wow"?

None of the above. The soup consisted of $2 worth of mushrooms, 50 cents of cabbage, 50 cents of noodles, 50 cents worth of some green herb, some green onions and lets say $10 worth of beef, maybe half a pound. I'm erroring on their side. A couple eggs, and very salty broth. That comes out to maybe $13.50-$15. Was there any extraordinary preparation involved like a souffle? No. Everything is raw, thrown in a pot and let to cook on your table. So what am I paying for?

We did not receive glasses of water, did not receive hot tea. The service wasn't any better then any where else. I love to eat out, I've been to many hot pot places and foreign restaurants, but this was the first I felt no way was it worth it. I had to apologize to my friend profusely for the exuberance of the night.

So its your choice. If you decide to go, at least you know more than you did before. The number of 5 stars on this place is misleading,...

I was so very happy to see that this place was open again for dine-in that I had to do a review! Hands down my favorite place for authentic Japanese cuisine. It has the heart and soul of home cooking but yet subtly elevated. It is fine dining for sure without being pretentious. It has a cute and humble interior, with no fancy bells n whistles but the food definitely shines and speaks for itself!

If you are not familiar with Japanese cuisine, I recommend going in with an open mind and just be adventurous; this is not the kinda place to get a California roll. If you don't like sushi before you don't like to eat raw fish then great news...so much stuff on the menu is cooked and to perfection!

Speaking of cooking...the shabu shabu is the best I've ever had! You have to order at least 2 orders of the beef shabu shabu but it's a lot of food and totally worth it! All the other dishes are also very yummy and perfectly seasoned. I've ordered almost everything on the menu and there's not one thing I didn't like. The staff is also great and very friendly. We always get the same server and she's been so amazing! I do recommend making reservations as it can get pretty busy for dinner service. Each booth is its own little private room so it's perfect for social distancing during this pandemic.

Great food takes time to prepare. Some dishes come out quickly but and some might take a bit longer. I recommend having some sake while you wait. I promise you it is well worth the wait!

I can't wait to...

The atmosphere and food at Robataya Oton are exceptionally good. All the ingredients and fresh and of high quality. We ordered the Chanko Nabe, a stew of meat, tofu, and vegetables that you cook right at your table. The broth was delicious and very well flavored. It was filling, but still healthy. My toddler son ate up everything immediately.

I loved the private dining rooms; it creates a very authentic and intimate experience. Plus, it was a nice corral for my child!

I only took one star off for the service. The first time we came here, the service was great, but this second time, one server came up to us after we had been finished for a while, and basically asked us if we could leave soon because people were waiting, and we had not even received our check yet. I found that to be pretty rude, we would have left a while ago if our check had been given to us. It's a small restaurant, so it's confusing that we were forgotten about.

But nonetheless, the food and atmosphere are great, so we will be...