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Otooshi

Otooshi, also known as sakizuke and tsukidashi, is a side dish eaten with alcohol that is automatically served before a meal at an izakaya (Japanese style bars), a sushi bar, and a traditional Japanese restaurant regardless of your order.

There are those who like and dislike this custom due to the fact that you usually do not know what is going to be served. Customers that like otooshi look forward to each restaurant’s unique arrangement of seasonal flavors such as vegetables (e.g. Japanese butterbur), seafood (e.g. squid), and seaweeds in these usually small but highly creative dishes.

There are many customers that judge the quality of the entire establishment by just this one small dish. The pleasure is sometimes multiplied when the otooshi includes more than a single small dish.Depending on the bar, there are customers that look forward to the ever changing otooshi even ordering seconds despite the extra charge.However, some dislike the concept of otooshi because there is an unwanted service fee (usually 200-300yen) charged even in a more casual izakaya, which often only serves simple otooshi such as macaroni or vermicelli salads, pickles, or dried snacks. You can usually refuse otooshi if it is a chain izakaya but not at exclusive traditional Japanese restaurants where the otooshi is part of the course menu.

However, accepting it as a table charge is another option. There are also some izakaya that allow customers to choose from a small selection.If you are interested in experiencing otooshi culture without worrying about the extra cost, Gourmet Navigator provides coupons for free top quality otooshi at a selection of restaurants.