O Ya

9 East Street
Boston, MA 02111
617-654-9900 or 617-654-9909
http://www.oyarestaurantboston.com/

Not Recommended (sort of)

Maybe I don't get it...I had heard so much about O Ya...The press was great; critics raved; my expectations were high and and so was my disappointment!  Sure the atmosphere is intimate and romantic, small without being crowded, dark without being dim (the interior designer did a good job)...sure the service was good (but clumsy; the server brought the check before the last course) but all of these things I would expect from a high end restaurant in Boston.

As a walk-in getting a seat at the bar was lucky.  The matre'd was hesitant because there was a reservation two hours later and wanted to be sure there wouldn't be any conflict.  I appreciated the consideration.  The waiter was prompt, efficient and knowledgable.  The menu was extensive and interesting.  The prices were high.  Again, all of these things I would expect from a high end restaurant in Boston.

My problem was with the food.  The presentation was striking, the quality was high and the selections were creative but the execution was poor.  The Scarlet Sea Scallop ($8) with white soy yuzu sauce and yuzu tobiko sounded great but marinating the scallops in beet juice made them taste kind of mouldy.  The Warm Eel ($12) with thai basil, kabayaki and fresh Kyoto sansho was nice and the addition of the fresh herbs was an interesting twist but otherwise was almost indistinguishable from Unagi I have eaten elsewhere.  The Hamachi Belly ($18) with yuzu soy marinated sea urchin was torched and tasted like acetaline rather than fish belly but the Wild Bluefin Chu Toro ($12) was excellent.  One dish out of four really grabbing my attention is not a success.  The $70 price tag (which included two glasses of sake but not the tip) was also hard to justify.  I might go back just because everybody else seems to think so highly of O Ya.  I might go back because there are other items on the menu I would really like to try.  Maybe I will wait until I win the lottery.