Takifugu Japanese Dining

Purchased a groupon deal and decided to try it out while I’m in Vancouver. The it’s tucked away in a corner which makes it a little hard to find.
Included in the deal:
sashimi (salmon, tuna, clam, lobster) — very fresh and delicious, clam was very tender
Fried squid — outer flour shell not too thick and can taste the squid, portion is a little small
Takoyaki — tastes okay, nothing spectacular
Beef tartar — similar taste as other ones I’ve had, didn’t stand out
Scallop sushi — lots of scallop pieces and very yummy
Fresh oyster — oysters are a little small but quite fresh
Lobster hotpot — I wish they gave more tofu, but overall was a pretty good hotpot
Service: servers were very nice but service is decent at best. They had several free servers but were very slow at serving water. Food came out very fast though.
Atmosphere: pretty good place with private booths and a few tables. We were seated at the sushi bar which isn’t bad either to watch the chefs make the food.

After stopping 4 times over 4 months, Takifugu has really slipped down the list. While it’s fine, there are much better sushi options in town.
The first time there I was blown away — they had some of the freshest, best tasting sushi I’ve had anywhere in North America. My last time there, they had a tank full of dead or mostly dead (as in lying on their sides not moving dead) spot prawn that they were still digging out of the tank and serving to customers. Portion size has also gone downhill drastically, and they changed the menu to have much less sushi than they started with.
All in all… if you’re looking for somewhere late and decent, they’re an okay choice. If you’re looking for knock-​your-​socks-​off sushi, look elsewhere.

The short:
Great service, decent food, and terribly overpriced.
The long:
Been here twice and both times I received exceptional service. The food both times were decent. Their raw stuff is not so great but their chef special items are extremely good. My only complaint is that the food is EXTREMELY overpriced. For this price point I’d rather eat down the road at the big Manzo where it’s actually a little cheaper (still quite expensive), food is great, and service is awesome.

I must agree with the more recent reviews. Maybe 2 – 3 years ago this was a 5 star worthy place.
My wife and i were looking to try a different Japanese restaurant for a change, with the help of Unilocal we decided to try this place. The service was just ok and the food was below satisfactory. It was over priced and didn’t taste good at all.
We ordered prawn tempura (which was soggy and more like shrimp tempura), beef udon (too salty and it looked like the cook’s leftover lunch) oyster motoyaki
(moto-​yucky)
The funny thing is they’re open til 130am and we were the only ones there and it was only 11pm. I hope this place takes other’s criticism to improve themselves or this place is going out of business very soon.
We wouldn’t go back nor recommend this place.

Horrible food. must have a new owner since last time. Food price is the same with 9 $ California rolls that I can get from save on food for 4 $. $ 59 sashimi deluxe that I can get from t&t for $ 12, frozen… This is the new height of ripping off people. None of the pictures from Unilocal is true. Expect t&t food court take outs. Food poisoned for 40 $ per head… not worth it. Stay away.

Service is absolutely terrible. Still waiting for food and hoping it doesn’t reflect the wait staff. I usually don’t judge on poor service but this is totally unacceptable. Ordered a draft beer and they brought me an entire pitcher with only one small glass. Asked about low sodium soy sauce as they brought regular soy sauce to the table and was completely ignored.
Whoops. The chirashi bowl just came and is kids size. No comment on taste. Pic to come but nothing like other Unilocal pics — I suspect the owner changed. Moving on to another restaurant.

We went into the restaurant around 8:45 hoping that we would catch the 9:30pm happy hour but was too hungry so decided to order from the main menu first.
At first, we were going to order their deluxe sashimi platter but didn’t felt like it was worth it as 10 pieces = ~$ 55. So we decided to go for some nigiris, beef hotpot, and one of their special rolls (don’t remember which one but it was the one with spicy scallops).
Nigiris looked really good but was just ok. Same for the special rolls that we ordered. I guess my expectations have definitely heightened from dining at quite a bit of jap restaurants the last few years lol. The best part of the dinner was the beef hotpot. It was simple yet satisfying. It came with approximately 10 pieces of fatty sliced beef with a bed of lettuce and 3 types of mushrooms. We opted for the miso broth and it was quite good, along with the price of it (very reasonable for this dish).
Anyway, we expected a rush of people to come at 9:30 to take advantage of their late night specials but when we finished at 10:15, no one came in and we were the only table for the last hour and a half. The location’s not the best so it may suffer from people seeing the restaurant unless they researched it on the internet beforehand. Be advised that this restaurant has changed its operating hours to open until 1:30am.

Absolutely amazing! I have lived in Richmond my whole life and I just found this gem. High quality sushi, beautifully crafted and absolutely delicious!!! Definitely a recommend!

Great spot for something different. Service is friendly and food is excellent. Rarely see things like swordfish sashimi anywhere else. I have been here a couple times before bit didn’t think it was anything special. By after a couple year hiatus I decided to come back and the food is a lot better. I would recommend people to come check it out.

It’s been awhile since we last dined here and back then our reviews of this place had some wow factors. I think we got ROTD on this at one time. Yes, the place was that good.
Maybe the ownership changed, or the chef changed, but something certainly did change. The unique and captivating menu items then, are no longer available now. The menu is more mainstream with today’s item offerings for Japanese fare.
The place is well kept, the service is good and although it’s obviously not Japanese owned, it’s run well.
The location doesn’t help it much, but it’s still a good place to dine. Maybe they had to evolve in order to compete. After all, most Richmond diners are NOT foodies or Unilocalers. They don’t know what’s good. Only what is new and what’s «IN Factor» like their tasteless Lamborghinis and exotics with Tron paint jobs and climatic GF’s with sparkly faces and iPhones.
I think that being in Richmond this place has to contend with that!
If it were not for Richmond’s blah blah diners they’d be creating a richness in Japanese cuisine that those Rmd diners don’t deserve.
Typos FOC

Absolutely amazing. Let me preface this by stating I’m from California (which is a great place to get fresh sushi) and I also travel quite a bit for my company, which allows me to try sushi all over North America. I’ve been eating sushi for 25 years and this place… IS THE BEST SUSHI I HAVE EVER HAD. Seriously!
The Sashimi is by far the most fresh tasting ever. I was skeptical paying $ 15 for 5 pieces of fish but once I put the first piece in my mouth, I was in heaven. Worth every dollar spent!
the service was also amazing. I ripped the paper off my chopsticks, they came over and picked up the paper wrapper off the table immediately. I was checked on every few minutes on anything I needed.
From someone who’s enjoyed sushi their whole life, and is somewhat of a sushi snob, this place get’s my HIGHEST recommendation.

Not the menu shown in the app. Taste is also average only, nothing special. Shop owner maybe strong at creating reputation thru internet or Unilocal

My god The best sashimi I’ve ever had. came on a Friday night and it was surprisingly empty. very low key location should really try to get more exposure. price for the quality of food was amazing.

I was craving for sashimi on Friday and decided to return to Takifugu for dinner. When we walked in, they only had 2 tables occupied on Friday night at 6.30pm. My hubby known this was a bad sign and asked why we didn’t go Manzo on Garden City. I gave him a look and told him just wanna try somewhere else.
The menu has lots of selections and they do have tasting menu.
I didn’t recall why I rated them for 2-​star on last review (Jul 2011), but, I didn’t think they’re doing any better.
I let my hubby to order whatever he liked and I just picked the chef’s choice sashimi.
Sashimi Salad — tiny and thin pieces of sashimi, the salad dressing taste like instant sauce (too sour)
Wazibi beef — beef served right on the ice. Taste very dry and chewy!
Grilled Squid — I’m pretty sure they boiled the squid and just grilled before it served. It’s overcooked and chewy.
California Roll — poor handcraft roll!
Chef’s choice sashimi (Budget based)
We gave him our budget and let the chef to choose the sashimi for us. We got 7 kinds of sashimi and overall the fish was ok.
Kinmetai, Houbou, Masaba, Hotate, Katsuo, forgot another 2.
Well… We paid over $ 50 per head for 1 platter and 4 little dishes, worth it? Probably not.

Stopped by for dinner after Sushi Hachi turned us away since they were closing in an hour. Boy am I glad we came here instead!
The décor is modern and comfy. They have a salt water tank and view of the sushi chef @ the comfy looking bar. Service was top notch and our waitress was very attentive. The beef teriyaki was really good, their soba was good and sushi was wonderful! Great selection and it was VERY fresh! I saw some people eating some great creations! I would definitely come back here!

Wow! Most of their fish is straight from japan and it shows. Hard to find a place that has so fresh and so different sashimi. Prawns that is straight from the tank and on your plate kicking. Can’t get fresher then that! Tried a flying fish from the fresh and special menu and well worth it! Amazzing Mon!!!

Did I just have the BEST piece of sashimi ever in my life? Yes, I did, in Takifugu.
Maybe it’s because I’m from the East Coast and deprived of ‘second-​to-​Asia’ level of sushi establishments. If Takifugu’s food is the standard here, I’m moving.
Takifugu is tucked away in a corner of a plaza. But don’t be fooled by the exterior, step in the restaurant and true dining experience starts here. The restaurant interior is comprised of a sushi bar, several tables, and a bar display. The ambiance is elegant, classy and graceful. The service staff carries the same sense of elegance and professionalism with them, rivaling that of a European fine dining establishment.
We ordered several yakitori plates — chicken heart, chicken skin, chicken wings and the omakase for two. The omakase was beautifully plated on top of a large plate of ice, with hamachi (yellowtail), hamaguri (clam), hotategai (scallop), sake (salmon), maguro (lean tuna), toro (tuny belly), uni (sea urchin) … The details in the preparation is amazing. The sea urchin is served inside of the scallop (cut in half) resembling a real scallop, the flavor combination is unique and delicious. The color of the tuna and salmon has a nice shine, indicating its freshness; the taste is equally as astounding as it looks. Now the toro, it’s hard to describe how this one piece of sashimi enlightened my sushi palette. I put it in my mouth and it literally, melted away while my mind is still dazzled about how delicious it tasted. The rest of the sashimi pieces, equally as amazing, equally as mind bobbling. It is really the perfect meal.
The omakase for two is priced at $ 60 and the entire bill with sake came out to be less than $ 100. New York City certainly has some of the top notch sushi establishments that rivals the quality of Takifugu, but for many times the price.

Tucked in the corner of a strip mall on No.3 road, you would not think much of this place based on the simple description. However, don’t be fooled by the location, this is a diamond in the rough.
As you enter the small foyer, calm, soothing zen-​like music greets you, followed by a server. Right away, you realize this is not like most of the Japanese restaurants in Richmond. Right away, you know this place is kinda special.
We decided to start out with a bottle of cold sake (Hakutsuru Junmai-​Shu). Not too bad and price wise, for 720ml bottle, $ 25 I can live with that.
We started with some sashimi, Sockeye Salmon, Toro and Beef to be precise. They were all really well-​presented and quite fresh. Loved the beef the most though, as most places don’t do it that well.
Next were some grilled ebi rolls and amaebi tobiko rolls. I love tobiko and in sushi, it’s a great finisher on top of fresh amaebi. The eel was retarded soft, it justed melted in your mouth… so goooooD! Om nom nom indeed.
Last to come out was the yakitori dishes; grilled squid, chicken with plum sauce and grilled japanese saba.
The grilled squid was quite filling as it was a whole one and it was very lightly dressed and not too salty. However, the chicken with the plum sauce, I could’ve eaten another 3 orders of it as the sauce was amazing… tart and complimented the poultry quite well.
Finished off the meal with some green tea ice cream, the check and both of us left satisfied.
Try this quiet little shop in Richmond… you won’t leave unhappy.

Taken straight from their website: «Takifugu is a genus of puffer fish, often better known by the Japanese name fugu (meaning „river pig“)»
I’ve seen several ads on this place and I finally came here to see what it’s all about. Thinking it’s probably just another Japanese place with the usual sushi and sashimi, but was I wrong after a delightful meal!!!
As I walked in, a little puffer fish was chilling in the tank to the right with a wall of rare Japanese sake and unique bottles of alcohol. We sat by the fresh bar and watched the chef at work. We ordered moriawase, meaning the chef’s selection of whatever is fresh on that day, and and live swimming prawns. We had exotic fishes that I really can’t name. Oh so good!!! I felt bad when the chef just peeled the shell off the prawn when it was still alive though, but damn, too delicious!!! No word can explain it… just take a look at the photos! Amazing!
The chef explained that he chooses the best parts of the fish and gets them flown over from Japan every few days. So there isn’t a lot of one item to ensure the freshest ingredients at all times.
Go to this place, you can’t go wrong, and it definitely puts down all the other Japanese joints! Love it!!!
PS: Price is sure a premium for this kind of quality of food, but totally worth it.

YES! Another gem found from a fellow Unilocaler — Larry, thank yoooou! I *never* would have come across this place, or thought to have tried it out.
It’s literally quite hidden away in a strip mall just north of Alexandra & no. 3. Taken over the space of an old Italian restaurant (Paesano, I believe?) they’ve done a fantastic job renovating the space. It’s got a classy, calm, comfortable ambiance.
Helpful, efficient and knowledgeable staff. This place has changed my opinion of Chinese-​run establishments. The food and techniques used here are really quite special. Best of all, the prices are really quite reasonable for what you receive.
Part izakaya, part robata, part traditional sushi — this could be my new favourite Japanese restaurant! It’s like a combination of Hapa (without the hot waitresses), Zakusshi (without the hefty prices), and Sushi Hachi (for the freshest sashimi).
My top three food items were:
Grilled lamb chops — glazed, slightly sweet, well seasoned — completely non-​gamey. It’s hard to describe the taste, it’s almost like char siu lamb chops — terriyaki/​bbq flavoured. Delicious, I could have ordered a full rack of this. Eating it with chopsticks is also an interesting experience.
Grilled kawahaki fish — it’s like fish jerky! Grilled, dried, cross-​hatched, served in strips — it’s a perfect bar food. Served with mayo and chili flakes. Chewing releases the sweetness, a dab of the mayo adds moistness, and the chili power provides a slight kick. Brilliant.
Inawari udon noodles — imported from Japan, takes 30 minutes to prepare. Served in a simple, slightly smokey sweet dashi/​bonito broth with a bit of spinach and fish cake. I was really skeptical of this at first, at $ 7.95 for a bowl of «plain» noodles AND 30 minutes to prepare? Well, I was blown away — the noodles are incredibly soft, silky yet toothy. If you can picture al dente phở, that sort of gives you an idea of this dish.
I’m dying to go back and try the other items. There’s a lot of rotating daily specials, including whole fish sashimi options. On the night I was there, we tried the whole aji. It was undeniably fresh, served on a bowl of ice. The bones are taken after you’re done and deep-​fried in a nicely seasoned batter.
Seriously impressed with the entire experience and so happy to have found this place!