Acclaimed sushi and omakase spot, Ootoro, is set to open another concept dubbed Ootoro Bar at 15020 Kensington Park Dr in the Village at Tustin Legacy early next year, according to a liquor license filed earlier this week and confirmed by a representative of the restaurant in a text message to What Now Orange County.
When pressed for more details, the restaurant representative simply stated Ootoro Bar will feature a “different serving style,” but stopped short of elaborating any further.
Ootoro’s flagship location opened in Walnut, followed by an Irvine outpost in 2016 and Little Tokyo last October. Each iteration has been met with incredible fanfare, and The Orange County Register went so far as to ask if it’s “the best sushi in Orange County?”
The restaurant itself boasts “extravagant and exotic combinations with custom-made sauces,” and suggests that “one would be hard-pressed to distinguish an Omakase course with Ootoro Sushi from authentic Japan ambiance.”
Each location’s kitchen is helmed by a sushi master – Kun-Wu San, currently at Walnut but the initial brains behind the entire operation, Irvine’s Masa San who comes from a long line of sushi chefs, and Okabe San in Little Tokyo, who worked at his father’s sushi restaurant in Japan – culminating in a combined 99 years of experience that spans Japan, Taiwan, and California.
As such, Ootoro Sushi prides itself on serving “sushi aficionado[s] searching for exquisite quality, top-level fish prepared by a true Master Chef, paired with exceptional service accompanying a premium dining experience.”
