One of Pittsburgh’s newest places for sushi and Japanese cuisine, Otaru sits atop Mount Washington, joining the famous restaurant row of Grandview Avenue. Despite its prominent location, Otaru feels like a hidden gem.
Enter through the oversized automatic door and, like a jewel box of a home, the split-level space opens to two intimate dining rooms, both nestled against floor-to-ceiling windows and the postcard-perfect city skyline. This dramatic setting is matched with fresh seafood, innovative Japanese cooking, and generous hospitality.
Elegant Sushu and Skyline Dining Experience at Otaru in Mount Washington
The main level is designed with clean lines and pale wood, evoking the serenity of the natural world. The long sushi bar, which fills half the main level, is built from pieces of a century-old tree sourced from a wood factory two hours from Pittsburgh. Otaru general manager Hyin Lian found a skilled friend to handcraft the wood. Rice paper umbrellas hang from the ceiling.
Downstairs is a bit jazzier. The walls and ceiling are black and then covered with large swaths of glittering gold, set against dark floor tiles. The bar sits at the back of the room, where bar manager Amy Boland chats with guests at the bar and patrons at their tables.
There is an attention to detail at Otaru that is both the marker of a high-end restaurant and the experience of being a guest in someone’s home. Diners are offered hand towels at the start of the meal.
Courses are beautifully plated and thoughtfully sized. Soft, spa-like piano music plays through speakers at just the right volume. Even the bathrooms have dental picks and cotton balls for freshening up.
The restaurant is a dream many years in the making for Leo Xie, owner and chef. After decades in the business, both in the kitchen and management, he has entered the fine-dining world in full force. “Whatever customers need,” he says, “we are giving them our best.”
On the night my husband and I visited this fall, we started with signature cocktails. When my husband asked about the sweetness of something on the drink menu, Boland offered to adjust it so that it would be to his exact liking. It was a small touch that signaled Otaru’s level of service.
Fresh Fish and a Chef’s Vision
While many tables around us ordered à la carte, we couldn’t resist going for the Otaru Experience, a seven-course tasting menu based on fish the chef has ordered from Japan that week. The diversity and freshness of the fish on offer sets Otaru apart. Xie’s head chef, Allen Chen, spent months training in the Japanese city of Otaru, known for the best sushi in the world. The restaurant’s name followed naturally.
“We want the customer to try new things,” Xie says. “Every day we have new fresh fish coming. Mostly we don’t put the fish on our menu. We want the surprise for our customer, something they’ve never seen before.”
On a recent week, sashimi selections include shima aji (striped jack), goldeneye snapper, madai (Japanese red seabream), and bluefin tuna. You won’t find California rolls on the menu at Otaru.
A Lifetime in the Kitchen
As a teenager in China, Xie worked every day after school at a restaurant owned by his uncle. “He taught me how to cook,” Xie says with reverence. “I love it.”
Xie, who moved to Pittsburgh 25 years ago, started in the restaurant world here as a cook at Wai Wai, a Chinese restaurant in Bloomfield. He went on to become the owner.
Over the years, he kept his eyes open for the opportunity to create a fine dining sushi restaurant. His business partner knew the owner of the Mount Washington building, and when the space became available, Xie knew he’d found the site for Otaru. “You cannot find any other place like this,” Xie says.
The buildout took more than two years, with the formal opening in the spring of 2024.
On the night we visited, a Tuesday, the main floor and downstairs dining rooms were full by 7 p.m. Low clouds rolled across the skyline, bringing a sudden rain against our windows. But we were cozy inside and digging into one of our seven courses: a delicate truffle-scented custard served warm and soft in a ceramic dish first presented like a mushroom. By the time we were on to our next course of sashimi, the rain had cleared.
“Look,” said a diner at the table next to us, pointing to the rainbow that stretched from PNC Park to the clouds. Xie and his team couldn’t have orchestrated a more fitting finale.”
Story by Milena Nigam