Taisho Bistro Japanese Izakaya Buffalo — Restaurant in Town of Amherst

My first time here and I was surprised and confused at the same time. When you walk in you have the sushi station directly in front of you and to your right you see the bar. And off in the corner, hidden away from view is the host counter. There was no one at the door to seat us, so we just sat ourselves. Didn't know if we were to wait or not. No sign, no person in sight when we walked in. As I'm walking to the table that we choose to sit in, I noticed that the floor, the carpeted floor, is sticky. How do you have a sticky carpet??? And it's not regular sticky, it felt like your foot is glued to the floor, excuse me, carpet sticky. I made the mistake of putting my purse on the floor and when i picked it up rice was stuck to my purse...Anyway, our order was taken in a timely manner. To the food. The food was delicious. I had the chicken katsu don. The chicken was breaded and fried to perfection. The breading tasted like panko, but I could be wrong. The rice was cooked until tender and was not overcooked and the gravy had a nice seasoned flavor and the onions were sweet and crunchy. My husband had the same thing except with pork. Our entree came with either soup or salad and I opted for soup and was disappointed. The broth didn't have much flavor and it came with carrots and onions. I was expecting something like a miso soup with onions and sometimes mushrooms and a flavorful broth. But that wasn't to be. My child had spicy seafood soup which had a piece of shrimp, two muscles and a scallop. It came in a small bowl. The broth was so flavorful and had a little bit of spice. I was honestly expecting it to be a bit more spicy. My child also had the golden spider which was breaded and fried crab on a bed of mixed greens with what seemed to be thai chili sauce. My child said that it was more bread than crab and wouldn't get it again. All in all the experience with the food was delightful. My first impression walking in...would be nice if someone was here to greet us or if there was a sign directing us to seat ourselves if that's their policy and why is the carpeted floor sticky. I would definitely encourage you to try the food it...

Great food today!! Was so excited to find this awesome Gem right here in Buffalo,NY. I have always loved the Japanese culture, and as seeing as I probably will never travel to Japan due to expense.. I figure I can try their culture through their food. Wow oh wow! There food was amazing here!!! Got seated right away, no lines or waiting we went for lunch on a Monday, so it was super busy. Got a nice table, and a awesome server(forgot his name) but we were already ordering once we sat down. Glad to see their menu is super huge, with many options to try. I got the Takoyaki octopus balls! I have never tried these before, and only thought you could get these in Japan, but got to try them today :3 they were so tasty, I ate them all. I also got Pork Katsu and several sushi rolls, plus a soft shell crab app. All these were awesome tasting. :) Super happy. My husband got a steak, scallops, a sweet potato roll, and fried noodles, his food I was told was 'awesome' We were supper happy with the service and over all quality of food!! It was a little on the more pricy side but that's expected when you get Quality food and Quality service. :D I will definitely be back for more food...

Updated Review (10/11/25):

We decided to give Taisho a second chance, but unfortunately, they failed again. The service was terrible — food came out before drinks, appetizers arrived during our main courses, and we had to ask for one guest’s main dish after everyone else was nearly finished. Whatever happened to the Sheridan Taisho in the last year is truly a shame. P.S. Please clean the tables — they shouldn’t feel sticky.

We’ve eaten here many times over the past few years and it was always one of my go-to spots. Unfortunately, over our last few visits things have really gone downhill. It looks like the entire staff has changed, and with that, the food quality has dropped.

On my most recent visit, service was unusually slow, which had never been an issue before. I ordered the teriyaki salmon ramen the salmon was dry, the noodles had no flavor, and the chicken curry was watered down. We left extremely disappointed.

It makes me wonder if the restaurant changed ownership, because it no longer feels like the same place we loved. Sadly, it’s no longer...