Takumi

 

0

26

Napa Lover ..

Los Angeles, CA

This place is fantastic!  Tonight was my first time visiting Takumi and I plan to make many trips back.  The fish is so fresh!  We had mainly sashimi; yellowtail, toro, mackeral and salmon.  The salmon in particular blew my mind!  Off the menu we tried the albacore carpaccio with jalapenos, yummy!  We also had scallops with avocado miso sauce, which had a surprising and really nice, tangy citrus finish.  The Uni we had for "dessert" was super fresh as well.  I know I am being repetitve, but fresh is the best word to describe what I experienced in terms of quality.  The service staff were very friendly and inviting.  The down side; it is Friday night and there was one other table in the restaurant and two people at the sushi bar.  This place can't go under, it would be such a shame!  Eat at Takumi!

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154

196

Puka Dog D.

Los Angeles, CA

My favorite sushi joint, Komasa, was closed on Sunday for the holiday, so I decided to try someplace new.

I was a bit nervous to try Takumi since I hadn't checked them out on yelp yet, but they seemed to have many vegetarian selections so I took the plunge.

Not only do they serve a spicy tofu steak appetizer which is quite delicious,  but they even have an Omakase vegetable sampler!  Too bad you have to make reservations in advance for that.  At $6-$15 per roll, it is a bit more expensive than what I am used to at the very affordable Komasa.

Everything was super fresh and was presented with style.  With no waiting, polite and attentive service, and the comfortable atmosphere, I may have to start supplementing my Komasa sushi regimen with a little bit of Takumi once in awhile...

FOUR PAWS UP

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63

1086

lothari o.

Los Angeles, CA

I agree with most posters.  This is a good sushi place.  In most locations outside of Japan, I would say great.  But little tokyo has very good sushi in general.

Some things were delicious.  The most exciting offering was the uncooked giant octopus with evoo--amazing flavor and tenderness.

Other things were only so so.  Yellowtail and spanish mackerel struck me as a bit bland, and from the less fatty, more chewy cuts.

This is a good choice for those seeking a spacious setting and quality sushi at reasonable prices.

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2

50

Charles W.

Los Angeles, CA

The food here is really good.  Its located at the top of a building, so it has a beautiful view of downtown LA.  The bartender will let you return a drink if you don't like it.  The place can be pretty pricey, you can easily spend $200.00 here if you consume some alcohol with your meal.  Also since its downtown you'll have to pay $7.00 to valet your car.  Next door is Elevate Lounge so you could go across the hall after dinner to grab more drinks.

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Elite '08

108

68

Winnie W.

Los Angeles, CA

I LOVE THIS PLACE.  Came here for lunch and ordered the Premium Sashimi special.  Definitely worth the $18 for me.  My co-worker had been talking about this place for weeks, how one of the chefs from Sushi Gen left there to open his own shop here, and how fresh their fish is.  Giles, your recommendation is right on the money.  I can't wait to come back here and eat more fishies!!!!

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3

5

Jeffrey C.

Monterey Park, CA

Of all the other Japanese places in the area, why this one? Not quite sure but I've never had a tuna, yellow tail, salmon bowl before and it was a good portion of good food. It looked small when it came out but when I was done with it, I was pleasantly full. We also had the edamame (nothing special there), hot sake (we looked at the cold sakes at first but were swayed away by the $8 small...which was very small), and sauteed scallop with asparagus. The scallops were a little thin but the dish was pleasant with hints of butter. All in all, I liked the portion control of this place. Not too much, not too little, but just right.

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19

100

Jennifer J.

Hancock Park, CA

I always wondered how this place would be during my wait for shabu shabu house~ and this past week...I found out!  Yes, the shab shab owners closed shop for the 4th of july week, and we were famished.  It was either daikokuya (which meant *gasp* walking across the street in the sweltering heat) OR finally satisfy my curiosity.  I was wary...the menu prices were very reasonable...but then again it was lunchtime in Little Tokyo!

Takumi met my inspections:
Japanese people dining around us - check
Mod and clean decor - check
Quality sushi - check
Competitive pricing - check
No waiting ^___^ - check

PLUS free validated parking and located in the same plaza as shabu shabu house and fiore = happy nifa

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14

132

Steve C.

Sherman Oaks, CA

I went here for a full-on sushi meal at the bar. I remembered ordering yellowtail, toro, salmon, giant clam, halibut, and eel. The sushi is pretty good, better than Sushi Fujiyoshi which used to be in this spot. The quality of the fish, although tasty, is not quite melt in your mouth. So I guess I'm saying it's not one of the best sushi in LA, but still better than Komasa or Sharin in J-Town, and close to Sushi Gen.

The restaurant is also pretty nice with its predominantly cream white colors and minimalist contemporary design. Try this place at least once for the food and experience.

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2

13

kento O.

Los Angeles, CA

A good lunch alternative to Sushi Gen, when you are in Little Tokyo and don't want to wait in line for a half an hour (if you're lucky). I heard that the sushi chef used to work at Sushi Gen. They are definitely aware of the popular lunch places in the area. They have the Sashimi Lunch for $12.50 (same as Sushi Gen) and Bento Box for $9.50 (Izayoi). They also got the limited Daily Special (only 12 available) for $15.
I had a Sashimi Lunch today. The volume was no match to that of Gen, but the selection and the quality of fish were well above the standard. I would definitely come back. They were playing Coltrane in the background. Mmmm.. Sushi & Jazz. Dig.

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29

64

Dylan H.

Los Angeles, CA

Last night, my gf and I tried to go to Sushi Gen only to find out that they were closed. Ok, Komasa it is then. But just as we were walking, she remembered hearing about Takumi which opened up recently by two ex-Sushi Gen chefs. We love Sushi Gen, so it's probably good. We walked to the door and checked out the menu. I took a peek inside and saw that there was only one person at the sushi bar and 2 sushi chefs beckoning us with their eyes to come in. And it was already 7 pm. Why not? I saw the 'o' word on the menu (omakase) and had to try it.

Both Chef Shim and Hiro were welcoming from the start. We started with the omakase ( 2 pieces per order) and were asked if we wanted straight sushi or appetizer/sushi and chose the latter. Omakase is $80 per person and we just split it. Here's what we had.

Red Snapper - with sea salt. nice texture.
Amberjack
Ankimo with Seaweed - not as pasty as usual. good but not comparable to Zo's
Needlefish - similar texture to snapper but somewhat bland
Kumamoto Oysters - some of the best kumamoto's i've eaten - very sweet. Ordered one more.
Grilled Octopus - boiled in soy sauce & sake for a few hours, and then grilled. excellent - tasted like chicken.
O-toro - they are offereing 2 pieces for $10 as a promotion which is unheard of. this was awesome - not the best we've had but good enough to order another 3 orders.
Sweet Shrimp - awesome. loved the texture of this. some of the best fried heads i've had - batter is not too thick and very tasty. We were fortunate that the guy next to us didn't eat the heads. After he left, the chefs kindly gave us 6 heads. yes.
Yellowtail - ok

We stopped at the yellowtail, for a total of $86. Then we ordered from the menu.

Red Snapper - forgot which region he said it was from. thicker texture but still good.
Hojake Salmon - according to them, it's a trend in Japan to breed half wild/half farm-raised salmon. the result is a nice buttery taste to it. good, but not comparable to salmon belly.
Scallops (hotate) - very sweet, but not enough salt was added. he wouldn't let me use soy sauce.
Bonito - not very good, tasted old.
Mountain Yam sushi - you can order this chopped with mentaiko but get it in a roll. the slimy texture of the yam is awesome.

Excluding the numerous amounts of sake and beer we had, I'd estimate the sushi total to be around $160. By the time we left, it was nearly 11 pm. Sushi Zo may be our favorite when it comes to fish quality and variety, but the experience at Zo can somewhat be stale if you don't 'get' Chef Keizo's dry humor. We were reminded why we still prefer Gen over a lot of places b/c the 25+ seat bar has energy and the chefs talk to you. Same thing applies here - these guys were funny and just loved to chat. Overall, we give this place a B+ with Gen being an A-. Gen really believes in making the customers happy and the chefs stay there for years/decades. Hiro & Shim still keep in touch with the folks at Gen even with the sushi competition in Little Tokyo being extremely tough. The fish is fresh at Takumi and there's a nice variety. I really liked the appetizer menu - they have a lot to offer including uni tempura which sounds heavenly. The oysters, grilled octopus and mountain yam sushi are enough to bring me back. Plus it was really fun getting Chef Hiro drunk. When it comes to spending money on sushi, I'd want to give it to the chefs that value customers. Good times.

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12

83

Matt T.

Park La Brea, CA

Takumi is like the Echigo of Little Tokyo. If you were to pick it up and move it to just about anywhere else in the city, it'd be head and shoulders above all the local sushi bars, but cursed with a close proximity to some big names in the raw fish game, it seems doomed to play second fiddle. Is that fair? Probably not. With the chefs being alumni of Sushi Gen, the comparisons are inevitable. At this point, I think I'd have to give a slight edge to Gen. In a fantasy world where there was no wait at Gen and ample room at the sushi bar for someone of my height, I'd pick Gen. In the real world, though, I find Takumi to be comparable enough that it doesn't bother me even the slightest to forego the crowds at Gen and head for Takumi.

As always, I went with the chef's choice for my first visit and I was happy with just about everything I was served. They season their snapper with sea salt like Gen does, but don't accent it with yuzu. The fish was quite good, but I have to say I missed the yuzu. Highlights were seasonal sawara (which did have a dab of yuzu), a wonderfully textured chu-toro, sea eel presented two different ways (one piece with just sea salt and one w/ sauce - I prefer the more subtle salted approach) and some of the most flavorful sayori I've ever had. The bonito was also very good, but it's still a little early in season (end of June) before we hit the peak for that smoky delight. Across the board, they seem to be a tad bit more aggressive with the accents than most places. There's a little more wasabi underneath the fish than I'm accustomed to and the little shreds of scallion and dabs of ginger that accompany some fish seem to be a bit more substantial. Normally, one would associate this with a lower quality fish, but that's not the case at Takumi. They just seem to prefer a slightly bolder approach. The only course I was a bit let down with was the saba. I've always enjoyed stronger fish like saba, but I have to say the rendition at Zo has somewhat ruined it for me. Anywhere else and the first thing that comes to my mind is that it doesn't compare to Zo. Takumi serves it with strips of transparent seaweed that to my palette don't have the same harmony with saba that they do with salmon.

Also worth noting is a pretty impressive offering of appetizers and cooked dishes. My general rule with sushi is to get sushi only and I have a bit of a distrust for places that spread their resources too thin by straying too far from this ideal, but a lot of what's on the menu was tempting. I didn't order anything off it, but I could see myself trying the tuna mille-feuille, the minced squid or the olive oil accented carpaccio.

All in all, a very satisfying experience and definitely a place that deserves to be given a shot by anyone in the east side looking for good sushi - even if there's not a long line at Gen.

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1

10

Kris S.

Los Angeles, CA

We ordered ankimo, assorted pickles, assorted tempura and a variety of nigiri (hamachi, tobiko, tai, hirame, maguro and anago).  The ankimo was fine, but the pickles were bland.  I knew we were in trouble when the tempura arrived, as both the tempura and the dipping sauce were tasteless.  As for the sushi, I was disappointed, since I had read some rather positive reviews about Takumi.  The fish wasn't very fresh and the sushi rice was under-seasoned and under-cooked, a first for any of the Little Tokyo sushi bars that I've visited.  In spite of the decent sake list, I don't think I'll be returning.

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