Takumi Restaurant
What's black, white and red all over? This corner J-Town eatery combining modern, simple decor with inventive Japanese dishes.
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Message from Takumi Restaurant
At this downtown Los Angeles sushi spot, the fish is always fresh and the rolls are bountiful. Takumi Restaurant boasts a wide selection of reasonably priced handrolls and various Japanese appetizers with the quality and service of any upscale sushi bar. The new downtown Sushi spot is open and the specials makes Takumi Restaurant a great choice for a business lunch or after work get-together.
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In ShortLocated at the entrance to Little Tokyo's Village Plaza shopping center, this black-white-and-red restaurant offers passers-by a hip dining space with red window panels, zebra wood chairs, dark wood floors and modern wash-out paintings. The kitchen turns out upscale Japanese fare with clever twists, including thick yellowtail carpaccio with jalapeno peppers, a tuna margarita served in a large martini glass with spicy avocado cream and deep fried spicy tuna tempura. During the week, the sushi bar fills up with downtown suits taking a lunch break, while the main dining area--which seats up to 40 people--is popular with both neighborhood locals and tourists.
Hits: The grilled salmon teriyaki is both beautiful and flavorful, and the sake list features an array of options. The lunch box is a steal for $12.50, and features assorted tempura, premium sashimi, grilled mackerel and chicken teriyaki.
Misses: The menu lacks dishes for groups to share, and the single stall bathroom is crowded and compact.
Key Points
- Beyond Traditional Sushi
- Sake Sampler and Matching
- New Era of Little Tokyo
The Inside Scoop
- Parking - Across the street behind the Pinkberry is a multi-story lot with the cheapest rates in the area--a $3 flat rate weekdays after 6pm, and $3 all day on Saturday and Sunday.
- Look Good - The restaurant features two multi-course tasting menus including a small course sampler for $40 with a starter, salad, tempura, nine pieces of sushi, miso soup and desert as-well-as a full omakase menu for $80 with a starter, sashimi sampler, fries, grilled fish, premium sushi, miso soup and desert.
- Fun Fact - The chef spends about $2,500 per day on fresh tuna.
Reviews for Takumi Restaurant
This used to be 333 East, our favorite sushi place before we found Shintaro. Their salmon and eel are still comparable, but the prices seem to have gotten higher, and really...no reason drive downtown for sushi anymore.
Posted 10/03/08 | Report Abuse
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every friend that knows me well or acquainted with me KNOW that i absolutely love the tempura icecream from this place. my first two years at sushi fujiyoshi, i was there on an almost everyday basis. still now, when i am in the los angeles vicinity, i always make a trip to this wondrous tempura icecream famed place. the sushi/sashimi and the tempura are great. but for me, i just absolutely love indulging in the succulent crunchy cool tastes of my all-time favorite tempura icecream. exclusively from SUSHI FUJIYOSHI!!!
Posted 04/05/05 | Report Abuse
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Latest reviews from Citysearch.
This place was great...good food and a cool spot to take your significant other. And yes, the tempura ice cream is um....on point!!! This and Club Sushi are my two favorite spots in LA
Pros: food, Setting
Cons: not much
Posted 03/25/09
The place is on like the 22nd floor, so that was pretty cool. I was expecting a better view since it's so high, but was somewhat disappointed. The food I thought was not too bad. It wasn't amazing, but not bad. The appetizer we got was this martini glass with mashed potatoes. It was delicious and pretty to look at. We were too full to eat dessert, but by the looks of others, I'll get it next time. The service was great.
Pros: FOOD, SERVICE
Cons: view( still good, but was expecting better)
Posted 11/10/07
I'm always looking for new sushi restaurants to try. I avoid the west side which caters to mostly Westernized taste although Matsuhisa is not bad. So I usually stick to little tokyo. I came across this restaurant few weeks ago and have gone back few times. Fish is excellent although toro wan't fatty as I like. Kumamoto, one of my favorite oyster, is on the menu. Amaebi is large and tasty. It would be better if it was alive. The sake list is nice, having both onigoroshi and maju. Solid restaurant for old school sushi. It could be improved if it had some more live items.
Pros: Tasty Fish
Cons: No live items
Posted 03/21/07