Takumi

Reviews 3

AM

Amelia Nestler

Hibachi OK, service good (mostly). Service/decor: We went here for a birthday party, and had reserved both hibachi tables. Its a bit awkward to have seated the second party while another party is finishing up--another birthday party--and bring in the same surprise birthday dessert and sing happy birthday to a gong. This didnt happen within minutes of us being there; wed been there for over 20 minutes while another party was finishing. I get that they need to do that to make a profit, but they should either tone down the noise (theyre slamming a gong) or make sure parties get seated separately. The waiter periodically forgot a drink and had to be reminded, and sometimes it was a long time before the drink came back. The hibachi chef was neat, flipping things around and putting on a show, but not amazing, and some of his "show" was more hitting the spatulas on the metal table to make noise, not doing anything fantastic. Overall neat, and he had a few very cool tricks (like flipping around a full bowl of rice), and the only spillage was a few splashes of sauce.. The restaurant is cold, which I thought was because of the grills in front of us. I was warm enough when the grill was on, but most of my party wasnt, and it cooled down to too cold almost immediately after it was turned off. ** Food: ** Meh. Everything is cooked the same with the same seasonings, which means that nothing really shines. The shrimp were tasty, the scallops were better. The steak was OK, though he did do it properly to order (and he had a mix of medium rare, medium, and medium well to contend with), but the chicken was better. The mushroom broth soup was great. The salad used iceberg lettuce (almost always a failure in my eyes), though the dressing was pretty good. The shrimp appetizer is served with the rest of the meats in the meal. The hibachi rice was on the bland side, though it was fun to watch him make it. The noodles were the tastiest choice in my opinion. I didnt try any sushi, but heard good sounds about it. The ice cream is ... well, its just ice cream, not specialty ice cream beyond being green tea flavor. ** Allergies: We had a gluten-free vegan and someone who doesnt do fish. The hibachi chef took the time to ask to make sure he wasnt going to send someone into anaphylactic shock. Our gluten-free vegan had very limited options--the hibachi was a no go (all of the sauces contain wheat), but he could feed himself on some vegan sushi items. The waiter didnt always know the ingredients, and at one point he didnt seem to want to go check or just didnt want to share their secret recipe, but otherwise did well.

A

A Private User

I spent a year in Japan as a foreign exchange student and honestly this is the best sushi Ive had since leaving Japan. Its surprising that Ive read and heard such mixed reviews on the place as they have some of the best service Ive ever received. There are a few things, namely, the staff does not have a single actual Japanese person among them. This doesnt seem to matter though, as the rolls are always properly made and presented. The ingredients used are ALWAYS fresh and they use the traditional darker seaweed wraps that add more flavor. It was interesting that the tuna has gotten a bad rap, probably because people dont know what theyre supposed to be looking for. Its supposed to be a dark red color with little or no taste and it melts in your mouth. That is fresh tuna. If youre looking for the fishy bright red crap they serve at Takara youre in the wrong place. The service is less intensive than what you would receive at Takara or Wasabi, because it is a higher class restaurant that uses its quality of food to bring people back instead of a college dive bar that relies on getting you drunk enough to come back. I actually like that the staff acts more Japanese than the actual Japanese staff at Wasabi and will leave you be unless you signal to them that you need something. To get your water or drink refilled you simply have to place it toward the outer edge of your table. The staff isnt going to come over every 10 minutes and ask how your food is, thats an American thing. In most Asian countries, its considered bothersome to the customer and it looks like the staff is hunting for your praise. And it is pretty common in Japanese restaurants to have a waiter clear your plates as soon as you are done with them. It avoids clutter and leads to a more pleasant dining experience. In short, if youre not used to real sushi and Japanese culture, dont bother because you wont like it. But if youre actually a fan of quality ingredients, a quiet and peaceful atmosphere, and a polite and helpful staff, this is probably the place for you. Nee, Madison no ichiban sukina tokoro da yo!

A

A Private User

I dont like to post reviews but my last couple visits here have been horrendous. I love sushi and have traveled the world trying different places, but sice moving to Madison about three years ago its been up and down trials. We were craving sushi but ended closer to Takumi than Edos so we thought wed give it a shot for dinner. I had carry out prior to this that was less than satisfactory but oh well, maybe just an incident. They seated us and took over 15 minutes before they took our order. There were about 5 empty tables in this small restaurant so the customer traffic seemed moderate. 4 sushi chefs behind the counter so I thought...how bad could it be. They took our order and over 30 minutes in, my daughter receives her entree. A bit later we asked on the status of our drinks and they finally got to it. My daughter had the shrimp tempura udon and pulled out a piece of plastic..I assume wrapper from the fish wafers in the soup so I just mentioned it to our waitress in passing. 45+ minutes in we started getting the rest of our food. They boasted about their dinner portions when we had ordered but it looked more like lunch portions on the other two entrees. My unagi don had more decor than food in the bowl. The positive, the white tuna and tamago was great. Melted in your mouth and they were good sized nigiri. My kids (who love sushi as well) and I agreed that it would have been worth the extra few minutes drive to Edos where I cannot recall ever having a bad experience. I was thinking a drive down to Todai in Schaumburg would have been worth it. So all in all, food was ok, service unfortunately was terrible, atmosphere was good, value is definitely not there. With all the places in Madison, Edos downtown is definitely all around much better and the Edos on Monona Drive is a close second. Ginza is a step down from Benihanas but if you want Hibachi and European parking that would be your target. I heard a place in the Hilldale shopping area is pretty good...will have to try that...