A friend recently told me that Taka-O is her favorite Japanese restaurant. I had been wanting to try it, so that night Jeff and I sat at the sushi bar…and were very disappointed.
We started with the Oh No Roll – a crunchy roll topped with seared albacore and a special house tataki sauce. It was okay, not drowning in sauce as were all the other rolls we sampled. We ordered some sashimi – salmon, yellow tail and eel. The eel was tasty but the salmon and yellow tail weren’t as fresh as I would have liked.
I’m always surprised when I have a bad meal. 9 times out of 10, I like what I’m eating. I guess I’m easily pleased. Well, I hate to say it, but Taka-O did not please me.
Taka-o really feels like three distinct places. A Japanese restaurant on one end, the sushi bar in the middle, and the karaoke bar on the other end. They are even physically separated.
I wonder if the karaoke is better than the sushi? Hmm…
So sorry that you were disappointed with Taka-o….this was my (and Eric’s) first sushi after leaving Hawaii and we loved it.
You know, I’ve talked to several people who like it. Perhaps we just had a bad experience that night. I’m glad you had a good experience! Maybe we’ll try it again sometime.
I agree with you. I absolutely love sushi and have eaten at the best and the worst restaurants coast to coast. I was disappointed. I mean – it wasn’t awful. It was just so ordinary. The whole place is very boring. No interesting flourishes whatsoever. The sushi was predictable, and the service was bland. Even their “award-winning martini” was bad – syrupy sweet.
Their karaoke is fun though. The waitresses sing during the slow times and are encouraging.
Maybe we should try the Karaoke then. Thanks for the tip!