Otani Restaurant & Sushi Bar

09/17/11

Go to Red Lobster

by Green Lantern at Citysearch

My wife and I went to the Otani Restaurant on 161 for our anniversary. We actually left Hyde Park Steakhouse to go there, because she had fond memories of the place. What a mistake. The place used to be a rather classy joint: now it is a bawdy karaoke bar with some bad singers, bad food, and even worse service.

We ordered, then waited about twenty minutes for our appetizers to arrive. Then we got the soup and salad that came with her diner. We ate that. Then we got the soup and salad that came with my diner. We ate that. Then we walked around. As it was Saturday night, I caught up on the football score. We got a little bored. It became uncomfortable. All the while, strangers who could not carry a tune were serenading us. The place was only half full; I don’t know what the hold up with the food was. I asked my wife if I should see if they forgot about us. Then the food arrived – about 45 minutes in all.

Her steak was excellent. My seafood platter seemed to have been created about thirty minutes prior. It was barely warm. You’d think they would at least have warming lights!

My wife ordered a drink; they messed it up for lack of orange juice. We had also tried to order a side of asparagus, but they were out of that, though there is a grocery store practically across the street. You would think Mr. Honda could send someone to the grocery store, right?

Anyway, I ate some of my diner. It was dreadful. I took my diner up the sushi bar, took them it was crap, and deserted it. They took it off the check, though one diner, one coke, one glass of wine, and one messed up mixed drink plus tip came to $60.00.

I left with the feeling that Red Lobster could have done a better job.

04/30/11

good food, lots of fun

by veja1 at Citysearch

my girlfriends & i make it to Otani about once a month, just to catch up and hang out. we always have a blast, and the food is great. yes, the decor is kinds of 70's throwback, and the karaoke jocks can be a little brash sometimes, but that's part of the charm. this place is great. the ONLY complaint is that the service is pretty slow. (resolved by simply ordering as soon as you get in the door, and ordering your drinks at the same time. we all know the menu well enough by now that we don't even need to look). other than that, we never fail to have a wonderful time, but that's just us. infact, we're going again tonight to celebrate one of my sisters graduations :)

01/09/11

Don't go here! Wish I would of read the other reviews first

by Alishao at Citysearch

I always wanted to go to Otani but found out that it is one of the worst restaurants in Columbus.

Our server was sweet but inexperienced but that was not the problem. The food was really mediocre at best to really bad. Also the wait times were awful.. 25 minutes to receive our appetizers which were blah (normally I love veggie tempura) and not served with plates. We ordered 3 sushi rolls and the salmon. Soup and salad came out first. Miso soup was fine but the salad was swimming in dressing. 40 minutes later sushi rolls and fish finally came out. California rolls were fine but no better than what you get at the grocery. The other 2 rolls were falling apart and cut unevenly so that they were falling apart before we even picked them up. It was served with one tiny blob of wasabi and only one soy sauce dish for 2 people. The salmon was served with green beans and steamed rice. The rice had a layer of crust on it like it had been sitting under a heat light. I took one bite and realized I was right as it was crunch. The beans also looked like they had been sitting in a pan for hours. They were shriveled up and not appetizing. Neither was the fish. It was a strange cut with mostly skin on it and also some kind of slimy film on top. I took one bite and knew that it was old. After another 10 minutes the waitress returned and I told her it was bad. She was perplexed on what to do so talked to her manager. Who told her that there was nothing they could do because there was nothing wrong with the meal. I told her yes there was something wrong . The fish was old and inedible. She came back after talking to her manager again and said they would take 1/2 off the price. Not wanting to argue I agreed. I asked for the check which I received 20 minutes later.

I love sushi and Japanese food but this is the worst example of both. Next time I will stick to a far superior restaurant choice, Akai Hana off of W. Henderson road.

11/30/10

Best sushi

by shiningstar123 at Citysearch

I had a great time kareoking and eating there sushi. I had never had sushi before and it was delicious. I have since tried other sushi places and they are not as good as Otani.

10/08/10

Otani or maybe Ohno!

by thiggins24 at Citysearch

Went to Otani tonight for the first time. It will be our LAST time. The service was nothing short of abysmal. We were a party of eight but management made no effort to help the server. The kitchen staff needs a good swift kick to get them into maybe 2nd gear instead of what they are in now. The food after all the waiting was marginal at best. I've had better sushi from Giant Eagle.

Overall a truly sorry and forgetable experience. No stars for this place.