Takeru Japanese Cuisine

Came here on a rare work lunch (I’m usually a boring bring it from home kind of guy). Some of the guys at work come here a lot so I tagged along. Glad I did. Its busy (but always seems to have a seat available) and I can see why.
The food is really good. They do the basic Japanese you get everywhere but with a few twists. They have a special hot and spicy menu for the chilli-​heads like me, and if you don’t want to eat much, or want to try two things, they have some half sized options as well. I had the hot and spicy variant of their takoyaki (octopus balls) and it was good. Not quite as spicy as I would have liked but more than spicy enough for the non-​insane.
Like most Japanese paces, the portions are kind of small but still not bad value.

Was looking for Yakiniku Gyuzo but accidentally ended up here instead. Not a bad place, but they could give you a bit more food for the price they charge. I had the tonkatsu (fried pork cutlet) ramen and my mother tried their salmon-​sashimi topped rice bowl. My bowl was a tad too salty and the salmon bowl was 60% rice, 30% salmon, and 5% seaweed salad, 5% lettuce.

Takeru is quite unique, part of its menu is a fusion of Japanese and Italian. Their unique selling point is their half potion menu items. It’s actually a good idea if you’re a person trying to save cash or cut down on the calories.
CROQUETTE $ 3.80
This is a hidden treasure. The ultimate comfort food served in a lightly crispy batter. Once batter is broken down in your mouth, that smooth potato purée-​like texture is released — ultra comforting feeling. The mayo/​dressing is equally delicious and the perfect accompaniment for the coquettes. I would seriously go come back just for them.
KARAAGE DON ½ $ 7.50
Average chicken found in a food court. Not crispy enough, very little depth of flavour. Nothing more to say unfortunately.
KUMAMOTO TONKOTSU RAMEN $ 12.40
The broth was on a light side, this dish was average and far from the benchmark set by Gumshara or Ramen Zundo. Personally I hate having the fried element being left in the soup making it so soggy same goes for tempura in soup.
Conclusion
Half portions are the main selling point and the fusion italiano-​japanese dishes if you’re into that. There isn’t anything major to rave nor complain about. Despite only trying part of the menu, the experience was not memorable enough to go again.
@thesydneynoob

For a quick catchup with friends, a cheap eat and somewhere that you can order half size dishes, Takeru is great. If you are looking for someone with some ambiance, traditional Japanese food or an upper class meal, probably not the best place around.
Met up with 3 friends there, all of us overwhelmed by choices on the menu, though, that was made easy by the half and half system they have, where you can order dishes in a half serving, so, as their menu points out. confused by rice or noodle? Have both!
Servings were very generous, and the place was full of what I would assume to be uni students based on their age, which is not surprising given a) how cheap it was and b) the portion size.
The food itself wasn’t amazing, but it was exactly what we expected paying as little as we did (under $ 20 a head, for multiple dishes and drinks each). I’d use this as a meeting point before a night out, or a pre-​cinema meal.

Great omelette rice

Takeru was the setting of my catch up with Gina L and to celebrate her new Elite status (ok the last bit not really but it was right after she found out).
FOOD
There were 3 of us at dinner so we all got to pick a dish to share.
I chose the Takoyaki Pizza. Gina the Tonkatsu Doria and Gina’s friend (who’s name I’ve forgotten but shouted us dinner. I’m so sorry!!!) the Omu Rice.
Triple YUM! Of course the worst dish for your health was the best tasting. White sauce with melted cheese all over the fried pork cutlet. My arteries scream no but my taste buds scream more!
OVERALL
Nice place for casual Japanese dining. Takeru does half servings if your just peckish or on a diet. (Not for us though!) It also seems to be the place for lone eaters. I spotted 3 during this dinner. 2 sitting quite close to each other that it made it look like they were together but no, they weren’t :p
P.S Apologies for the yellowness of the photos. Lighting at Takeru does not work well with the iphone!

Takeru, part of the YES FOOD Group that has brought you hits such as Wagaya, Ramen Kan, and others manages to leave you with an ambivalent taste in your mouth. With the track record for this group, you’d assume all their locations would be a must visit, but this is not so. Don’t get me wrong, they can be for sure, but this applies to Takeru only if you like to feel fat and also enjoy making furious hand gestures.
We arrived sans reservations and put our name down for 3, and we were promptly seated 5 minutes later. The crowd is mixed and on the younger side, and I don’t recall any music being played. As for the ambience, the place is smallish and has a reddish tint due to the painted walls and yellow lighting.
Takeru employs a novel concept where you can order half dishes of most of their items. They serve all types of Japanese food minus sushi, teppanyaki, and yakitori. Noodles, rice, salad, ramen, it can all be found here. We couldn’t decide on noodles or rice so we decided to go halfsies, just like Takeru says you can!
The complication with this is that the waitresses employed here speak really poor English, so you have to make lots of furious hand gestures to get them to understand what you want. On top of this, they only come to help when called upon; not a big deal in its own right but since they don’t have a waitress assigned to each table (it seems to be a free for all) there can be a lot of miscommunication on what you ordered and what you haven’t ordered.
We ordered an entrée of Agedashi tofu, and since I’ve never had Tonkatsu Doria (what the heck is doria) I opted for half of that and a half of cold ramen with Chicken Nanban (their #1 meat dish!) My friends ordered a half of Kaisen Don (sashimi on rice with mayonnaise) and half doria. If you like heavy sauces, this is your place. If you don’t, avoid this like the plague. Don’t get me wrong, the Chicken Nanban was delicious, as was the Tonkatsu Doria, but it’s heavy… you want to pass out.
Much of the menu features items heavily laden with mayonnaise or nanban sauce or any other buttery sauce (salad and rice dishes included,) as we discovered that Doria is basically rice with alfredo sauce.
If you like heavy Japanese food, the idea that you can order half-​dishes, and don’t mind gesticulating wildly, then come check this place out.
Food: 4
Service: 2