Taka Reviews

Great sushi in the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego. Great selection of nigiri and sashimi and sushi rolls. Everything we ordered was super fresh. Great service from start to finish.

Can’t believe there aren’t more reviews for this place! The salmon belly is to die for! My go to order… salmon belly nigri, new Zeland nigri and battera roll.

The fish here is incredible, just incredible. It’s the best sushi I ever had outside of Japan. Fabulous sashimi, and nigiri with uni, ikura. Unfortunately no inari. Go - go - go - absolutely fabulous sushi!!! 🍣

Excellent sushi & sashimi fresh delicious, and excellent service. We had an assortment of both very good. Very attentive wait staff.

We dined here twice and loved it both times. The food was excellent and the sake well chosen. Also, no hidden charges! We will return. The only concern is that once in a while cigar and cigarette smoke comes in from out front of the cigar bar next door. Didn't San Diego or California ban outdoor smoking in public places? Maybe this is an enforcement issue with the city as it is certainly not the restaurant's fault.

Was looking for good sushi near my hotel in the gas lamp district & stumbled into Taka right as they opened at 5pm. The sushi chefs & waiters were all very friendly & helpful. They have a nice sake selection & extensive sushi menu. I chose the omokase (chef’s tasting set) for $98 and was very pleased at the selection. I would eat here again in my next trip to SD.

I made a reservation at Taka because of its close proximity to my hotel. I sat at the sushi bar and ordered the sushi omakase. Makoto was my chef, and Mario was my server. Both provided excellent customer service. Makoto san knows his fish well and was happy to engage in conversation. The fish is fresh, and the cuts are generous. Some seasonal items such as firefly squids and san diego local giant prawn were served. The giant prawn was the highlight of the night. House made Ankimo also very creamy and tasty. The only unsatisfactory piece was that the uni at the appetizer tasted bitter, I mentioned that to Chef Makoto, and my 2nd piece of uni was of much better quality. I would gladly return for future experience. Omakase course was 130usd pp.

My friend and I haven't been back since 2017. So glad we resurrected this restaurant from our archives. New ownership, new renovations... it was about time, hence the reason why we stopped dining there. It was nice to see Martin still working there. I made 6:30 Yelp dinner reservations. When we arrived, it was nice to see the restaurant new layout, very open, a clean crisp look, we chose to sit at the sushi bar where Reimon our sushi chef took excellent care of us. We ordered Reimon's Perch Sushi recommendation, then moved on to ordering Sea Urchin, Yellowtail, Smelt Roe with Quail Eggs Sushi. In addition a Spicy Tuna and Salmon Skin Hand Roll along with a Soft Shell Crab appetizer, all while indulging on Sake Bombers. Everything was excellent! Fish was fresh. The Soft Shell Crab was big. Thank you for making me a lover of Taka again! Atmosphere: open, clean crisp look, nice vibe. Service: excellent. Food: excellent.

It's excellent! Best Japanese restaurant I've ever tasted. The food is delicious and the service is excellent.

The ambience inside was cafeteria-like but it’s all about the food, or rather - the fish. We sat on the street side tables which was more charming, aside from the usual SD street crowd. My daughter has a nose for great places and this was a home run. We had all the usuals - maguey, salmon. Unagi etc and all were good although the crispy salmon rolls weren’t what we’d hoped. Even the miso soup was better than most with really buttery tofu. The king salmon was the best however and highly recommend. The owner is also Japanese and he keeps three chefs busy. It makes a difference to have authentic staff. And for me, the genuine Okinawa beer was a real treat. My pet peeve with many sushi places is that they serve Asahi and Sapporo which are made here by corporate breweries and awful. Orion is a quintessential Japanese lager and not made in two days using chemicals - thank you!

Overall very good sushi and sashimi ... - prices ok - dinner for 2 with some beers but a very good price to quality ratio so nothing to complain in the end. And they take credit cards. To sum it up - if you like Japanese food and sushi in particular this is a place that I recommend you try when you are in the Gaslamp quarter in San Diego.

The salmon nigiri was the best I've ever had. The sai sake was very good and the California roll was ok. I liked that it didn't have cucumber but did have sesame seeds, but the crab they used wasn't my favorite. If you sit at the sushi counter you order drinks and non-sushi food from a server, and order all sushi directly from the chefs working the sushi counter.

Really good and super fresh sushi and seafood. Staff friendly and helpfull. great place for a good food experience!!

Great and friendly service at this gaslamp gem! Outdoor seating, makes it pup friendly if you have your furry in tow. Tasty Sushi and the chicken fried rice was REALLY good!

Wondering around with a good friend , along 5th Ave , looking for a place to grab some dinner. Taka .. sushi - well we both love sushi so we gave it a try , and here are the findings: - location - on 5th Ave , in San Diego Gaslamp quarter , with a good seating capacity indoor and outdoor. Tables at a distance on the outside terrace. Very nice to dine outside at the end of January. - service - very good, food and drinks arrived on time, good recommendation from the waiter. - food - a good selection of sushi and sashimi - also some classics like tempura are on the menu. We went for edamame (the boiled soy been starter), shrimp tempura, spicy tuna rolls, special eel (unagi) rolls; so a decent selection from the menu. All tasted good, the special eel was the favorite of the evening , but also the spicy tuna was very good. In terms of drinks - a good selection - we went for Asahi from the draught ... a Japanese beer that I like - but you can choose from a good variety of drinks. Overall very good sushi and sashimi ... - prices - mid range ... dinner for 2 with some beers was just over 100 USD ... but a very good price to quality ratio so nothing to complain in the end. And they take credit cards. To sum it up - if you like Japanese food and sushi in particular this is a place that I recommend you try when you are in the Gaslamp quarter in San Diego.

Fantastic Sushi and great hospitality. Excellent quality ingredients and service. Very attentive and professional team while also super friendly. Cannot find a single fault. I have eaten a lot of sushi and this was some of the best.

Taka Sushi is my go to spot whenever I’m in SD. It has fresh fish and is a super fun place. I usually sit in front of Chef Taka.

Arrived in the evening at the apparently normal restaurant, ordered sushi for three people, a portion of sashimi, two servings of soybean beans two cups of tea and a glass of white wine. All arrived of good quality and medium-low quantity. Even arrived the crazy bill of over $200 without tip. Evidently they consider the customers chickens to fleece. Absolutely to avoid

In the heavily touristy Gaslamp area I wasn’t expecting much but was super impressed. This is a no nonsense, straightforward sushi place. Sat at the sushi bar. Fish was very fresh. Nice selection. Nice portions. Japanese sushi chefs who know what they’re doing. Went early so service was great.