Takumi Japanese Cuisine

We stayed across the street and thought we would take our chances. Definitely do not judge the book by its cover! Great food! Great sushi and we had several kinds. Very friendly staff! Clean restaurant regardless of the need for some updates.

A sign for Takumi’s caught my eye as I was driving north on I-​75. I was intrigued by the novelty of having a Japanese restaurant in the back country of Tennessee, so after some hesitation, my wife and I decided to try it out.
The restaurant isn’t all that impressive on the inside, with some of the paper curtains in the windows showing tears and tatters. When it came to the service, our waitress was a bit curt but did offer plenty of recommendations from the menu. The food itself wasn’t especially delicious, but it did exceed my expectations.
Much to the chagrin of my wife, there is a special Japanese menu that was not initially offered to us, which features more authentic dishes and was developed (to my understanding) to cater to those Japanese expats working at a nearby Toyota factory. In summary, Takumi’s may not be worth a special trip to Caryville by itself; but if you find yourself craving Japanese food while driving I-​75, Takumi’s will not disappoint.

We have been coming to Caryville for many years & we tried Takumi for the first time last year. It is now our favorite place to come whenever we are in town. Great food & wonderful people.

I’ve eaten the sushi here dozens of times and have never been disappointed. In fact, I’ve eaten sushi in trendy places in Knoxville, Nashville, and Atlanta and I think Takumi sushi is the best. I’ve never tried any of their other dishes but would definitely recommend the sushi (try the spicy tuna).

The dish we ordered C1 on the menu was oily with no flavor. We were so disappointed. I’m not a picky eater but that was just not eatable.

We come to this area several times a year, and had never stopped in. This time, I made it our mission.
So Sunday nite at 7:00 — 2 tables filled — one with 6 people; the other with 10. Another table of 2 came in after us. We ordered egg rolls, vegetable deluxe, orange chicken and omoo. Egg rolls came pretty promptly. The other meals took a while to come — but then again, it was a pretty full house tonight. Egg rolls had fresh veggies in them — tasty, and no off oil flavor. Meals were very good, and we had left overs for lunch tomorrow. I’m not a fan of white rice, and was pleased to see it look a little more like fried rice and was tasty in it’s own rite.
Menu had a wide selection — Japanese, Chinese and some Korean dishes. The place didn’t knock my socks off, but good enough for a repeat visit sometime in the future.

Stopped by while driving on I-​75 as its convenient right off of the highway. Lets be clear here, this isn’t going to be a Michelin experience. The outside doesn’t look that greatest but the food and service definitely made up for it.
I had the shrimp tempura bento box and it was the best shrimp tempura I’ve had (and I have been around). Crisped up just right with meaty shrimp inside, not the crappy doughy batter you get sometimes elsewhere. The California roll it came with was fresh and the rice tasted just right, soft but not mushy.
The menu itself was huge, between Chinese and Japanese food. I saw some other dishes on other tables and the Chinese food looked delicious. Portion sizes are huge for the price you pay.
Would definitely return if I am passing by again!

How can «Meh. I’ve experienced better» not describe a step-​above-​fast-​food Japanese restaurant on the side of a Tennessee highway? My friend and I have taken many a road trip together and always enjoy finding awesome Japanese restaurants through Unilocal right of the highway since these spots obviously have a shot at being better than a Mickey D’s, etc.
We were torn between a few other places up the road and Takumi. With zero reviews, we felt we had to fulfill our duty as Unilocalers to scout it out. I’m sad to report to any weary travelers that may find themselves in a similar situation may have better luck adding on those few more miles away from the highway and hitting up the higher reviewed places.
There was nothing besides broth in the miso soup, strike one. The squash and mushrooms in the $ 6.25 chicken teriyaki left a lot to be desired, which didn’t help my experience either. The portion size wasn’t too shabby, at least. Also, the chicken was surprisingly not too fatty and tasted pretty good even.
My main problem is that I left the restaurant feeling pretty hungry, like the food I ate meant hardly anything to my stomach’s hunger pains.