Intimate
6–12 guestsOne table. The itamae works at arm’s length and the whole room is inside the breakdown.
San Diego, Calif.
A fish broken down in front of the room.
Live bluefin ceremonies as private event programming. A whole fish, opened by hand and served in sequence as it is cut.
Inquire01 / The Ceremony
The main event.
Otoro Club stages live bluefin ceremonies as private event programming in La Jolla and greater San Diego.
A whole bluefin is broken down by hand in the room over about forty minutes. Akami, chutoro, and otoro are portioned and served in sequence as they are cut. The itamae works the loin in front of the guests and names each cut as it comes off the frame. There is no back-of-house, and no kitchen between the knife and the guest.
The ceremony is what the evening is built around. It decides where guests stand, when the room turns, and what people are still talking about on the way out.
- Maguro kaitai
- The breakdown itself. A whole tuna taken apart by hand, in view, in one continuous sequence.
- Akami · Chutoro · Otoro
- Lean loin, medium belly, fattest belly. Cut and served in that order, as the knife reaches them.
- Itamae
- The chef at the board. One knife, one fish, working the whole engagement in the room.
The four movements
The knife, the room, the sequence.
Each engagement runs in four movements, in the same order every time. The room and the headcount change. The sequence does not.
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Arrival · 0:00–0:30
Whole, on ice.
The bluefin is on the presentation table before anything is served. Guests arrive to it, walk past it, photograph it. Welcome pours.
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The Breakdown · 0:30–1:10
Forty minutes, in the room.
The itamae opens the loin in front of the guests. Each cut is named as it is taken, in Japanese and English. Nothing is prepped out of sight.
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The Tasting · 1:10–2:15
Served as it is cut.
Akami, then chutoro, then otoro, portioned and passed in sequence off the board. Hand rolls made to order.
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The Close · 2:15–3:00
The room, after.
A final course and the frame left on the table until the last guest leaves.
02 / Formats
Intimate. Social. Grand.
Three engagement tiers, plus à la carte additions. The ceremony is the same at every scale. The room, the portioning, and the service change.
Social
Standing · SeatedA station format for a room that moves. Portions cut and passed continuously through the engagement.
Grand
LandmarkA whole bluefin as the centerpiece of a landmark evening, with staffing and service scaled to the venue.
À la carte additions sit alongside any tier. Pricing is shared when we confirm the date.
03 / Gallery
A private ceremony.
The room, as it happens.
04 / Inquire
Inquire about a date.
Tell us the venue, the date, and the guest count. We will come back with what the ceremony looks like in that room.