Otsumami

Reliable local Japanese. Nice comfortable space on High Street. All dishes are good and some are exceptional, eg the eggplant. Love the sashimi and sushi too. Service is good as well. Professional and friendly with a big plaudit for those working last Tuesday night. A plug for their Riesling choice here as well. The Castelli Riesling they have is far and away the best riesling choice I’ve seen in a restaurant for a while. It’s a cracker.

Delicious authentic Japanese food in a great location. It’s a share plate set up with a great variety of dishes. Highlight dishes were the Japanese Fried Chicken (Kara-​Age), Seared Scallops (Hotate) and the Soba Salad — yum yum yum! Highly recommend a visit and a nibble!

Lovely little Japanese place in the middle of high st Northcote. Food is tasty, Japanese dishes with little
, Soba noodle salad came with cherry tomatoes! Reasonable prices and friendly service, only hiccup was long wait between entrée and mains. Definitely would go again. Big communal table at the back. Recommended.

Went to Otsumami last night (Saturday) before heading to a party in Northcote.
They seem to be very popular as the place was pretty much full for the 2 hours that we were there. The food was great and more of a tapas style. We especially enjoyed the king prawns and the chicken dish from the ‘bigger meals’ page of the menu.
I also liked the gold leaf (cold) saki.
As a special bonus, we witnessed a troupe of about 30 men and women walk past the window, each wearing a poncho and playing a pan flute. No idea what that was about, but it made the whole front half of Otsumami giggle quite a bit.
I would definitely go back next time I am on the north side.

Otsumami means ‘snack’ in Japanese — which is a literal translation of course. I’m going to go out on a limb and more confidently translate the word as meaning ‘deliciously yummy snack’ — because Otsumami is a fine restaurant indeed.
At Otsumami the menu is split into four sections, small, medium and large snacks as well as a sashimi section; which makes this busy establishment much like the Japanese version of a Tapas bar.
The food at Otsumami excels in almost every way. They use a wide range of traditional Japanese cooking techniques and ingredients in modern ways, to ever successful results. My favourite, is the scallops seared and served in nori butter sauce — one of the nicest pieces of food I have ever tried.
The servings here are small, as the menu is designed for customers to buy a number of dishes to try. And at $ 3 – 35 a piece your bill can quickly add up, as you will want to try a great many things off this exciting menu. But if you don’t desire an expensive night out, you can order just a few dishes and some bowls of rice and come away just as satisfied.
Just make sure you turn up early or book ahead. This place packs out most nights of the week — which really is a testament to how great a restaurant this is, considering it is situated in Northcote, not the inner city.