TAKUMI OMAKASE — Restaurant in New York

Omakase originated from Japan, and in Japan, punctuality is essential. Our reservation was for 8.45, we arrived at 8.42, told to wait for 10-15 mins, seated at 9.22, first piece served at 9.35pm. Of the many omakase places that I’ve been to - ranging from $50 to $200 pp, this is the first time that I needed to wait for that long at a non waiting area, to be served. Some people of our seating had to stand outdoors because there was no place to stand inside the restaurant. The servers brought us water while we were waiting/squeezed at the door. While waiting, I started to read past reviews on Google (45 of them at the point of my dine in experience) and started to worry that I would have some of the same experiences as those who gave 1 or 2 stars.

After we were seated, they gave us a carafe of sake on the house which we appreciated. There were 2 chefs, each serving 6 at the bar, and 2 servers. One of the chefs might need to also serve the tables (there were probably 3-4 tables / not at the bar. The chef then started to cut the fish for all of the nigiri pieces and placed them on a board. they then welcomed us and had a “toast” with their guests.

Overall the fish/nigiri served were of expected quality - the chef asked if we wanted to add more or reduce rice/wasabi in our pieces which was nice. As I thought my very initial piece was small, I did asked for more and for one of the pieces the wasabi overpowered the scallop, which I then gave feedback again. There wasn’t really a lot of time and room for interaction except for introducing the piece (sometimes not fully introduced) and the chef asking you if it was good (say after every other piece).

The hand roll was probably the least favourite one - it was made with salmon chunks (quite big cuts) and pickled radish. The ootoro was a hit and miss, it was torched and had caviar on top but one of it was stringy (with its veins) and it was not pleasant/pretty chewy. I didn’t quite taste much from the caviar either. The rice overall wasn’t too bad. One item on the menu was off - madai was replaced with unagi/sea eel instead.

All staff (chefs and servers) are very young - the customer beside us asked our chef how many years of experience he had, and it was on the low single digit side of things and this is also my first time having omakase with an amateur chef. I can’t help but to think why not gain more experience before starting an omakase restaurant… Nevertheless they were friendly, polite and attentive throughout our meal. They have been opened for approx 3 months - since March 2022. On their chef recommendations board, they also wrote botan ebi as botain ebi.

I probably would not have written this review if it was not because of the almost one hour delay. I appreciated that they tried, but similar to some of the other reviews out there, there’s just a lot that needs to be improved to provide the true omakase experience. Takumi will not be on my recommendations list, unless you have reserved the first seating and/or you have no expectations and is looking for some...

New omakase place that only opened on Tuesday (3/8). We went on a Saturday for the 5pm seating with a reservation and the bar was full. Great value at $85 for 15 courses including the appetizer and dessert. While it was a 90 minute seating, it didn’t seem rushed at all especially with 15 courses. They even gave us some complimentary sake! If you don’t want sake, feel free to bring your choice of drink as it’s currently byob.

There were multiple chefs. My friend and I was served by Chef Jake. While the main ingredient(s) remained the same, I saw that depending on the chef, they may change it up a bit. For example, Chef Cody had lightly seared the wagyu and served it on nori like a taco, while Chef Jake had seared our wagyu more where it is slightly singed on the top with a light crunch (which I loved!) without the nori.

The waiters/waitresses were constantly refilling our waters and sake. I was never without a drink which I appreciate because if you know me, I drink A LOT of water.

As for the seafood and wagyu, each piece was super fresh and delicious. They had firefly squid which is my favorite! Also the Hokkaido uni was amazing and super sweet (I’m not usually a big uni person). They added yuzu to a lot of the pieces and I’m not complaining because that’s my favorite citrus. The yuzu pepper paste they have is amazing! Wish we could buy it because I would put it on everything! The pieces taste a lot better if you flip it and eat it sauce first, then fish, and lastly the rice. My favorite piece was the A5 wagyu with yuzu pepper paste. I wasn’t a big fan of the dessert (Mochi ice cream), I think I’d prefer a scoop of ice cream more as the mochi didn’t really have a chewy mochi feel, but I digress since we came here for sushi.

These were our courses: -Kumamoto oyster with uni ikura yuzu foam and ponzu sauce -Japanese flounder (fluke) with ponzu radish and scallion -Lean tuna (akami) from North Carolina -Seared black cod with yuzu miso and scallion slightly torched -King salmon from New Zealand -Blanched red sea bream (madai) with yuzu pepper sauce -Japanese sea scallop (hotate) with lime zest and Himalayan sea salt -Otoro (fatty tuna belly) with fresh wasabi stem -Yellowtail amberjack (kanpachi) with pickled jalapeño -Firefly squid with shiso leaf and miso vinegar -Seared Japanese barracuda (kamasu) -Hokkaido sea urchin (uni) -Seared A5 wagyu beef with yuzu pepper paste -Toro hand roll with scallions -Vanilla mochi ice cream with lime zest

I would...

Service: Awesome+(Dine-in Bar Siting) Quantity: Great+ Cleanliness: Great

Food: Kumamoto Oyster, Fluke, Bluefin Tuna, Black Cod, Sea Bream, King Salmon, Amberjack, Chutoror, Scallop, Smoke Spanish Mackerel, Blue Nose, Uni, A5 Wagyu, Toro Hand roll, Sesame mochi($89 Per-person ).

My girlfriend bought me here for my birthday celebration.

For under $100 omakase, Takumi is a great choice. The price is currently $89 for 14 piece sushi plus a dessert at the end. For that evening, we had:

1)Kumamoto oyster with yuzu foam

2)Fluke from Korea with shiso and ume (hint of hidden wasabi not too Overpowering)

3)Blue fin tuna from spain

4)Black cod from alaska with yuzu miso

6)Sea bream with lime juice and himalaya salt (Just the right amount of wasabi)

7)King salmon with truffle salt (mhm..)

8)Amberjack w pickled jalapeno (nice kick to it from Jalapeno)

9)Chutoro with caviar (Not a big fan of Caviar)

10)Scallop from hokkaido (Creamy)

11)Sawara smoked spanish makerel

12)Blue nose w yuzu pepper sauce

13)Hokkaido uni (Love how fresh it is and it melts in mouth)

14)A5 Wagyu from japan (Love it)

15)Toro handroll with pickled radish

16)Dessert - sesame mochi

The Bar seats about 12 at a time. Each seating is about 75 mins, so you're enjoying it slowly and the meal don't feel is in a rush. I love Takumi, and I'd recommend it for the atmosphere and pricing with friendly Staff and great chefs. I've been to a few Omakase spots before and this is by far the best and for the price it was a steal deal. Overall, i love this spot and hands down to my girlfriend for bringing me to this spot to celebrate my Birthday as I didn't expect a lot or a surprise from Takumi Team. Which they surprised me with a complimentary Sake and a warm Birthday card. It warms my heart a great deal that a restaurant would highlight the small details of their customers. This in mind when they sing happy birthday with a candle in the mochi IceCream the whole restaurant came together and sing and cheered to my birthday.

i would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves omakase and anyone that just loves sushi in General. Takumi is a must if you're a seasonal omakase foodie. I would definitely come back again.

A big Thank you Takumi team for making my...