Takaoka of Japan

It is our family tradition to celebrate Easter at Takaoka. I don’t remember how that started, but I don’t care — I love eating there. Today, we had a great chef — I’m sorry I cannot tell you his name. We had a 9 month old with us, and he was so accommodating to her, making sure she wasn’t scared by the flaming onion and keeping her mesmerized with his tricks. The food was awesome, as always! I was afraid that with the economy, our portion size would shrink, but I think it might have even been more than usual. It is always good fun and good food.

Loved the food, service and entertainment by the cook but the smoke from the grills filled the room and made it difficult to enjoy.
They were able to accomodate 2 people in our party with gluten allergies but we had to bring our own gluten free soy sauce.
The bill with tip worked out to around $ 35 apiece (3 of us had alcohol)

Great place for family celebrations. The hibachi chefs enjoy entertaining and cooking for their guests. The house ginger sauce and hot mustard are made with fresh ginger and other ingredients. They are so good, they are available to purchase separately. The atmosphere is casual but high energy. The staff is so very friendly and eager please. We always get a box to take home the leftovers!

I have a love/​hate relationship with this place. I love it because its an iconic downtown fort wayne restaurant and been going here for years as a kid and with mine. But damn, its just kinda all over the place and robotic once you get in there. Hibachi meals come piece mil… one minute you’re snacking on a couple shrimp, then the person next to you is eating a full meal, while you wait for a bowl of rice. Jokes are the same every time (if you get a chef who actually has a personality). Food is decent enough… i just always leave with that pit in my stomach of spending way too much for a very mediocre dining experience. Basically take your kid there for their birthday when they can appreciate it and dont go back.

I have been coming to this establishment with my family since I was 8 years old. I have never had a negative experience. The food is always incredible and the service has never been less than amazing. The chefs are always interactive, and ornery.

If you like Hibachi style dining, then this is the place. We usually come here for birthdays or group dinners, so we always sit at the hibachi counter (I’m pretty sure it’s 8 people per hibachi grill). The chefs are fun and entertaining (even though they’ve been doing the same jokes for 30 years), and we LOVE the food. It’s a decent price for all the food you get, too. I love putting a little bit of the spicy mustard sauce on white rice. My mouth is starting to water thinking about the food, haha. It really is quite delicious, and you can choose from a bunch of different entrees. They will even leave out anything you do not want (picky eaters and food allergies will be accommodated!) The restaurant is a little dated, but I find that the places that focus only on the aesthetics are the ones with something to make up for.

Fun place for celebratory meal. We’ve gone with our grandsons and their family at graduation for each of them, and we come up from Tennessee to do that! The chefs are entertaining and friendly. They refrain from the silly stuff I’ve seen at some hibachi grills on TN, where they throw food at diners. I prefer to eat my food the normal way, not have it thrown into my mouth. My only complaint is that they rush the courses through and move diners along, to get ready for the next seating.

Went to Takaoka with 11 co-​workers. A waitress took our orders and Chef Lee prepared our meal. He was very personable. He asked us questions and he really seemed diligent with keeping seafood away from one friend’s food due to allergies. He was also sensitive about preparing the vegetarian meal away from the meat.
I ordered the vegetarian meal and I was surprised that my dinner did not include a salad and soup like everyone else. I am guessing their was chicken broth in the soup. Don’t know about why I didn’t get the salad. It wasn’t clear by looking at the menu.
Chef Lee had some of the best tricks I have seen. He was appropriately funny and really quick with our food. This was a really good show!
Tips for the restaurant: Takaoka should have ventilation hoods above the tables. It got pretty smokey.
Add more vegetarian options for soup and salad. It was awkward sitting and watching everyone eat.

Well, thisbwasnt my first time here but returning for very special events, this b place is perfect. The w environment is dark with low lighting. Fis tanks and the servers dressed as traditional japan outfts.
The food– outstanding. I love that there is a show with it. Some of the cooks are comical and soe dont talk at all. This time we got one who loves to make us laugh. Made out stay feel very welcomong.

Food is authentically prepared and the cooking style is awesome on the large hibachi style grills. Great atmosphere and food for large groups.
A bit pricy, but the service, food and ambiance make up for the cost.

Was a birthday group thing, had two tables and were close. I had the yellow fin tuna seared. Was a huge chunk of fish. Well prepared and tasty. The veggy and shrimp appetizer was great, zucchini was the best I have had. Huge amount of food over all. Have had better fried rice. Be careful with the cocktails pretty stiff, :) Staff was great and the communal dining experience is fun. Great for a family and group come hungry.

Awesome food and a fun atmosphere. The quality of ingedients is evident as vegetables to meat taste fantastic.

I like this place. Can’t go wrong with hibachi (except for burning oil… which I heard is unhealthy)… Be prepared for your whole body and clothes to smell like the hibachi food when you come out. You’ll need to do laundry afterwards.

Came here after reading the reviews, and knew I would get a lot of leftovers for lunch. Price point was great for what you get. The miso soup and tea is AMAZING! The food left a bit to be desired. Standard veggies and shrimp appetizer, but the shrimp needed some help (red sauce is best.) I ordered the Japanese stir fry which is a ton of veggies and your choice of chicken or shrimp, you can also get fried rice instead of steamed. It was ok, the sauce is a soy sauce but there’s a sweeter flavor in there that I can’t pinpoint, but I didn’t care for it too much. Overall, it was just ok. There are several other hibachi places by me that I’d rather go to.

I’ve heard great things about this place… and I’m glad I tried it! The meal started with a delicious soup and side salad. The steak and shrimp meal I had was impressive. Our table’s hibachi chef who had worked there for eight years was very friendly. Not only was our food spectacular, our overall Takaoka experience was impeccable. If you come to Fort Wayne, go to Takaoka of Japan. 5 star food, five star service, 5 star atmosphere.

This place is great. I highly recommend the seared tuna steak. It is great. Also the filet mignon is amazing. Definitely the place to be if you like hibachi grills.

Takaoka is my favorite hibachi grill! Their food is melts-​in-​your-​mouth-​amaaaazzzinnggg…
We come here for birthdays often, and the setting is very intimate. The staff is super friendly as well! My only complaint is that they don’t take bigger reservations, but I guess I can see why… it’s smaller, and it’s pretty busy. I always get the steak/​chicken hibachi and we all do saki bombs! So much fun and the food is so good.
There are other hibachi grills such as Koto, who CAN accommodate larger groups; however, the food just isn’t as good and it’s not as intimate. I prefer Takaoka.

Great fun and awesome food. Not even a bad price too!

Always amazing. They adhere to any request even if it is a little difficult. I can never complain after I leave here. Love the birthday song!

Lovin’ the layout w/​a few restaurants all in one building, reminds me of Italian Village in Chicago. So walking up stairs I didn’t really know what to expect. The host was super friendly in a quirky way, definitely a personality to remember. All the staff was welcoming giving it a warm atmosphere.
The traditional soup and salad before the meal was fresh and tasty. My veggie stir fry was a little over salted. Other than that all my veggies were nice and fresh.