Tori Jiro — Restaurant in Watertown

This review is regarding the private tuna cutting & presentation event on 01/27/25.

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We booked the “Grand Slam” course for two people ($732). They described this as a “live cutting & presentation” so i assumed it’d be similar to an omakase. I was mislead as I saw the seating layouts. Most of the tables were along a wall away from the main table where the chef was prepping the fish. Even though we booked the highest tier course, it was hard to see any live action especially with other people getting up and blocking our view. I was under the impression of booking “grand slam” we’d get some sort of special experience. Within the course description, we were told we’d get an “interactive experience” with chef Chris however there was none.

Service was very unorganized - they had a course sheet laid out (I was under the impression that the courses would come out in order) however some things that came out weren’t, and the servers would not know what was put down (this happened with 2 of the served dishes).

Most dishes we were not a fan of (which is entirely subjective). The two stars given is mainly from the sashimi/nigiri we had (wife & I). However almost everything else we did not like and could not justify what we got for what we paid for because the dishes weren’t executed well.

I was expecting a more intimate setting however they crammed as many tables as they could (assuming to fill the event) which lead it being very noisy, almost elbows to people beside us, & as well as being able to hear everyone’s conversations. In order to get up and use the bathroom, we’d have to physically slide the table towards the people beside us just to squeeze through (everyone had to do this).

My last note is that their menu is “subject to change at any notice”. However towards the end of our course they brought out their “Toro Karaage” claiming it to be “complimentary-on the house. However this was on the original provided menu, but not on the course sheet at the event. (I found it weird that they said it was complimentary when it was originally advertised).

We got a couple add ons & sake tasting which eventually brought our total at roughly $850.

TLDR: For $850, this was a horrible experience. For the money paid, I expected more of an intimate experience because it was advertised that I would get an interactive service with the chef making me think it’d be like an omakase. It just felt like I walked into any regular packed restaurant. There are tons of omakases for a fraction of this price that would easily give you same quality of fish & better experience. I personally don’t recommend it if you are looking for a intimate & visual experience. If you do decide, I recommend not to do the grand slam, and opt for the cheaper course. Nothing about the grand slam...

Think of this as Japanese tapas. The focus is on skewered and grilled meats & veg, but mostly meats. The karaage, not on a skewer, was terrific. The batter used made for a nice powdery & crunchy, but not hard, breading. There was a dipping sauce that we think was a citrus mayo, and it worked! The shrimp pop consists of a shrimp covered in a pretty light, but more conventional (for westerners), batter. They are skewered, but each shrimp gets its own, and, yes, the presentation does resemble a lollipop. The side sauce was, again, we think, a flavored mayo. IMHO these were the highlight. The takoyaki was ok, but it was the first time I've tried it so maybe this is the best anywhere? These are bits of octopus and some kind of batter that are cooked with a pan

This is for Chef Sang Lee's popup that I attended a few weeks go. Brought my cousin here to celebrate his birthday and the entire experience was worth the $240 price tag. I've had omakase in the past, but watching Chef Sang Lee up close was quite interesting, you can see the focus in his eyes and attention to detail. There's about 20 items, but I'll highlight the ones I really enjoyed! The saltiness from the caviar added and paired well with the squid; quite addicting and wish there was a bigger portion. Monkfish liver, which had the texture of tofu and had such an addicting sauce, that I pretty much drank it all. The egg omelet was sweet and you can see/taste the juiciness with every bite! My No. 1 favorite was the veggie roll with rainbow sesame on it. I thought it would be just one flavor in different colors, but it was a burst of several flavors!! All the items prepared tasted amazing, and I really like how he brushed some soy sauce on the rolls and had wasabi rolled in. This way, I never had the urge to drown my rolls as I would at regular sushi restaurants.

The sake outside of the event were additional purchases. Up until I tried the iichiko, all sake tasted the same for the most part, but iichiko had a more define taste to it. I'm told sake masters worked hard to produce the brand. Kenny was the restaurant's host and also attended the event, super helpful and was able to balance enjoying the Chef's omakase as well as helping guests. He also played a country song for me (inside a Japanese restaurant ftw!). My party couldn't stop raving about this experience the entire way home! I highly recommend you try to attend a popup, otherwise, visit his take out...