Monrovia: Oto-Oto Izakaya Japonaise

 

“I want sushi.”

“Okay, where do you want to go?”

“Sushi Gen.”

“Oh, but I heard about this place in Monrovia that’s good.”

“Okay, let’s try it.”

And that is how I ended up at Oto-Oto.

 

We ordered a couple of appetizers each before getting a combo (yes, we’re sushi greedy). I got two giant oysters and grilled octopus legs while my friend had a trio of spicy hand rolls and albacore with fried onions.

 

I thought the best things I ate this day were the grilled octopus legs. Since this is really more of an izakaya than a sushi-ya, I can see myself possibly coming back for more small plates. I thought the oysters were over-priced and not particularly fresh. Service was rather disjointed. I got my meal well after my friend’s combo. She was nearly done by the time I got mine.

 

My friend seemed to like her meal though later told me she didn’t see herself returning. She did like the tempura and particularly the enoki mushrooms tempura. I had her sweet shrimp which was all right and the beef was tender (though an odd thing to go with the tempura and sashimi combo).

 

I really dislike not getting a choice of rolls with combos but that is the price you pay for “reasonable sushi.” All right, give me the California roll. At least it was pretty good with big chunks of avocado. Of the sushi, the scallops were the best.

For Monrovia, this is a 4 stars place. The decor is fun, there’s a bar that features Japanese beers and the guys in the kitchen are wearing ties.

But I live in a city with tons of great sushi. And next time I’m insisting we go to Little Tokyo.

 

Oto-Oto Izakaya Japonaise

929 W Huntington Dr., Monrovia, CA 91016 – (626) 359-3000