Takuya Japanese Restaurant

This is my favorite Japanese restaurant. The material they use tastes very fresh. All people there from Japan so the make really authentic sushi. I go there for lunch almost every weekday now. My favorite is their sushi lunch. Their service is very good. Everyone is Very friendly. I don’t know why there was some complains about their service.

Food is amazing as always but they are usually incredibly busy. Come early or on a weekday if you want sushi. I’ve been told on a weekend evening that the sushi wait is over an hour once you order. We still come here because of the quality of the fish but wish they had more than one chef making the sushi.

Fantastic sushi quality from a Japanese sushi chef. My usual routine is to just ask for omakase and put my trust in the capable hands of a master. However, at Takuya, he seemed bothered by it. Service was painfully slow and he told me that he has to think about what to make me. Shouldn’t he know what’s fresh and be thinking 3 steps ahead? There lies the problem with Takuya. The place is very small, but at dinner time, they consistently get slammed and service grinds to a halt. I implore them to hire another sushi chef to make rolls, or at least help with the prep work. He does everything by hand, which I appreciate but to wait 10 – 15 minutes between each piece makes for a 2 hour meal… and feeling hungry afterward. Don’t get me wrong, I love the food, but don’t come here in a hurry with movie or play tickets in hand.
Their sushi lunch/​dinner special is great bang for your buck… with the addition of miso soup and a small salad.
I’ve also ordered a lunch bento from them which was excellent. Their tempura is light and crispy. Perfectly cooked.
This establishment clearly takes pride in everything that goes out and takes their time in preparation. Just don’t expect the best service and speed.

Excellent service, but the main focus is the food. Melt in your mouth. River was done to perfection. The seafood fresh (ok, I live in Iowa, so we really don’t know what fresh seafood is!). Great portions and an atmosphere that is relaxing. Great place to eat!

You know the best part about awful service? You get to tip like 1% and not feel bad! thanks shitty servers for saving my wallet.
I think this place is great for comfort food (their curry rice dishes are really good and cheap) but if you want quality sushi (like legit nigiri) go to Osawa.

I take my 4 star review. This is the best sushi place for its price in pasadena hands down. Jaapenese owned and Japanese quality. Highly recommended.

This place is ran by a true, authentic Japanese chef. His work is disciplined and true to his art. I recommend this place to all who understands clean and fresh food.
Order off the specialty board! You will not be disappointed.

OMG! I am so so so so happy to have an authentic Japanese place nearby and the Sake is amazing! I am kinda sad to hear that some Unilocalers had bad service because that hasn’t happened since I started visiting a few months ago. in fact, all of the waitresses who helped us were really attentive and sweet. The food is pricey, but the quality is good and everything I ordered was delicious and came quickly. I may be a different story with the sushi (I don’t eat seafood) but everything else was really good. Now that it’s colder, I will be back for curry and Udon.

Absolutely terrible service (rude but also unjustly charged me), particularly one male waiter (with the bleached blonde hair). I have come to this restaurant numerous times, ordering their tempura or beef udon. Sometimes I come with my boyfriend, and I’m the only one ordering and eating. They never ever had a problem with this.
… That is until this male waiter (with the bleached hair) served us. He ends up charging us for the tea. THE TEA IS FREE and has always been free, but he decides that he will charge us because he seemed unhappy that we only ordered one thing. Take note again that I’ve come here numerous times and ordered like this — and all the other waiters had no problem and were still very nice and welcoming. He told us that they charge for tea.
THIS IS UNTRUE. THEY DON’T CHARGE FOR TEA. We came back and a different waiter served us. We asked this nice female waitress if they charge for tea. And she told us that they never charge for tea. The male waiter was also there at the time, so we confronted him on our previous incident. He served no apology. The sushi chef did not care what was happening. He simply just looked and looked away. The male waiter looked as us and was like «okay».
Their food is DECENT at best. It was good when they opened, but not anymore. Don’t come here. Their prices for sushi is also not worth the food.
I will recommend that you go to Osawa. That place is delicious and they treat you right. Please, please, please save yourself from this place and go elsewhere.

Around the lunch time, me and my 2 other friends visited this place.
We ordered 2 unagi don and one saba, and unagi don (eel with a bowl of rice) was $ 18.
it is not cheap meal for lunch, but it was a pretty mediocre unagi don from the freezer. I get it. this place is not famous for this type of meals. also, saba was very small, but it is ok.
well, disappointing unagi don is not the reason i gave them 1 star.
the waiting staffs there are amazingly rude, and their rudeness is very consistent. (yes, i gave them 3 chances, just because it is close to where i live. a bad idea.)
I don’t know how much english they speak, but their two male servers gave us silent treatments when we tried to order some food. i felt like i was there to beg some food. Maybe they hate their jobs, but we didn’t go there to get this attitude from them without reason.
then, they slammed down their front door at our faces, when we were waiting for our to-​go-​food.
I have no idea why they needed to close their front door in such a violent manner when the weather is so warm. Hello, can’t you see us standing here?!!
You might think, i am very sensitive about the way the servers treat me.
well, i go to chinese restaurant often, and i don’t even complain about aloof servers there!

Honestly, I only ate here because it’s across the street, but now I have full reason to never go back. Food-​wise, the curries are good (though much more curry than meat), sushi is okay for the price. My girlfriend sometimes gets a slight stomach ate eating sushi here, but we live across the street so I still come back regularly to order takeout for convenience. However that has now changed due to my recent experience where I must now review because I echo the other negative reviews in that the issue is the service.
It’s 7pm and you’re telling me I can’t order sushi for take out? Really? Can’t spare a sushi roll because it’s too busy… The male server never bothered to ask how minimal my order would have been in addition to the kitchen items. I order (ed) here regularly because I live across the street and I still tipped on my takeout orders. Needless to say I will happily take the trek to O2 Sushi or Matsuri nearby going forward, where food is better and servers superb.
Takuya is out of my sushi restaurant rotation. You lost a customer and you know the server to blame.
.I will edit this to say, train your servers better since it’s likely not entirely his fault. In any case, still not coming back.

I really, really liked this place a lot. My boyfriend and I came here for dinner and it’s in a super convenient location right across the street from the Laemmle Theater and Target. We came for a senior citizen dinner at 5:30 PM right when it opened and let me tell you — this place gets busy so I’d either make reservations or come earlier like us.
They offer you warm towels upon arrival for dinner to wipe your hands which was a nice touch and my boyfriend ordered a fish dinner while I got the katsu-​don bowl and we shared california rolls. Service was excellent and I liked how they played cute Japanese folk/​pop music in the back which was a nice touch.
The prices are pretty reasonable and portions are good — there’s both indoor and outdoor seating but if you have a super large party, this place might not be ideal for that.
Overall, I’d definitely want to come back.

The BF says this is one of his favorite spots for Japanese cuisine in Pasadena. We were walking along the sidewalk and I was craving Asian food, so we ended up going to Takuya for a late dinner on a Saturday evening.
I loved the quaint feel of the café, which I might have overlooked if I weren’t with the BF. While the interior looked small, there are tables outside where you can enjoy your meal and people watch at the same time. Takuya wasn’t crowded at all because we were dining around 8:30 p.m., so we actually had a really peaceful meal.
I tend to be skeptical of Asian cuisine sometimes when I’m in So Cal – based on some mediocre experiences – but I was extremely pleased with what I got at Takuya and wouldn’t hesitate to return.
Here’s what we got:
«Ten-​Don»: The BF got this before and he said it’s one of his go-​tos. It features shrimp and vegetable tempura served over rice. Each rice bowl also comes with miso soup and a side salad. He finished both my and his salads (I ate some of my salad but was trying to save room for my entrée) and most of his rice bowl, but he let me enjoy the shrimp tempura because I really like shrimp. The shrimp tempura was battered perfectly – not too crunchy and crispy – and the shrimp size was decent as well.
«Katsu-​Don»: This tends to be my typical order if I’m getting a donburi. It featured a finely breaded pork cutlet over rice with a fried egg. I did enjoy the refreshing salad, but I gave the rest to the BF because I wanted to eat as much of my pork cutlet as I could. The piece of pork was a generous portion, but, as with most donburi, I was left with more rice than protein once I had finished all my pork. I gave the BF the remainder of my rice, which he gladly added to his dish. The pork was tender on the inside and I really enjoyed the breaded exterior. If I can’t get chicken katsu, then pork cutlet is the next best thing.
«Combination Roll»: If I were craving sushi, this is probably the combination I would go for. It includes a spicy tuna roll and a blue crab roll. Selections from the sushi bar come with miso soup. If I were looking for something lighter (rolls don’t tend to fill me up), I would probably go for this combo. Plus, I do like crab, so I’m excited to try that blue crab roll someday.
«Unama-​Don»: This donburi features una-​don with an egg. I love unagi (freshwater eel) but the only thing that deterred me from ordering this during our evening at Takuya was the price. Ironically the una-​don with egg is slightly cheaper so if I’m in the mood for unagi, this is what I would order.
«Karaage Curry»: I usually stay away from curries because I have a love-​hate relationship with gravy, but this karaage curry intrigued me. It includes sesame chicken covered with the eatery’s signature curry. All curry entrées come with salad, miso soup and steamed rice. Although I normally don’t eat all the rice that comes in an entrée, I would probably eat a good portion of it if I’m getting curry because you need something to soak up all that gravy!

I’ve walked and driven this way numerous times but this restaurant is really easy to overlook. I was in the area and of course, opened the Unilocal app to see the closest sushi restaurants and was surprised to see this place on the list.
Hard to miss, its a very small restaurant but loved the small authentic feel of the place and the hand written special menu! there is outside seating in a small little courtyard with heaters, very cute. The sushi was fresh, the miso soup on point, the blue crab roll melt in your mouth delicious.
Definitely would come back for some legit sushi.

Food was great, excellent fish and sushi chef had an excellent personality and was fun.
My only gripe was the manager/​server with the funky hair. He hovered over my friend and I several times, which weirded me out. Then he proceeded to ask us demandingly if we need anything else… this was 3x. I guess he finally got impatient and said if we can leave so he can seat other customers.
There was no one else as the place was half empty!
Almost perfect but that waiter was just no good
Food ⁵⁄₅
Sushi chef ⁵⁄₅
Waiter with funky hair ¹⁄₅

The first time I came here, I thought this place deserved 5 stars. In fact, I felt like I had to dock a star off every sushi restaurant I had ever been to just to make a five star rating fair to Takuya. However, the second experience didn’t go as well.
Takuya is located in a quaint alley-​like plaza with other small restaurants and mom and pop stores. There is a parking lot in the back accessible from Green Street which gives you an hour (or 90 minute?) free with validation.
My first time here was with my sister who brought me here since it’s her favorite sushi/​uni restaurant in the area. We ordered the Chirashi Bowl, Sashimi lunch, and Uni sashimi. You get a little more from the Chirashi Bowl than with the Sashimi lunch and it’s only a dollar difference. The fish was fresh and the portion sizes were generous, but the Uni– oh. my. goodness. The best Uni I’ve ever had to date was in no other but this small sushi joint just a quarter mile away from my apartment?! I’ve had Uni from ridiculously expensive restaurants to right out of its shell at farmers markets, but the Uni I had my first time here was one for the books. It was thick, fresh, flavorful– basically anything and everything you’ve ever imagined in a perfect bite of Uni. I was in Uni Heaven.
So from that alone, I was ready to give Takuya 5 stars. However, a few days later, I took my boyfriend here, ordered the same thing (Chirashi + Uni) and was SO disappointed in what they served me. Instead of the big, juicy pieces I had received just a few days prior, I was given small… mediocre. pieces. WHY TAKUYA, WHY?!
I’ve attached both Uni photos below, to give ya’ll a better idea of what I received the first time vs the second time.
Oh yeah, my boyfriend ordered a lunch bento box which came as a generous portion and tasted great, but really, it was the Uni that made this place stand out. Plus the Chiashi bowl the second time around didn’t taste as fresh nor was there much of a complementary variety.
Note that I came at 11:30 (when they open) both times.

Simple and delicious. If you are looking for fresh sushi without all the sauce, this is the place for you. I have walked by many times but never been inside until now. There is a white board written with their specials. We ordered the beef tongue, golden eye snapper, heart clam, razor clam, orange clam, scallops from Japan, blue crab hand roll and a karaage curry. The curry entrée comes with miso soup and a salad. I totally forgot to ask if they could make the sushi sashimi style because I can’t eat too much rice nowadays. Service here is two thumbs up! I read how service was bad, slow, no refills on water or tea etc. this was not the case tonight. I drink a lot of green tea when I eat sushi and they were constantly going around refill the cups of tea and water. I had one slice of the beef tongue and it was delicious. It was very flavorful ans I like how it did not taste fatty like some places. Beef tongue is one of my husband’s favorite so I didn’t want to have too many slices. Plus I was anxiously waiting for my three different clams, scallops and hand roll. Everything was fresh and clean. I only gave them 4 stars because the sushi rice is not the best that I ever had. Was in Japan last November and now I base everything on how it compares to things I ate there. My husband enjoyed the curry and the golden eye snapper. I had a few pieces of carrots from his curry and thought it was good. The guy and girl at the table next to us were enjoying the udon. The guy was telling the girl that the udon there is legit and he can eat it everyday without getting sick of it. The udon looked pretty good.
I will be back to try other items. Staff is super friendly and they make you feel at home. This place takes credit card and reservations.

Definitely not the place to go to if you’re a sushi noob and want rolls covered in sauce. Which is partially me.
A coworker and I stopped by after work one night. It’s a tiny spot, in Arcade Lane on Colorado (btwn El Molino & Oak Knoll). There are some tables outside, and a small number of tables inside. The sushi chef is right in the open, so you can see him work his knife skill and magic.
We opted to sit outside because it was pretty warm that night. Our miso soup came out relatively quick, but everything else took a good long while. Our server explained that there was only one sushi chef that night, and that it would be a bit of a wait. It was the Friday before Valentines day, so it was pretty packed.
We got the chirashi bowl, sashimi dinner, a philly roll, and salmon sashimi.
Quality of fish = excellent!
Quantity for the price = meh. But I guess it’s probably because you’re paying for a really good cut of fish.
Service = impeccable! Our servers were sooo polite, always came out to let us know that our food was coming out soon, refilling our waters, etc etc, bowing every time they came by.
If you’re looking for cheap eats, this isn’t the place for you. Quality sushi in Pasadena? Definitely the place.

There are tons of sushi places in Pasadena but regardless of their price point, the food is often disappointing. Either the sushi is not fresh or they are Americanized sushi places with rolls galore and teriyaki or mayo based sauces doused on everything. Takuya has to be one of the best sushi places in this area and the price isn’t too crazy.
I recommend:
~Chirashi for $ 21 and Chef’s choice sushi (8 pieces + crab roll) for $ 19. Sushi pieces were cut pretty thick
~ Japanese Scallops! Pricey but amazing!
~ Ikura: so much that it was overflowing like lava (see pic)
~ Hot green tea: free and refilled every two minutes
The only downside was that my favorite fish, Kanpachi, (aka Amberjack) wasn’t very good. For some reason, it was super soft and super bland. I always order Amberjack if it’s available, but it wasn’t the best here. Oh well.
Dinner for two people who were beyond stuffed and satisfied was $ 80 (before tip). I am really glad I found this place and plan to come back soon.

I’m so glad I stumbled upon this place! I was on a mission to find good quality uni around my area and I can safely say that my search is over.
It’s a small restaurant that seats a little over 20 people including bar seating. I’m surprised to read so many negative reviews about the service because my personal experience warranted no complaints. Our waiters were prompt and polite and the food was served in a timely manner.
My friend and I ordered the classic udon to share and I ordered the chirashi don along with uni and scallop nigiri. The udon was very good but paled in comparison to the sashimi and nigiri.
The quality of the fish far exceeded anything I had expected. The chirashi featured cuts of tuna, halibut, salmon, yellowtail, squid, and egg. All of the sashimi was incredibly fresh but the yellowtail was the star, melting in my mouth.
On to my favorite part: the uni! There were three uni tongues per nigiri and the quality was on point. There was no fishiness at all and each firm piece melted like cream in my mouth. The scallop nigiri was great as well and the presentation of the cuts was beautiful.
Street parking is free after 6pm and the prices are more than fair for the quality of fish you’re getting, in my opinion. There was ample seating when we arrived at around 7pm, but I noticed that the place was pretty packed by 8:30pm (on a Wednesday).
So happy with this find, will definitely be returning soon!