We have our “standard” place to go before attending a production at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre, but on this particular evening, our place was not open! We had to quickly form a Plan B. Since they are right across the parking lot from the CTC, we decided on Totto Sushi & Grill (330 Frazier Ave.). The restaurant is small (narrow and elongated), next to Sweet Cece’s, so there is outdoor seating facing Coolidge Park.
There were so many items on the menu, it was a difficult decision. Our waiter was helpful and extremely knowledgeable regarding the menu, as was the host, who stopped by our table several times to see if he could be of service.
Wayne and I both started with a bowl of Miso Soup ($2). This is not “just” a sushi place, as there are many grilled items on the menu such as Hibachi steak, Peach Shrimp, Teriyaki Calamari and a Lobster Dinner among other items (grilled dinner prices range from $11 to $31). If you are not sushi lovers, don’t let that stop you from visiting Totto. I certainly appreciated the fact that the soup was served very hot. I absolutely hate it when restaurants serve lukewarm soup – or any food that’s supposed to be hot.
Bento Boxes are served with soup, salad, white rice, grilled vegetables, California Roll, Fried Beef Dumpling and Tempura with prices ranging from $15 to $30 (lobster). We also noted there were several Korean dishes on the menu. Lunch items, including soup, salad, vegetables and white rice are priced from $7 to $14.95.
Some of the special sushi rolls sounded (and looked) wonderful. My order was Amaebi (sweet raw shrimp - $6.95) and a Spider Roll ($7.95). Wayne ordered Anago (sea eel - $4.95) and Steak Roll ($13.50). Together for sharing, we ordered Kaibashira (scallop - $5.25), our favorite, which was prepared very similar to “the best” we have eaten. The only difference was that the scallop at Totto was left in much larger pieces.
Everything was so good, with a fresh and delicious taste. We both agreed this is a great place for a return. In fact, I am looking forward to our next visit.
A couple of the rolls with intriguing descriptions, for a future visit were the Ultimate Tuna Roll with spicy tuna, cucumber, fresh tuna, masago on top, Koma sauce and hot sauce ($12.50) – sounds like something that might set your mouth ablaze; and the Chef’s Special Roll ($13.50) includes crab, cucumber, fried shrimp, avocado, tuna, salmon, yellow tail red snapper, Koma sauce and Eel Sauce. Since I am a fan of soft shell crab, I might have to try the Ninja Roll ($12.50) featuring the soft shell crab with regular crab, shrimp, cucumber and several sauces.
As you can see, we were very happy with our visit.
Hours for Totto Sushi & Grill are Lunch, Monday through Friday 11:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. and Saturday noon until 3 p.m. They do not offer lunch on Sunday. Dinner is served Monday through Thursday from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday until 11 p.m., and Sunday until 9:30 p.m.
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