Taiko Sushi Bar

I drove by there yesterday and there are signs up that a new sandwich shop is opening in its place. Taiko was AMAZING! I went so much that the waitress knew my order by heart! I'm still searching online to see if they just relocated or actually closed. It's tough to believe that they didn't have enough business to survive...but times are rough... more

It's not downtown it's moundsview. Friendly service and people and low prices. I suggest the lala roll. more

Went here on a lark. It was pretty good. Much better than you'd expect for a re-furbed fast food place in Mounds View. Worth a visit to see for yourself. Pros: The sushi was good Cons: Doesn't look like it would be more

We stopped in on a Saturday night, were greeted by eerie silence (no familiar ""irasshaimase"" from the staff)--and were seated and given menus within 15 minutes. It was busy and there was only one waitron--but she was doing well. We ordered, and were pleased to feed ourselves reasonably well for 31$ for two, including tip and no drinks. The vegetable tempura bento is fairly good truckstop fare--local sweet potato, broccoli (??), and perhaps some kind of mushroom were represented. Notably not tempura, but just deep-fried breaded vegetables--and oily! Still, quite good. The rice was a sort of SE Asian pilaf with carrot shards--not topped with black sesame seeds or strips of nori. Two deep-fried gyoza (??) accompanied by a dipping ramekin of very watery tentsuyu. Not bad pork gyoza--for Minnesota. The tempura batter was probably kept too warm, or not chilled at all--yielding a sort of ""furai"" instead of a tempura experience. Edible, but not tempura. Also, the vegetables should have included at least one slice each of renkon and kabocha. Local sweet potato isn't Japanese--and broccoli should only be served if it's presented as an odd specialty. My guess is that they attempted to economize on ingredients and have substituted less-expensive Western staples for actual Japanese supplies. Requests for daikon oroshi for the tempura--de rigeur for that dish--were met with a puzzled, ""Um, no."" Edamame were served hot with sea salt--and were tasty. I asked for a cola and was handed a plastic bottle of Pepsi without comment. The ""Rainbow Maki Sushi"" turned out to be a very tasty selection. The fish was fresh and the rice was under-vinegared, but quite palatable. The presentation was good for beginners in a cooking class, kind of mashed-together, rather than the customary precision slicing typical of sushi chefs. Still, the flavor was a welcome ""mmmmm"" to washoku-starved Minnesotans. We spent nearly two hours in the restaurant, and were comped a serving of maccha ice cream for our 2-year-old, which we loved. Don't expect authentic atmosphere, presentation, or preparation--but there are hints of Japan in the comfort chow at Taiko Sushi Bar. The restaurant sits incongruously in the middle of a bunch of shrubs off of the highway. It's worth a stop, but could use some improvement in the ""authenticity"" department. After getting the food, you look and wonder, ""Has anybody on this staff ever seen or eaten actual Japanese food, let alone ever visited Japan at all?!"" Not all bad, and certainly not all good. Pros: Low prices, edible entrees Cons: SE Asian feel, oily, super inattentive service more

This place is decent for a quick sushi fix, if you live in the northwestern burbs. It has just the basic kinds of fish avail, nothing too fancy. I only come here when I dont feel like driving to mpls. But lately I have to admit I heard they changed owners so dont know if that has to do w/anything but their service just keeps getting worse and worse! Theres been times when I had to wait 30 mins for service and 1 hr for food! Its horrible and they dont even seem to care about improving. if mgmt doesnt fix this soon, dont see how this place will be able to stay open w/ less and less customer satisfaction = no one left to service! Pros: Cheap, Cons: Very Slow, Limited Selection, Weird Hours more

If you like sitting around waiting to be served, then this place is for for! I've been there probably around 7 times already and every single time, the service just gets worse and worse. This place is not very big - around 10 small tables, but the servers take a very long time to even check up on you or have you place your order or even provide you with any water. Let's be honest and call this place what it really is...cheap! They don't have any glassware. Water or drinks comes in cheap plastic cups and the plates are plastic. They don't have a very big selection of fish and what they do have is okay at best. I only come here when I don't feel like driving downtown, but after my last experience of waiting 1/2 hour for the wait staff to even acknowledge my party I decided to never come back. I'd rather drive the extra 1/2 hour to some place truly good. Pros: Okay Sushi, cheap Cons: Limited selection/horrible service more

So nice to have this offering close to home. Another Mounds View gem. more

We love Taiko but have little kids so we have had a hard time actually being able to eat at Taiko. Not that kids aren't welcome, it is just our kids aren't at a stage where we can be in a restaurant without ruining everyone's evening! Anyhow - we have given Taiko our email addresses twice, left messages, and requested a PDF of their take-out menu, but there has been no follow-up. So - when we want sushi for take out, we call them and try to place an order, but it has been a fiasco every time since we don't have a menu. They wouldn't give us a menu to take home the last time we were there and when we call they are either closed or one night they actually told us they couldn't do take out! It was so weird. Their food is good - but for us it has been too challenging to actually get some! If you can go in and sit down for a meal - by all means do so! The outside of their building is a turn-off but the inside is great. Don't pass them by - I just hope some day their take out service improves and we can actually get a menu! Pros: Best kept secret, you don't have to drive into the city! Cons: Spotty hours and availability - no web site or take out menu more

Taiko restaurant is the truly a diamond in the rough. The outside decor isn't much to look at, but once inside it is quite likable. The sushi there is simply amazing & the staff is very pleasant. I also like that they offer food for carry out. The only downside is that I wish they were open all day every day! It's a really nice place for sushi and it's also nice that it's not in the heart of the Twin Cities. more

We have been going to Taiko for 10 years! The owner always makes you feel welcome and the staff is great. Sake, wine and beer are available but limited. The real stars here are the super-fresh cuts of fish. Unlike many Sushi bars in MN, Taiko does not over use rice as a way to cut cost or add bulk. Everything is fresh, artfully prepared and well proportioned. There are rolls here you cannot get elsewhere and if you are feeling adventurous, you can ""name"" your own roll. The chef's are skilled, friendly and willing to whatever you like. Did I mention the reasonable prices and the fact that you can bring in a family of four without the dirty looks of so many ""posh"" joints in town? If you want truly good sushi without paying the high rent down town, this is the place to go. We drive from Eden Prairie once a week for a fix! Pros: Food, service, prices ,you can bring the kids! Cons: Limited sake choices more

In all honestly, I was a bit leery of sushi in moundsview area... but I thought I'd give it a chance.\r One night a few weeks ago I was craving sushi, I found Taiko on citysearch and it was the closest sushi to my house. I drove down, not knowing exactly where the place was and found it - barely. The place is not very well lit and there was a lot of construction type vehicles around the place; it looked closed! Well, there were cars in the parking lot, so I went in; I checked out the menu and ordered a rainbow roll and some Nigiri (yellowtail, salmon, and tuna). \r Once I got home and opened my sushi box I was so excited to eat it... and no longer thinking about the fact that this place was so unappealing to the eye (from the outside). The fish was fresh ad huge, the rice was perfect, and they were nice enough to supply me with a to-go cup of soy sauce and chopsticks. YUM!! I would HIGHLY recommend this place to anyone!\r \r I went back just this weekend cause I figured I should try it again before I wrote a review~\r \r This time I wanted to experience the dine in option. I sat right up at the sushi bar, where I like to be! It was just me and a couple sitting at the bar and several of the tables were filled with people. I took a look at the menu again and decided to try a California roll, a tuna maki, and a piece of yellowtail nigiri. Ideally I like to have everything on one plate in front of me, cause I like to mix and match the crunch of the Cali roll with the other options on my plate. They brought out the California roll first, followed by the tuna maki and lastly the piece of yellowtail. All of it just as fresh and wonderful as my first visit!\r \r Some other details worth mentioning: an order of nigiri is one piece (not 2) for $2.00, the only 'to-go' menu they have is by email and it's not the full menu as in the restaurant. \r Very friendly and talkative staff. huge bites of FRESH fish! \r Give it a shot!!! Pros: location outside of the city with very good fresh food Cons: poorly lit outside more