Takano City — Restaurant in Zurich

A potentially good Japanese place but could improve a few details.

We visited the place in the 1st day after restaurants were able to reopen, and they did a good job keeping social distance, number of tables and chairs reduced and waiter using face masks. Service was good and waiting timing was ok, price was reasonable for large portions in overpriced Zurich. Location has a good look & feel, with plastic samples of dishes outside the shop, inviting customers to check the place, just like you'd see in Japan. Inside, wood signs symbolizing Japanese menus, and typical music playing on. WC was extremely clean.

We ordered a tempura soba (warm buckwheat noodles with deep fried veggies and fish) + a salmon donburi (raw fish on top of warm rice + prawns tempura + miso soup).

Outstanding points Soy sauce was delicious just like the ones in Japan (not sweet as we've tried all over Europe) Dark misoshiru (soup) matches the raw fish, not too salty and with tofu and seaweed. Good recipe!

What could improve Amount of ginger over the raw salmon. I love ginger but the reason customers might order a raw salmon is to try the fish, and not to eat so much ginger, which could be on the side, just like the wasabi Amount of ginger over the rice. Too strong and it covers up the simplicity of a basic rice. Fish eggs. Not sure what kind of fish it was but definitely smaller and less flavored than the ikura (salmon eggs) that make this dish so special.

As a Japanese restaurant in Europe it deserves a 4-star but as many users have ranked it so highly, I see a 3-star place with some room to work on the details that would make it even more interesting.

The secret to Japanese food is always in...

Passing by this restaurant and looking at the menu on the street poster, it’s not bad so gave it a try. Ordered Tonkatsu, as you can see from the picture, when it was presented, it looks decent. But when tasting, it was not good at all. First bite, I can taste that the oil will need immediate replacement. It tasted like it’s been used to fried food for at least 3 days!!!! And on second bite… the texture feels strange! And when I look at it closely! OMG… it’s mince pork! It’s not a whole pork chop! I have NEVER ever had Tonkastu cooked in such a way! I mean, the restaurant is fairly central, so the cost must be high, but come on… minced pork… and it’s going downhill from here. Many pieces tasted soggy inside. Ie, the batter were too thick and NOT cooked through… so I am eating soft dough batter… the miso soup tofu texture also a bit strange… it’s not firm silky tofu… it’s like they didn’t control the mixture properly and created a creamy tofu… the tea was OK and bill comes to 32 CHF… will not come back. Maru at HB has better quality than this… and Maru to me is just medium… it is very oily and I smelled oily after the meal. I wish I have checked google review BEFORE I sit down. There were other diners has...

Went here for lunch on 8 May 23 after reading reviews which sounded positive. Service was friendly and attentive but the vibe of the place felt cheap (everything felt like it had a layer of oil on it). I can forgive that as I've been in some rustic places with good food, however this was not one of them.

I had the chicken katsu set while my wife had the pork katsudon set. It looked good enough but on tasting the chicken katsu it had a weird texture. In closer inspection it was a thin chicken schnitzel covered in panko and refried. Except this "chicken" was made from reconstituted chicken (or mechanically recovered - whatever you want to call it) and not even in a good way.

The pork in the katsudon was similar and both felt spongy as you'd expect with not much flavour.

The ebi fry (prawns in panko) were fine and the best part.

I'm not sure if they serve this special katsu to tourists who they'll never see again but I felt like it was an insult to any katsu let alone decent katsu. Definitely not worth the...