Yakitori Totto
“The mushrooms and asparagus with bacon were also really good, everything was fantastic though, a great meal.”
“The only dish I haven't cared for was the tori soboro don because of the seasoned fish powder.”
“I recommend getting their pork belly, chicken heart, gizzard, kobe beef tongue, chicken neck, knee bone, (and any of the unique chicken parts).”
Yakitori Totto
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Yakitori Totto is definitely different from East Village yakitori joints: the prices are the same, the portions are smaller, the execution is a bit better IMO, and there's some choice skewers that aren't available in the east village. Most skewers come on the under seasoned side but I think that's intention so you can take advantage of the salt on the table
Chicken Oyster (thigh): HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND. Perfect balance between juicy dark meat and crisp, grilled skin. A touch of salt or togarashi on top is perfect. 9.5/10
Chicken Knees: Good balance between chicken meat and cartilage. Nice grilled, char flavor. 8.5/10
Chicken Soft bone: this is the sternum piece, or the cartilagious end of the bone between two breasts. There's a lot less meat on this one compared to the knees but it remains impressively moist. I'd still choose knees over this though. 7.5/10
Chicken Hearts: tender, juicy, and almost bouncy. It has a very slight livery aroma but the taste isn't there. Solid skewer. 7.5/10
Beef Tongue: better than I've had it at other places. Not tough, quite tender, well grilled, not livery. 8/10
Yaki Onigiri (with yakitori sauce): nicely grilled and in the rice ball, they've also mixed in bits of shiso leaf for freshness. The rice is stick, feeling more like a glutinous rice than sushi rice. The grilling could have been stronger for a more toasty aroma. 8/10
Totto Cocktail (lychee): very weak, but the lychee flavor is sufficiently fresh and bright. On the sweet side, beautiful glass. 7.5/10
Decided to have dinner here based on the good Yelp reviews, but sadly we were disappointed. Maybe we caught them on an off day?
So we got there today at around 7, but was told there was wait list and that the wait would be around an hour to an hour fifteen minutes. Left my number with them, and they would text when a table opened up. A little over an hour, I got a text saying that they were ready for us to arrive so by the time we got back, they told us to wait a little longer cause they had to clean the table up. I thought it would already been done by the time we got there, but guess not…
Anyways, the meal started off very well. Lots of options on the menu. We ordered the kyona salad which was delicious! The gyoza was alright as well, but then that's when the downfall began…everything after that was bland and flavorless.
We ordered the skewers: chicken thigh; breast with scallions; pork with scallions; shiitake; green peppers with stuffing and all of them were flavorless. There just wasn't enough flavoring. Also ordered the kaarage (fried chicken) and even that was a disappointment. I've definitely had better elsewhere. We got the salmon roe don as well as the spicy chicken breast don as well and they both were bland. The sushi rice was basically just plain white rice without the vinegar flavor. It just tasted like regular Chinese white rice. The spicy chicken breast wasn't spicy but instead was too sweet.
While refilling our drinks, the waitress accidentally missed and splashed soy sauce on my friend's dress as well.
Overall, disappointment. Won't be coming back.
Service: 1 star.
I showed up at 5:25p on a Saturday and was able to get a table for two. We were behind ten people.
Their reservation policy seems to be the following, but nobody inside the restaurant could confirm me (believe it or not), as the manager was absent. From 5:30p (opening time) to 7p you can mk a reservation. The rest is on a first come first serve basis.
The restaurant has about 26 seats plus 10-12 at the bar.
Don't expect welcoming faces, here. The service is beyond fast and furious. They want you out of the restaurant as quickly as possible. You need to pay attention to your dishes, as they don't even let you finish the food unless you stop them (it happened to us twice during our meal). Horrible.
They bring you everything at once, so it's better to order a few things at the time to make sure you can enjoy them slowly while they're still hot.
Pork belly appetizer: flavorful.
Avocado & tuna salad: a messy mush.
Yakitori:
– tail: tasty, but very tiny.
– soft knee bone: not for everybody… crunchy… not in a good way.
– skin: ok.
– gizzard: way too salty.
– thigh: tasty.
– skirt steak: ok… a little tough.
– short rib: delicious.
– pork neck: very good.
– pork w/ scallion: pretty good, but not as tender.
– asparagus bacon: ok.
Mochi icecream with green tea and black sesame: flavorful and sizable.
Their computer was down and they didn't accept cash (not sure why), so they made us wait half hour deciding what to do. We were offered nothing for the inconvenience… another blow to their "classy" service. Eventually, they took our phone number and called later to charge our credit card on the phone.
Apart from the specific incident we experienced (which they could have managed more graciously), their service in general is forgettable at best. The restaurant does have potential, as we did enjoy some of their dishes and were curious to try others. However, this place is overrated, and I only wish they treated their customers like human beings instead of walking dollars.
This place is awesome! I'm typically not a big fan of yakitori but boy was I in for a treat. Me and 2 girls killed some skewers…I mean we put the table of guys next to us to shame. We basically ordered everything on the main menu. Everything is delicious and tender and juicy and flavorful. The chicken heart, beef tongue, chicken neck, liver, pork neck, Kobe beef, fish, and the udon, everything is fantastic! Average price is from $2.50 to $7 per skewer but each skewered packs several bites, so you will get full pretty fast.
I love the "specialty limited" items but they always run out, sadly. I'd order 3 of each of the items listed under the specialty, such as the chicken neck, liver, skin, tongue, etc. They run out of everything so fast, or it's hard for them to carry due to limited supply or limited demand. Either way, I wish they'd stock more. Will visit again next time!
I was never a big fan of Yakitori aka "stuff on sticks"… It always feel like we're torturing food even after we've completely killed it on the grill… Well, after eating at Yakitori Totto, NOT anymore! Let's eat everything on a stick!! Just kidding… Am I?
The basic: small venue, bar seatings, comfortable seating a few 2x2x4… there's also an odd little open room that seats a combination of 6 or private party. They open at 11:30am for lunch, make it here before 12, gets you a table. Otherwise once the lunch crowd starts, good luck!
Service: overly attentive, however since we were the only ones there as the place opened, that's probably why the "overbearing let me watch you eat" service. Rather have this than non-existing flakey ones.
Food: Where have I been?!?!! Seriously!!? Uh… Probably cuz I work no where near here (pro: won't die from overdosing on meat! con: I want to overdose on the Japanese premium meat! Great way of getting fat! But can't because I work in boring Flatiron).
-homemade gyoza (very good, over stuffed with tasty ingredients and not frozen!)
-shisito peppers (nom nom good! Not spicy, goes so well with their rice bowl!)
-pork loin w/ onion (very tasty, not dry, try it w/ their salt)
-Kalbi rice bowl (comes w/ 3 grilled Kalbi skewers! Soft rice, mix in the semi cook egg, scallions and the Kalbi was cooked medium and not chewy at all, it was perfect! So good!)
-crispy silver fish rice bowl!! Love this one! Deep fried tiny silver fish, mix with plum pickles, and scallions – I wish I can have this on the daily!
Overall – a pretty good meal, just wish the menu was a bit more expansive… Decent pricing for Manhattan!
Happy feasting fellow Yelpers!
Went around 6pm and waited a little bit. Seated at bar but it was pretty spacious. Plus you get to see the chef focusing on a line of skewer with flame reflecting on his face.
We ordered about 10 different kinds. All the beef ones were just okay, but chicken were fantastic. Especially the chicken oyster, the texture and amount of fat was right on the spot.
Service was nice but seemed like they were pushing for turn table rate. Anyway I should come back if any chance.
I want to give this place a higher rating for their friendly customer service, but since I am rating them overall, I'll give them a 3.
My girlfriend and I dropped by this restaurant after watching a performance at Carnegie Hall. Location was convenient, line wasn't long. I ordered a ramen dish and she ordered a rice bowl. We were hungry. But, neither of us were able finish our meal because the food tasted salty. Wasn't a very good experience. Maybe next time?
Omg I like this bistro cuz I ran into a famous Chinese celeb. And I won't tell you who he is.
At first I was happy to check out this famous yakitori spot in Midtown west. The menu looked simple and packed. Japanese BBQ ranged from $3 to $8, which were quite expensive. I was not a fan of yakitori, or any other BBQ.
We ordered some yakitori and eel over rice. But was told that you two had to order over $40.
Because: They had a $20 MINIMUM.
I was so blown away from then on! I simply wanted to had a light meal for the night.