Otoro Sushi — Restaurant in Scotts Valley

Otoro Sushi is one of my very favorite places ,especially for lunch.

The restaurant in Scotts Valley is located in a strip mall, and the ambiance is a bit lacking . It's pleasant enough, just not what I'd call a Romantic Date spot. Personally, I do not like tvs in a restaurant. I wish Otoro didn't have them.

Along the back wall, the booths are pleasant and cozy, I try to get seating there . The open tables always feel exposed to me, but other people don't seem to mind.

The service is always attentive without being intrusive. If they are super busy or short handed, you might experience a short delay. Overall I'd give them a "A"

OhhhhhhMyyyy, the food is YUMMY ! For lunch, I usually get the Bento Box lunch special, around $10. Lunch comes with Miso Soup, white or fried rice, small salad, a choice of two main items (I LOVE the beef teriyaki and the Tempura Assortment ) They include several nice pieces of seasonal fruit, pickled ginger, and some wasabi.

The lunch box special has about 10 different main item choices, and you can get three pieces of the raw fish. ..forgot the name for it, for an additional $2.00 It's GOOD!

They serve a nice selection of both warm and cold Sake, some nice beers and of course, green tea.

For the price, which is very reasonable, the lunch special is hard to beat. I've always left with some to take home, even after stuffing myself.

The sushi rolls are top notch ,always delicious. Moderate price, a good value for your Sushi dollar. The Udon soup is glorious, brimming full of ingredients, and wonderfully warming on a cold stormy day.

If you're near Scotts Valley ,perhaps on your way to/from Santa Cruz, stop in and have a meal. Ide be willing to bet that you,too,will return again and again.

I gave it 4 stars only because nothing is perfect. But Otoro Sushi comes...

Cruel and interrogative server, inconsiderate of dietary needs.

I went to Otoro Sushi with a friend today. I have Celiac's disease and am always very careful to avoid gluten because of it. Their menu does not list gluten-free options, which isn't particularly out of the ordinary, but does make things slightly more difficult. Luckily, they do include a list of what goes into each of the rolls, so I scanned through the rolls to find ones which I could eat based on the ingredients list provided. I was disappointed to find that when I received the spider crab roll, it had sauce on it (which was not on the ingredients list for the item on the menu). I asked the server and, sure enough, it wasn't gluten free. Neither was the rainbow roll, which had imitation crab in it rather than real crab (the menu just said crab). As such, I couldn't eat either of the rolls I had ordered.

I let the server know that I have Celiac's disease and that I couldn't eat the rolls, because of that. The server admonished me for not having told her at the beginning and interrogated me about whether I would really get sick if I ate gluten. They told me it was my problem now as the rolls were already made, so I was out $40, and I then had to order new rolls while my friend ate hers. I spent $60, went home hungry and angry, and will not be coming back. I hope this inspires Otoro to list which of its rolls have gluten in them or at least include an accurate description of what goes in their rolls so that their customers can figure it out...

Tucked away in the redwood town of Scott's Valley near Santa Cruz is a sleepy little Japanese restaurant serving up excellent sushi and other delights. The ratings and reviews don't lie! Otoro is located in a strip mall and so unassuming. Yet, you step inside, and are greeted by wonderfully friendly people and the interior is fresh, clean and orderly. They know what they are doing here for sure as the table we were guided to was already clean and set for dining. No waiting around here. The restaurant filled up to capacity in an instant after we arrived. I thought my fans were following me, but alas, no, they were here for Otoro Sushi... The menu is extensive with lots of sushi offerings, and they all looked beautiful. We like bento box dinners, and theirs was exceptional. You get the standards, miso soup, salad and two items. We added an order of Cal Rolls as our appetizer. The Cal Rolls were fresh and tight with lots of crab (real or not), and the rice/seaweed was just thick enough to hold it together without being either too thick or so thin it would fall apart when picked up with sticks. Our bentos were also spectacular with a teriyaki beef that literally melts in your mouth. The tempura for the shrimp/veggie combo was light and airy with a great flavor. We were quite happy with all of it from beginning to end. Our servers came by to check in on us throughout which was nice since the floor was completely full of patrons. Note, it was quite loud so just...