Takuma

Really enjoyed our meal tonight at Takuma. All the dishes were light, healthy, tasty and reasonably priced.
With the exception of the Latin music playing an upbeat rhythm through our meal seeming a bit incongruous, we still enjoyed the food and service.
Will defiantly be coming back for more.

Been going here ever since it opened. The owner is incredibly friendly and personal. I love the Cuban music, and the food is elegant and sold at a great price.

Excellent last minute dinner option. While the ambiance is casual, the servers are friendly, and the food is excellent. Highly recommend the hot pot that is cooked at your table, torched mackerel, and miso salmon. I also had a really tasty sake that came in a cool glass/​box. Chef was our favorite part of the experience. He was in and out of the kitchen and making sure everything was satisfying. I accidentally tipped the hot pot over while trying to scoop the last into the bowls and he was there making sure I didn’t hurt myself. Lovely Saturday night!

Just returned from a visit. Great neighborhood spot. We’ll be back soon.

The chef and staff puts in a great effort here — I really wanted to like the restaurant, but unfortunately the food missed the mark for us. A couple of the dishes we ordered we expected to be hot (tofu and the spinach), but were served cold (on purpose). The mackerel was quite good — they cook it by using a blow torch at your table.

limited choice simplifies ordering.
Sashimi were great!

The food is perfect and the wait staff unbelievable. Its a little bit different experience but it is well worth it.

Celebrate my birthday here. Every dish is amazing! Especially the Saba, tofu and 5 hour pork belly. The server sang birthday song for me and served me the complementary tiramisu. He even added his head portrait to my to go box. Haha, so cute!

Today I ran from the car in high heels with the wind almost blowing me away because it’s been damn windy and cold in Santa Monica. Tripping over leaves that were scattered all over the street as the wind was howling and blowing them around and a branch falling off a tree and damn near killing me. I was regretting even going outside because a tiny short person like me cannot handle a strong powerful wind like tonight. I really felt like Dorothy from Wizard of Oz as I foreseen myself getting picked up by the wind and getting blown away. After I tasted what Takuma has to offer; I would risk my life and run to Takuma whether it’s windy, raining or there is a tornado happening. As a matter of fact any natural disaster could not keep me away from the amazing grub I tasted tonight.
I am rarely impressed with EVERYTHING I order; but literally every single thing I tasted made me have a foodgasm — which I promise you is much better than the not food related one.
Edamame — A+
Oh how I love anything egg plant and Takuma’s marinated eggplant hit the spot and then some. A++
Brown rice scallop risotto sounded good on the menu; and it tasted better than I imagined. I almost cried as the first bite somehow reminded me of the porridge my mom used whip up for me when I was a little Janey. I have no idea why and how since the ingredients were completely different and my mother made Russian porridge, and nothing to do with Japanese cooking at all
– but this straight up brought back memories. I cried after every bite — literally. Amazing food makes my cry, don’t judge me. A+++
Our server also happened to be the owner. He was a RIOT! He made me and my guy crack up. I obviously don’t go to enough Japanese restaurants because when the owner (whose name is Taku, and when he told me his name I idiotically said «oh Taco like a Mexican taco»…to which he looked me up like an idiot and said…“no…Tacu, like the restaurant name” haha how embarrassing!) handed me a warm towel as we sat down, I almost cussed him out because I thought he wanted me to wipe down the table. My boyfriend right away stepped in before I went ape sh1t crazy and said «uhh babe that’s for your hands». Today was a very ditzy day for me obviously, but at least my ditzy behind got to taste some amazing grub.
Taku of Takuma — you rock, your restaurant rocks, I love and adore your passion and that you are actually out serving people and not sticking your nose up because you own the joint… I cannot wait to be back, and be back I shall!

Excellent little place. Not your cliché restaurant. Highly recommended. If you are looking for the «standard»
experience of rolls and appetizers — this place isn’t for you. The menu is on a smaller side and traditional to what you would expect in Japan, not in California. Everything we ordered from eggplant to soba, and to salmon fried rice was done well!

My favorite Japanese Izakaya spot in la. The food is excellent. Start to finish from the appetizers to the desserts.
Appetizers — I get the eggplant every time. Its a must
Entrees–
— tonkatsu is super fresh and well battered. The guys in the back know what they are doing
— the yakisoba is really good as well. The salmon fried rice is delicious.
The owner is always checking up on you and his attention to detail and his passion for serving great food is unparalleled. I’m really impressed with this place and as someone who grew up going to Japan and living there for 4 years I can say this lives up to the Japanese standards :) I love taking people to this little gem in Santa Monica

I honestly wasn’t impressed. We tried many different small dishes and I hardly enjoyed any particularly well, they didn’t have some of the dishes we wanted, and the service was wayyyy too slow. I think our dining experience was about 2 hours.
The best thing by far was the salmon sashimi. That was very tender and flavorful, but honestly, I could also get good salmon sashimi elsewhere.

My dad and I came here for a last minute meal based off of Unilocal reviews. As soon as we entered, we were warmly greeted and quickly seated. Throughout the meal we were impressed by the friendly service; however we weren’t huge fans of the food and probably won’t come back.
Food:
spicy tuna on rice crackers– this was different than I expected but still good.
okonomiyaki– wasn’t as crispy as I would’ve liked and the sauce was overpowering– not my favorite okonomiyaki
Kakuni = 6-​hr simmered pork belly… very tender but a bit too sweet for my taste
Overall: Very reasonably priced food, wide variety of menu options, and amiable service.

There was a lot of anticipation for this meal after looking through Unilocal and it really did not disappoint! Takuma offers a good variety of different Japanese dishes perfect for having some beer with. For being tapas style, they do give you some sizable portions. It almost feels like a family style feast since we ordered a lot of items for just the two of us. Service was great because they seemed knowledgeable in regards to the menu, got us everything we needed, and were very friendly. The décor looks good, and is nicely lit to set the mood. Speaking of setting the mood, you might notice some salsa music playing in the background. I guess some people might think this is random, but I think it’s actually pretty cool. It’s most likely a flare of the chef/owner’s personality and to me, that just sounds fun (or funny) and should be something that’s encouraged.
All the items we ordered were pretty solid and just as the menu described.
Blow Torch Mackerel: the server uses a blow torch to cook the raw, vinegar marinated mackerel right in front of you. It’s pretty tasty and started our meal off quite well. Get it!
Tuna Croquette: the croquette itself was decent, but the best part was the dipping sauce. I think it’s made with daikon, mayo, and other things… or possibly a miso dressing of sorts. The dish was good overall, but not an absolute must order.
Diced «Kobe Style» Wagyu Beef Steak: there’s really no reason to dislike this dish if you like your steak sauteed in a garlicky soy sauce. Definitely get it if it sounds good to you.
Kakuni: the pork belly was cooked until it was really tender. Even the lean parts of the pork belly were relatively tender. Quite impressive. The hard-​boiled eggs complemented well, even though I prefer soft-​boiled, generally speaking. Worth a try.
Katsuni: just like a katsudon, but minus the rice. The tonkatsu had really good pork flavor that was noticeably different from typical tonkatsu loins. I think they may have used the filet. Good stuff, get it.
Shimeji Kelp Broth Rice: this was the rice of the day and it came in a little pot. The flavors were subtle and really let the other dishes shine. You could eat this by itself, but you’re better off eating it alongside the other dishes.
Panna Cotta: this panna cotta surprised and impressed me the most. That strawberry jam served with it is so good with the panna cotta. An excellent finish to a good meal. Definitely give it a try if you’re thinking about dessert.
If you’re looking for a restaurant that serves a variety tasty traditional Japanese dishes (and izakaya items) in a setting that’s pretty low key and good for a date, this is a good spot. The prices are really not bad at all considering they’re at a nice location in Santa Monica and the food impressions range from solid to great. I would come back, but it’s pretty far from me. Glad to have tried it though!
P. S. Heard this was really similar to Musha nearby, or maybe even a little too similar.

I think its quite possible for me to order and finish everything on the menu here, thanks to the appropriate portions, big flavor, and friendly service. There’s a lot of similar Japanese Izakaya places like this in the South Bay area, but not so much in Santa Monica/​West LA. I still have a ways to go before I try everything on the menu, so I shall be back. It’d be kinda cool if there was a bar in here, now that I think about it. The restaurant has an interesting ambiance though, so its def a refreshing change to dine here.
Con: Its only open during dinner time.

The place is pretty small but nicely decorated. The costumer service is great, the owner was very accommodating and friendly. However, the food was just blah… I had the rice cake with spicy tuna, it was good but I still prefer the original «crispy rice.» We also had the tempura shrimp, that was probably my favorite (very tasteful especially the sauce), my bf had sashimi and he said it was less than ordinary. The tempura chicken was very bland as well and I personally did not like the sukiyaki. We were there with 4 other people and they were also less than impressed with the food.
Also, I’m not sure how I felt about the salsa music playing in the background. Don’t get me wrong I’m Hispanic and I love salsa I just didn’t think it was the best choice of music for a Japanese restaurant. Maybe I’m just being picky at this point.
All in all, the restaurant is good not great. It’s a good restaurant to try at least once, it’s just not one of those places I’ll be craving to go back to.

This place is a GEM. Our AirBnB host happens to live a few blocks down from Takuma so the Mrs and I came here out of convenience, but we’ve fallen in love.
WHAT WE ORDERED?
–Edamame
–Spicy Tuna on Rice Crackers
–Pot of Chicken Fried Rice
–Shrimp Tempura with Spicy Mayo
–Moshi Green Tea Ice Cream
–Large Bottle of Sapporro (pours 2.5 tall glasses of beer)
Everything tasted amazing and fresh. Now add the following:
–NO WAIT TIME. We immediately sat down on Saturday evening. The place had a handful of patrons so it was not alarmingly empty either.
–FRIENDLY SERVICE. Takuma himself comes out and shows some love. He even (jokingly) did a «cha cha» dance when we teased him about the Cuban Salsa/​Latin Jazz playing.
–MUSIC. I’m admittedly biased as a Hispanic man but I love some light salsa playing in the background.
–VALUE. Considering how much my wife and I enjoyed our meal and the gracious gratuity we dropped, we did not break bank at all.
I’m only in Santa Monica 2 more days and I’m strongly considering having another meal here — despite being STRONGLY against my code when I explore new, unfamiliar places. This place is that good.

I told my boyfriend to surprise me with dinner reservations for my birthday yesterday. Takuma totally delivered!
We ordered piles of food, but the standout dishes were the soon tofu, the three shashmi platter and the avacado tartar. My boyfriend also loved the pork belly, which was super soft and a bit sweet.
The service was excellent. The guy with the dark glasses and baseball cap who was standing at the host desk and zipping through the restaurant was pretty entertaining and clearly LOVES what he does.
The only thing I might suggest changing was the salsa music they played all night. It gave the place a really quirky vibe.

Zoom-​a to Takuma…
* DRK — Lots of cocktail /​beer /​soju choices
* AOK — Kabocha Salad = sweet «mashed» pumpkin, served with only 4 small crackers; it was interesting there was the dark peel mashed in… had to pick the tough bites out
* AOK — Avocado Tuna Tartare = served in a little mound with 2 large rice crackers, it didn’t taste like much… I’d skip it next time
** GET — Kakuni = 6-​hr simmered pork belly… SOO fatty and good~!
* GET — Sashimi = 3 cut pieces each of fresh fish
* GET — Soba = opted for the one in delicious hot Shio broth, served in hearty portion
* GET — Yakisoba = typical yakisoba stir fry, good flavors, pretty oily
* YES — Clean modern quaint restaurant, like their décor
* YES — Only half full during normal dinner hours
* YES — Quiet ambience
* YES — Friendly service, Takuma himself came by each table
* WOA (words of advice):
— Free meter parking after 6pm in surrounding streets
— Reservations taken but not necessary
Definitely good Japanese comfort food izakaya-​style~

This is Musha’s angry little sister. I’m just kidding; they’re not related in any way except that the guy who used to work at Musha opened up this place and the menu is almost exactly the same, even down to the spicy tuna on rice crackers, and even the handwriting of the specials menu is identical! So, not the same but. .. the same?
The décor of this place is slightly more upscale than Musha down the street and service is identical. Love the food at Musha and loved the food here. You’ll get a ton of food for two people for $ 50 plus a large beer.
Look, Musha is busy. I’m glad this place opened up down the street a ways as it’s 10 times easier to get a rezzie here and you’ll have the same experience. Don’t be the fool who walks in and waits at 7P on a Friday (there were several people who did that the night we went); that’s just dumb and totally destroys your foodie street cred. Most cool places take rezzies; those who don’t and are worth it, you come at off hours. DUH!
P. S. This is still Santa Monica, so (street) parking is atrocious.