Taiko Japanese Restaurant

BEST sushi around! We wont even go anywhere else... & we live 20 mins away!! more

Frankly very disappointed. Parents ordered tak out for mothers day cuz I just had surgery so couldn't go eat there. They REFUSED to take sushi order!!! Now keep in mind my rents are repeat patrons. There's no excuse for that type of BS attitude to customers. Then they REFUSED to give us miso soup with the dinners when they come with it. To top it off the tempura was soggy with grease... Not how it should be. Chain restaurants make better food than these guys. Bad service, bad management, bad customer attitude, bad food. I give 1 stars only cuz they at least let my dad leave with some food and not empty handed. If you read this Taiko, you've just lost another customer and I'll be sure to tell all my friends moving to OC to avoid you like the plague. Inexcusable how my dad was treated. more

I can't believe the people who write one star. When you read their reviews, you can tell they are not cultured. more

Taiko is the best and most consistent sushi I have ever had! The sushi chefs have been there forever and the line is always long for a reason! I live in San Diego and have had sushi all over the west coast and this is as good as it gets! more

My good friend turned me on to Taiko recently. I was surprised to see a line of faithful sushi lovers waiting outside for well over an hour before the place was even open. The best place to sit is right up at the sushi bar. The cuts of albacore and yellowtail are right from the belly and will melt in your mouth. The octopus is superb, as are the hand rolls. The toro is spectacular, too. I didn't mess with ""California Rolls"" or any of the other non-sushi offerings. Just the sashimi and sushi. Why else would I be there? Keep in mind that different sushi restaurants offer different specialties and it is well worth the effort to have a good rapport and ask your chef for suggestions of what they recommend, or what is good today. They will not steer you wrong, and your tummy will be way satisfied. In Southern California, I frequent several sushi restaurants and Taiko is the best. Close at second would be Sumo sushi in Sherman Oaks, followed by Ike sushi in Hollywood (known for their oysters and fresh octopus - most places only offer frozen octopus, including Taiko). Lastly, for a good vibe, try Teru Sushi in Studio City. Definitely avoid the buffet-style sushi restaurants. They may be cheap, but so is the food. You get what you pay for. To clarify, Taiko is hands-down the best sushi to be had in Southern California. Worth the wait to sit at the bar. And reasonably priced, too. You don't have to trust me. Give it a try and trust your instincts. You'll be back again and again. more

Taiko has THE best sushi available from their sushi bar. And the price is very reasonable for the taste. Pros: Best sushi Cons: Long line to sit at the sushi bar more

whenever i drive by taiko, it more often that not has throngs of people waiting outside to be seated. as one of the few japanese restaurants that ... more

ginsberg75 obviously doesn't know sushi that well since all that was familiar to him was a crunchy roll. If you know sushi you that amateurs only go for California rolls and crunchy rolls. He was correct in describing the decorations though, it looks very old fashion, but the sushi is supreme. The sushi is not two expensive (two pieces of toro for $8) and the sushi chefs are the real deal. The service is great and the amount of sushi they give you is monstrous compared to most sushi joints. Their spicy tuna hand rolls look like ice cream cones and taste amazing. They don't take call-in reservations so prepare to wait a little for a spot at the sushi bar if that's what you are planning on. I haven't been to Ango TEI but I have been to the other sushi places rated above Taiko and I will tell you right now that Taiko should be at least rated 2nd if not 1st. Pros: Big Cuts of Sushi, Spicy Tuna, Sushi Chefs Cons: Waiting for a seat at the bar more

i usually eat around the corner from this Taiko place to get cheap but good chinese food (especially beef noodle soup) but i one day i decided to give it a shot since i always see loads of people waiting for a seat. boy, was that a mistake. first off, the decor is so dated i felt like i was in the 70's and mr. miyagi was gonna jump out any minute. the food was dated too. the prices are cheap but you know that saying? you get what you paid for? well this is pretty much true here. the only thing remotely familiar to me in terms of quality was the crunchy roll. other than that i had to wait almost 10 minutes before i got my bowl of rice that was supposed to come with my entree. my server was ok. she was an older lady like most of the waitresses there... they've probably all been working there since the 70's. on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best this place it a 3. the only reason it's not any lower is that it's cheap... good for starving college students (but nothing i'd feed my own children) and because it's it's right next door to the new Yogurtland (which my wife loves to death). Pros: cheap Cons: cheap food more

may be 10 20 year ago this place was a great innovation -- great setting, great price, great food... ok, may be not great food. but you would have to be hard pressed to want to go here these days (it's never been updated). the long line is pretty much for the sushi bar, not the dinning table, but the place is packed every night. i just don't understand it. i go there just so i can eat a head of lettuce in one sitting (my vegetable intake). try to avoid the ""combi"" sets with sashimi, unless you feel like chewing unflavored rubber. the tempura is subpar and teriyaki beef is tough. despite all of this negativity, I do think you need to go there once in your lifetime. this place is an Irvine institution -- deserving of your appearance and patronage at once, just once. more

I have eatern here more than once and each time I have been dissapointed. First of all, I KNOW japanese food. I have lived and worked in Japan, and this restaurant comes nowhere close to authenticity. It serves the average tempura and teriyaki sets, and even these are lacking in taste and texture. The prices are much too high; there are many other Japanese restaurants in OC where you can find the same food, for the same price, yet feel satisfied or even ecstatic upon leaving. Unfortunately, people line up outside this restaurant during lunch, and even at dinner, and every time I see it I almost get angry that people are wasting their time at a sub-par restaurant and not experiencing true Japanese deliciousness. If you want atmosphere, taste, price, location, authenticity, or have any other preference, there are several other Japanese restaurants which will meet these criteria, each with their own specific characteristics. TAIKO is deficient in ALL of them. The only good thing about this restaurant is that it is located NEXT TO SOME DELICIOUS CHINESE RESTAURANTS- so keep walking in the center and pick one of these, or try a good Japanese restaurant (all within a 5 or 10 minutes drive) Pros: in irvine, so there are lots of other Asian restaurants to choose over taiko Cons: HIGH PRICES, BARELY AVERAGE TASTE, BLAH VARIETY more

When Japanese clients come to see me in Orange County, they demand that we go to Taiko in Irvine. Why? Because where else can you get fresh and consistent servings of bluefin toro sashimi or sea scallops so fresh that they are still in the shell? Nowhere else! They also serve exotics such as sea snails, pompano and Japanese sticky potato. But my favorite is the Sweet Shrimp Boat. A sweet shrimp sushi, covered in a ton of fresh crabmeat, with toppings of shaved Bonita and ponzu sauce, some flying fish roe, green onions and dashed with Tabasco sauce. Then again I love the fresh abalone (still in the shell until the sushi chef cleans it and slices it into razor thin slices), sautéed in a light butter and panko breadcrumbs served on a bed of mixed greens. Naturally with a sushi bar this good, there is a wait to get in. You should sit at the sushi bar as the best sushi is reserved for the bar. more

Okay so..I don't know what's wrong with the people below who say it's ""watered down"" or ""over-hyped"" or any of the other stuff. This place is amazing, I drive an hour from Los Angeles to stand in line for an hour just to sit at the sushi bar, that's how much I love it. Admittedly, I've never sat in the dining room so I don't have an opinion on that food, but the sushi that Suzuki-san serves up at the sushi bar is AWESOME. I'm absolutely addicted to this place, and I've had sushi just about everywhere. There's nothing like sitting down to good sushi, chefs who know your name and hook you up, and regs who are more than happy to make suggestions and conversation. You can't find an atmosphere like that at many places along with good food too. Not to mention the awesome prices, that just makes it even better. But if you wanna go somewhere and have sub-par fish that's not all that fresh and pay way too much for it be my guest...it's just less of a line I have to stand it. :) more

Taiko is a good Japanese place to eat at in Irvine. They do a great job of providing a Japanese-like atmosphere. The portions are very generous, ... more

This is one of the best sushi place i've been to in L.A. I'm asian, i enjoyed eating sushi since 1989. it's one & half hour waiting but you HAVE TO sit in the sushi bar. last time we ordered: uni sashimi, sweet shrimps, yellowtail, salmon, squid, salmon skin & soft-shell crab hand rolls...etc & many more, it's only $80 for 4 people, we were expecting $110.- or above. chef and waitress were polite, price was very good, the fish were fresh & excellent! Pros: good sushi at sushi bar Cons: long wait more

After you survive the daily long lines before they open you'll will be able to experience some very good Sushi at a very low price. Large Portions , Friendly Service. more

Waited 45 minutes to be seated, which would've been acceptable had it been worth it. It was not, this place is extremely overrated. Tea cups smelled very strongly of bleach...making the tea taste like bleach. Food was only so-so. Chicken teriyaki was burnt-tasting...they offer your standard Japanese fare, nothing very special on the dinner menu. Waitress forgot one of our orders too. Overall, terrible experience. The only semi-redeeming thing is the price. Fairly cheap for Japanese food. Even still, NOT WORTH IT. Avoid like the plague! Pros: relatively cheap Cons: bad service, long wait, mediocre food more

This is a very good restaurant. You get a lot of food for your money, and the food is very fresh. The menus is very extensive and has many interesting items. Go early, because the wait times get pretty crazy. It is worth the wait though. Highly Recommended Pros: Great Food, Good Value Cons: Long wait times, No Reservations more

Recommended best experience to go with long-time customer; you'll get a better experience from it. It is recommended to ask for Ono-san if you sit sushi bar. Ono-san takes time with preparing his food. Suyuki-san, who serves at the end of the sushi bar (on the left) is faster, but usually more generous on his servings. It is also highly recommended that customers take their time ordering while at the sushi bar, and only give the server one or two orders at a time. The freshest material is always the first seating of the sushi bar... meaning that you have to get there early to experience the food. more

My wife and I were pretty excited that we could get seats at the Sushi bar this past Sunday. Normally, the restaurant is very crowded. We were told that it was one O.C.'s best sushi restaurant. Being sushi enthusiasts, we were disappointed. The rice was too sticky and packed too tighly. The chef was messy around his work station. Luckily, we the price was reasonable. Between the two of us, we spent about $57 without drinks. more