Taka — Restaurant in Asbury Park

I was damp and mildly shivering throughout this meal, and yet it was pretty much the perfect experience otherwise. My Millennial Chum and I came here for a post-hike meal on Saturday, after spending approximately three hours walking around in light rain. Expectations were low, and the goal was to find a dry place to eat for an hour or so. We were both a little concerned that any legit establishment in Asbury would turn us away at the entrance looking like drowned rats, but the host at Taka was very nice and escorted us to a table immediately.

The interior reminded me of an upscale Ikea - the ceiling especially by the island bar area is covered in bubble-like lamps - with a lot of modern furnishings and a dash of exposed brick. It's a shame the building itself from the outside is so poochy; it looks like a nondescript municipal office, so hopefully Taka gets the opportunity to put their personal touch on the exterior as well.

My number one goal was to get a rosy hue on my cheeks again after tromping around on the metaphorical set of the X-Files all day, so I ordered the Smoked Old Fashioned ($12). Literally the best Old Fashioned I've ever had, and that's saying something. Just scrumptious - I tend to really like Old Fashioneds that enhance the bourbon sweet by including something like brown sugar, but I think I'm team smoky now. It came with a coaster covering the top of the glass to keep the smoke in, but that had a very cool chimney-like effect when I uncovered the beverage. Huge recommend. If they didn't have the alcohol content of a tank of gasoline, I would have gotten more than one.

I was in a special roll state of mind, so I went with the Firecracker ($15) and the Jun-San ($17). The waiter did warn me that the Firecracker was "the spiciest roll in Asbury," which I have no doubt is accurate based on what I encountered. This bad boy had both spicy mayo (one of my sushi faves) as well as sriracha. If your sinuses are clogged, this should clear them up pretty quickly. It was very good, but I think in hindsight I would have gotten something that didn't overwhelm the palate as much, especially when I was so intent on maximizing the taste of the Old Fashioned. Very fresh fish and quite a zip. The Jun-San was my favorite though - lots of different types of fish involved, and the caramelized soy sauce was a nice touch. Neither lasted long.

This was already pretty astounding, but the dessert was really mind-blowing as well. With very little discussion, we both zeroed in on the Triple Chocolate Cake with Toasted Marshmallow The Millennial Chum is far more disciplined than me, so I ended up eating about 70% of it, but no matter. Heavenly. You can kind of see it in the accompanying picture, but there's literally the vestiges of a toasted marshmallow under the cake. What a concept. What an idea. A perfect way to end the meal.

Service-wise, we both loved the waiter. He clearly knew his way around the fairly lengthy menu, and everything came out promptly. I was equally impressed with the price point; in Asbury, a lot of this stuff could have been at least $5 more, particularly the smoky cocktail, but this was very affordable for a pretty nice restaurant in a very trendy area.

Huge recommend. I can't wait to come by...

Taka has become an Asbury classic (in my opinion). There are three major criteria’s which I use to evaluate a restaurants business.

1. Food quality: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3. Atmosphere: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

First and foremost, the food is excellent. They offer a great variety from small plates, to mains and sushi. It is my favorite Japanese cuisines in Monmouth county! Food is always fresh and consistent, with excellent presentation and the sushi is of good quality. I’ve dined here many times over the years and never once had a disappointing or average meal.

Moving on to the service, I have nothing but good things to say. Any interactions with hostesses, waiters/waitresses and bartenders has been top notch. They are all very personable and focused on providing good service. They are a somewhat large restaurant and can accommodate lots of patrons at any given time. This can stress a kitchen and staff however during the busiest of occasions I found that the tables are well tended to with a staff that assists each other to prevent mishaps. I attribute this to good management.

Lastly and equally important is the atmosphere. I consider this restaurant to be more upscale than most. The decor looks extravagant, offering what I would consider a modern lounge styled atmosphere with Asian influences. They have a large central bar area surrounded with tables and a lounge styled seating option offering full menu service. They also have a more traditional dining area in other sections with a darker environment providing a more intimate dining experience. As I mentioned they tend to draw a large crowd but not enough that it detracts from what they offer. The open space of the restaurant combined with a unique styling provides an overall wonderful experience.

This is highly...

What can I say? I like food, I especially enjoy fine dining and can appreciate something extraordinary. Friends took us out to Taka last night, they live in AP and said this place was great, and always difficult to get a reservation. I'm in. We found our friends at the table, which was in a nice out of the way spot. I had not been thrilled with the "idea of sushi" for dinner, but it was their turn to pick, and I looked at the menu ahead of time and saw other options, that I could get behind. I immediately gravitated towards the meatloaf, since its a favorite of mine, but my dining companion warned me off of it, saying it was more like a "soup" rather than a baked meatloaf. Soup? No thanks. I ordered what appeared to be a benign choice, a chicken dish. It was Panko crusted chicken breast with a side of rice and some greenbeans along with a side of plum sauce. This dish was hardly what I'd call "fusion" of any sort, unless putting chicken and rice on the same plate equals fusion. What the hell?

Sorry, if you are a sushi restaurant, then offer sushi, and not meatloaf, chicken or hamburgers. Don't try to be all things to all people, unless you do it exceptionally well. This is another of the restaurants, that continues to get business, because unfortunately people don't know good food, from average food. My chicken while tasty in and of itself, was nothing more than a breaded chicken breast cut in strips with a side of rice. HIghly disappointing meal, for premium price.

I will say that the service was excellent, and our server was lovely, sweet, and attentive. I give the food a c+. Try harder Taka, live up...