Otoko

What a magical omakase experience - each bite meticulously crafted with love and admiration for the chef and cuisine. All of the staff were top notch, enhancing the experience along the way. There are two easy to follow rules: leave your gold plate on the counter for plating and don't put ginger on your sushi, simple and sensible. Our neighbors could not follow the two rules which was a little distracting. We however excelled at following along. What a special meal, maybe the best I have had in Austin!

This place is a bucket list restaurant. Chef Yoshi is an artist and all of the surrounding staff are the best of the best. I've never had better omakase, and this is in my top 5 for best meals all-time. And the bar, Watertrade, is equally amazing. You have to book 2 months in advance but if you ever get the chance to dine here, I promise you will not be disappointed.

Otoko was a fantastic experience and offered some of the best sushi in Austin. It’s still close between (sushi by scratch, uchi and now otoko). We came on a weekend and did get some dishes we didn’t care for (I’m looking at you egg dish). As a whole though, it was phenomenal. I did read on Wednesdays it was sushi-only and wish that happened more days of the week.

The dining experience at Otoko was exceptional! We were traveling in from Chicago and decided to do Otoko’s tasting menu and it did not disappoint! The sashimi course was probably our favorite, everything melted in your mouth. The flavors were unlike anything we had ever had and each course was better than the next. From greeting us with a welcome cocktail to having our names printed on the menu, every detail was perfection. The waitstaff and chefs were wonderful, you could tell they love and take great pride in what they do. So glad we decided to dine here! Highly recommend!

You pay a premium here to be treated like a king and queen. Service was definitely 5 stars. They made you feel important. Even when they're carrying food, you'll see the rush in their eyes and non verbal communication as they got out of your path. Definitely something that I did not expect at all or felt that i deserved, but it was definitely appreciated hindsight. The overall service was top notch and took care of all of your needs and extraneous liquids and items, while fluidly being out of the way so that you can enjoy the people that you came with. Food was delicious and very novel and quite unique near the end of it (we got the kansai experience). Blast of flavors and textures with each bite was on par or exceeded expectations. The small dishes were rather too unique at the end, as i had to eat my significant others fried grasshopper. However that is not dissuading opinion of the place. I definitely want to go back and try the sushi only experience. Environment was unique and awe inspiring. Unfortunately the kitchen produced fan noise, and i would not recommend sitting at the far right end of the table if you can help it. It didn't bother me every minute, but definitely something that i noticed once and pointed out as a conversation piece. I think the room itself would be more successful with added acoustic absorbing material integrated into the space, as it was already a rather small space. It was by no means a loud and intruding environment and i enjoyed the ambience, i am just pointing out the smallest of minor details that could be improved upon. There was not a lot of 'entertainment' and interaction from the head chef, like our first omakase at Sushi By Scratch, which was great for a first timer. However everyone works in different ways, and what the head chef and the others, were talented with what they prepared for us. There was an unexpected added unique touch, we were given menu's of the dishes with a cute note to us to enjoy our anniversary with our names printed on the menu. It listed each dish experience, its ingredients, what fish it was and where it came from. As well as each unique tea paring that we did, and where it was sourced. I enjoyed this as it is something to remember the experience by and something i can look back on to see what fish and where it came from. Something that i enjoyed at the other place mentioned above, but by now have already forgotten where what came where. Out of 5: poor/fair/good/very good/amazing Overall: Amazing Food: Very Good to Amazing Service: Amazing Ambience/Design: Very Good Ambiance/Noise: Good to Very Good Value: Fair (i might just be poor here)

Premium price tag that brings a premium experience with it. If I had a list ranking all my omakase experiences to this point--for which there have been many--this one would officially be sitting at the top. I feel like I was introduced to so many new and wonderful flavors last night, and still processing it a bit. The real surprises were some of the non-sushi elements, like the escargot, the mushroom tempura (wow!), and a delicious shirumono that really got the best of me when I took a bite with the mussel. Make no mistake, the sushi is still the star, and this place sets a new standard for nigiri. Favorites were the kanpachi, aji, and madai, but truly no bite disappointed. The sake pairings were a fantastic addition to the experience and I appreciated the background shared with the presentation of each one. It was beautiful to witness the artistry and passion of our chefs as they put our meal together, and I hope they know how honored I feel to have experienced the output of their efforts.