Ootoro Bar

When we wrote about Ootoro Sushi in early 2026, we noted that the Taiwanese-owned yet largely authentically Japanese restaurant has spent over a decade cultivating fans across Los Angeles and Orange County locations, offering omakase-style sushi experiences alongside largely a la carte kitchen items – typically but not always at premium prices. In mid-2024, the mini-chain added a third restaurant to its collection, expanding from Irvine to an adjacent Tustin space near The District at Tustin Legacy: Ootoro Bar is the brand’s answer to places like KazuNori, Sugarfish, and ROL Hand Roll Bar, offering hand roll, cut roll, and nigiri sushi at less obviously eye-watering prices.

Like Ootoro Sushi, the Ootoro Bar interior is somewhat dark and modern, here focused on two stage-like, dramatically lit rectangular sushi counters with booth-style tables for groups of four to six people – roughly two or three times the seating capacity of the typical KazuNori or ROL restaurant, with somewhat speedier service. Here, the menu is built largely to encourage meals in the $30 to $40 per person range, though like Ootoro Bar’s LA and Irvine predecessors, it’s fairly easy to spend more or less if you want. Hand roll sets start at $15 for three (bluefin tuna, blue crab, and salmon), and graduate up to $38 for seven (bluefin, blue crab, toro, scallop, shrimp, lobster, and either yellowtail or salmon) – spicy or non-spicy options are offered at no additional charge for the five-, six-, and seven-roll sets. Individual hand or cut rolls range from $4 to $6.50 for common fish, with salmon belly, fatty tuna (toro) and ultra-fatty tuna (ootoro), spicy lobster, wagyu beef, and uni versions ranging from $12 to $33.75 each. Nigiri sushi are available a la carte at a wide range of prices (typically $7 to $13 for two pieces), and include seasonally available fish that aren’t commonly found at other area restaurants. On our visit, expertly seared engawa halibut fin ($15/two) and akamutsu rosy seabass ($19/two) were just a couple of unique items worth sampling, each melt-in-your-mouth delicious with a tiny dab of yuzu kosho on top for contrast.

There are a handful of other items and ways to order. Chirashi and similar rice bowl plates run $25 to $51 depending on ingredients and lunch/dinner timing; kitchen items including seafood tempura and lobster fried rice ($46 each) sit beside more affordable plates of fried squid tentacles ($13) and basic shrimp/vegetable tempura ($19). Similarly, sushi set meals range from $43 (13-piece) to $185 for a chef’s choice open omakase, and in the past, Ootoro Bar has also offered a $250 meal with 16 courses, including an appetizer, A5 wagyu, caviar, uni, grilled rosy seabass, and dessert items in addition to 12 pieces of premium sushi.