Plateau’s Otto Bistro Gives Japanese Cuisine the French Treatment

Following the success of their charcoal-fuelled izakaya, Hanhak Kim and Hiroshi Kitano have softly opened their new restaurant Otto Bistro over the past weekend in the Plateau. Much like how their last project deviated from the mainstream izakaya offerings with an emphasis on grilled goods—and as the name implies—this new spot is aimed at providing a bistro treatment of Japanese cuisine. “The food is basically Japanese homestyle cooking,” Kim tells Eater, “ but a bit twisted to include French styles.”

That means that the new restaurant’s menu leans flavourful while being light on ingredients: Simple hot or cold salads and soups act as starters, while a variety of surf and turf proteins form the greater half of the menu as sandwiches, served marinaded on rice, and in curries. The main distinction? Whereas the downtown Otto leaned towards snack-sized portions, the Bistro specializes in larger portions of solid entrées. “It started with a larger menu, but we’re only serving a third of that right now,” explains Kim, noting that the current opening menu is expected to grow. “We also have a daily special menu that we change every day as well.” For now, the selection’s current incarnation can be found here.

Located in a small restaurant that once housed the French crêpe café Pause & Vous, this 34-seater features an open counter as opposed to a bar to sit at, but still serves up cocktails and beer. All this is provided in either lunch and dinner services with a switchover period in between.

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STATUS — Otto Bistro is open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Tuesdays to Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Sundays. Dinner runs from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Tuesdays to Thursdays, and until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Closed on Mondays.

• Bistro Otto [Facebook]
• The Critics Take on Otto Yakitori, Chambre à Part, Bocata, and La Tannerie [EMTL]
• Otto, Montreal’s First Yakitori Restaurant, Grills Japanese-Style Downtown [EMTL]