Takara Japanese Restaurant
| Address: | 696 S Whitney Way, Madison, WI 53711, USA |
| Phone: | +1 608-270-1188 |
| Site: | takaramadison.com |
| Rating: | 4 |
| Working: | 11AM–2:30PM 11AM–2:30PM 11AM–2:30PM 11AM–2:30PM 11AM–2:30PM 11AM–2:30PM 1–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
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Alex Trier
Dont even think about it. My husband and I have frequented and thoroughly enjoyed Takara, and have dined in countless times for the last 4 years and recently used their online ordering system for lunch. This is when it all went downhill. Being the sushi lover that I am, I will give a restaurant time to work out online ordering kinks for the sake of convenience, but I have waited past an hour and a half for my order only to call and find out I have been cancelled on for no reason, had been called and told that online ordering does not exist despite posting lunch menus on Beyondmenu and my order fully processed for delivery. I was told they will have to cancel the order as it is not a service they provide. When I voiced my discontent the manager did not let me get a word in after I picked up the phone, begged me to never order from the restaurant again if I have taken issue with them. Takara is the saddest excuse for an establishment I have ever encountered. There is zero accountability for mistakes and their M.O. is making you feel awful in the process of resolving a simple lunch order. Whoever is in charge of taking calls really go out of their way to lose you as a customer like its their job! I asked to speak with the manager and the same woman picked up after a few seconds and began screaming unrecognizable banter again. Its a circus.
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Jiju Charath
I used to drag my friends here and we all agreed Takara served good sushi. But today 8/28/2015 my experience was entirely different. I went alone. They served me below quality spicy salmon, spicy tuna and eel and Avocado sushi with really old fish in all of them. Tuna tasted fish oil, spongy and flaky indicating that it is old. Salmon didnt taste like fish at all. Eel avocado tasted OK. I told the server about the quality of food. He mentioned he dont have anything to do with it. He told me if I have any feedback I can talk to the sushi makers. Not a manager or even he couldnt pass the message. Wrong people to run a business. They are not open for improvement if they cannot pass a well meant comment to proper channel. A customer shouldnt be bothered with speaking to multiple staff. Message I get is if I want their restaurant to be improved, better talk to the sushi makers. Why would I want Takara to be improved while Sushi Muramoto serves excellent sushi? This will be my last trip to Takara. Not only for me. For my friends too.
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A Private User
The first thing that struck me was that the waiter was not very friendly. He mumbled, spoke too quickly, and walked away as soon as he possibly could. The only time he smiled during the entire meal was when he dropped off the bill. The meal was of similar quality. The tuna was bland and so fatty it actually tasted greasy. It had a ribbon of chewy fat running through it, and we actually found a bone in one piece! Really not acceptable. The rest of the sashimi was mediocre to bad in taste and texture. That said, the service was fast, and the rolls were actually quite good. The special was a spicy roll with several types of fish, and the outside was pink soy paper instead of the usual seaweed. It was fantastic, I wish I had just ordered a whole meal of that instead of dealing with the disgusting nigiri and sashimi. So if you are looking for rolls and you arent particular about the friendliness of the waitstaff, go for Takara. Otherwise, go somewhere else.
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Yeong Nae Chae
The sushi is great, but the Chinese workers there bring me to shame as a Chinese American with their rude and lousy service. I ordered what I normally ordered a Spicy maki Combo, and they gave me a Maki combo. I told them that I dont like Maki combo, and the waiter said "No, you ordered this." So I asked if I can even get an exchange, and he said you, "you cant exchange, you ordered this." Im like...ummm ok? On top of that, the server only came to get us water and the order, then the food, and then the bill. There was no service, so I felt justified in only giving them a 10% tip. Except the mgr felt he was in the right in charging me an automatic 18% tip. I told him I would not pay for it and would only give him 10%, which I did. he said afterwards, thats fine, but next time you come in, we wont serve you. So I only go to the State Street Takara now. The food was good, however, and I was a super fan of their location for years, until that incident.
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Ashley Day
Ive gone here at least 5 times, and every time have had horrible service. It took nearly 10 minutes to be greeted by our waitress. Once she came her first words were, "Are you ready to order?" We placed our order but didnt even have time to order drinks, so we stuck with water. My co-worker and I each ordered the Sushi lunch, which is supposed to come with 4 pieces of sushi and a California roll. Eventually we received our food, but what we received was 4 pieces of sashimi and a California roll. I didnt have the time to bring this up to the waitstaff because they set down our food and immediately walked away. We decided to eat the meal as it was, and didnt get checked on once by our waitress. Someone else brought us our bill, took it to run the card, and returned it without a word. The food here is okay but definitely not worth putting up with the rude service.
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A Private User
How you rate a sushi restaurant has as much to do with how you approach a sushi dinner as the sushi and service. Are you looking for an intimate dinner for two? Are you taking the family out? Are you meeting a group of friends? Takara is a great sushi restaurant for people heading out in small numbers, but the seating doesnt accommodate a group of five or six people without feeling like you are creating a traffic jam, unless you get lucky and get the booth hidden behind the reception desk (few people even know it is back there). There are few private rooms (minimum of six people). The sushi is always well prepared, and the prices are reasonable. The service is good, and the staff are always friendly towards children. So, for anyone that fits the right size, I give a high recommendation.
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Ashley Renz
I ordered a $40 Lobster Tail lunch today from Takara at 11:00 a.m. so that my food would be delivered by noon or before. I needed to get to the hospital on my lunch break to visit my dying grandmother. Once I arrived at the hospital, I opened up my lunch and it was dark meat that I could not identify. I have ordered this from their restaurant numerous times. When I called the restaurant to tell them that my food was incorrect. They proceeded to argue with me for 10 minutes and told me Im just a complaining customer. The woman did not ONCE try to ask what she could do to make the situation right. I was NEVER offered to receive the correct meal and I was not offered an apology or discount of any kind. This business practice and behavior is something the public should know.
