Takara Japanese Restaurant

Creative Sushi without Driving into the City (3.5 stars)
Takara is located just off the center of town in Wellesley. It offers Japanese-​Korean fusion cuisine. The menu is large with an incredible number of sushi, noodle, and Korean options. The staff are helpful and courteous. The ambiance is simple and typical of many restaurants in it’s league.
We started with the steamed shrimp shumai which were good but standard. We also got a house salad which was fine. Again, very standard fare.
The sushi (which will be the focus of the rest of this review since that’s what we ate) extends far beyond the typical spicy tuna roll or California roll. The snow mountain roll was topped with sweet flaky crab salad and was delicious. The Hawaii roll was excellent too. The Wayland roll was very creative with pressed sushi rice, white tuna, and a sweet sauce. It tended to fall apart and was hard to eat. Still worth it though. The Wellesley roll was our least favorite but still not bad.
We finished with the fried green tea ice cream. It was a bit too frozen but otherwise good.
Overall, it’s nice to know we have this option so close to home.

We were so disappointed with this restaurant! Having just moved from the CA bay area we were excited to see that they had a full bar!
No specials when we were there so that meant no fresh fish came in that day. The supposedly «fresh» tuna was inedible. Overall the sushi rolls were on the bland side for us, even though we ordered spicy rolls. Even the wasabi wasn’t strong, we asked for Srirachi but were given bland spicy mayo instead.
They also serve some Korean influenced foods which is always a red flag to me when restaurants try to catch a wide net to attract diners. Perhaps we came on an off night based on the other reviewers but not likely to return to this location.

Lovely place with such great and friendly service. The stone bowl seafood bibimbap is amazing — I get that every time. The sushi is also awesome, and this is a great place to go for special occasions. Let them know and you might get fried ice cream for dessert!

We went to Takara and ordered Bulgogi and sushi. The meat and source in the Bulgogi tasted succulent. The sushi was also of a high quality. The service was quick and friendly. They have a cute fish tank with some exotic fish in it. The only issue is that the Bulgogi and sushi was quite pricey (really not a good value compared with many other restaurants) and the salt shaker had hardened salt that hardly came out. We did have a good time eating there. They have good parking out back which for me is a bug plus.

I’ve been here thrice with my boyfriend and his family and it’s quite a lovely establishment. They have really yummy sushi and japanese entrees. We always come in a group of five or more so we always start off with tons of appetizers. I particularly love their edamame, the perfect level of salt. We tend to order the sushi party options, since ordering individual pieces for everyone would be a pain, and I adore the presentation of it. A giant boat of sushi? Sign me up. I do think the service and general décor could be worked on. We often order drinks and sometimes it seems as though the servers forget and we have to remind them again after ten minutes.

great spot for wellesley! The food is nice, mostly Japanese focused but has some nice korean dishes. The bi bim bop with sushi fish is the best, you can’t find that many places. the chirashi and other sushi rolls are good, they have high quality fish here.
nice to find a korean/​japanese mix that is actually good. i am usually weary about non japanese restaurants with sushi.
nice staff, easy to park. a bit pricey but its wellesley.

Food here is solid — basing the 3 star review on my experience today. On the menu they have both bibimbap and okdol bibimbap. I called and ordered bibimbap which is $ 9.95. Got there to pick up and they charged me for the more expensive one saying it was more because it was hot. When I questioned why no one asked and said all i ordered was bibimbap, they said they could make me the cold one if I wanted. As this is a work lunch break I didn’t have 20 minutes to wait. You would think they would just say their mistake for not asking and charge me for the less expensive one, but they didn’t. Just think that would have been way better customer service.

I’ve been here on a couple occasions for a classy night and I have always been very satisfied. Pricing is fair but not amazing but you do get your money’s worth and you will leave very satisfied. Nice quiet atmosphere and a great time.

Great food and never too crowded. Good parking which is rare for Wellesley. The prices are fair and they really prepare the dishes with an artistic flare when you purchase certain sushi meals.

Best sushi and Japanese food in Metrowest, service is fantastic and polite.
Recommend the Chicken Bibimbab!

This place has decent sushi and good service relative to the other sushi places in the area. I’m glad they moved to wellesley and has turned into my go to sushi place.
Favorite japanese /​korean fusion dish is the Tuna Bibimbap (cold dish). Healthy portion of maguro on top of sticky rice, expertly prepared vegetables and some fun garnishes.

Good location, good food, good service! I liked everything I had for lunch from the lunch specials — miso soup, edamame, and udon noodles with shrimp but everything was WAY TOO SALTY! The flavors edge really great but the salt was overpowering, unfortunately.

This is the only place left for some Korean food in Wellesley Newton area after Apgujung is closed. The Japanese food here is definitely the best in Wellesley, at least for all the dishes that we typically order. The Korean dishes are actually quite good too, not just because this is the now the only game in town.
The place is never crowded despite the good food, which is a good thing as we will get seated immediately and get our food quickly even on weekends.

Food was mostly uninspired and tended towards the bland. Even my girlfriend who had a low tolerance for spicy food found the food bland.

On days when the dining hall food is MEHH, I am willing to brave the cold 20 minute trek to Takara. And it’s so worth it every time. I’ve been there a couple times with friends and it’s definitely the best Japanese/​Korean restaurant in Wellesley — or even one of the best restaurants in Wellesley.
Last time I went, we were seated immediately — its always been the case. The restaurant is never really crowded. When I saw both Korean and Japanese food on the menu, I got an uneasy feeling this place wouldn’t be legit but I needed my Asian fix #desperate…I’ve ordered both Korean food and Japanese food and both have been surprisingly amazing. Service is great — food comes quickly and its super clean. I think they’re used to dealing with college students, too, because last time we asked to split the check 5 ways and they were pretty chill about it. Thing I ordered here:
Salmon avocado roll: SO GOOD. The salmon is fresh, the rice is legit sushi rice, and seriously who hates on avocados. only weirdos
Kimchi fried rice: OMG EVEN BETTER. Maybe I’ve been out of LA for too long and haven’t tasted legit Asian food, but this rice was addicting… it was a huge serving — probably three to four bowls of rice, but I easily devoured the whole thing. I loved the bits of kimchi in it.
California roll: ehhh it was okay. I actually don’t really remember what it tastes like so it wasn’t too memorable.
Beef Okdol Bibimbab: AMAZING. Again, maybe its because I’ve been in an Asian withdrawal but this rice was hella fragrant.
I would never have expected the suburb of Wellesley to have a nice Asian restaurant. I expect myself to come here several more times before I graduate… And I just noticed they deliver HEHE

We came here as a recommendation from our closest friends because we needed a new place to check out. I am so happy they did because everything was amazing!!!
I love the atmosphere. It’s a nice looking place for a first date but it’s not super formal. The presentation of the food is beautiful. I was really shocked when our plate of food came out because it was glowing!!! The service was very attentive.
Out of everything we ordered I really loved the spicy salmon tar tar plate. It’s not on the menu, we changed it from tuna to salmon but it was so so good!
Can’t wait to go back and try more rolls!

I went there a few weeks ago, just for a quick bite, rather late one week night. Sadly besides the staff… shoulders hunched over their bowls of food eating at the bar counter, we were the only two diners, which made it all rather daunting.
I cannot remember exactly what we ordered, but it was in memorable. I will give it the benefit of doubt, that it was later in the evening, and possibly the best cuts of fish had been eaten earlier, but it was rather bland. I’ll come again and give it a second chance, but allowing your kitchen staff to eat in the public area and at their swanky bar is a no no… no one wants to look at grubby chefs uniforms with all of the nights food preparation wiped on their clothes

The Takara atmosphere is a definite plus, especially consider it’s one of few restaurants open late in the Needham/​Wellesley area. The dining area is intimate, and the staff is very friendly. It also had about 20 signs up saying they serve alcohol (whereas Yama in Wellesley does not).
The food itself is just OK. The sushi was a bit on the bland side for me, and the teriyaki didn’t have any shining qualities. My favorite dish was the pork dumplings, but even those were just plain average. Even the sauces were watery.
Takara might be good for the less adventurous or beginner-​sushi types. It’s not too spicy or overwhelmingly flavorful, and it’s true there are lots of options to choose from with detailed descriptions for the «sushi illiterate». But if you’re craving some high-​quality, Takara isn’t the place for you.

I was very impressed with the food at Takara. I usually go into the city for dinner but decided to try a local sushi restaurant. The sushi was delicious as was the Udon noodle and beef dish we tried. Most of the rolls we had were tuna, with my favorite being the Wellesley roll. I would also highly recommend the edamame, gyoza and crispy tuna appetizers. This restaurant is just as good as any sushi restaurant you’d find in Boston and the prices are more reasonable.
The atmosphere is nothing fancy — bright lights and not a lot of décor. Our server was friendly and knowledgeable and although we had a 7:30 reservation for 5 on a Saturday night, we probably could have walked in. The menu at the restaurant is larger than the one on Takara’s website.
As they are still awaiting their liquor license, the restaurant is BYOB.

Nice add to Wellesley restaurant scene.
They took space of old Jimmy’s. First look this is a tough space to make a restaurant work. Even when Jimmy’s the table spacing/​layout was not ideal. Somehow cram seating for 50 into the place, but I imagine this could be a hard place to get a table once folks figure it out. Front seating area is OK, back area is purgatory (if you have small children, please sit there;-)
On the review. Fish is outstanding, menu is very delightful with lots of options. Very reasonably priced for our neighborhood. Immediately becomes the top sushi place in Wellesley proper. They even took a special order of Salmon/​Tuna Temaki with Cucumber Wrap (hard to find). Rolls were very well made. Presentation was a bit tough as they just jammed an overload of sushi for 3 into 2 medium-​sized plates.
Service was rough, but to be expected I believe (they just opened). Owner was around talking to folks thus if we were upset I know they would have made things right.
Definite keeper.