Robataya Oton

If you are looking for truly authentic heartwarming and delicious Japanese food, then look no further. This place will remind you of home. The quality for both the hot dishes and the sushi was absolutely amazing. It’s hard to find a restaurant that does everything well- and this place does. The Unagi Gohan is deliciously sweet and the rice is smothered with the rich unagi flavor and is served with green tea that can be poured at the end. They also serve some pickles that help increase the acidity and counterbalance the sweetness of the Uunagi. If you pair this dish with other hot options like the Makarel or Tamago, it’s become a combination of pure umami. In the words of Arnold Schwarzzeneger: I’ll be back !

Wow. My wife and I have traveled through Japan extensively and have eaten so many different types of food there. It's taken us 5 years since coming back to find a restaurant that was as good as the ones in Japan. Otons Chef understands flavors and balances them perfectly. The nabiyaki udon was amazing. The chirashi was amazing. The vanilla and sweet potato dessert was amazing. It's hard to find amazing and you can find it here at Robataya Oton. Thank you so much. See you again.

Authentic, delicious & intimate! We did my husband's birthday dinner here with a small group of friends. The service was fantastic and the food was delicious!! I grew up in Japan and this restaurant took me back. We weren't disappointed with a single item on the menu (and we ordered almost everything on the menu). Also, highly recommend the strawberry sake - even my non drinker friend enjoyed it. It's a small intimate setting so I recommend reservations. 5 STARS!

MAKE A RESERVATION! It is a small restaurant with only one sushi chef. Even if there is seating at the counter, the staff has to turn away customers due to the demand and timing of orders. My partner and I were there exactly at open and happened to be the first customers, so we were lucky enough to be seated/served without reservation, but we saw that everyone else without a reservation was turned away or warned of a very long wait time. Customers with reservations are seated in private rooms with traditional Japanese floor tables (chabudai). The food was extremely high quality. The karaage ($10) was piping hot, served straight from the fryer. The chirashi bowl ($30) had thick strips of sashimi carefully arranged in an order which maximized palette stimulation and visual presentation. It was served with real wasabi and a miso soup which tasted much better than anything I've had at other restaurants or bought at the store.

Traditional Japanese food in an authentic Japanese setting. The fish is fresh, and there are several options for those who don't want to eat sushi. We had a family dinner with chosen ranging in age from 5 to 12. Although they lack a children's menu, there are a variety of appetizers to satisfy everybody. We left feeling satisfied and fulfilled. Kudos to the staff for a great experience. Top notch restaurant.

One of the best traditional Japanese restaurants in San Diego. They offer traditional Japanese seating in the booths where you take your shoes off and slide into a semi private room (tables are separated by a shade). One of the best dishes to order here is the Sukiyaki. It is delicious and well worth the visit alone. They also offer really fresh sushi that rotates based on what they get and also offer many traditional Japanese dishes that you can't find in a lot of competitor restaurants. You will need to make reservations as the restaurant is small and is always busy. This place is a gem and it's off the main Convoy strip which means finding parking is really easy.

The best Japanese experience ever! The ingredients were so fresh and the food was made to the perfection. It’s definitely a must go place. I thought that it was expensive but my friend who has been to other Japanese places thought that it was reasonable. We tried the hotpot, fried chicken and sea food, jellyfish sashimi, and salmon sushi which were all so tasty!!

Our favorite Japanese restaurant in San Diego area. Foods are so yummy and authentic. What a pity they have updated their menu recently and lots of items had been removed. The service is always excellent here. Japanese hot pots are their speciality. Don’t miss that. House wine is sweet and smooth enough for a date night. Chef’s selected sushi set is in great value And strongly recommended! Anyway this restaurant is a treasure. Try it try it.