Ototo, Japanese for little brother, was established in 2019 and it is a sake bar from Chef Charles Namba and Courtney Kaplan. The restaurant gets the name from its relationship with Tsubaki, from the same owners.
Located next door, Ototo describes itself as a restaurant that brings “an ever-changing selection of traditional and innovative sakes, with a focus above all on featuring small, craft breweries, aka jizake, Japanese beers, a wide selection of shochu, and drinking snacks are in the mix too”.
The restaurant is located at 1360 Allison Ave, Echo Park. Although some customers complain about the menu is short, they also praise Ototo’s music style and ambiance.
Our recommendations
When it comes to the food, the chicken katsu is the people’s favorite, although Mo’s burger has some fans as well.
The first one is a fried chicken sandwich, with snowy cabbage, pickled jalapenos, katsu sauce, and kewpie on toasted milk bread. The former one, on the other hand, is a Japanese-style chili burger, with a “special sauce”, sliced tomato served on a sesame bun. It is only available at night.
