Ota-ya

10/22/07

Fantastic Rolls and Service

by bcroft at Citysearch

I have been going to Ota-Ya for acouple of years and it is always spectacular. The Spicy King Roll is a must. For the upper east side, these are great prices complemented by fantastic food.

• Pros: Sushi Rolls, Service
• Cons: Nothing I can think of!

06/11/07

real disappointment...

by algny at Citysearch

Having read a plethora of reviews of Upper East Side sushi restaurants, I decided to try out this supposed 'hidden gem'... what a mistake. The atmosphere was severely lacking - the restaurant was too cold, the decor was uninspiring, and the irritating background music wasn't 'background' enough for my liking. While the service was helpful and polite, the food and bill took forever and the results were enormously disappointing - my usual roll of choice, the Dragon Roll, was revolting- I could only eat one piece. The goldfish and spicy king roll were adequate, but considering all the rave reviews of the place I was expecting something delicious. I've definitely had a lot of good sushi so perhaps my standards are too high, but I wouldn't normally write complain about a restaurant online unless it really warranted such criticism. I would rate Ota-ya poor to average at best, and will have to keep searching for a genuine neighborhood sushi gem...

• Pros: Wasn't crowded (now I know why..)
• Cons: SUSHI, ambience, slow

12/31/06

Good Food Slow Service

by b00pi3flak3s at Citysearch

Good Japanese food at times slower than a turtle in a race does not get much of a thumbs up from me. The service is slow but at least the prices were decent.

• Pros: Sushi, Atmosphere, Prices
• Cons: Slow Service

08/15/06

Best sushi roll in town

by cutepuppy at Citysearch

The food, service and the presentation is really good. Especially the Enter the Dragon Roll and the ohtoro sushi. You wont get an ohtoro sushi with this low price in town, except in Otaya.

• Pros: Friendly staff
• Cons: wait long time for the kitchen food

10/31/05

Soo good

by alice_carolyn at Citysearch

I don't know what this last guy is talking about, how about not mumbling your adress :-)? Anyway, ota-ya has the BEST spicy tuna rolls ever, I cannot order that anywhere else since I had them (only the spicy tuna bowl in cube63 is somewhat comparable from what I know.. but not same price-value..).. One could even say that me and my bf are kind of addicted to them.. We need no more than some of those and some plum wine for a perfect night :-)

06/07/05

D is for delivery and dumb

by nycresident123 at Citysearch

The food here is good but do not get delivery. Not only is it painful trying to relay your order but I ordered instead of going there the other night...it took almost 2 hours to get our food (the sushi tasted like it was wrapped in soggy toilet paper by the time we got it) and the woman who took my order initially sent the delivery person to the wrong address. When he finally got there they offered to take off 50% for taking so long but when I got my statement they charged full price. When I told them about it and expected they credit the account they insisted my bank must have messed up. Genius! The portions are good but the staff is not bright at all. Next time I'll just drop a roll of tp in the tub and eat it for dinner instead.

• Pros: good portions, fair price
• Cons: staff not bright

03/30/04

Very good sushi

by chocolatebar at Citysearch

I was impressed by the quality of sushi and sashimi. Service is reasonably good. I was a little disappointed that they sell cheap gift certificates but then selectively accept them. Overall, a good value, good food

• Pros: good food, good value for money, near comedy club
• Cons: , not near subway, no philly roll

03/16/04

Better than average

by Katjh80 at Citysearch

I recently went to Ota-ya b/c it is in my neighborhood and I was very pleased with my experience. The food was great and I loved the spicy tuna roll!! The fish was fresh and the shumai were tasty too! The atmosphere is a little off, but the service was good and the place was not too crowded. The prices were average as well and I will definitely be back.

• Pros: food

03/05/04

could be better

by icemancometh at Citysearch

My group of friends like to try as many sushi spots in the city as we can - regardless of reviews. Here the sushi rice needs improving otherwise the sushi would have been very good. Pretty spot but we agree there are better elsewhere.

• Pros: nice ambiance, sushi

11/29/03

Nice space, but...

by MsFisk at Citysearch

The eel was rubbery and they don't know how to cook sushi rice. Too bad it is in such a nice space. Otherwise their fish was good and fresh, but there are places with better sushi for the same or lower prices.