Cotra

This low key Japanese restaurant is located near the Gowanus area where there are many new rental apartments getting built up. This one was rated pretty high on general lists, so I was curious how the food was going to be. The menu items generally seemed typical, and nothing quite stood out. However because it was on some lists, I felt it worthwhile to give it a try. We actually made a reservation about an hour before our intended time, so that gives you an idea how easy it was to get in.

Ambiance & Service

The interior is very typical “Brooklyn” - lots of wood accents with quaint seating. You can tell it has a very neighborhood-y vibes as there are many locals eating here.

The service was very quick once we ordered, as it seems they were very intentional on turning tables.

Food

The Yuzu Lemonade ($7) was pretty good. One fair warning is that do not let the ice melt as it actually waters it significantly.

The Otsumami Trio ($21) came with 3 vegetables appetizers which were OK:

1. addictive cabbage which was shio kombu, shichimi, and yamitsuki sauce. This was decent. It basically was cabbage with a very light dressing.
2. spicy cucumber which was cucumber, sesame, shichimi, fried garlic, cilantro, and spicy oil. The heat was very subtle, and the flavors were fairly mild.
3. yuzu daikon pickle which was daikon radish, kizami yuzu, and togarashi. The yuzu appeared to be the skin, so it was actually much more bitter than tart.

The Chirashi Don ($31) came with cubed yellowfin tuna, salmon, yellowtail, ikura, cucumber, and scallion. My partner felt deceived that the raw fish was a thin layer on top. The fish was reasonably fresh, but it’s not going to win any major awards.

The Cotra Mazesoba ($23) came with spiced miso pork, onsen egg, garlic chives, bonito powder, and kizami nori. This is basically a soup-less (i.e. dry) ramen type of dish. The flavors were surprisingly pretty flavorful, and I’d say this is probably worth getting if you come here. It’s not very filling, but good enough.

The Cotra Futomaki Roll ($24) came with hamachi, tuna, salmon, ikura, cucumber, and shiso. We were still hungry after our main noodle and rice dishes, so we ordered this and below roll. The futomaki roll was pretty decent similarly to the chirashi don. The price for the roll is a bit expensive compared to other places. I did not taste any shiso flavors unfortunately, so either they missed it entirely, or it was extremely subtle.

The Soft Shell Crab Roll ($20) came with soy paper, deep fried soft shell crab, avocado, cucumber, spicy mayo, and cilantro. The soy paper makes the roll appear clear without seaweed. Similarly to the futomaki roll, this was decent though even less memorable. The soft shell crab was drowned by the spicy mayo.

Overall Impression

Cotra is a decent Japanese neighborhood restaurant in the Gowanus and Park Slope area. I would not really say this is a izakaya (as published on Yelp). There aren’t sufficient selections for that kind of food. It’s more of a casual Japanese eatery that has something of this and that. I probably wouldn’t make a special trip out here as some of the pricing is a bit off, and the food is just OK.

Yelp & Google Jabs

Revisions

1. Aug 21, 2026 - Initial revision.