Izakaya Takasei — Restaurant in Fullerton

I recently visited Izakaya Takasei and had a mixed experience.

My boyfriend and I ordered the takoyaki, chicken cutlet and egg rice bowl, several yakitori, takowasabi (raw octopus with wasabi), and the Kobe beef roll. While the takoyaki and yakitori were delicious, the chicken cutlet and egg rice bowl was really bland. The Kobe beef roll was a bit odd with the combination of garlic butter and tataki sauce. Unfortunately, there were also a few items on the menu that were no longer available, which was a bit disappointing. It would be good for the restaurant to update their menu to avoid any confusion or disappointments.

While the food at Izakaya Takasei comes out quickly, this can also be a double-edged sword. During my visit, my boyfriend and I received several dishes at once, which meant that a lot of our food was sitting out and getting cold while we were eating the others. It would be great if the kitchen could pace the dishes better to ensure that everything is served at the optimal temperature.

The service was a bit lackluster as well. The only time we were able to ask for condiments, utensils, and more water was when the employees brought our food out. No one checked on us throughout our meal, and it would have been nice to have a more attentive staff.

On the plus side, the restaurant has nice Japanese decor and is quite spacious. However, there was no background music, which made the ambiance a bit dull.

Overall, while there were some drawbacks, Izakaya Takasei may be worth checking out if you're in the area and in the mood for some Japanese cuisine. Just be sure to join the wait-list on Yelp beforehand and check in with the host...

It was o.k. Nice and spacious inside. Choose to sit on the floor or at tables. No sushi bar, no drinking bar area.

We went at 5:30, as they opened. Seated fast & experienced great service for about the first 45 minutes, then they kinda forgot about us.

We enjoyed our meals. And after we had finished, sat chatting over our empty plates for about 15 minutes. No one stopped to clear our table, or see if we wished to close our bill. No one checked on us. We finally gave up eaiting on them, and flagged one of the 2 serving us.

Food was decent. Rolls made with imitation crab? I ordered 2 item combo including 2 tempura shrimp with mixed veg and sashimi) $17.00 2 item chicken teriyaki and dragon roll $15.00 both served with miso soup, green salad and a weird "potato salad" came plated with the main meal.

Service placing/dishware lacking. Paper napkins, wooden cheap salad bowls (70's) and chipped ceramic individial plates (sharing rolls).

Great happy hour, for a Friday night. I tried a plum wine for the first time, $4 decent pour. Ice cold mugs of Japanese drafts were 3 bucks.

As we exited there was quite a line of people waiting. Had the servers come by earlier to close our bill, they could have had our 4 top to seat another group earlier.

Overall, we thought we may go back for a couple drafts and a roll during happy hour, but probably head back to one of our regular...

After a long Disneyland day, my friends and I wanted some Japanese food. Izakaya Takasei gave us that fix! The restaurant itself was clean and offered a tatami style dining experience but our legs were too sore to do that. Would love to come back and do it! The staff were attentive and made sure to greet every customer that came in.

For food, I ordered a tonkatsu and scrambled egg rice bowl and a variety of yakitori. My tonkatsu bowl was very flavorful! I was able to taste a little dashi in the egg and the pickled ginger added a lot of contrast to the saltiness of the dish. The katsu was still a little crispy and tender on the inside. I was very impressed with their large selection of yakitori. From the ones I ordered, the kobe beef with ponzu and the garlic pork belly really stood out! The kobe was so tender and exploded with juice with every bite! The garlic pork belly had so much garlic flavor and had crispy garlic bits on top for good measure.

To cap off a great meal, I tried the orange sorbet. It was visually pleasing to look at and tasted so clean and refreshing!

I highly recommend giving Izakaya Takasei a chance if you're...