Ootoya Greenwich Village
“The fish was pretty ridiculous, but the egg custard stood out for me since I've never had one that good before.”
“And their Kaisen Don is def one of the best comparing to other places with similar price.”
“There is a dollop of plum sauce that make a bite sweet, but otherwise this is a savory finish to the set.”
Ootoya Greenwich Village
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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The food was okay. Personally, the one on 18th street is better. Didn't feel like the value was there for this place. This isn't the traditional American sushi spot with rolls if you are looking for that. It is more similar to the food in Japan if you have been there. There is a no tip custom at this restaurant like the way they do it in Japan. Portions are also a little small. Don't think I will come back.
This is definitely one of the best Japanese restaurant in town for me. Great service, great food, great price. The best part is no tipping required, I am okay with this as long as the employees are paid fairly. My favorites are the demi glazed burger and ikura don meal set. Most bento comes with chawanmushi (egg custard), miso soup and udon. Everything on the menu is delicious and I will come back this place in a heartbeat.
Try to get seated by the chef table, always fun to see the chefs cooking!
Where was this when I was at NYU?
Granted, I still waddled my way over to the Chelsea location on several occasions back in college, but who knows how often I would have frequented this one had it existed!
Food is exactly the same here as at Ootoya's other locations, and that's awesome. I'm not sure where else you can get Ootoya's combination of homestyle meals with its impeccable execution of them, but even if said place existed, I'd still pick here over it.
I got a mini oyako don bowl set the most recent time I visited, but only because I had already spent the entire day and evening eating. Still. Too. Much. Food. You can't not get the set because the egg custard is to die and kill for. They also beefed up their miso soup (or, rather, they porked it up with pork and sliced radishes), making it way more than just a customary thing you get at a Japanese restaurant. The oyako don itself was perfect as always – grilled to perfection and encased in more lovely egg and onions to deepen the dish's texture. This is it. This is what you come for.
But really, it doesn't matter what you end up ordering because Ootoya has this weird habit of making everything pretty near perfect. Whether it's the katsu, sashimi, grilled mackerel, or hey, chicken, you cannot go wrong.
Thank you for being here, Ootoya, even if you're a couple years late entering the Village. I forgive you.
I was walking around last year and came upon this newly opened branch of my favorite Japanese restaurant chain. Aha, happy surprises.
As of March 28, all NYC's Ootoya locations have eliminated tipping (and raised menu prices accordingly). The menu is also losing a few things, such as the Buta Shio Koji – our server couldn't tell us why!
Beyond that, there was nothing new or surprising about this location. In Asia, Ootoya is the kind of place you'd find in shopping mall food courts (then again, so is Michelin-starred Din Tai Fung). In NYC, it's nonfussy, comforting Japanese meals presented in a fussier-than-usual way. Food quality is high without being pretentious, and everything is reliably delicious (except for that one time I got natto and gooey grated mountain yam in the same bowl, ack).
Their game is teishoku – set meals with several small components – which fully satisfies those of us who prefer to "graze" rather than "feed," as if we're at a trough.
The lunchtime rush is in full swing by 1pm, with every table filled. Even prior to the new no-tipping policy, prices were higher than I remembered… but that might be a better reflection of my bank account than anything else.
Have been coming back to this place so many times. A meal here is almost like a meal at home (of course better version of homemade food).
All time favorite: Yakitori Ju, Miso Katsu
The Yakitori set is so filling and has a good variety of BBQ skewers.
Miso Katsu is just legendary. The meat came grizzling in a stone pot with miso sauce.goes perfectly with rice. It may be a bit salty for some people though.
Their ice cream were rich and creamy. Also tea flavors are pretty unique.
It's Ootoya… so… obviously amazing. If you come during lunch you can snag one of their lunch set "deals". Not much cheaper than normal though. If it is your first time, try coming with a small group of people and split a bunch of appetizers and entrees–asians eat family style and this is the way to go. Grilled meat sticks are made well but not worth it in my opinion. Go for the stuff you wouldn't think of–like their cloud-like house tofu–mind blowingly good. They change the salt up for it frequently too. Personally, I'd pass on the soup dishes just because they don't fill me up much but all the grilled entrees and rice dishes are super bomb. Don't be fooled by how basic the discription sounds, they are not your normal bento box dishes. They are way more than that. And you'll only know once you've tried it. I recommend dessert sampler for afterwards and of course, sake!
Much easier to get into compared to their other location around Time Square.
Their meals sets all come deliciously prepared and beautifully presented.
Ordered the Kaisen Don and Ton Katsu. Yes… Hungry as usual…
One thing to note is that the sets may not arrival all at the same time within your party. Everything came out about the same time for me, which was awesome. However, I saw another person next to me that had to wait quite a bit longer for his buddy's food to arrive before he can eat.
The Ton Katsu was the best that I've had in the city. It's even better than some of the ones that I've had in Japan. The breading was perfect. It was not heavy at all, and it gave that perfect crunch while sealing all the juices in at the same time. The pork itself was cooked perfectly as well. Perfect texture and flavor. Only complaint was that there wasn't enough of it… I could eat that for days.
The Kaisen Don was also fresh and delicious. It came so beautifully arranged that I almost didn't want to dig into it. The highlight were the scallops and uni – so fresh and sweet!
When the check came, I was pleasantly reminded that gratuity was not necessary as the staff is really fully compensated to account for that. Service was impeccable. Perhaps more restaurants should consider doing the same.
5 stars with the Ton Katsu stealing the show. Will definitely be back for more of that!
I've been to both the Chelsea and Greenwich Village Ootoya, and definitely prefer this location better. It's not quite as spacious or romantic, but what it lacks in ambiance, it definitely makes up in experience. This location doesn't seem to get nearly as crowded, which is always a plus in my book.
Both locations serve the same excellent menu. I'd like to think of it as elevated Japanese comfort food, as you'll find both really nice chirashi bowls as well as some heavy-hitting carbs. On a recent visit, we tried several yakitori skewers which were cooked perfectly; the beef was extremely tender and perfect as a light appetizer.
For my main, I went with the miso tonkatsu set, a deep fried pork cutlet in a bowl of boiling hot miso stew, with cabbage and a poached egg. If you're on a diet, avoid at all costs; It was incredibly heavy and rich, but delicious. I also like to substitute the white rice for their special brown rice, which is a little nutty and addictive on its own.
I'm not normally a sake drinker, but I also chose the amusingly named grapefruit poochi poochi cocktail and really enjoyed it; the tart grapefruit juice paired really well with the sweet sparkling sake.
As a heads up, Ootoya has now eliminated tipping at all of their US restaurants, so menu prices are a little higher! In any case, it's a really excellent spot for sophisticated Japanese food when you're not interested in sushi.