Yakitori Totto

Love, love, love this place! Asparagus Bacon and the Harami are amazing. I eat here for lunch at least once a week and have never had a bad experience. Service is always excellent.

Came here late on a Thursday night. It was about a 40 minute wait for a table for 3 people. The place is super small so definitely expect a wait.
We ordered a lot and everything was SOOOO incredibly amazing. We tried spicy cucumber pickle, Shirauo Kara-​age, Salmon Siokara, Agedashi Tofu, Totto’s Salad, Amakara Age and a couple of their yakitori. I loved everything we ordered and my favorite was definitely the marinated salmon. The only thing I do not recommend is the chicken skin yakitori… it was too fatty and not flavorful in my opinion.
For dessert, we had the ice banana with tapioca. Really yummy and not too sweet. Pictures that other people took made the dessert seem bigger than it actually was.

This place knows how I like my lamb chops. I can eat 100 of these. The flavor is super juicy and tender with a bit of a smoked flavor. The meat is seasoned perfectly to tap into all your savory buds on your tongue. Sprinkle an average to generous amount of the side herbal/​pepper flakes onto the lamp chops and add just a little bit of salt. This is one super savory piece of meat you won’t forget.

This place was amazing, and easily one of the best Japanese Yakitori’s in New York I have ever been to. It is located on the second floor after the main entrance. The overall restaurant size was pretty small. We went at around 6PM on a weekday before the dinner rush and there was no wait, however, when left around 7PM there was a line, so come early! The skewers were fairly priced and they have a ton of other entrees to choose from. Would recommend the green tea affogato too. Definitely come here.

They don’t do take outs… like really guys. This is New York!!! I mean you have such a tiny place don’t you think it make sense to have take outs

Chicken oyster is great. I love their eel rice bowl! We ordered green tea affogato as desert. It tastes amazing. Highly recommend!

Love this place. Best yakitori. Pricy but you get what you pay for. It’s delicious! Great Japanese food as well. Thy are usually VERY busy so you have to go right when they open or make a reservation.

Easier to get in on a Sunday evening. They take reservations now, even for small groups, I believe.
Here and Torishin — two popular options for yakitori in NYC with YT being the less expensive, but not the best, option.
YT needs to be more careful and cook their meat more thoroughly, especially with the pork and chicken. Found some of them to be undercooked. Big No No.
: B

I like this place. I like it a lot. Next to Torishin, this is probably my next favorite Yakitori place in NYC.
We ordered as much as we could and tried as many things as we could, but there were still a handful of things we wanted to try.
Must get
— Premium Japanese beef. I think this is wagyu given its rich flavor and fat content.
— Chicken heart. They grilled these so well.
— Beef tongue. It’s always my favorite.
— Grilled rice ball with Yakitori sauce.
— Ice banana with coconut milk and tapioca. Holy eff. Get it.
You can try
— Chicken meatball. A bit dry versus other places. I wouldn’t order this again.
— Chicken thigh. To me, it’s an affordable stomach filler.
— Chicken breast with wasabi. It’s ok.
— Kalbi. Good.
Skip this
— Pork belly. Eh.
— Grilled rice ball with miso paste. Gross.

Best yakitori I’ve had so far — everything we tried was delicious.
I recommend getting there earlier in the day to be able to order the yakitori totto specials before they sell out.

In the heart of the Broadway Theater District, Yakitori Totto is a small restaurant up a flight of stairs. Every time we’ve been here there has been a mostly young Japanese crowd eating or waiting for tables. The room conjures an intimate, cool hipster vibe in the middle of Tourist Central.
This time we had a table reservation and got a semi-​private room which barely fit six. Lucky for us we didn’t get seated in the main room where the tables are tightly spaced.
The restaurant used to be known for its raw chicken sashimi specialty, but I didn’t see it on the menu, not that I would’ve risked ordering it.
Be sure you’re In the mood for grilled food on a skewer because that’s what Yakitori Totto specializes in, especially chicken and all of its parts (knees, bones, tail). We had fun selecting grill choices, with my fav being the Shishito Tsukune which is Japanese green pepper stuffed with chicken. The other excellent and re-​ordered dish was the grilled Eringi Bacon, so tasty!
Everyone ordered their own rice dish to complete the meal. My Nega Tori Don, chicken and egg over rice was simple and filling.
Our young waiter was awesome, and kept up with our constant menu questions, beer re-​orders and grill re-​orders. The grill selections don’t seem too expensive, but with re-​orders they add up fast! It’s a great little communal place to dine once you manage to get a seat.

Full disclosure: this should have been a 5 star review. The food was fantastic, service was great, and we left stuffed and completely happy.
…until about 5 hours later when everyone in our party of 4 was nauseous and sick to their stomachs.
But I’ll start with the good stuff. This is a really cool, unassuming place in midtown, but still completely packed to the gills; we had an hour and a half wait on a Saturday night (12÷19÷15). As with most small plates/​izakaya restaurants, portions are small but really high quality and delicious. We split a variety of appetizers (Agedashi Tofu, Avocado & Tuna Salad, Karaage, and the melt-​in-​your-​mouth braised pork belly) and a selection of yakitori. Some of my favorites were the negima with scallion, eringi bacon, harami, and asparagus bacon.
Everything we ordered was very simple, but the fresh flavors of the meats really shone through. I loved the little pots of salt and pepper on the table to give the yakitori that extra oomph of flavor. We were completely full and had a fantastic time.
Unfortunately, that feeling didn’t last for very long. A few hours later, I started getting hot and cold flashes, and soon after, everyone in our party was nauseous and almost to the point of throwing up. We spent all of Sunday sick to our stomachs and even 2 days later, I still don’t feel quite right. Since we shared everything, I’m not sure what did it, but our skewers were probably under cooked.
Anyways, based on the glowing reviews here, I’m sure this was a fluke, but I can’t say I’ll be back any time soon.

Pretty tasty food, as otters mentioned prices are a little high for portion size. I’d like to give 3.5 stars but can’t, hence the rating. I ate the scallop skewer and it was good, also ate the hot udon noodle soup (without chicken) …it was very good but I had asked for a spicy sauce and was told they didn’t have it… wish they did. BF ate the skirt steak skewer and it was cooked very well and tasted great (but the gripe, again, is the size/​price) he also ate the dish that comes with rice and chicken and an egg on top… he liked it well enough but felt it’s nothing spectacular. We shared the tuna avocado salad to start and it was tasty but very difficult to pick up with chop sticks and should come with at least one or two big flat crackers… again for the price that seems it’d be reasonable.

I have been coming here for 6 years. truly disappointed. recently the quality has gone down. the guys that cook the Yakitori have changed. please bring back the quality. it’s such a shame.
service went down as well.
what happened? did the popularity get to the owner/staff’s head???
it’s nyc, you are easily replaced

This is a really cool hidden gem in midtown. I had just finished a meeting around noon and I saw the small sign but no lights or any indication it was open. The adventurer in me opened the door and bounded the stairs and lo and behold there’s a ~10 table yakitori joint.
The portions are small here so order a lunch special and try out some skewers. I had a rice bowl with row, salmon, and egg. Really tasty and interesting. It comes with a side of pickles, miso soup, and salad. For skewers I had liver, chicken thigh, gizzard, and shishito peppers. Believe it or not the gizzard and shishito were the best however they’re all pretty well seasoned.
Will definitely stop in again next time I’m in the area.

Seating here is really tight, It makes it pretty uncomfortable to talk to the person your with because not only are you interrupted by your neighboring diners but you have no privacy. Its like sitting on a NYC subway cart.
It was cold outside and we asked for some tea, They poured us two small cups… the tea was cold! It must have been sitting out for hours because they poured it out of a thermos. When we asked if we can get it heated they went out to get a new thermos and topped our tea off with some hot water… which made the tea slightly warm. gross.
Aside from the lacking service, The food was far from impressive.
Everything we ordered was bland. Its like if you were to cook a quick dinner after work for yourself at home. And the soup they served is overly salty (Miso) -
The rise dish we got had a few tablespoons of topping and the rest was plain white rice so when we got towards the bottom your literately eating bland rice. (which is a good way to save money for the restaurant)
Also the beef skewer as way too chewy! — My guess is low quality meat.
First and last experience here. Will not be returning or recommending.

Would definitely come here again, but they should really pare down their appetizer /​small plate offerings — many were simply not that great. Instead of venturing the apps section, it’s probably a smarter use of your money to focus on the yakitori.
DO GET
Chicken oyster (soriresu /​sot-l’y-laisse): Literally meaning «the fools leave it there» to indicate dumb butchers who leave this juicy dark meat on the bone. And you’d definitely be a fool to not get this here — represents the best of both worlds with a more generous piece of juicy thigh meat AND crispy skin.
MEH
Kyona and jako salad: It fulfilled my self-​imposed guilt of having to eat greens before meat. Nothing more, nothing less.
NEVER AGAIN
Yakionigiri: Sticky sweet for the first 0.001 inch of rice layer and then a mushy pile of nothingness.
Shirauo Karaage: A large pile of noodly fried dough. Cannot taste the shirauo fish whatsoever.
PSA
The correct way to eat yakitori is to wash it down with an ice, cold beer. No one at the counter seats ordered a beer. Truly a tragedy.

Went here on a date. It’s a really cool spot, small, but great for talking and having a cool experience.
The selections are extensive, it took us a while to get through the whole menu. We ended up trying a bunch of different things but the stand outs for me were the rice balls, the short rib, and the pork. Amazing seasoning, great texture, and the subtle smoke from the grill really comes through. It’s pretty straightforward so there isn’t much to say about the place other than I thoroughly enjoyed my experience there.
I’d definitely come again although I’d go earlier in the day or call ahead to see what the wait is like because we were waiting for an hour to get seated. Upside is they call you when you’re up, so you can go grab a drink elsewhere while you wait.

Comida muito boa, só frequentado por orientais eu era o único sem olho puxado RSSs. Gostei muito da comida média 35 dólares por pessoa.

Yakitori Totto was my first yakitori experience and I loved it! Everything I tried was delicious and perfectly cooked. The cooks behind the bar appeared to cook everything meticulously and with care.
Some of my favorites:
— Chicken thigh, kalbi and asparagus yakitori: Very tender and flavorful
— Agedashi tofu: I loved the sweet sauce and slightly crispy skin on the tofu
— Chicken kara-​age: I thought the chicken would be boneless, but it was still flavorful without being too salty.
— Gyoza: Crispy and addicting
The restaurant is fairly small, so I waited about 45 minutes for a table during dinner time. The servers are attentive as well. There is a $ 20 minimum/​person and our bill came out to be about $ 25/​person for a group of four. I’ll definitely be returning each time I’m In New York.

$ 20 minimum per person.
No substitutions or order cancellations allowed.
Up a flight of stairs into a small, dark space. Nicely decorated, authentic.
FAVORITES:
_​Aburi Shime Saba 炙り〆鯖 ($ 7)
flamed pickled mackerel
= tasty (and fishy)
_​Sasami ささみ ($ 3)
chicken breast fillets w/​wasabi & salt
= good flavor
_​Shishito Tsukune ししとうつくね ($ 4.50)
Japanese green pepper w/​chicken stuffing
= mini stuffed pepper on a stick!
_​Amakara Age 甘辛揚げ ($ 8)
sweet spicy deep-​fried chicken
= almost like Chinese Sesame Chicken but more like Japanese chicken wings
(with bones), and a tasty sauce!
_​Tori Dango 鳥団子の餅米蒸し($ 10)
steamed rice dumplings w/​chicken meatballs inside
(takes 15 minutes to prepare + cook this dish)
= sticky, tasty, unique!
WOULDN’T get again:
_​Totto Buns ($ 4) chicken buns with lettuce and yakitori sauce
= nothing spectacular, just okay
_​Yaki Onigiri 味噌焼きおにぎり ($ 3.50) (miso/​yakitori sauce/​soy sauce)
grilled rice ball
= too burnt for my taste (I tried soy sauce. Maybe miso or yakitori is better.)
Might return.

Oui oui oui ! Recommandé par le guide du Routard, on s’est quand même laissés tenter les yeux fermés par ce restaurant après un double check sur Unilocal pour vérifier que les new yorkais y trouvent leur compte aussi.
Une localisation parfaite pour aller prendre un petit bain de foule sur Time Square ou monter sur le Top of the Rock après (c’était notre dernier soir, forcément…). Il né paie pas de mine de l’extérieur mais l’intérieur, bien que petit, il est très beau, très comme on imagine les resto japonais de New York en fait. Les yakitori sont à l’unité, donc prix un peu rebutant à priori car ils tournent tous autour de 3 ou 5 $, mais quel délice, on se laisse tenter par une recette après l’autre, on en redemande, on admire la mémoiré des serveuses qui se rappellent qui a pris quoi à la table (avec les noms en japonais, j’avais bien sur tôt oublié), et on déguste… Je conseille le yakitori asperge entouré de bacon ainsi que celui au riz grillé et tous ceux à base de porc et de bœuf étaient aussi très bon, je n’ai pas goûté le canard et je le regrette.
La cuisine ouverte permet de voir les cuisiniers travailler, surtout si on est installe le long du plan de travail comme c’était notre cas.
Petit point négatif, les serveurs hurlent vraiment entre eux pour s’indiquer les plats à rajouter sur les notes de chacun, j’imagine, puisqu’on commande un peu au compte goûte. Mais ça ajoute un peu de charme, allez, je vais pas faire la difficile.
Allez, vraiment je le conseille, je réalise que je n’avais pas goûté de yakitori avant cette expérience, pile le genre qui me plait: avoir l’impression de découvrir de nouveau goûts !