Otom: User Reviews

My date and I came to Otom to eat for dinner on Monday. We were right away greeted and had the door opened for us. We got seated and was greet by our server right away as well. The staff there was warm and were really friendly. They interacted with my date and I and I saw them also joking around and making a great experience with the rest of the other guest at other tables. The $5 drink specials are awesome and the bartender knows how to def throw down with making some killer drinks. The food was also top-notch. Great flavors and combinations that I wouldn't ever think of tasted so great with every plate we had. The rhyming names of what they had on the menu was fun and witty and definitely made you want to think about what the great turn out would be. The place was packed and for a Monday night, was pretty impressive. Our bill was affordable and def worth it. This was my second time dining at Otom and it would definitely not be the last.

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First of all, the cocktails are fantastic. It's definately worth going for the drinks, especially on a Monday. Overall, we found the food good, but hardly impressive. And for the price we paid, we expected more of a 'wow.' Service was sporatic; every other table received bread but us, and then not until right before dessert. I don't see a reason to go back.

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Went there with two buddies a few weeks ago. Started with cocktails which were excellent (especially liked the "peanut butter and jelly" with peanut infused bourbon). We shared the house made pasta as well as the Spanish tart. Pasta was good but not groundbreaking. The carbo grapes were a nice compliment to the manchego in the tart which was very good. For entrees we tried the TV dinner and monkfish selections, and both were winners. The monkfish was perfectly cooked and seasoned. Every item on the TV dinner was unique and flavorful. Prices are very reasonable for the quality of the food. Our server was flawless. The atmosphere is very upscale with beautiful people to match.

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OTOM is no Moto. OTOM leans too heavily on its parent, Moto, in an unsuccessful way that leaves you hungry and sad.

Service = Average
Food = Average + 1

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This was the 2nd time we visited Otom. The food is just wonderful and the service was good---a tad on the slow side though.

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As avid fans of Omaro Cantu's Moto, we were looking forward to sampling his concept of a more mainstream cuisine at Otom. The decor and ambiance did not disappoint. My husband and daughter, both non-foodies, and I ,wanted to fete our son-in-law birthday with a repeat of a previous year's feast he had loved at Moto.
Arriving at 7:30 to a nearly empty restaurant, we speculated on the ravages of the economy. However, by 8 pm, as we had consumed a few drinks and the place had become jammed with a young, sometimes boisterous crowd , our spirits lifted, and we consulted the charmingly quirky menu with amusement and interest.
"Who writes this stuff?" we wanted to know? What are "semi-solids?" ..mash stuff?" ..TV dinner".. we guessed the Cantu whimsy was still at work and looked forward to a mixture of culinary conservatism and wild escape. Well, three of us voted for escape: my husband, who likes his meal square, opted for a very down-to-earth lamb shank.
The others ordered the TV dinner, the ravioli stuffed with beef cheeks, and the mac and cheese.
Though my opentable reservation had mentioned ahead that one of us had a severe mushroom allergy, no one of the staff seemed aware of this. However,the amiable waiter was very reponsive in checking with the kitchen and offering alternatives.

We started with a nice red lentil soup, a garnish of young arugula offering a pleasingly tart contrast. None of us can now remember the appetizers we had after this- just that they were less exciting than their menu description. The bread came accompanied by a simple lemon butter.
Though the service was prompt and well-executed, we all took exception to the mumbled description of each dish by the young woman presenter. It was impossible to understand, particularly with the ambiant noise.
A fun amuse bouche came next, a small dish with a crouton and a plastic eyedropper of soup, but since we had already had had soup, this seemed mis-timed, but forgivable.

But what was not were the remarkably cheeky offerings in the TV dinner, a joke that misfired when the three little blobs in the stainless steel covered compartmented tray turned out to be nearly inedible. The "mash stuff" with green sauce in the center was bland, but not even satisfying as comfort food should be, and the small mound of what purported to be duck was so overly salted it could not be eaten.

I had the three sauteed beef cheek raviolis, tasted one eagerly at first, but the ravioli skin was textureless and the pulled meat sadly dry- then resignedly went through the second, not wanting to abate my companions' mood, and finally turned to my neighbor and offered him the third, since the mac'n cheese he had ordered, and enjoyed, came in a very small dish. On the other hand, the lamb shank was good, though not exceptional, and came in quite a large portion.

There seems to be a certain lack of balance to the menu composition , an unevenness in the relative portion sizes, as well as a large lack of continuity between what the menu seems to promise and what the palate is actually being fed. I call it a problem in execution: does anyone in the kitchen actually taste what is being served? They should.

At the close of the meal, we asked ourselves: would we come back? The answer was an unanimous No, though two of us adore Moto and will return on our own, leaving our mates at home with.. a real TV dinner!

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My husband and I were in Chicago visiting for the weekend and had an awesome dinning experience at Otom. Being a vegetarian it is sometimes hard to find a menu that is veggie friendly. I could not believe some of the unique courses of the night, the TV Dinner was great. The Otom team were experts at all aspects of the night. Thank you for one of the best experiences we have ever had. Chef Nash is incredible!!!!

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I went here with a group of four on a Friday night and had a fantastic experience. Since one of us was late, we were seated in the lounge and given cocktail menus. They have very interesting and creative concoctions that impressed everyone. When our fourth member arrived, we were seated and a very friendly and knowledgeable waiter explained everything to us, gave personal recommendations (and was honest about the ones he didn't care for as much), and kept our drinks and plates coming in a timely way. I can't even get into how interesting the food was, and we really enjoyed having four people there, since we all got to taste each other's appetizers and entrees. I would definitely go there again and bring a group if possible!

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With all the hype surrounding this place (including the good reviews here) I was expecting much more. The food was below average, from appetizers through entrees. With a party of five, you would think there would be at least one stand-out dish. No "yummy noises" from anyone! A nice room is not enough to keep me interested; there are just too many fabulous restaurants in Chicago to ever go back here.

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We went to Otom last night and our party of 4 had mixed reviews. The cocktails were wonderful, across the board. We all agreed the service was not stellar...quick slow and the waiter seemed ambivilant. The mac and cheese was not as great as we'd hoped, my pork belly was awesome as was my wilted spinach salad (though not at all wilted). One friend ordered the Cod and after one bite she sent it back due to being too salty. By the time this happened she was so hungry she left the restaurant. The chef came out with a full round of wonderful desserts and prosecco. Each was really wonderful, but I'd preferred he just comp'd the one friend's fish. It was also really loud, and when we were walking in the smell of the neighboring meat companies was a bit overwhelming. I definitely want to try out Moto, but probably will not go back to Otom. It was ok, but there are too many other great places. I did appreciate their effort to make it right, but the friend had already left by that time.

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