Tachibana Japanese Restaurant

This place is great. Wonderful menu and the service is amazing. The karage and ramen are my favorite. So many authentic menu items to choose from. Don’t miss this place!

To be precise, I find the sushi to be 3.5 stars and the teppanyaki 2.5 for an average of 3 stars. I enjoyed my dinner at this lovely establishment, but I had hoped to be a little more impressed with the food. The location can be a bit hard to find but the sign is visible right as you turn onto the side road so we didn’t have any issues. The parking was abundant. The venue was clean, with a large, open feel and thankfully dismissing with the typical «hibachi place» décor. The service was prompt and the servers were welcoming and helpful. I wish the teppanyaki had lived up to the atmosphere. Our chef was quiet but efficient, making no effort to engage us particularly, but also not insisting on tossing food into open mouths or plying us with sake in a squirt bottle, which was a pleasant relief. The fried rice was good, as was the steak, but without a sauce they were somewhat lacking in flavor. The meat portion of our entrees was cut to a correct bite-​sized piece — a skill lacking in too many other Lexington teppanyaki chefs. The provided sauces were ok, but not outstanding. One was very sweet — overly so, I felt. The other, too thin for the dish and lacking distinct flavor. The veggies were tasty but primarily onions (I am so ok with that but it was unexpected), but my dinner also included some very nice bean sprouts. It was refreshing to see them prepared separately and prepared well. My shrimp appetizer was tasty but I bit into a large piece of shell on my second piece which put me off finishing them. The soup and salad were very typical and again, ok but not outstanding. Our party ordered a good bit of sushi and it was all tasty. The fatty tuna was reasonably priced and of reasonable quality. In general the sushi was tasty but unexceptional and slightly dry. We also tried the tempura appetizer and while I appreciated their choice in veggies, again, the overall effect was just ok. Nothing I ate stood out to me as exceptional. Prices were right in line with other local Japanese eateries. The other teppanyaki tables were usually vacant but the rest of the place was quite busy. Watching some of the dishes coming out to those folks in the dining room left me feeling we’d have been happier with the entertaining-​looking nabe mono or such. I’ll come back to give the dining room side a try.

Ok so I had to wait a bit for my food however while I was drinking my beer the customer service is great. The staff came by several times to make sure I was ok. Also now that I finished finished my sushi I have to say the food is great. You must come here.

I love tachibana! My friends and i are regulars here. We eat here every month. Great for groups and the hibachi grill is awesome! Great staff! I always order off the habachi menu. I’ve had everything from the scallops (my favorite choice) to the new york strip. Everything always taste great. Never a bad experience (which says a lot since I’ve eaten here over 20x). Great on a weekend or week night. Try this place and you’ll love it!

I went there to late dinner with hubby. Our waiter was very nice. Ordered gyoza, seaweed salad and calamari (which was octopus) and really enjoyed it. I wanted to have some udon but hubby ordered their combination platter which I forgot name. Sauce was good but it was basically boiling down everything in broth and then eating with sauce including salmon, shrimps, vegs, tofu etc etc. I think it was pretty good for one time but i won’t eat it again. Over all great, pretty authentic. Will be back again to Try some different dish next time:)))

Tachibana is a fantastic restaurant provides not only delicious food but also an authentic experience. The place has so much more to offer than just sushi, and their dishes come in really good portion size. I had the Tonkasu, which is really tender, and not too doughy at all. I am really glad to discover this little gem in Lexington, and would definitely come again.

Amazing authentic Japanese cuisine ! I live in Louisville and will make the trip to Lexington for the Beef Sukiyaki. 2. Vegetables, noodles, and beef are served in a steaming, flavorful broth made with dashi, mirin, and soy sauce in this Japanese dish, sukiyaki. Keep up the good work!!!

I don’t know a whole lot about Japanese food, but I feel like Tachibana is one of the few unique Japanese restaurants around here that feel authentic.
The menu has a lot of interesting food to try, and the lunch specials are pretty delicious for a fair price. The beef curry is probably my favorite out of the specials, but they’re all worth a try.
It’s usually pretty crowded around lunch time, but if you order a special, the food comes out super quickly. My only complaint is that the waiters don’t really serve much once you’ve gotten your meal. You could wait 15 – 20 minutes for your check. Often times I end up just walking up to the register for my check. Otherwise, the food is good and the staff is free sky. Overall great!

Food wasn’t bad but nothing special either. What I’m griping over is the service! I’m sitting in reviewing this place because I’ve been sitting here for 15 minutes after the waiter took all my plates away so I’m having all this available time to Unilocal.The waiter poked his head around the corner, looked at me and went back behind as if, «ok sir, I’ll go get your check». NOPE! No one stopped by! Wtf? I woulda given a 2 but i don’t like judging a restuarant by the service of its staff. Good thing this meal is on the company’s tab so i won’t gripe too much on a free meal. :)

I don’t know Japanese food very well. The two Japanese restaurants in the town where I live are very expensive which means we aren’t there unless it’s a special occasion and then I’m ordering a bit safe so that I know I’ll enjoy the meal. The few times I’ve tried a Japanese restaurant when traveling, they’ve been similarly expensive so I associate the genera with expensive food, rightly or wrongly. Not this place though!
So yeah, I sat down and had to try and figure out what to order even though I didn’t know what almost all the named items were. So I’m reading the descriptions and thank god they have pictures of every item. I’m finally ready to order and I’m starting to point to the item on the menu to my waitress when I realized that the item was $ 8.50! Dang, that can’t be right! So I told the waitress to hold off, I need to rethink what I’m ordering. I looked over the menu and most items were around $ 10 +/​-​$ 4.
OK, now I felt comfortable ordering a bit more food than I thought I could eat which meant I could explore a bit. I love places like this. I ended up ordering one of their combination dinners that came in at $ 23 and it had a little bit of several items. Ended up liking all of it.
Staff were friendly all around too.
If I’m ever back in Lexington, I’ll be looking for this place.

Post Rolex stop with search from Unilocal.
Places was pretty full. Servers we’re very busy. She even forgot to give us menus :)
But the taste was excellent. Miso soup was top notch. Some of the rolls we ordered were a tad salty? Otherwise it was a great experience.

Sat at the hibachi area and promptly had a cockroach scurry across the table. Ordered the tenderloin (medium well) and chicken combination, it was $ 33. The portions were small 6 – 10 pieces of each, and the tenderloin was raw, literally purple and cold middle. Won’t be returning.

After 13 hours of flying from the west coast, I was hungry! I went to Unilocal to assist me in my culinary quest. I was excited to see a Japanese Restaurant so highly rated. I called ahead for a reservation and was told they were very busy, but to my delight, accepted walk-​ins. My son and I, a Japanese language student at Marshall, were pleasantly surprised to be immediately seated at a near empty sushi bar, first thought SCORE. Our excitement waned as it took along time to even place a drink order. Then our sushi order took over 45 minutes to prepare, all 5 ordered items came at once Next, seconds later, our combination dinner arrived. Hungry and hopeful we dove into the Ahi Roll, Magri, Ono & Hamachi Nigri. The servings were adequate but not generous, the sushi was good, but the Ahi Roll was topped with fish eggs that were slightly fishy, I know, it’s fish, but it didn’t taste right. The combo dinner was great !
All said, we ate everything, one other thing that kinda bothered me was, the server brought 2 other rounds of Kirin during our meal and always placed the new bottle to my left on the table and walked away… I’m not picky, but I didn’t feel served. Then the $ 120 bill for 2 seemed high. I guess I have been spoiled by my favorite Sushi Restuarants in Cali & Hawaii.

Delicious sashimi and hand rolls. Picture perfect cuts, very nice staff and friendly Japanese greeting you would receive if you were in Japan. I return because it’s delicious and consistent.

A good meal without high prices & quick service. I truly have enjoyed every meal I have had here. I’ve been here 6 or 8 times & the food has been great every time. The service, well it’s rushed. They seem understaffed even when it’s not that busy & they are very direct and to the point, but still pleasant. Try the meso ramen its so much better than the .10¢ pack you get at the grocery.

Its pouring cold rain outside but the Sake is nice and warm here at Tachibana. The fish is very fresh each time I have dined here, the chefs preparation of the food is atrful and visually pleasing. This is an all time favorite Japanese restaurant for me, with a nice array of great noodle dishes too! So not everyone in your party has to eat sushi or hibachi grill. Great place to go if you are visiting Lexington

Service:4 stars. Wait staff works hard and is helpful, but clearly needs training to better explain the special menu written in Japanese.
Ambience: 3 – 4 stars
Food: 1 – 2 stars. We ordered sushi rolls based on recommendation and Unilocal reviews.
Sushi rolls are generous in portion and the ingredients are pretty good, but they are doused in mayo sauce. We do not want to visit here for sushi only.
Conventional fish sashimi are fine, but the octopus and clam are chewy (beyond the usual textures), watery and bland. One of the worst I have tried.
Fried bone-​in chicken is pretty good.
Overall: OK if you want conventional sushi and sashimi.

This place was a legend when I was a kid 20 yrs ago and it’s still incredible. You feel like you are somewhere other than Kentucky and that’s a certain pleasure in itself.
We had soba, shrimp and wasabi dumplings and a couple rolls. Our favorites were the shrimp dumplings and the plum paste and mint roll. We were gaga over the plum paste roll. You have never tasted anything like it. I guarantee it. It’s floral, herbaceous and subtle. We saved most of it for dessert because we wanted it to be the last taste in our mouths. This place is a forgotten gem still rockin it on the north side. Go there and love it!

What is the favorite spot of most of the local Japanese? This is apparently it, I sat at the hibachi and was told that by a nice Japanese local. Me, I wasn’t that impressed. The amount of vegetables do not compare to the amount that the other local Japanese places give. I had the scallops and they were a bit tough. My white rice arrived a long time before my meal was ready so it was cold by the time that I ate it with my meal. The dinner prices are about the same as the other local Japanese restaurants, expensive.

This place is kind of off the beaten path. My friends and I stumbled upon it by accident, but glad we did. It is a beautiful building tucked away on a side street off Newtown Pike. The service was fast and friendly. The atmosphere was calming and pleasant.
They offer daily specials at reasonable price with a full bar to take the edge off. You can choose from fresh sushi, hibachi, or anything else off their elaborate menu. I liked the fact that most of their menu items had pictures to accompany them.
I am truly glad I was talked into eating here. Thanks Heathers.