| rev:text
| - Short story review:
Food: 2/5
Service: 5/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Value: 2/5
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I recently went to this restaurant with my girlfriend for lunch. We both love sushi and have been trying different places in the east valley. As some of our other staples were closed on Sunday afternoon, we decided to try Otaku.
The first thing we noticed about Otaku was its nice, modern look. The restaurant decor and layout is pretty appealing, with large glass windows separating the main dining rotunda from the patio outside. We went on a sleepy, hot summer afternoon, but I imagine it must be pretty nice to sit outside on a cooler evening.
We ordered their jalapeno poppers, which were fried jalapenos with a tuna filling and an eel glaze, to begin our meal. The poppers came out with a dark brown breading, as if old oil had been used in the fry. The breading itself tasted bland, and the jalapenos were mushy and tasteless. There was hardly any spice or flavor to the dish outside of the spicy mayo in the filling. Not too good.
Then came our main course.
I ordered their Vegas, Philadelphia, and Monster rolls.
The Vegas rolls were OK. They were a bit too soft for my liking (not having a crispy outside), but the actual taste was good. The Philadelphia rolls were very good in terms of taste and texture, and the appropriately named Monster rolls were also OK. They were a bit lukewarm, but OK. That said, the rolls weren't as good as the ones I've had at Shimagomo, Ryu Sushi & Teppanyaki, Sushi San, and Sushiya.
My girlfriend fared worse with her order. She ordered the Mongolian beef, which came with fried rice, a house salad, and a vegetable roll. I ended up trying most of her food.
The house salad was actually very good. Whatever ginger-teriyaki dressing they used was excellent.
The fried rice was just bad...to the point where it shouldn't have been advertised as fried rice. It looked as if someone had taken steamed rice, thrown it in a pan with onions and eggs, added soy sauce, and called it a day. Again, the texture was off. It was too wet, and there was no sesame, garlic, or ginger to at least anchor the rice as something resembling traditional fried rice.
The texture of the Mongolian beef was strange. It was too soft, to the point that it had the texture of ham. We couldn't finish it.
She also had peach tea, which turned out to just be tea with peach syrup added.
The waitress who served us was attentive enough to know that something was wrong with the food and ask us about it. The manager came by shortly thereafter to ask about the food and ended up taking the Mongolian off of the bill.
Overall, not a great experience. We may try Otaku on another busier night, but it probably won't be soon.
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