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Review content:
Ototo in Queen Anne is an absolutely OUTSTANDING sushi spot. I've had sushi all over the US since the 80s, and honestly, despite getting things I had never even tried before (along with a rainbow roll and the must-have melt me sockeye sushi)... well, I was impressed impressed impressed and more importantly happy. It has Umi and the trendy hotspot sushi spots beat by a landslide and is even, if sushi is truly your craving, a bit better than Nishino in my opinion... only a bit, mind you, since Nishino... well, it IS kinda the best Japanese food in the whole country :) That said, Ototo costs about half that of Nishino but also lacks some of the wildly creative specialties or the ""chef will surprise you gleefully"" option.\r
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So in my most recent visit, I started with tempura... but I wasn't feeling like eating random amounts of onions and broccoli, etc... I saw ""yam tempura"" as part of a roll then asked what was in the veggie temp sampler... yam, of course, but also pumpkin, which was also amazing. They were entirely relaxed about customizing it (no extra charge), and it was positively wonderful.\r
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Next came the most surprising and pleasantly ""holy frickin wow"" part of our meal, black cod that was marinated in sweet sake and grilled perrrfectly then topped with green soy bean sauce and served with grilled asparagus and zucchini on a bed of yummy greens. While the portion wasn't enormous, the flavor and heartiness were well worth the not-so-high cost...\r
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After warming up with those, we went to our sushi and rolls. I didn't care for geoduck, but the rest... mmm! Absolutely the best wild sockeye, and for $4, we got a really good pickled mackerel roll with pickled ginger and things I forget :) Add a rainbow roll, plum and natto rolls, & fondue: only $50!\r
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My only ""complaints?"" The plum paste roll needs more balance to accent the plum, and sniffle, they weren't serving the seasonal fresh rolls at 9pm on a Sunday. With salmon, tuna, avocado, and *mango,* I'll be back!
Pros: best sushi ever, great ambience (not loud like many Seattle sushi spots!), service was perfect and helped us a LOT
Cons: like many, they stop serving things like fresh spring rolls late, and geoduck and ume shiso kyu weren't anything wowing
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