OOTORO BAR — Restaurant in Tustin

This is a review for their hand rolls only. Overall, my satisfaction level was just okay for their hand rolls. They do everything right from quality fish, but some minor things that make me like other spots more satisfying.

//CONTEXT// I came here on a Friday as a party of two. We were seated almost immediately at around 5 pm! Amazing!

//ENVIRONMENT// Two large sushi bars! Love the ambiance and environment. Super cozy and has a nice high end feeling to it with the sleek modern wood and dark walls. Super clean and bathrooms are clean

//FOOD// 5 piece Handroll set plus a soft shell crab add on

Some pieces the seaweed was crispy and other times the integrity of the seaweed became soft fast and this was within me eating it within less than maybe a minute. Other spots I notice it stays crispy and I think it’s because they toast their seaweed and use higher quality seaweed. I’m not sure what they do here but it was soggy fast! Fish quality was great! However I don’t think that means it all tasted amazing. I felt like there should be some seasoning or something because it felt like I was eating a block of fish. I’m not sure what other spots do but it’s more flavorful rice is seasoned fairly well but I love when it’s sweeter

//SERVICE// Our waiter also thought we only ordered one set and not two for two people and we had to let her know after two rolls came out already

Overall I might be back to try their sushi since it seems seasoned and garnished better but it is a decent fix for hand rolls don’t get me wrong! I just prefer other spots...

I had high hopes for this place. I heard great things about ootoro sushi in Irvine. I liked that I have another option beside ROL. ROL is mediocre but our only option in OC for something similiar to KazuNori. Their sauces make it descent. Ootoro definitely has better fish quality. The decor is nice as well. Not very kid friendly. They seemed a little flustered when we came in with a stroller or where to find high chairs. This is based on that. The service was ok. I felt we were put in the corner due to the accommodations and they just dropped off our food and left. Not telling us what was what. The plating set up was nice. When we pulled it closer a lady came in and told us to leave it for the chef to place our food. Oh, ok. Well no one talked to us besides dropped off the menu and took our order. I would've given this place maybe 3 stars for the handroll set alone IF the rice didn't suck. It really ruined everything. We ordered a few pieces too and the fish was good but rice took away from that. Could've been an off day. Based off that I wouldn't come back. Maybe a second chance if it were convenient but only for the handroll sets because the sushi...

Extremely disappointing service. We came on a Thursday night for dinner and the mistakes would not stop. One person in our party didn't get their first item until an hour into our meal, even after multiple reminders. We were charged an extra sushi set ($70) on our bill. They constantly delivered the wrong items or forgot them and depended on us to know the menu and remind them. Allergy substitutions were forgotten after they were confirmed multiple times. Started serving someone in our party the wrong menu halfway through the meal (spicy vs. non spicy.)

Mistakes will happen, but their response was horrible - no apologies, improvement, nor effort to make things right.

The restaurant itself looks wonderful and the food is good, but with so many great options in the area, I see no reason to...