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Sushi Taku (Tokyo, Michelin)

May 5, 2014 by Jennifer Che 8 Comments

SushiTaku
This an addendum post to the Tokyo – Kyoto – Osaka series. Other posts in this series include the intro post: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, Matsugen (soba), Sushi Iwa, Ramen Honda (Tokyo Ramen Street), Ryugin, Omen (udon), Shouraian (tofu), Dotonbori in Osaka (street food), Taian (3-star Michelin), and Sushi Sho/Shou (Chef Keiji Nakazawa), and Nakamura (3 star Michelin kaiseki) 
You thought I was done with the Japan series, didn’t you?Well, technically I am done. Nakamura, the last post in my series, was most certainly meant to be the pinnacle post of that series. However, I had sort of forgotten about two very, very nice meals that Bryan enjoyed in Tokyo when he was there solo.

After rolling off of a 12 hour flight from Boston (arriving at the hotel around 9PM), Bryan asked the hotel concierge for late-night restaurant recommendations.

“There is an excellent soba place just a 10 minute walk away.”

Bryan had already eaten there, twice, during our last trip to Japan, so he asked for something different.

“I see you are eating sushi later this week, so maybe something different?”

Without hesitation, Bryan replied “No, I’m always happy to eat sushi.”

The hotel concierge immediately booked Bryan a last minute (10PM!) reservation at a Michelin two star restaurant, Sushi Taku, in the Nishiazabu neighborhood. Armed with his new snazzy Sony point-and-shoot, Bryan attempted to channel me on this trip, taking photos of every piece of fish, writing down notes, and frankly, doing a pretty good job of providing me plenty of content to use for this post.

DSC00354 DSC00380
Sushi Taku is unusual in that its chef owner, Takuya Satosushi, is both a sushi chef and a sommelier. Unlike most traditional sushi restaurants, which more often pair sushi with sake or beer, Sushi Taku is known for pairing sushi with wine.
DSC00389
Takuya Sato opened Sushi Taku in 2005 at the ripe age of 30 after having trained at well-known places in Tokyo like Kyubey and Zorokusushi.
DSC00356

The meal started out with a delicious crab and crab roe wakame salad (not pictured because the photo was just too blurry!). Because it was autumn, they also served baby potatoes and ginkgo nuts (my favorite!).

DSC00390
Below is a rundown of the whole omakase. There won’t be as much detail about the flavors of each dish since I wasn’t actually there (Bryan took quite a few notes about the details of each fish, he didn’t really provide tasting notes!).
SushiTaku1-3
1. Red snapper (tai)
2. Butterfish (ebodai)
3. Round clam (bakagai) was supposed to be eaten with a bit of salt.
SushiTaku4-6
4. Needlefish, or sayori, is also known as the Japanese half beak. This version was cooked and eaten with salt.
5. Eggplant sashimi
6. Uni from Hokkaido
SushiTaku7-9
7. Spanish mackerel that was lightly cooked
8. Yellowtail (hamachi) sushi
9. Sea eel (anago) served grilled on a stick
DSC00372
In general the chefs at Sushi Taku were really friendly. If they couldn’t explain something in English, they would bring up the book and show you a picture of what you were eating. Bryan took many pictures from book pages, which was invaluable in helping me figure what the heck he ate.
SushiTaku10-12
10. Sushi rice cracker
11. Cooked oyster, eaten with either soy sauce or salt
12. Steamed lotus roots with shrimp (ebi) and sea eel (anago)
SushiTaku13-14
13. This next course was rice topped with salmon roe (ikura) and sea urchin (uni). You use the spoon to mix all the lovely flavors together.
DSC00375
14. Daikon paper thin sheets
Check out those mad knife skills. If you want to see what this looks like in person, I have a pretty cool video of it in my Kyubey post.
SushiTaku15-18
15. Tuna (maguro) nigiri sushi
16. Fatty tuna (toro) nigiri sushi
17. Gizzard Shad (kohada) nigiri. An interesting fact is that the chef does not make sashimi from kohada. He only uses it for sushi.
SushiTaku19-21
19. Gorgeous grilled kamasu (Japanese whiting) served with Japanese yam (reminds me of taro)
20. Spanish mackerel (sawara) sushi
21. Shrimp (ebi) sushi

At this point the chef asked Bryan, “how much more?”

Even though Bryan had eaten quite a lot, he asked for three more pieces.
DSC00394
Before the last three pieces arrived, out came a bowl of baby clam and shellfish soup.
DSC00395
This was followed by a gorgeously seared baby snapper (kodai) sushi.
DSC00397
Sea eel, or Anago, sushi (also cooked).
DSC00399
And finally, a beautiful seared piece of golden eye snapper (kinmedai) with skin.
DSC00400
Every sushi meal ends with a sweet egg, tamago, and this meal was no different.
DSC00402
What was different were the five (yes, can you believe it?) kinds of ice cream for dessert. I would have loved to try these flavors: soy sauce, ginger, roast tea, brown rice tea, and kinako (roasted soy bean flour).

Overall, Bryan enjoyed Sushi Taku quite a lot. It turns out, however, that the best dish he’s ever had (in his entire life!) would come just a few days later on this same business trip, also in Tokyo, of course.

Stay tuned!

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All Rights Reserved

Filed Under: Japan, Michelin, Michelin2, Restaurant, Review, Tokyo, World Travel Tagged With: Japanese, Sushi, Travel

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Comments

  1. Chris Massad says

    December 4, 2014 at 7:54 pm

    I really love your blog. Especially the detail of the japanese foods.
    I spent some time growing up in Japan (middle school and high school) attending Englsih speaking schools. I never mastered the language but have always loved the culture and cuisine. I returned to the United States for university and started cooking Japanese food. I am working as a sushi chef in San Francisco California, and I want to continue to learn. I have been pretty successful so far and worked in some nice places, but I feel like I am being held back by not being japanese, many of the successful Caucasian sushi chefs are talented, but also spend time working in japan. I am wondering if you can recommend me any names of sushi bars where the chefs speak English. My list to apply for work (for free) is kyubey, sushi tanabe (Sapporo), sushisho masa, yoshitake. Do you know any others. Also kaiseki restaurants as well. Any information is truly greatly appreciated.
    Thanks for your time,
    Chris

    Log in to Reply
    • Jennifer Che says

      December 8, 2014 at 2:49 pm

      Hi Chris,

      That’s awesome that you’re working as a sushi chef. I think Yasuda from Sushi Yasuda in New York moved back to Japan and has now opened up a place there. I’m sure his English is excellent. I am less familiar with whether kaiseki restaurant chefs speak English because as a diner you don’t get to interact directly with the chef like you get to while sitting at the sushi bar. Best of luck with your sushi career!

      Jen

      Log in to Reply
  2. Liza says

    April 18, 2016 at 9:28 am

    Never tried a Michelin restaurant like this bad! The boss chief is horrible!!!

    Log in to Reply
  3. Young Choi says

    April 18, 2016 at 9:06 pm

    Just wanted to say thanks for the reviews of your meals in Tokyo! Staying in Nishiazabu and found your reviews of Taku and Butagumi very helpful. Both places were a delight and enjoyed them as much as y’all did!

    Log in to Reply
    • Jennifer Che says

      April 22, 2016 at 10:35 pm

      Excellent! So glad you had such a wonderful time in Japan. 🙂

      Log in to Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Umami. Il sapore del Giappone. | Nero di Seppia says:
    April 5, 2016 at 8:35 am

    […] firmamento di stelle Michelin, due delle quali brillano splendenti come comete sull’elegantissimo Sushi Taku, fino ai più modesti baracchini di street food reperibili pressoché ovunque in territorio […]

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  2. Guide to the Best Sushi Restaurants in Tokyo - Cheap Flights Cheap Airfare Cheap Hotel Deals says:
    September 13, 2019 at 5:08 pm

    […] that is both luxurious and uniquely Japanese, head to the two Michelin star rated Taku. Perhaps the most delectable option on the menu are their grilled and simmered fishes along with their sweet crab. They also integrate […]

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  3. Guide To The Best Sushi Restaurants In Tokyo – Articles Blogs & Videos says:
    October 23, 2019 at 9:36 pm

    […] that is both luxurious and uniquely Japanese, head to the two Michelin star rated Taku. Perhaps the most delectable option on the menu are their grilled and simmered fishes along with their sweet crab. They also integrate […]

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Welcome to Tiny Urban Kitchen!

JenChe

Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am a Boston to Hong Kong transplant, born and raised in Ohio with parents from Taiwan. Feel free to head on over to the About page if you want to learn more about me, or just explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!
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