Robataya Oton

Service was super slow here even though we were the only table left in the restaurant. I felt the food was overpriced although the portions were decent.
The bento boxes are a good deal during lunch and you get a nice variety of items, like a sampler plate of sorts. Lunch specials, including the bowls and sashimi bowls come with a small salad and miso soup.
I got the grilled chicken thigh bowl which was pretty good, although a little on the charred side. I liked the ground meat sprinkled on top of the rice.
My coworkers’ tempura bowls and chirashi bowls looked pretty good and were large as well. The booth setting was cute although it was a tight squeeze with 5 of us.
I’d give this place another try for their hotspot and sukiyaki. But the loooooong wait time is something the restaurant could really strive to improve.

Absolutely write home to mom about deliciousness! You have to be very confident in the freshness of your seafood to offer uni in so many selections. I had a uni shooter (uni, quail egg, scallions, Ponzu and lemon), it was reaaaaaly good. Another in our group had the uni pasta (udon-​like) and that was reaaaaaly good too! For entrees we shared many plates and they were all very good. The 2 person minimum Hotpot was shared by all and as you might guess was reaaaaaly good. The only drawback is the size of the restaurant and not always attentive service. There is a service call button on the table. Will come again to share with more friends.

Second time here, love the authentic Japanese atmosphere. Lunch special bento box was very delicious, great combination, only complaint is snail speed for food to come out so come if you have the spare time and not rushing back to work

Food tasted delicious and authentic. However the table was sticky and kind of dirty… which was a bit disgusting.

I enjoyed their little dishes and noodles. Everything was made so precisely and the flavors balanced out very well. Next time I plan on coming here with some friends to order the sukiyaki. I wish I had reserved one of their private little tables too… oh well, next time!

This place continues to please me everytime I come here. The server made me feel really comfortable here. The waitress was very pleasant, and attentive. I almost forgot the food is the reason why I Came came here.
Chef «T» just moved down here from Torrance 3 years ago and is kicking some ass from behind the sushi bar. He’s putting out some really special dishes like the Sea Urchin (UNI) on top of a soft boil egg with a little bit of dice ginger sprinkled on top of it. It comes in a cold glass cup surrounded by ice cubes. He told me to mix it with wooden spoon and use the spoon to eat it. After one taste. I downed the whole cup, it was that good. Didn’t even take a picture of it. Definitely will be ordering that one again if it is available. Thanks Chef!

All the food are traditional Japanese food, tasteless, be honest, I won’t come back ever. The service is fine. My friends don’t like the cold soba and grill black cod. The place is nice the price is unreasonable, especially the hot pot which need to be order by 2 minimum but only get a big pot and not enough, over rated over price that true.

Okay I can’t believe I haven’t written a review for this place yet. It’s literally my most favorite Japanese restaurant in San Diego. It’s such a cute spot for lunch or a dinner date!
Lunch: they have really good bento or lunch specials. I’ve had the premium chirashi bowls and they are delish! I actually prefer their bowls over the ones served at Sakura (Japanese restaurant off Convoy). Another great lunch option at Otan is the Shabu Shabu lunch set. Trust me, it won’t disappoint.
Dinner: you gotta try the Sukiyaki! And don’t forget to order udon noodles so you can eat it with the broth. The broth is so sweet and flavorful at the end!
The only negative thing about this place is the fruit flies! The last 3 times I’ve been here-​I had fruit flies all over my food. It’s warm out and they got the doors open.

Went here for my anniversary dinner with my boyfriend! Absolutely loved everything about this restaurant. It’s adorable, authentic, and really charming. It’s quite small, so you might want to reserve seating ahead of time to get seated during busier times. Waitresses were extremely nice. ^_^
We got 2 orders of Sukiyaki; the broth was phenomenal, and there were so many yummy veggies, tofu, and thinly sliced meat! It was SO good on a cold day like yesterday. You can also add udon noodles/​ramen noodles/​egg with rice for a couple extra dollars. We also got sweet potato tempura, which came with the dipping broth and green tea salt, and Asahi. Pricing is not too bad, considering how good the food was! The interior is so beautiful, and on another random note, their bathroom is awesome. Would come back here again and again, no doubt!

Good food. Crappy takeout experience. Not only did they not get my online order, after arriving I had to wait an additional 30 minutes for it to be ready and then they charged me a different price then what their website receipt said AND tried to charge me for tea while I waited. Get it together guys, not cool.

Excellent Japanese food. This place, along with Wa Dining Okan, are tied for my favorite Japanese restaurants in SD. I believe ther are sister restaurants so the ambience is a bit similar. Small intimiate dining rooms with authentic dishes that aren’t found in other places. This place is small so reservations are recommended. There is bar seating and private dining booths where you take off your shoes and dine in a sunken floor.
My party of 3 ordered a ton of dishes. Some dishes that I recommend include:
–Sukiyaki: This is one of their hot pots that come with noodles, beef, tofu, various mushrooms, and noodles. The broth is a dark and sweet.
— Chicken karaage: The fried chicken here is fantastic. Super crispy, juicy, and it comes with a good mayo dipping sauce.
— Fried chicken cartilage: Not many places have this dish. The cartilage here isn’t too tough.
— Chawanmushi: This steamed egg dish came with shrimp and chicken and was very light in texture. It was a bit too soupy though.
— Agedashi tofu: One of my favorite Japanese dishes. The batter on the tofu is great!
— Grilled pork belly skewers: These were very tender with light seasoning of salt to bring out the flavor.
Those were just a few of the many dishes that we ordered. Our bill came out to $ 170 with tip so the small dishes really add up! The service here was really good. Our waitress was super helpful in recommending dishes and was very attentive and nice. Overall on of my favorite dining experiences I have had in SD. Highly recommended!

I love this Japanese restaurant. From the space, to the food and service, everything about this place is very authentic and great.
The restaurant is very small, with private dining (you have to take off your shoes) and bar available. It really feels like you’re in a Japanese fire side grilling house. Turnover rate is not fast, so I recommend making a reservation to avoid waiting.
The servers are really sweet and polite. They make sure you feel respected and treated you well.
Food wise it’s pretty authentic Japanese food. I ordered sesame fried tofu, green salad, cold buckwheat noodles, bluefin tuna nigiri, grilled eel, fried chicken cartilage, and mochi. They are all good quality Japanese dishes.
Must order mochi. It’s not the typical mochi you’ll find in other Japanese stores or restaurants. It’s more jelly like. So good thag I wanna order the second plate.

This place is delicious! It can be pricey, but the happy hour deals are awesome. I ordered the shabu shabu and sashimi combo. Food quality was on point, and the portions are pretty generous. I also really liked the private booths. You remove your shoes before going in, feels so authentic. Our waitress checked up on us regularly and even set up our shoes for us on the way out. Such a great experience!

Really digging the seating in this restaurant… I walked in and saw that they had traditional Japanese rooms with the sliding doors and short tables where you are required to sit on the floor with your shoes off. As I sat down I noticed that under the table it was hollow for your feet to hang as if you were sitting on a ledge, what a clever idea! That alone will get you 3 stars but the fourth star is because they have amaebi (sweet raw shrimp with fried head) year-​round when most other izakayas carry it only seasonally. Also, other dishes like the shishito peppers and Hamachi kama (broiled yellow tail collar) were really on point. The waitresses here are very kind and I would recommend this gem to anyone craving Japanese like Bry was that night.

Still trying to pinch myself from this dream – Is Robataya Oton really real?! Oh yup, it is, and it comes at the top of my list for favorite Japanese restaurants. It’s a mix of all of my favorite Japanese yum: sushi, shabu shabu, and yakitori ALL IN ONE PLACE. The portions are generous and the pricing is fair for the quality of food you get here.
Not only do they have more authentic food, but the service and the set up of the restaurant almost makes you feel as if you’re in Japan, too! The restaurant is small, so I recommend making reservations if you can. There’s a small bar seating area which doesn’t seem to get filled since everyone wants to sit in one of the little rooms where you take your shoes off and sit on a ledge that allows you to sit «criss-​cross apple sauce» or let your legs dangle off of the ledge. They have a table grill if you decide on shabu shabu, and they have other great options as well.
+ Fried garlic: Meh, I may be biased simply because I like garlic after it’s softened from a soup broth rather than fried. The garlic comes with a salt to dip in, and it’s quite good however it does have a burnt end/​aftertaste to it which I didn’t enjoy.
+ Chirashi bowl: I LOVE sushi rice, and this bowl is everything. It comes with a variety of sashimi (the only one I didn’t care for is the salmon roe), and a generous portion of rice and salad.
+ Hamachi: The fried yellowtail here at Robata Oton is one of the more generous portions I’ve had. It’s perfectly fried and tastes amazing. It doesn’t come with rice, but I prefer it with a side of rice.
The staff are friendly in greeting you once you walk in and holding the door on your way out. I enjoy the service and the Japanese vibe that the restaurant gives off. Definitely a cute date night!

This was the least expected most genuinely awesome experience I had while eating in SD.
(+1) For the kindest, most attentive service. Seriously — the girls were amazing, kind and very accommodating!
(+10) For the mouth-​watering sukiyaki — served with plenty veggies and an amazing egg!
(+1) for a great Happy hour deal! Hotpot+sashimi for less than $ 30 (with drinks!)
(+1) for the cute décor and cozy feeling of the spot
(-1) for the relatively lackluster sahimi. I understand these guys may not specialize in fish, but it was sort of underwhelming compared to the rest of the spread. The salmon was good (but not great), the tuna was also decent but the white fish had both a bone still inside and was very non-​homogenously chewy.
Overall — can’t wait to come back here and bring more friends! Small place but can accommodate groups up to 8 ish so it’s perfect!
Tip: CALL to make reservations :)

Fantastic Japanese restaurant. Definitely one of the most authentic Japanese restaurants in San Diego. The workers are Japanese and the interior of this restaurant is just lovely. It seriously feels like you’re in Japan. You should check out the restroom here, it looks so cool
However, it’s really pricey here and the portion is very small (I got hungry in 2 hours) but the food is really good
What made me interested in checking this restaurant out is that they serve foie gras (that delicious and controversial French delicacy). I wanted to see what the Japanese can do with foie gras and let me tell you, they do a really good job with it.
I ordered a dobin mushi with foie gras. It’s a soup that tasted like magic in every sip I took.
After that delicious soup, I ordered some fried quail. It’s essentially like a tiny chicken drumstick but that taste was phenomenal. It’s like the most perfect fried chicken you can ever imagine.
For my drinks, I ordered a yuzu wine and a hot green tea. I really really REALLY like that yuzu wine. The hot green tea is also perfect.
So, in conclusion, if you want to experience authentic Japanese cuisine along with authentic Japanese prices, then this is the place for you: p
I’d definitely be coming back next time I’m in the area. I really enjoyed my first time here

I’ve been here several times and it has quickly become one of my favorite Japanese restaurants in the area. I used to pass by it all the time because I had heard it was pricey. While some items are a bit pricey it isn’t horrible. But they have some great happy hour deals. Our favorite happy hour deal here is the shabu shabu & sashimi combo. With limited shabu shabu options in San Diego this is easily one of the best. The quality of the meats and veggies is awesome. If it’s not busy the server will prepare your shabu shabu pot for you. Meaning they place the veggies in and everything. It’s also very cool that they have the booths where you have to remove your shoes. I like that the servers and cooks are all Japanese. I know that may sound a bit snobby but I feel like it’s more authentic that way. Everyone here is so nice, and service is always on point. It really brings me back to being in Japan.

This is my second time here for lunch. No wait for Saturday and their bento special did not ran out! Bento was good — just ordinary. See foto.
I highly recommend any of the sashimi dishes. They are super fresh and delicious. Will return again for sushi and sashimi. Also any of the dishes you order on the spot.

The atmosphere at Robata-​ya Oton is cute. There are separate «rooms» where you have to take off your shoes before entering, so no stinky feet allowed. Tip — don’t lean on the wall, it is a room divider, not a wall. Reservations recommended.
As for the food, it was just okay and the service — horrendous.
— Green Tea — the initial cup served was just hot water. Where is the GREEN TEA?
— Sukiyaki — delicious flavor, but for $ 50 (I expect a larger portion of meat) — see picture. This would have been $ 38 at the expensive midtown Manhattan prices in New York City.
— Sea Urchin (Uni) — do not order — it had a bitter aftertaste
We ordered a bunch of appetizers, one of which was a gobo with pork wrapped around it. When we received the dish, it wasn’t until we bit into it and noticed that there was no pork wrapped around it. We asked our waitress to come over and we told her that there was no pork. Her eyes went wide open (indicating that she acknowledged that there was a mistake) and then ran off. A few minutes later, another waitress comes back and tells us that we ordered the regular gobo with no pork. (Funny because she said the statement to us with such confidence when in fact, she wasn’t the waitress that took our order).
At that time, we then explained that we ordered it with the other waitress by also pointing to the bottom of the menu where the gobo with pork was listed. We did this specifically because her English wasn’t that great. The regular gobo with no pork was at the top of the menu. The 2^nd waitress ignored the comment and asked us «if we wanted to place 3 more orders» of the gobo with pork wrapped around it.
At that point, I replied with confidence — no, we are not going to order 3 more orders because the first waitress messed up on the order. I’m usually not a fussy customer, but at this point, I’m just mad. Each dish had something wrong with it (hot water served as green tea to the bitter sea urchin). We ordered at least $ 100+ of food and drinks, and the waitress is fighting with us over a few dollars of skewers that the first waitress messed up on. ARG. This is just the principle of the situation.
Unless you’re craving overpriced but delicious Sukiyaki, I suggest you take your money elsewhere to spend. I’ll happily go back to Wa Dining OKAN for authentic Japanese food or Sushi Ota for really fresh Uni.