Takesushi

This place has great dishes, flavorful, fresh and decent prices! You can’t go wrong coming her for Sushi, it’s usually one of my top choices for sushi in the area.
Price: $-$$
Service: great
Groups: It’s not a huge place, a group of 5 – 6 would fit pretty snug. 4 is ideal.
Would I come back? yes!

I’m new to the whole Sushi scene, but dove into Takesushi excited to expand my love of raw fish. The place was low key and out of the way, but the menu was exciting with some fresh tasting fish that was enjoyed by all. Apparently, one of the more authentic ways to serve up sushi is to rub them in wasabi. Now, I may be new to Sushi, but I’m still fairly convinced that I’m not down with wasabi. Call me a wuss. I’m fine with it. It’s just the wrong kind of heat as far as I’m concerned. So that meant I had a hard time scarfing down some of my platter.
The straight up rolls were excellent though, and the sake was superb. I’d happily find myself back at Takesushi, but now armed with more information, I’d order differently. Because I’m a wuss.

The sushi here isn’t great quality, but the prices for their platters attempt to fool us into thinking it is. We ordered a couple of platters to share such as the sushi platter, sashimi platter, etc. The tuna quality wasn’t all that great, a little bit on the mushy side. Some of these platters, I couldn’t believe was more than 30 dollars.
It’s not all about the prices though, as long as I feel that I get my moneys worth in either the quality or quantity. If neither of those are fulfilled, it’s a sad day =[. Making reservations for a Thursday night, they made me give my credit card and told me if my party wasn’t there that I would be charged 20 dollars into my card. I understand the reason for this is to cover themselves, but many high named restaurants don’t even do this… just found it weird for them to do it especially on a thursday night. Well either way. this place was average across the board.
PS: After dinner. the group was still hungry. and we all paid approx. 50 a person.

I eat sushi… a lot. Healthy? Probably not. Delicious? Absolutely. That is, when I can find decent sushi joints in this city. Usually I’m sticking to rolls crammed with avocado and spicy things via lunch specials but when I can afford it I hunt for and then splurge on the real deal and Takesushi is most certainly the real deal.
You might be wondering: what is the real deal? Well Unilocaler, the real deal for me is when I can pick up a piece of sashimi and eat it with a little bit of wasabi tucked under one end and maybe the tiniest bit of soy on the other corner and it tastes fresh, delicious, and perfect. No mayo, no dunking in my wasabi/​soy paste, no avocado. Just fish.
Takesushi served the most delicious chirashi bowl I’ve ever had — when I was through with it there wasn’t a grain of rice left to assault with my chopsticks. The fish was fresh, the presentation beautiful, and the chefs authentic and careful. While the small plates/​appetizers were delicious I wasn’t blown away — definitely come for the fish. The staff was Japanese as was about half the clientele — they even have a sister restaurant in Tokyo with google maps in Japanese around the restaurant. The restaurant itself is very casual and unassuming
I’ve only been to Takesushi once now, and as a West Sider it might be a while before I trek on back but I will. I most certainly will.

Wonderful quality fish (and other dishes) and very fair prices. I work around the corner from here and have ordered here more times than I can remember.
Highly recommended.

Simple and inexpensiveness, Takesushi is a winner on the West Side.
First things first, Dasdai saki while I waited for my Sashimi sampler that was small but I’m not sure how much I paid. It was not on the bar menu so asked the chef for his choice. Tuna, octopus, calamari, fluke and mackerel. Next up the hamachi and jalapeño roll. Good. Not a big roll. This is great so you can sample the art. You know I ordered a rainbow roll and chefs choice. Rainbow was ok but the special roll was outstanding. Salmon and avocado over spicy chopped tuna, roe and a surprise of tempura what I think is crab all topped in fat Salmon roe. Melted in my mouth.
Bar seats for 11 and tables for another 26 with what looks like all locals here. I love that. A few were regulars and speaking Japanese with the staff and chef. One Japanese patron was teaching her American friend to fold origami.
What a great experience with fantastic food, excellent service from a small little sushi restaurant. I’ll be back and thank you for an wonderful night.

I really wanted to like Takesushi. The service was wonderful, the presentation was great but the fish was not. I thought it was promising walking into a Japanese establishment owned and operated by Japanese workers!
Salmon sashimi should NEVER taste like Mackeral (fishy smell and taste). I got the Chirashi and to my disappointment, it was filled with filler pieces like Tamago (egg)and mushroom. I’m used to generous amounts of fish over rice if I’m paying $ 20. There was only 2 slivers of Hamachi, 2 small pieces of scallop, 1 shrimp, 2 pieces of tuna (which had that silvery blue sheen of unfreshness), a scoop of salmon roe and 1 salmon piece I did not touch.
I’m just glad I didn’t get the Salmon-​don.

I’m bewildered as to how this place gets so many 4 and 5 star reviews. I walked from midtown west on a Friday night for a 4.5 star sushi experience and I was definitely let down.
My clam miso soup had a total of two clams (they were out of the shell and larger than usual).
My $ 26 chirashi came on a plate and was «fusion-​ized» with some sort of sweet /​syrupy brown sauce drizzled over the rice. The quality of the fish was mixed… the scallop was dried up and had no glisten… same with the yellowtail. The salmon and fluke were slightly above average in quality. I can’t really remember any of the other pieces b/​c at that point I was eating as fast as I could so I could get out of there. A borderline awful experience.
Will not return.

Quality sushi ain’t cheap. Usually there’s a direct correlation between freshness and price and you can expect to get what you pay for. Sometimes with sushi you even get less than you expect for the price you’re paying. And very rarely there are the sushi places where the quality exceeds the price you’re paying for it. Takesushi is one of those places. It wouldn’t be unreasonable if they decided to charge more for their food, but luckily for you and me they don’t. In addition to being really fresh, all the dishes were beautifully presented. The service was very attentive and gracious even when dealing with the d-​bags at the next table. (Apparently no one ever taught them that snapping to get the server’s attention is extremely rude or that throwing a fit because your entrée didn’t arrive at the same time as your appetizer is uncalled for.)
The ginger salads arrived first. I was impressed that they served the ginger dressing on the side. It may seem like a simple gesture but I’ve never had a Japanese restaurant do that before, and it was nice to be able to use just the amount of dressing I saw fit.
For an appetizer my friend and I shared the SALMON & AVOCADO TARTARE, one of the appetizer specials of the day. Yum yum yum! The salmon and the avocado were perfectly seasoned. The pine nuts were a great crunchy compliment and the pepper slices added the spicy finishing touches.
For an entrée, I had the SASHIMI PLATTER and it was so good. The slices of fish were generously thick and extremely fresh.
My friend had the CHIRASHI. Isn’t the presentation beautiful?
Even though we were the last couple in the restaurant and stayed almost until closing time, they didn’t rush us at all. Fresh sashimi, beautiful food presentation, more than reasonable prices, and good service. What more could I want in a sushi place? I’ll definitely be back.

I haven’t done the rounds of the best sushi in NYC, but I have had quite a bit of amazing sushi in Hong Kong. For whatever that’s worth — this is right up there as one of the best sushi places I’ve been to for the money. I will make the sushi rounds at some point, but it’ll be hard to see a star drop from this rating for sushi in this price range.
The two times I went to Takesushi, we sat at the bar and ordered the Omakase, a Takesushi H roll and a bunch of nigiri. It’s the first place I’ve truly appreciated uni and the fish has consistently been exceptionally fresh. The majority of the patrons are Japanese, always a good sign, and the sushi chef took the time to talk to us, unsolicited, about the sushi.

I tried Omakase and Sushi lunch.
OMAKASE: Great quality of the fish, selection and the value. Amazing!
Sushi lunch: OK
I definitely recommend OMAKASE!

I wanted sushi, the boyfriend wanted chicken teriyaki. I was going to try fatty fish, but they don’t have teriyaki so I checked Unilocal and ordered from here.
I got the sushi deluxe and two pieces of chutoro nigiri since they were out of otoro.
The sushi deluxe had tuna, salmon, yellowtail, clam, two types of roe, chutoro: O omg, and some other things that were tasty plus a tuna roll.
I accidentally put too much wasabi on my first piece and tried to shake my head as if that would relieve the stinging in my sinuses faster. I got wasabi headache but it was so worth it!
He got the chicken teriyaki and boy did it look lovely when it showed up. I teefed a piece of chicken and the lovely slice of eggplant that was nestled beneath the chicken. That eggplant was amazing, the pumpkin and asparagus were good too.
It was so good I’m considering walking up for lunch.
4.5 stars!

Not sure what everyone is raving about but this is seriously one of the first times I’ve felt that Unilocal has steered me wrong. None of the appetizers that I tried really blew me away and while the sushi is certainly fresh and tastes good, they were nothing exceptional especially when you consider all the other sushi restaurants in NYC. The portions were a touch on the small side and the rolls were a bit too ricey.
Service was okay; they were really good on filling the water and checking up on us, however the waiter seemed to be lasering in on me with quite an evil stare… not that I blame him since I’m guessing with his bionic hearing (he heard my wife talking about ordering dumplings from the other end of the restaurant), he was able to hear how disappointed I was with the food.
In the end, decent food but nothing that will make you crave more. You can definitely do better, even within this price range. If I could, I’d give this place a 2.5, but since I can’t, I felt it deserved a rating rounded up instead of down.

The food was excellent. The service couldn’t have been better and the place is open on Sunday.
Very low key and relaxed. There was no rush to clear the tables and the service again was quick and exact.

One might fairly criticize me for largely frequenting establishments well-​hyped in the NY food press and blogging world, but the search for my perfect neighborhood sushi bar is more personal. I’ve already Unilocaled at length about the Midtown East sushi hideaway Seo, a place easy to sit in and get a truly fine meal ordering «okonomi» (a la carte), as distinguished from an «okimari» set meal or the decadence of a hardcore «omakase» such as Yasuda’s. From the last paragraph of that review: «I dream of becoming a regular somewhere, and Seo has the right feel. Authentic, good, not overly busy. Maybe Takesushi several blocks uptown will be able to supplant it; I don’t know.»
Seo, I still love you. But consider yourself supplanted.
The stage had been set by several lunchtime visits to Takesushi for their steal of a deal, the «daily kaiseki» lunch. Kaiseki is way too elevated a term for what Takesushi actually gives to you, but the six or seven small plates are always finely executed: carefully simmered kabocha, impeccably cut sashimi, delicately fried katsu, etc. $ 13 for such quality at a Japanese restaurant is virtually unheard of.
But let’s cite some negatives: the space itself is utilitarian, and not in the spare «soboku» way that classical Japanese aesthetics espouses — its blue walls remind me of nothing so much as Monica’s apartment in «Friends». The fairly unique kushikatsu that used to occupy a whole section of the menu have been stricken from the record. While servers are warm enough, none of the itamae (sushi chefs) are particularly welcoming.
Still, how much does welcome count for when three of the itamae have been there, in the restaurant’s various incarnations, since *1979*? Pedigree isn’t everything (hi, Yonah Schimmel), but get this: longtime owner Robin Kawada also happens to own a seafood import/​export business. You have to admit, it’s a hell of a setup for a sushi bar.
So my expectations were high when I finally showed up for dinner with a convive. Our server started us off with a palate-​cleaning amuse-​bouche, a lovely little spinach sunomono. A mouth-​watering list of specials beckoned, but we decided to share a couple of regular-​menu appetizers, my convive settled for some rolls as an entrée, and I did what I’d gone there to do: a pure sushi a la carte order in the okonomi spirit. I also asked for the chef to throw in a nigiri piece of his choice.
The hijiki salad was subtly dressed, the hijiki seaweed itself shining through. I couldn’t stop eating it. Chawan mushi is a traditional savory egg custard, served piping hot and mildly reminiscent of tofu with added body, probably thanks to a dashi constituent. In the bottom of the lovely cup were some unidentified but delicious vegetables, little treasures in a sea of white.
Seriously, though, who cares? Let’s talk sushi. To be honest, I hardly even noticed what my convive ate. I was too busy reveling in the sheer freshness and delicacy of the pieces on my own plate. First of all, the rice was perfect, a wonderful temperature and packed to that density *just* at the edge of collapse that few sushi bars get consistently right. The nigiri pieces were at a 1.5 bite size, tipping the scales of propriety, but gorgeously cut. The shime-​saba (mackerel), anago (sea eel) and chu toro (medium fatty tuna) were excellent. My other pieces were even better. I’d checked beforehand to see if aji (horse mackerel) was in season, and boy did it ever prove it was. Scallop melted in the mouth in a way that regular fish never quite can. The chef’s choice piece was a scored, seared salmon that showed that when a Japanese chef chooses to respect salmon, it can stand with the best of the rest. Even the fluke, so often a bland white fish, delighted with its smoothness, as did an appropriately austere yellowtail-​scallion roll.
My convive and I ended with a pair of mochi ice creams, so often throwaway lumps. But here, the mochi layer was impossibly thin, disappearing in my mouth nearly as soon as it registered and leaving the red bean and mango ice creams like a pleasant memory.
That kind of attention to detail is what distinguishes Takesushi. Only in Midtown East could such a place not even rate in the top 3 in the area (thanks to Yasuda, Kuruma, etc.). But in the non-​expense-​account sushi bracket… Well, Seo has a wider variety of cooked dishes, which it does do extremely well. And its atmosphere is nicer. But on sushi grounds, Takesushi wins, hands down. You’ve got yourself another regular, Mr. Kawada-​san
Probability of return within 1 year: 100%

Pretty low key neighborhood sushi place. The fish are really fresh, and it’s probably one of the better place I had in E40−50s for an mid-​range price. We even had a free appetizer on the house.
I didn’t see the the $ 20 min per person, but even then, that’s usually how much sushi is for dinner around mid town anyway, so I wouldn’t shy away from it.

Despite the name, I really don’t go to Takesushi for the sushi. I find that most of my favorite pieces are just decent in quality on a weekly basis, nothing to be wowed by. This is a great place for a very reasonably priced sushi lunch (Giant sea urchin bowl with rice and a layer of tuna tartare, only $ 15) but for dinner, the price and quality point are not nearly as great a deal.
However, I absolutely LOVE Takesushi’s appetizers and small Fish & Meat dishes. The Tatsuta Age (fried chicken) is a personal favorite, my boyfriend and I actually ordered 4 of them during one dinner. I would suggest getting a large portion of your dinner from that part of the menu and supplement by sharing a sushi plate.
So in conclusion, this place is amazing for sushi lunch and great for appetizers and small plates. Sushi is good but it’s a little more expensive than the quality would suggest. Good for small groups or couples and prepare for many Japanese people to be sitting around you.

I was in the mood for sushi last night — might have been because I was wait-​listed for my first Unilocal Elite event at Megu –I am not bitter :-)…
I happened to walk by Takesushi. From the looks of Takesushi, it is well established neighborhood place — certainly worth the try based on how the place looked.
Sushi was especially good and reasonable. It was $ 22 for an 8 piece platter with your choice of roll. I especially liked the flexibility of being able to get a spicy tuna roll or whatever I selected from the long list of rolls without being nickel and dimed like so many other places. Sushi platter came with choice of soup or salad. I also like the fact that the sushi on the plate was not just the pedestrian tuna, salmon, eel, shrimp. Not sure what the rest was called but it looked and tasted fresh and exotic.
Waitress Service was OK — somewhat slow at times but it didn’t bother me. The older Japanese men behind the sushi bar were friendly. The crowd at the restaurant clearly knew their food.
After dining and enjoying the experience, I was puzzled by the lack of online buzz, with only 8 Unilocal reviews and no mention on Zagat. Based on the crowd last night, I guess that all doesn’t matter much.

I’m a Japanese native and this place serves very authentic dishes. The sushi is very good. I only had delux sushi but cannot wait to try chef’s special (omakase) at the sushi bar. The prices are not bad at all — I think the cost performance is much better than disgustingly overpriced Gari, or lesser expensive Seki. I still think though Sushiden serves better sushi.

I am not going to ruin the 5 star streak for Takesushi. It deserves every one of them!
I was walking home on 2^nd Ave., keeping an eye out for a place to eat. I spied across the street the green awning for Takesushi. It took me seconds to look it up on the Unilocal app for the IPhone… 5 stars across the board. Done. (Sounds a little like a commercial, but not sure for what — the restaurant, Unilocal or the IPhone… or me for using Unilocal — haha).
Everything was excellent. I agree with Norman S., the soft shell crab was amazing — meaty, juicy, crunchy with a zingy ponzu sauce. It was heaven. I tried the salted uni, served with grated daikon. It definitely is salt cured and almost pungent, but definitely mellowed by the radish. Somewhat of an acquired taste — I would prefer uni fresh anyday. We also ordered the horse mackeral appetizer, which was a cute basket made from the entire fish, with the insides cubed up with seasoned with ginger, sesame seeds and salt. It was also excellent — especially with a lot of shredded daikon and wakame. We chose a selection of sashimi and sushi to enjoy. Everything was nicely presented, sliced generously, and extremely fresh.
The restaurant is immaculate with lots of attentive waitstaff who are friendly and can offer guidance in ordering. I thought the prices were reasonable, and the entire experience was a joy. Mostly because I am happy to have found such a little gem.