Taka Restaurant — Restaurant in San Diego

Husband and I ate here for lunch during SDCC. They only had two types of regular soda to drink or alcohol when we needed some caffeine, so probably not the best start for us. We were feeling adventurous so we decided to try the omakase (on top of some other dishes). We requested sashimi since it seemed like we had a choice of cut. However, what we expected vs. what we received made us a little queasy. Usually omakase is a smorgasbord of fine quality ingredients done in a beautiful way. For a "sashimi" option, I assumed there would be some toro and some uni (and there was) but there was also a moving freshly severed prawn head, and a whole Spanish mackerel (which the waitress suggested needed to be fried? If you're going to bring out our dishes please have them finished as intended first. It's weird to bring out a dish just to intend on taking it back to cook it), and I had never heard of spanish mackerel ever being sashimi grade. Overall we ate the typical sliced sashimi on there including some of the snapper but the presentation of the moving severed prawn head was unnerving and it continued to twitch throughout our meal. Granted, my husband and I are white folk so maybe we weren't classy enough for this kind of omakase (even though we've ordered several when my husband lived in Japan, none with moving prawn heads), but there's just something off-putting about a prawn's eyes, mouth, and tendrils moving and touching the rest of your food while staring into your soul as you eat. The butterflied shrimp piece also still had the poop vein so it went untouched. We lost our appetite and the rest of the omakase sadly went unfinished. Two stars for good sushi overall, but poor communication from the waitress and a weird choice for the omakase presentation. Not a lot of choices or options with the new QR...

We ended up at Taka as the place we had originally planned to get sushi on a Saturday evening was full. They didn’t have a long wait time (unlike most other places at Gaslamp) and although the hours of operation online show them closing at 9, their sushi bar actually stays open till 10, which meant we were in luck.

We ordered a bunch of different items, including the salmon nigiri, salmon sashimi, spicy tuna roll, shrimp tempura roll and the Philadelphia roll. The prices are moderate, and portions are standard. The quality of the sushi is probably not the highest, but is still pretty good. My biggest complaint was how they made the spicy tuna roll. They had stuffed way to much wasabi inside the roll, which was of course not visible before you ate them, but can give you quite the after effect. My friends had ordered oysters and said they were good too. The miso soup had no salt, and they don’t keep soya sauce on the table, and when asked, will provide you with the tiniest little pots of sauce that I’ve seen at a sushi place.

Overall, it was a good experience, but could use some improvements to make this a...

I can't decide what I like more about this place - the sushi itself or the experience of interacting with the sushi chefs. First off, the sushi is some of, if not, the best I've had. All of the fish is extremely fresh and flavorful. Think melt-in-your-mouth sushi. They make their own crab for sushi rolls in-house - no imitation crab here. In my own words, Taka is the style is of a traditional Japanese sushi with more emphasis on the fish styles, rather than the more Americanized sushi style with tons of different toppings/ingredients mixed in. The staff is very knowledgeable on what they serve, so if you have any questions, do ask and they will tell you. The other aspect of Taka that is neat is that if you sit at the bar, you can have a great conversation with the sushi chefs. While they prepare your meal, they make you feel welcome and at home. Having been here several times over the past three years, I will keep coming back. If you're in the mood for sushi, absolutely give Taka a try and see what you have been...