Ta-Ke Sushi Japanese Restaurant

My stomache aches after this place
I think the salmon was dead, floating in
the water for a while, it was served black
And not burnt, that fish was disgusting!
(Yelp made me leave a star)
FAIR WARNING DONT COME HERE

Don’t come here when they are about to close.
I came in at 2:20pm and was trying to send a text (which is nearly impossible at this place for any type of phone service) to my fiancé on what he wanted. I swear this lady came up to me about 5 times in a min period about what I want to order. I haven’t even seen their menu in about 2 years and I like to look at everything before I order. Not even, 2:23pm and the lady is telling me that they close at 2:30 and I was like ok sorry, let me just regather what I came here to order. It was only 2:24pm and I ordered but she was telling me that once it is 2:30, everyone has to leave. I looked around and saw 5 tables that were still eating and 2 new tables where they were waiting on their food to come. I was so pissed off with her coming in my face 5 times and trying to shove down the 2:30 time down my throat the whole time. You know, if there were only 2 tables there and they were paying or almost done, I would have left. I don’t understand why I need to be poorly treated when I am just trying to spend some moolah here. I am so glad I told her, thank you for letting me save some money today, bye.
I use to love this place a few years ago, great service, worth my money but now since I moved, I have missed this place but not anymore. The food is the best, the service is horrible. Be warned.

I like the casual and homely ambiance. And their unique rolls. But the bad and slow service outweighs the pros.
We came to have rolls and to relax before starting the long weekend. We ordered Soup, appetizer, and two rolls:
–Grilled scallop
–TA-​KE Sushi Roll — It was ok. Nothing special
–Midori Mushi– fried roll, which was the best
The grilled scallop was so so. I would’ve expected a better balance if flavor. I could do the same at home and the scallop wouldn’t have smelled so much.
We waited for a long time for our food to arrive. Considering that there were only 4 tables, the server mixed our orders up. This resulted to us waiting longer for our actual orders.
The food is not bad at all, but I would think twice coming back because of the bad service.

The quality of the sushi has really improved. They added an All You Can Eat option for $ 24 for lunch and $ 28 for dinner plus tax. There’s a wide selection of appetizers, rolls, Nigiri, and even hand rolls.
This has become my more regular sushi spot.

New staff, new prices (almost double). Go next door and get twice as much food, better quality and half the price.

Yeah the quality of the sushi was not terribly good. One of my pieces of nigiri tasted a bit like dirt, and I’m sure it wasn’t supposed to. May be dealing with wildly varying degrees of freshness and quality.

First time here, enjoyed my experience! At the beginning of dining the restaurant was absolutely dead but towards the end it was pretty filled up so we got there at a good time.
–Easter Sunday
–Sweet 16 birthday
–10 adults, 1 infant
–about 7pm
–last minute decision
Just the main details before I start about the food. Accommodated quickly, the staff were friendly & very helpful with their menu (there’s a TON of items to look at) but I chose the deluxe Bento box! Salad, soup, with 5 different items. I recommend that choice! I love sashimi but the teriyaki chicken & tempura were super tasty! My dad had a rice plate, which he ate everything & said it was worth the price (I included his input since he can be a terribly picky eater) The food that needed to be hot was hot, our rolls were deliciously cold.
Dessert was AMAZING. ordered 1 of pretty much everything, it’s enough to share! My favorite was the tempura ice cream since I love green tea.
$ 200 give or take for all of us to eat, tip included. Overall a great dinner & I would be back!

Well, the least I can say about this place is that the service is speedy. That may be because there’s never anyone in here. Fish quality wise, it’s not super fresh, but it’s not old enough to be smelly. When people at the sushi counter ask, «So, you serve raw fish??», you kind of figure this place isn’t great.
Sushi itself is put together quickly, and that’s about all you can say about it. As for the noodles, udon is in plain broth with lots of veggies but super tough and rubbery meat. Soba comes in a giant platter, but whatever sauce they use (teriyaki?) tastes like really old sweet and sour. I went with chicken for my entrée and found that it was decent, but the dish itself wasn’t. I would give this place on star, but that wouldn’t be fair to the waitresses. They don’t cook the food, and they’re as quick as can be. Next time, I’ll just wait for Jong Ga like a good boy. Or, the Ethiopian place down the block looks good.

It’s sushi.
This review will be more brief than most because I’m just going to get down to it.
I live in the area so I split my time between this and another location down the street. The quality of the fish is decent. Absolutely worthy of the three stars it’s receiving. Prices are moderate. Service could be better.
Each time I’ve it’s not busy and I’m alone so I should be a quick table to turn. Like, hello easy money y’all. It can take a while for someone to take your order or bring over a beverage. I know we’re in a drought but I’m thirsty yo.
I am a boring sushi eater actually. I prefer to try and keep it healthy with nigiri and sashimi. I’m open to rolls with company but on my own, #basic rules. And the fish is ALRIGHT. Again. ALRIGHT. Seaweed salad is a decent size and I get down on that.
Keep your options open and be prepared for an okay time.

I’ve been coming here for years and always liked them. Sadly, m last few experiences will prevent me from returning.
The fishWe ordered the gourmet sushi and sashimi combo and while most of the things were fine the Albacore sashimi smelled like old fish and was mushy/​slimy when we ate one of the slices. The on the sushi didn’t look fresh and taste as such. Told the waitress and she doubted. She took it to the chef and returned to tell us the chef said its freshly cut and it may just be the blend of sauce. I believe I could tell the difference between fresh and old smelly fish. I told the waitress when she gave us the bill, that the fish was not fresh indeed. She gave me a blank look. Not even a sorry. Unacceptable device and quality of food.
Sadly, I have had really good and consistent experience with Ta-​ke years ago. No more.

So sorry to have to leave a bad review but I really think this place deserves it! Have been here maybe 5 times and always hopeful that things will improve, but it just never happens! My major complaint is with the service. Slow, slow, slow and inattentive. You wait for menu, water, food and check. You need to ask for everything or you just won’t get it as waitresses go MIA. Asked for a fork and got 1(two people dining) ditto spoons and napkins. They gave me one napkin and had to ask 2 – 3 times for more.
Food just ok but it was hot and plentiful hence my 2 star review. Sorry Take, but can not recommend.

This is literally my worst dining experience in the Bay in the four years I have lived here. And I am an adventurous eater. I reserve a review this bad only for the worst offenders. And its for reviews like these for which I am glad Unilocal exists.
I just ordered the sushi-​deluxe and was served the grossest assortment of nigiri and make that I’ve ever seen. First, the miso soup came: it was warm, not hot and with three times the miso/​water ratio I have ever seen. Big hunks of miso on the tongue. Truly surprising and not in a good way.
When the sushi came I happily popped a piece of the maki in my mouth and… yuck! I can’t tell what made it so bad but I think the rice mix did not have enough vinegar and the rice was over cooked and mealy.
I took another bite, hoping for redemption. I think it was yellowtail. So gross! It looked exactly like Hamachi, but its tooth feel was like soggy cardboard, and miraculously, all flavor had somehow — as if by magic — been removed.
Feeling terribly let down — I have never tasted sushi this bad — I picked up the salmon. A good piece of salmon can fix everything. Astonishingly, flavorless! And I mean — no flavor other than a slight taste of chlorine or bleach or something! Foul!
I picked up the unagi and took a little nibble. Cold. How can you serve barbequed eel cold?
A sushi experience this bad most certainly connotes a quality control problem: I wouldn’t trust this place to care for fresh fish in a sanitary way.
I told the waitress that I was having difficulty eating the sushi and listed for her some of the reasons: the absence of rice wine vinegar in the rice, the mealy texture of the rice — overcooked —, the tastelessness of the fish and she just scowled at me. I wasn’t rude, just descriptive. I left 80% of the order untouched and was offered no reduction in the bill or apology.
The sushi chef did enquire and was at least polite enough to thank me for my input.
I can’t stress enough how strongly I recommend against setting foot in this establishment. I can still taste the clorox overtones in my mouth and the mealy rice.

Sat down for a sushi buffet here. Price seemed alright, but for what we got it was not worth it.
We ordered:
Spider-​Man roll (not bad, good amount of soft shell crab, a lot of rice)
Hamachi lover (terrible, little fish and too much rice).
Super Mexican (too much rice, too little fish)
Goblin (too much rice, too little fish)
Titanic (too much rice, too little fish)
Spicy sashimi salad (Actually really good. I rnjoyed this. Spicy sauce and raw fish is my jam)
Spicy tuna hand roll (ok. But also too much rice and little fish)
Overall, you could see a reoccurring theme. TOO MUCH RICE, TOO LITTLE FISH.

5÷24÷15: So the place we wanted to eat at across the street had a humongoid line and we didn’t feel like waiting so ended up here. When we walked in, it was nearly empty, and being a medium sized restaurant felt especially empty. I think there was a couple at the sushi bar, and that was it. Also, the décor was a little outdated and the carpet old. Just felt neglected. We hesitated, but stayed…
1. Asahi Black $ 4.95: I think this might be my most favorite «standard» Asian beer. Hitachino obviously is top notch, but only the trendier places will have that. But I think this beer is more easily found, though of course not as ubiquitous as standard Asahi. Anyway, it is kinda like a Japanese version of Guinness – very similar profile… a little light and smoky with some soy sauce note. Try it! ⁶⁄₁₀.
2. Salad $free?: Wet lettuce covered with Japanese thousand island dressing. Whatever, guess it was free. ⁴⁄₁₀.
3. Miso Soup $free?: Standard. ⁵⁄₁₀.
4. Oyster Tempura $ 8.95: Soooooooooo… they lied. It’s not «tempura.» I ordered this specifically cause it was called tempura and I’ve never ever seen oysters served as tempura. Well, they breaded it. Sigh. Was soooo disappointed when I got it. Didn’t return it though. Anyway, for what it is, it tastes good, maybe ⁶⁄₁₀ good for the price. BUT, sins like lying should only be partially forgiven and not forgotten… ⁴⁄₁₀.
5. Nabeyaki Soba $ 14.95: It’s okay. Nothing special here – typical Japanese soup with soba noodles. The soba itself is a bit overcooked in my opinion, but not badly. Comes with tempura. Pretty expensive for what you get, but I guess the included tempura partially justifies the cost. I should note, they did commit a Japanese soup sin: they boiled the egg all the way through, not perfectly soft boiled. ⁴⁄₁₀.
5b. Tempura [side for the soba]: Standard. ⁵⁄₁₀.
6. Chirashi Sushi B $ 22.95: …last but not least… HOLY MUTHA F’ER… BEST CHIRASHI I have EVER had. EVER. Chirashi is my go-​to at Japanese places – what’s healthier than rice and plain fish? Some places give you pretty small portions. Others give you cheap fish. And some even just suck for various reasons, like crappy rice. But WOW, this one is nearly perfect!!! I cannot express how rare this is. It has TONS of fish! (just check out my pics!) I mean the whole thing is completely covered with fish, and a lot of it the more expensive and rarer stuff. And the fish is fresh and thick cut, and just awesome. Good luck finding sashimi as good for this price! The rice itself is also seasoned with furikake. Maybe that’s cheating, ha ha, cause damn it makes it taste good. Now, I think if I had to be picky, I’d say their rice is not absolutely perfect – it has a slight harshness to it (I think they need to steam it with slightly more water), but hell, close enough. (Did you see the sweet shrimp!!! – that alone is like $ 7 at some places! Again, check out my pic!) Again, BEST ever, at any price. ¹¹⁄₁₀.
So, I’m very conflicted. I feel that most of the food is kinda average or just okay. But that Chirashi is a game changer! A true revelation. I dunno what to do. Normally the average would warrant a 3, but I think I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and award a 4 for now. I’d love to come back for more Chirashi, so we’ll see how it goes next time.
⁴⁄₅.
#japanese #sushi #chirashi

Anther in a long line of Korean owned, industrial supply, Japanese restaurants. I waited for my food to go on a Friday and it took 45 minutes to arrive. Not one person, owner or waiter even offered me a green tea for my wait. Find a restaurant that is Japanese owned somewhere if you want authentic, cared for food. Paid the $ 38 tab and not even a «thank you», just a pouting grimace as if I meant nothing to them. I had a bad feeling in my gut and i hadn’t even seen the food yet.
We ordered sukiyaki and beef teriyaki to go, and got it home. The beef in the teriyaki was not steak, it was thin, frozen type Steak Um type meat for cheesesteaks. Threw it away and ate the rice and salad. Moved onto the sukiyaki and the sauce was bottled Sysco type right out of the jar, too sweet, and chemical tasting. Just awful.
$ 38 lighter Saturday morning… I had completely forgotten where we ate last night it was so unremarkable.
Oh and to make matters worse, while I was there, A customer was angrily returning her sushi for refund because she found the taste pre-​frozen!
Never again.

Ta-​Ke is a good sushi spot and one that I used to frequent quite a bit since I was always in the area. Reasonable prices (although all I get is a cucumber avocado roll so I can’t speak for the items that are typically more pricey!) and very friendly waitstaff that is attentive and knows a lot about Japanese food and can answer all your annoying little questions. (Trust me, at some point in every one of our lives, we have all been or will be that nuisance customer. Just make peace with it and move on boo.)
My only complaint is that one time I ordered edamame and they charged me $ 6 for a tiny little container. Umm, cool it now.

Surprisingly, the food improved a little. We stayed away from the sashimi and stuck to the (cooked seafood) Ta-​Ke roll, an assortment of starters, and the spicy pork teriyaki.
Fried oysters were the best starter. Fresh, properly fried but not overdone, served with a good tartar sauce (thank god, because we loathe tonkatsu sauce) and topped with a bit of flying fish roe. Yum!
Crab croquettes: surimi, mushy despite a good crust. Gyoza are deep-​fried, reasonably good but not remarkable. Shrimp shumai taste like purchased commercial dim sum.
Both scallop tempura and grilled scallops were terrible. Scallops were small and tasteless.
On the good side, the spicy pork teriyaki had improved. The gojuchang wasn’t as tasty as the original of a few years back, but at least it was all pork and onions on the iron platter, without that ridiculous layer of sliced potatoes mucking the dish up. I asked for spicy, it was a good solid 6.5 on our chile scale of 10.
We came here regularly as my MIL loved the Ta-​Ke roll. Now that she’s passed away, we don’t ever have to come back again. You’ll find us in Berkeley or El Cerrito, where the sashimi is truly fresh. The longer drive is worth better food.

Hungry, tired, newly returned to the area and traveling with a friend from out of town, this place was like a beacon in the dark. Sushi, yay!
The rolls were tasty and the tea was hot. The calamari was disappointing, but nothing else we ordered was. I wouldn’t hesitate to come back here again when next I find myself near the Lake and in need of sushi.

Tempura came out piping hot and crispy. Tuna was not as fresh as the salmon.
They offer some interesting variety on their specials, but otherwise fairly typical spread.
Spicy Pockets were tasty and had a decent heat to it, but the sweetness of the Inari helped balance it out for me.
Decent overall experience, not very remarkable though for a sushi joint or compared the other local eateries.

Ta-​ke made this delicious salad dressing that made me a repeat customer. They even sold it by the tub. Their sushi was good then too, but my recent dine-​in experience left me a bit disappointed. The dressing tasted a bit bland and the salad was heavily doused with the dressing. The sushi was just okay, the raw fish in some of the rolls I ordered tasted like it was repeatedly frozen — mushy and bland.
Service was good as usual.
I also ordered a to-​go bento box and they didn’t include the soup!