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Categories: Sushi Bars, Japanese [Edit]
Neighborhood: East Village2nd Ave-Houston St (F, V)
"I adore this place! I went last night for the Wednesday night deal ($25 for a flight of sushi + appetizers). First off, you get an amazing…" read more »
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This place never disappoints. Just another fantastic meal. Flavorful, perfectly cooked Skate Wing for $8 bucks. Eggplant Skewer $1. Asparagus and Bacon Skewer $2, Hamachi with slightly sweet and tangy Jalepeno sauce $13. Fresh, generous portion of Toro $13.
Eating at my favorite neighborhood spot and not breaking the bank:
Priceless.
PS-Has this place jumped the shark? I saw one of the Olsen twins here on a recent visit. Not sure which multimillion dollar doppleganger it was, but I swear she did not eat anything in the 30 minutes that I was there, just sipping on a Kirin. That's a shame, because the food at Takahachi is amazing.
You can order just about anything off the paper specials-of-the-day menu and be glad you did. This… Read more »
Yep, this is where I tell everyone to go for great traditional sushi and japanese cuisine. Unlike many of its competitors, Takahachi is not trying to reel people in with a swanky interior or an endless amount of comprising non-traditional speciality rolls. (They only have a few of those.) The chefs, including the super friendly head sushi chef Jack, pump out awesomely tasty food with freshness guaranteed. They serve both traditional dishes (monkfish liver) and interesting originals (toro jalapeno rolls) that win over my tummy time after time after... you get the point.
Tip: ask Jack for what's fresh for the day. He'll never steer you wrong.
We all have our "go to ______ (whatever is important to you)". I've got my "go to" slice of local pizza, my go to cappucino, and my go to affordable sushi - Takahachi. My first trip to Takahachi was in 1994 and I've been coming back ever since for fresh sushi at reasonable prices. The decor is what you'd expect on Avenue A and makes me feel as relaxed as the reggae through their speakers. Lots of specials - sometimes hit and miss and less than fantastic noodle soups. It's all about the sushi here though and in that regard they are rock solid. And at the top of the list - please take me up on this - is their spicy tuna hand roll. The spicy tuna has no mayo - it's all about the sesame oil and wasabi - hands down the best I've had in New York.
Is Takahachi the best Japanese restaurant in the city? God no - not even the best in the neighborhood (I'll take Hasaki). But since I can't afford the best every other week they will be my go to for a long time come.
I am sometimes skeptical trying a new and unfamiliar sushi place, but we were looking for a good sushi place in ABC City that wasn't Avenue A Sushi. A friend found this place using good and ol' trusty Yelp! There was a wait on a Friday night, but it was well worth it. Having a difficult time deciding what we actually wanted, we ordered the sushi/sashimi combination for 2 (there were 3 of us) and two special rolls - oyster roll and a pumpkin roll. The sushi was fresh, plentiful and delicious! The oyster roll was pretty unusual, but I certainly did like it! Takahachi has a good mix of traditional and non-traditional sushi and rolls. Good ambiance, friendly wait staff, a pretty solid sushi restaurant.
Had the sushi deluxe platter and it was very good. The service was attentive and the sake was delish. Nice place to sit at the bar and eat. Very good atmosphere in the restaurant. Reasonably priced. Nice wait staff.
I always wondered what that line was for that didn't go to the questionable lounge, Drom, or whatever it is below it.
I was browsing yelp for a good sushi place near me, decided to try it out and on arrival was like "Oh, this place". Even more to my surprise, once I was inside, I realized "Oh, I've been here before!" its alllll coming back to me now. good sushi....
The prices are completely reasonable, the sushi is good and fresh, and what is that I hear about a box of sake? I've only ever gotten rolls, but if you're willing to take my word about it, they done em right.
It does get crowded, and they pack you in there good. But the food comes quick, and everyone in there happens to be adorable, patrons and staff. so cute I'll never take my boyfriend back there again. Jokes, I'll suck it up.
I gotta agree with Andy H. This place is good, not great. Yes the prices are reasonable, yes everything seems fresh, even the service is attentive, but it certainly is not the bomb diggs.
I really wanted it to be excellent. I've heard from multiple people that this is THE spot for quality reasonably priced sushi. Since I live around the corner I was crossing my fingers that that was the case. Alas, the search continues.
Hate to admit it, but LA done got us beat in the category of reasonably priced quality sushi. Seems to me like you really gotta pay through the nose to get the heady sushi here.
Excellent experience. Arrived at 9:30 on a Wednesday night and had to wait about 15 minutes for a table because it was packed (still packed when we left at 11pm). And I can see why.
There's an excellent sushi bar - I highly recommend trying items from the specials. The sushi pieces weren't the largest, but the prices are low for high quality fish. Also very original combinations and ingredients.
But if you're not in the mood for raw fish, the restaurant still has plenty to offer. Skewers a la carte of beef, chicken, or fish/shellfish that are small but only cost a few dollars each. Also tempura a la carte and cooked appitizers.
The price is good, as long as you keep an eye on what you order. We ordered three sushi rolls, a few peices of sashimi, beef tataki (excellent), a tuna skewer, edamame and two sakes and the total was less than $40.
Soooo good! Oh how I wish I had this place around the corner. I didn't do the sushi, but the lunch special was deeelicious and satisfying! Loved the staff too.
Love this place! I usually go to the Tribeca location on Duane Street and my family and I love the fact that it's good sushi and even better prices!
I like the fact that there are vegetarian rolls which i can eat (really love the Buddha roll) and the waiter is nice as well.
I recommend this location as well as the Tribeca location that i usually go with. From friends to family, i've brought them all here and they all enjoy it. :)
With all the Japanese restaurants in this part of town, one might think any sushi place would be fine, just like walking into any Starbuck's on any Manhattan block for a mocha frap. Alas, that is not the case because I've stumbled into a couple of mediocre sushi places in the East Village before. And that's why I decided to check out reviews for Japanese restaurants in the East Village before hopping on the 6 train to Astor Place today. I wrote down the names of a few places that got high marks on Yelp and decided on Takahachi with my friend.
We were happy to discover fellow Yelpers didn't let us down. The sushi and hand rolls are all fresh (easily detectable and extremely important when it comes to sushi). The proportions are huge and prices are reasonable. In addition to the daily specials, there are many dinner combos to choose from. I ordered the sauteed oysters as my appetizer and the sushi sashimi combo as my main course. If I had known that the sushi sashimi was going to be larger than at the average Manhattan sushi place, I would have ordered just the sushi or just the sashimi. That right there proved to me Takahachi is NOT your average, over-priced Manhattan sushi place.
I think it's good, but I'm a white guy. My Japanese wife says it's "Ok. Cost performance is good." Classic.
At least there's a high Japanese to Mexican sushi chef ratio, which is good for the east village. The service is great: they're super friendly, especially considering what a bunch of rude douchebags most of the locals are that go there. Ambiance is fine.
My wife said to give it 3 stars but I'm giving it 4, cause she's comparing it to fish straight out of the ocean, never frozen, cut by an expert with a 12,000 dollar knife and real wasabi in Japan. That's just not fair. I'm comparing it to sushi in New York and it's pretty good.
UPDATE: Ok, 3 stars. She's right.
EXCELLENT food
NICE staff
Went on a Thursday night at 9pm. Short wait, not a big deal.
I got the bento box -- which turned out to be a mountain of delicious food. The salmon was great as was a brocolli and sesame small plate we ordered.
Staff was attentive (many water and hot tea refills). Chill, affordable
yay
I don't get what all the hype is about. I was excited to check this place out as I've been looking for a good reasonably priced sushi in the East Village and this one is only a couple blocks away from me. I got some eel, salmon, and tuna sushi and wasn't impressed. It didn't taste very fresh. It was just ok and not what I would call inexpensive for the quality. There are better places in NYC, especially for the price. I tried Umi based on reviews here a week later and it was so much better, it didn't even compare (plus, a bit cheaper I think).
You know . . . I used to think of Takahachi as just an "ok" sushi joint, but in the last month I've developed more of an appreciation for this place. Takahachi is nothing exciting or amazing, to be sure, but it is damn reliable. I've met friends here for dinner so many times when it's one of those nights when we're just like, "Where should we go for dinner?" "Uh, I don't know. Why don't we just go to Takahachi?" And every time we've gone, the service has been fast and polite, the fish has been fresh, and we've been satisfied with our meals.
I stopped by tonight to get some sushi to go, and even though all the tables were filled and there was a wait outside, I was greeted right away. A waitress came over to take my order, I sat, and I swear not more than 5 minutes passed before she came back with my tuna and avocado rolls, seaweed salad and miso soup. When I got home, I was very happy with my food -- the seaweed salad had 4 different kinds of seaweed and it was huge! The tuna in the tuna rolls was fresh and tasted decent.
Bottom line, this place will never be the best Japanese food you've ever had, but you won't find a bad dish on the menu. This place is inexpensive, convenient and has quality food and that's why it's always busy. Go when you can't think of anywhere else to go and you will be pleasantly surprised!
fresh sushi at a great price. This place gets pretty crowded and they don't take reservations, but its worth the wait. The services is attentive and the prices are especially cheap for the east village.
white wine: okay
red wine: balls
Ebi asparagus roll: good
spicy tuna roll: good
barbecue skewers: good (when not on floor)
tempura udon broth: delicious
tempura udon noodle: meh
Great large, fresh, soft, and pliant sushi. The rolls were pretty good as well. The miso was unremarkable though. But I really enjoyed their hot sake which was surprisingly inexpensive.
My only complaint is that I had a really bad seat AT THE SUSHI BAR. I didn't think that was possible. But yes, for some reason, all of the to-go orders were handled on the seat to the right of me at the sushi bar. This involved servers bumping into me several times during my meal, or dropping napkins beside my plate. Plus the seat was close enough to the entrance that it would get pretty cold and drafty at times, even though they use 2 sets of doors. So, yeah, ambience was definitely lacking. Maybe I should have got my order to go and put some other unfortunate soul through that shoulder bumping nonsense.
Small portions but the cooked plates were innovative. Sushi plates came with a decent amount of average-quality fish. Not worth a trip past 2nd Ave where you can get cheaper and better fish, raw or cooked.
My friend really liked this place, but I thought it was only so-so. The sushi is ok, fairly fresh, but nothing spectacular. Their specialty rolls were not overly creative either and their spicy tuna wasn't so spicy, but also not bad. I thought their specialty rolls were fairly priced, being $9, but when I realized they only came with 6 pieces, instead of 8, it actually comes out to more.
The service was nice and friendly, but again, nothing very impressive. Overall, its just ok.
The sushi here was great, one of the best places i've been to in a while!! Reasonably priced, typical sushi restaurant atmosphere... The Bacon wrapped scallop appetizer was delicious!
Overall would absolutely recommended this place, and will go back for sure!
the extent of how adorable the chefs were is n-a-i-l-e-d in that restaurant profile shot. when i sat a the sushi bar by myself on a slow weekday evening, the two of them and i had some brief exchange like this:
chef A: are you a moodoo?
me: what?
chef A: a moodoo? (started to catwalk behind the counter)
me: oh no (happy face)
chef B: really? you look like one..
me: no i'm not (still happy face)
chef B: .. on Macy's catalog!
me: oh. (sad face)
food wasn't as funky. i did like their flying fish roe over salmon/fluke sashmi though. haven't wound up to the omakase yet but for an inexpensive casual meal at a well-energized place, i definitely won't mind trying.
We got 5 rolls all together and each single one is delicious. The sushi rice is warm and well cooked. The sushi is very fresh and a generous size. The service is pretty good; they kept filling our water and food came really quick too. This is my new found good spot in East Village. I plan on coming back for their early bird tasting menu sometime (from 5PM to 7PM.)
best affordable sushi in NYC, well so far. SAKI IN A BOX. Have you ever had it. it's yummy. the saki absorbs the cedar flavor from the box. $5.50 give it a try. It's on me.
As we walked into this place the BF said..."I've been here before." The interior looks pretty similar to many other sushi places around. However, after our first bite we quickly realized this was a new spot to him and it was well worth the visit.
The fish was fresh, the rice was cooked perfectly and the price was nice.
Service was decent. Nothing amazing, but prompt and friendly. Really...thats all I need.
Its a definite revisit for us!
We really enjoyed this place. The fish is fresh, the service is excellent, and we got there just in time to avoid waiting for a table. The hamachi kama was perfectly grilled with sea salt and although we thought a dipping sauce would be helpful, the condiment of white turnip complemented the dish perfectly. We also had the california roll with wasabi sesame seeds (very good- with real crabmeat, not the fish mix) and sashimi deluxe. Everything was very nice, and what a lovely ambiance as well!
I had no idea this restaurant was there! I must have walked by hundreds of times (well... maybe not hundreds but you get my point...) without noticing it, until my former boss decided to take me there for dinner.
It's pretty standard Japanese: very good food (but not the best I've had in New York), a little pricey. We were there early, so we ordered the early bird special: sushi or sashimi selection, selection of skewers (yummy! except for the steak which was too greasy), soup, salad, rice, sample of appetizers, and ice-cream for dessert, all for $16: not bad! I got the sashimi: it was tasty but not out of this world. Also, we tried a couple of appetizers, and I highly recommend the salmon-stuffed shiitake mushrooms: delicious.
Service was friendly, even though our waitress (who was not Japanese, as far as I could tell) tried a little to hard to get us drunk and sell us more sake. I think I still prefer Marumi in Noho, but I'd probably come back given the opportunity.
Wow--I could eat the tuna tar-tar here every day. It's fantastic--a mix of spicy tuna and thin slices of avocado sculpted into a small puck-shaped mound with a bit of green onion and what I believe is sesame oil with rice vinegar for dressing. Absolutely delicious.
The shrimp-stuffed lotus wasn't that great, the lotus was a bit too hard. I like it fresh and crispy but this was more like eating uncooked bamboo shoots...I preferred this dish at Ebisu (R.I.P.) before they mysteriously closed (we bumped into the owner one day by accident and he told us the chef had gone back to Japan for his honeymoon, and rather than get another chef, they preferred to wait for him. Since then, it's been a few months and now their phone is disconnected...doesn't bode well)
Their tempura here is good, I especially like the vegetable tempura appetizer, with enoki (or similar) mushrooms, eggplant and squash.
Unfortunately, I think I'll stick to rolls and appetizers here, because my chirashi (mixed sashimi over sushi rice) wasn't as fresh as I've had in other places. It was good, and I certainly finished it, but I've had fresher (again, at my darling Ebisu...)
If you come here, definitely play around with the sampling of appetizers. You'll find something delectable (especially if you get the tuna tar-tar)
Sorry Takahachi. In a village (east that is) of outstanding Japanese restaurants such as Sobaya, Oh Taisho, and hell, even Kenka, you are as forgetable as Alicia Silverstone post Batman Forever.
The menu has your standard fare of rolls, noodles, grilled entrees and soups, which are all well done, reasonably priced and tasty.
However, I have become jaded by the glut of more interesting places around Astor Place. Where is the soft core porn on the walls? (Kenka) Or the upstairs speak easy? (Angels Share) What about an extensive sake menu or a specialization in yakitori?
Takahachi is following a tough act, and in my opinion, fades into stage left.
BEST HAMACHI KAMA!!! BEST VALUE (NON-AYCE) SUSHI!!! They make their own Ts..in brown and black! was the first thing I noticed upon walking in. I came here on a Friday at 7pm and there were plenty of seats. It started getting packed around 7:45pm. I never used to be able to get in. Thank goodness the economy sucks! There's one on Duane St in TriBeCa as well, but I'm assuming this one is obviously cheaper. I also noticed 2 Japanese chefs and 3 Mexican cooks behind the counter. Whew..only the Japanese chefs touched any sushi. They seem to have a following here, as many people frequent this joint. How did I notice? Well, this one gal came from Toronto to make a pit stop to eat here and sounded like she and the sushi chefs went way back. Upon walking in, other customers also knew a lot of the staff by name, which is a rarity in any eating establishment. This place comes close to dethroning rival chain Hatsuhana, but not quite. Green tea is served hot and isn't watered down.
-Salad - wasabi galore in the dressing, it hit my nose HARD!
-Miso Soup - avg, just OK
Ordered:
-Donburi ($10) 5-7PM - Early dinner set: chicken tempura w/ seaweed over rice, supreme tuna sashimi, I ordered this - supreme tuna = 4pcs masago haha, 4pcs chicken tempura was a little soggy, also came with 3pcs small of seared duck over a lettuce leaf with hoisin sauce on top, how unique!, didn't eat the bowl of rice
(at this juncture I ordered a shitload more and the waiter looked at me as if I couldn't finish the rest, I proceeded anyway)
-Hamachi kama ($7.50) - broiled yellowtail collar, probably the sexiest, most melty piece of collar I've ever had, not charred to death like at other places, I killed the entire thing, skin and all, nothing but bone left, this trumps the one @ Tomoe! MUST GET!!!
-Sashimi Deluxe ($18.50/21pcs) - 3pcs/ea of tuna,salmon,yellowtail,fluke,spanish mackerel,octopus, surf clam - the hamachi had this sweet garlicky zing to it, surf clam was also good, fish here was sure as hell a lot cheaper/fresher than those $0.99/pc sushi joints, that much I know, I inhaled this within 3 minutes, came w/ white/brown rice and soup/salad, very good quality brown rice, not the least bit wet
SASHIMI DELUXE ($18.50)
3 Tuna
3 Salmon
3 Yellowtail
3 Fluke
3 Spanish Mackerel
3 Octopus
3 Surf clam
They also offered...
TAKAHACHI EARLY BIRD ($16.50) 5-7PM incl soup, salad, dessert
Assorted kushiyaki, 4 kinds of compliments & choice of sushi or sashimi (i'll have an FUC..and K for dessert please), I passed on this
SUSHI ($14)
1 Tuna
1 Salmon
1 Fluke
1 Albacore
1 Spanish mackerel
1 Smelt roe
1 Shrimp
1 ROLL Tuna
SUSHI DELUXE ($18.50)
1 Tuna
1 Salmon
1 Yellowtail
1 Fluke
1 Albacore
1 King salmon
1 Eel
1 Shrimp
1 ROLL Tuna
SASHIMI ($15)
3 Tuna
3 Salmon
3 Yellowtail
3 Fluke
3 Spanish Mackerel
SUSHI/SASHIMI COMBO ($18.50)
-Sashimi-
3 Tuna
3 Salmon
3 Yellowtail
-Sushi-
1 Tuna
1 Salmon
1 Fluke
1 Shrimp
1 ROLL Tuna
SUSHI/SASHIMI COMBO for 2 ($32)
WHO YOU KNOW MORE THOROUGH THAN JEFF, RIDDLE ME THAT...
Pics to follow...
Total came out to $47 after everything
I've been Takahachi a few times starting in 1994. I had always heard how great it was. Every time I went I found it to be just average.
Last night was different. I ordered the Sushi Deluxe (8 Pieces and 1 Tuna Roll) and from the daily specials the Hero Roll (tuna, asparagus and shrimp tempura). Everything was amazing. The fish was tender and fresh. The rice was perfect.
It was one of the best sushi experiences I ever had.
Yelp came through with this recommendation. Takahachi was everything I hoped for and then some...the fish was delicious, the service a delight, and the environment very pleasant.
I just wanted to make everyone aware of the early bird special that I took advantage of tonight. Short of a visit to Chinatown, I dare you to find a more varied (not to mention filling) meal for $16.50 anywhere in the city. My meal came with 4 different "skewers" of various meats and fishes, sashimi, rice, soup, salad, dessert, tarot root...I think you get the point.
I'll definitely be back.
I've found my new neighborhood go-to for casual sushi (incl for pick-up). Good, tasty, fresh sushi at affordable prices and the last few times I was at Takahachi, there was hardly a wait. They offer a full menu of pretty much anything Japanese (sushi, rolls, tempura, shumai, soba, udon, sake, etc.). The place has a casual fun vibe and the service was friendly and fairly efficient.
I tried a variety of sushi/sashimi and different types of rolls... pretty much everything I had was quite good. They didn't have any scallop the day I went... disappointing but I got over it. I loved one of their special rolls... a crunchy unagi soba roll. My friend thought it didn't sound good at all on the menu... but trust me, the crunchy tempura-fried soba noodles with a fat piece of freshwater eel wrapped in nori turns out to be an excellent combo. My first meal here was a pleasant surprise, and the next day, when my friends and I were craving sushi (again), I recommended Takahachi. There are very few restaurants in this city that I would do two nights in a row.... and this is one of them.
I was looking for a new place to try so I decided to get some suggestions from Yelp. I read the reviews and decided to come here yesterday and to my delight----this has been the place that I wanted to try for the longest.
I always pass by this place and the decor always makes me want to go in and sneak a peek but never ever got around to it.
I am so glad that I finally got to try this place but unfortunately I wasn't really hungry so I didn't gorge myself on the their delectable sushi.
What I really love about this place is they have my TORO and my Red Bean Ice Cream here!
I would definitely come back when I am more hungry!
But beware of some lonely, single Asian chick that sits next to you that want some of that sushi chef's private menu offering.....
the only thing that annoyed me at the restaurant was her.
This or Kura (two blocks down) are now officially my regular sushi joints in NYC- the price point ($15-$30 per), quality of fish (not quite as good as melt in your mouth Gari and Yasuda but very good), decent ambience, and manageable wait (no reservations), make it a weekly must. The mass is right about this one!
We were originally going to Bond Street but after reading the reviews, the thought of spending $100 each for people watching and small portions recalled my experience with Nobu - good but not sure if it was that good. I think there's something that happens with many of us - spending more money and automatically associating quality with that.
Atkins Dieters will be happy to know that sashimi is the thing to order here - you get two large pieces for the same price as one nigiri - is the price of rice going up? Whatever - take advantage of this arbitrage while it lasts. Everything we had was great - rock shimp, fatty tuna jalapeno roll....can't wait to come back! It's a little set back from the street, so it's easy to walk by it and miss, which is what I did.
After eating in every sushi restaurant through the east village and lower east side (all you can eat and 50% off sushi I never even try, because it's too damn scary) , I can honestly defend my review. If there is a better neighborhood sushi joint, I want to know about it!
I rarely can say that anything warrants five stars. But this joint is simply the best in it's class. Everything is fresh, the service is prompt and friendly, and the value is impossible to beat. If you ever get a chance to eat before 7:30 they have a killer special that includes chef's tastings.
it's amazingly good for the value. i think we had 9 pieces of toro for something like $18.
amazing fish cheek. the roll that has asparagus is super-yummy-scrumptious-licious. love that style of seaweed salad.
it's also a more casual feel in that you get lil bonuses when they see you are a frequent customer. love that!
Scrumptious. Fresh food, reasonably priced... This is my all-time favorite Japanese restaurant.
the best sushi for the price by far
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New York, NY
Neighborhood: East Village
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: East Village
Category: Sushi Bars
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Category: Japanese
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