Takaya New Asian

Service was horrible, I think they put people in those extra dark booths and forget about them. Took forever to get an actual order placed. It was SOOOO bad They forgot that I was waiting for a my bill, went to the bar with my credit card and the guy (who waited on me) still didn’t know who I was or what I was paying for (yikes!!!) not like this place is big. There was a party upstairs so all we heard was loud music and stomping not to mention there were a few kids trying to have a Bday dinner with there mother but all they heard were loud inappropriate song lyrics.

I came here while waiting for the Unilocal event to start. The gyoza was awesome! Love love love the vibe. Really dark & rich. Very modern. Service was great. I would definitely come back here to try some of the other offerings.

Great location, service, and décor. We had the sushi, which was up to the standard you would expect for the area and price point. Overall a good experience, and we’ll be back again.

Went on a Friday Night. The atmosphere was very sexy. There was a nice selection of music playing. I ordered the highly recommended OMG roll, Miami roll, Tiger roll, Philly roll and some wings. The food was amazing. Had Sex and the City cocktails all night. This is definitely my date night spot until my bf gets tired of it lol. Love love love the service and they valet.

This place is just flat out great. It is owned by Eric, which is the same guy that owns Tani in Clayton, which is my favorite sushi bar in St. Luis. The food here is as good as Tani, so I guess they are technically both my favorite. The OMG roll and the David Bacchus role are my favs and I always get the same two. I have tried the crunch roll and spicy tuna before as well and they were both very good

Blackened Teriyaki Chicken is very good. Service is excellent friendly and accommodating. They are closed from 2 – 4 PM.

Wonderful experience, we live nearby and are treated incredibly well. We were walking our dog by and we decided to stop for takeout, they were incredibly kind, even brought our dog water while we waited. Will definitely be back a lot.

Had lunch with a colleague here on a couple of occasions. On each occasion, the place has been fairly empty. The place is nicely decorated and the staff is attentive. The food here is pretty good and warrants 4 stars, but I find it a little pricey (2 sushi rolls + the shrimp appetizer with a water cost me a little over $ 30). For a lunch, the total cost seems a little steep, although I guess I could just eat less. :)
Rolls:
— Spider roll — pretty good.
— Salmon + avocado — nothing special.
— OMG roll (colleague read about this on Unilocal) — pretty good.
The shrimp appetizer is a good size and is kinda spicy — very good.

Came here for lunch on a Friday. I ordered the Roll Combo #2 (spicy tuna and philly roll) but received the wrong order (which resulted in a free California Roll).
My boyfriend order the Sashimi Lunch Plate which was great.
My main review is on the philly roll which was a salmon, avocado, cream cheese, and yellow American cheese. Why is the piece of sliced cheese in this roll? It completely overpowers the other ingredients. Maybe they were trying to be different but it ruined it for me. I am hesitant to return.

Our dinner was a mixed bag. My husband had hamachi kama (collar) which was undercooked. Once sent back and cooked through was delightful. I had seared scallops over asparagus with shiitake mushrooms which was overwhelmed by the sauces and impossible to eat with chopsticks… I had to ask for a knife and fork to cut to bite sized portions. The tuna tartar was very flavorful as were the chicken wings, which was probably the best item of our meal. Our server was very attentive!
As a ‘tourist’ I probably would not return

Phenomenal experience all around. Wait staff was great and food wasn’t too bad either. I highly recommend stopping here.

Came here for lunch today (Sat). Restaurant was completely empty, which can seem a little intimidating, but we had plenty of seats to choose from :) I ordered a pineapple Cosmo to drink — not the most manly drink, but I was interested in how it tasted. It was pretty tasty. Took a while to get it, but it was delicious.
I ordered a spicy tuna roll for a starter. Never had a roll with sriracha dollops on top. Probably would’ve asked for it w/​o it, but it wasn’t terrible paired with eel sauce.
For my entrée, I ordered the blackened sesame chicken with a side of steamed rice instead of the house salad. Man was that delicious! The chicken was fried a little harder than I would’ve liked, and the rice was a little dry and hard, but overall the entrée was tasty. It was a pretty nice spin on the Asian dish with a Cajun flair to it. The sauce was epic, with a bit of sweet heat. It reminded me of the sauce on schnucks chicken wings, but I like those. Much less of a sesame taste, but good nonetheless.
Our waitress was pretty attentive, considering we were the only ones there lol.
Overall I’d definitely come back again.

The service was great! It was my friends birthday and we had a party of close to ten. The staff treated us like queens :) They topped off her wine (the Japanese plum was really good!) and because they overheard her speak of the Godiva cheesecake, they offered her a free slice!
Parking sucks but that is not the restaurant’s fault. That’s the «joy» of the city. But valet next door at the theater was only $ 5.
And I love the intimate atmosphere. The large, enclosed booths were haute!
I recommend the crazy roll and mozzarella tempura sticks! I tasted the white roll and it too was tasty.
I’ll definitely be back!

Takaya New Asian was absolutely wonderful. I called to make reservations for a large group (13) on a Friday pm. Not only was Sam our server impeccable and friendly but made some tremendous recommendations. I highly advise you to get the Oh My God (OMG) roll and of course I had to try the Eye of the Tiger roll. Haha. All if the food was fresh, tasty, and flavorful. Plus, we were there for 3 hours and it felt like a few mins. We ran into 2 incredible gentlemen who graced us with their presence and shared a few words of wisdom
and encouragement. Try this place. You will not be disappointed.

I would like to give it 5 stars, but unfortunately my second trip to the restaurant was less than great. Thus, I cannot.
We were in town for a conference this week and went here for dinner one night. Our server was great, and the food was DELICIOUS. Being from Hawaii, I am a bit of a sushi SNOB.
Seeing that the sushi chef was Asian made me happy; yes, I am that patron. Anyway, we had the OMG roll and it was Ohhhhh so delicious. We also had the mochi ice cream (one green tea and one mango). Ice cream was great, but Chocolate and Mango do not mix FYI. At least according to me.
That was a 5-​star experience.
Then the next day I took my friend to it because I had told her about how great it was. We went at lunch when yes, they were busy. However, I still expect a good service encounter and the food tasted different. Had the shrimp/​veggie tempura, and the dipping sauce was so salty, I didn’t even want the dish.
But, the California roll is yummy, since it’s so basic.
Would return, just not at lunch.

I went to Takaya New Asian restaurant during the lunch hours however requested the dinner menu. The ambiance is trendy and the restaurant is clearly designed to look like an Asian fusion. Well done.
We sat down to eat and just began to order sushi rolls and sashimi. We even had teh seaweed salad and soup to start. The service was fast and the food was delicious. The presentation on all the things that we ordered was gorgeous. The food tasted just as good as it looked. This gets four out of five stars simply because of the limited selection of beer.

I had a really fantastic dinner at Takaya on Saturday night! We didn’t get there until closer to 9:30, and were a little surprised at how empty the place was. I think we missed the dinner rush. A few more tables came in which helped the atmosphere, but I think they should have turned the music up a bit! Regardless, the place is gorgeous and the service we had was spot-​on. Our server took our drink orders right away, and even gave us wine to sample… which, by the way, was the best pinot noir I’ve ever tasted. I had the white cosmo which was good, but pretty sweet. I added a few drops of water which made a huge difference. They offer a variety of cocktails and have a nice sized wine list, too.
I told myself I would order something besides sushi, but as soon as I saw the sushi menu I was done for. I settled on the jalapeño roll (smoked salmon, cream cheese, jalapenos, eel sauce, and seafood sauce… deep fried… ridiculously good) and the Stan the Man roll. I’m a bad Unilocaler and can’t recall what was in that one, but it’s my new favorite roll in St. Louis. I’ll definitely be back for it soon! My best friend ordered the scallops, and while they were cooked perfectly, they were absolutely drenched in sauces. They were yummy after scraping a good deal of the sauce off, and would have been fine with just a little bit!
Our wonderful server split our checks without us even asking, and I can honestly say I enjoyed this meal more than any I’ve had in a long time. Looking forward to going back soon for more of that sushi!

Cool zen type ambiance. The booths are cube like, as Mark P. has stated in his review making a very cozy atmosphere for a couple or a group of six. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable about their menu and were honest in their recommendations.
Both of us started out with Miso Soup which was very warming, since we had been walking all over downtown playing tourist. The SO also ordered a house salad which was sad. A salad made with iceberg is bad enough, but when the lettuce is limp and wilted that just makes me sad.
We also shared an order of Mozzarella Tempura, which was light and refreshing. One of my favorite vegetables is asparagus and MT was made with fresh firm stalks. Some pieces of tempura were filled with cream Mozzarella cheese and others were the asparagus. I wish they were combined, then this appetizer would have really won my heart. The menu claimed it came with a dipping sauce, which we did not see and did not realize we missed out until we got home and reread the menu while writing this review. Wonder if missing out tasting the sauce cost them a star?
My entrée was Blackened Sesame Chicken, which was real easy to eat with chopsticks and I am not a master at operating them. It was succulent pieces of breast
meat sauteed in house made Korean style sweet and sour sauce then coated in crushed sesame seeds. I would have enjoyed it more on a bed of brown rice, but it was still very good. It came with the side house salad, which is basically iceberg lettuce with a few mixed greens tossed in for darker color.
I’m not a fan of sushi, but the SO is and ordered the Rolled Combo #2 which was a lunch special. I tried one of the Philly Rolls and was not impressed, but keep in mind I am not a sushi fan. I will say, the presentation was not as pretty as most sushi I have seen.
I think Takaya New Asian is a great addition to the Washington Avenue mix and once they get past their opening and groaning pains, they’ll be well on their way.

As far as a downtown lunch spot for the professionals, it was what I expected.
Pros:
Very large space, new décor and seating
Crazy roll was good, lunch combos seem to be a reasonable amount given the price.
Tips: They have one roll that lights on fire, I believe its the Avocado Roll? Ask your server, but it’s a cool thing to see, kind of like the flaming cheese dish.
Also note: the Nigiri combo lunch comes with «chef’s special» combos of nigiri, if you want a certain nigiri, they will upcharge you. Just make sure to ask your server in case you don’t know if you will like their chef’s choice.
It’s a bit of a pricier lunch, but that was expected, it is nice to have some more sushi options closer to this part of downtown. A comparable alternative to Wasabi’s in case that’s too far of a walk.

Takaya New Asian is one of the latest restaurants to open Downtown on Washington Avenue. Located in the Mercantile Exchange District near the Convention Center, it’s the perfect spot for pre or post-​movie dining with the new theater that’s opening next door. I visited on a Friday night during their «soft opening» and had an excellent experience overall.
We were greeted by the friendly staff who gave us a choice of a booth or table. We chose the booth which was an enclosed cube shape space with seating on three sides and a view right out to the entry and street; it was the perfect secluded spot for the three of us. The struggles of a new restaurant were somewhat apparent, but overall our waitress was very knowledgeable and familiar with the menu.
I decided to try the drink of the night which was some sort of Saki-​martini concoction. Made with cranberry red bull, citrus pearl vodka, pineapple juice and sweet sake, it was a smooth, subtle and refreshing drink without all the sweetness.
The menu was divided into Small Plates, Specialty Small Plates, Sushi/​Sashimi, Maki Rolls and Fried Rice, and of course we had to try a bit of almost everything!
For the small plates, we tried three different items. The crispy calamari for $ 7 was the best of the three, and had a lightly breaded and nicely spiced coating which went well with the wasabi aioli sauce. The gyoza or pan seared dumplings with shrimp for $ 6 was served with a house-​made Japanese red pepper sauce. They weren’t bad, but I found most of the other dishes more exciting. And of course we had an order of the obligatory edamame for $ 4.
The Specialty Small Plate kicked things up another notch with more interesting dishes. We made three different selections for this section of the menu, and all were great. The creamy rock shrimp $ 9 was a particular highlight for me. The tempura shrimp was tossed in a sriracha mayo type sauce. It reminded me of chicken wings tossed in a hot sauce, but this was an amazing shrimplicious Asian version that was delicious! The Korean style short ribs, marinated in a sweet sauce, were also a favorite at our table. The meat was lacking the saucy thick coating that you often see with Korean ribs, but the subtle seasoning worked well with the perfectly grilled strips of meat which was piled up in a healthy portion. The Mozzarella Tempura dish for $ 7 was quite intriguing and turned out to be tasty. With a spear of asparagus jutting through the chunk of cheese, this creation was tempura battered, flash fried, then topped with a wasabi sauce which really brought the ingredients together to make a successful dish.
For sushi, we ordered three rolls. The special sushi roll of the night was the crystal roll. Wrapped in rice paper, but without the rice, this roll consisted of yellow fin tuna, avocado, cucumber, jalapeño, sprouts, lettuce and sweet chili sauce. I’ve tried a variety of non-​rice sushi rolls which often turn out bad, but this one was light, refreshing and tasty. It somewhat reminded me of a sushi-​Vietnamese spring roll fusion. The Jurassic Park roll for $ 11, was visually impressive and equally tasty. It included shrimp tempura, crab, cream cheese, eel, avocado, tempura shavings and masago. Finally, the Sex and the City Roll for $ 11, included scallop, crab, tempura shavings, avocado sauce and duo of a hot red and green sauce. I would describe this one more like Miranda; kind of ordinary looking, but with a hidden spicy side.
Overall, we had a great experience at Takaya’s soft opening and plan to return soon. While a few items were 3 to 4 star, there were some knockout 5 star items that I really liked, so I’m going with 4 stars for now.