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A friend lives just a couple blocks away from the recently opened Taiko on Denman. It used to be called Yoshi but now its an all you can eat sushi place. We sat on the back patio overlooking Georgia Street which was nice with a view of the North Shore mountains.
There was a 20% off the AYCE lunch menu which is normally $13.95, not sure why. Anyways, we ordered a bunch of dishes including miso, tuna and salmon sashimi, gyoza (deep fried and pan fried), gomae, dynamite roll, ebi sunomono, and a bunch more hot and cold items. The menu was fairly extensive for lunch, about what you'd see at the other AYCE down on the other side of Denman. Anyways, all the food was good. My only gripe was the farmed salmon which I'm not a fan of but it was clearly farmed just looking at the picture of salmon on the menu so I can't really complain.
With the good quality of food, particularly for AYCE, patio and attentive service, I would definitely return when I'm in the mood for lots of food on the cheap.
Food: The salmon belly was AMAZING. The chopped scallop cones were meh (Tomokazu's are better). The sashimi was great. The chicken gizzards were good too. Instead of going to places like Zakkushi and paying $2/skewer come here instead.
Service: We came early for lunch so there weren't a lot of people. The waitresses could have been a bit more attentive but they were very friendly and professional.
Value: $14 for AYCE lunch including unlimited sashimi is better value than its closest competitive.
Ambiance: Good ambiance. Very nicely decorated.
I will definitely be returning.
We love all you can eat sushi and try out all the places ! Went to this place a few times and both of the times they cut orders ! after having a second order they said they dont have any more of the GOOD items we ordered -they ran out of it (although we came when the place just opened!!!!!) , They put way tooo much rice on sushi - on some rolls we didnt even have the shrimp it was just salad and rice ( GROSS)!! for lunch the charge something like $15 bux which is a bit more than other places and the service isnt worth it!
At first we didnt understand why the place is soo empty but now we know why !
Food (not that we had much choice) -3/10
service (they cut you off and lie to you) -1/10
value( I wanted a discount I didnt get much)- 0/10
Ambience - ( THE PLACE WAS EMPTY)
DONT TRY THIS you will have better value going to a not AYCE
Three of us went in on a Monday night, the place was very quiet given the amount of empty tables and chairs occupying the rather big restaurant. The row of 15 chairs ( or so ) facing the sushi chefs were vacant the whole time we were eating. When we left at 7 p.m. there were only 4 tables eating so there was not much in terms of energy in the room at all that night. The decor gives off a somewhat spartan devoid feeling: lots of tables, flat screen t.v.'s behind the sushi chefs, surrounded by windows. A trumped-up eating hall. Not much to look at inside, but good for looking out towards Stanley Park and the corner of Georgia & Denman though.
Let's get down to the food shall we? The sashimi was very good, sockeye salmon, tuna tako, hokkigai et al. The rolls and cones were fine; although some of them fell too easily apart. What made a difference was the seaweed used in the rolls and cones here, there was a fine crunch and texture, if you've ever eaten sushi with chewy seaweed you know what I mean.
The hot food was a definite miss in terms of taste and quality. I won't go into detail as we tried just about all there is listed on the hot item menu, let me sum it up by saying the only thing that was good was the BBQ chicken wings. Everything else is the same as all the other AYCE sushi places in Vancouver. Quite a disappointment. Maybe if they focused in on creating a few tasty, innovative, items rather than featuring a vast number of tasteless boring hot food I would have been happier.
The manager who started serving us was very good, he timed items so we had appetizers first rather than just dumping everything off at once. The Japanese girls who arrived to serve us shortly after 6 p.m. were just as nice, very pleasant in their conversation and decidely Japanese in their manner ( polite, cheerful, energetic ) :) As a side note the sushi was made by Chinese guys, if that matters at all to you.
You'd probably be better off stopping here for fast lunch as there's no use in spending extra $$$ for the hot items that you could skip entirely.
We were looking for a downtown sushi lunch spot,and decided on Taiko. Its at the foot of denmanmin a corner building across from the large bike rental place.
Walking upstairs, you are greeted by a baby grand piano.Why? Not too sure.
The service was a bit sporatic,but once you get the food,it was worth it.
The price on the lunch was very well worth it.13.95 cannot be beat. Everything was fresh,well presented,and delicious.The only thing is,they suffer from the same thing that plagues most AYCE sushi places,and that is order 10 pieces,get 5.But,that aside,if you dont mind ordering a few extra times, then it all works out. In the summertime,the patio will be awesome.
I came to Taiko for lunch with my family today and was impressed. For $13.95 per adult before tax, we got good food, good service, and nice ambiance.
The menu is a good size. The food was also good, but nothing was exceptional. Some of the things I like are the: Salmon Sashimi, Masago Sushi, Chopped Scallop Roll and Deep Fried Squid (Ika). I found the tempura to be only okay. The Seafood Motoyaki was a bit strange; I didn't try it myself, but my dad only found one piece of shrimp buried in the sauce in his ...
Everything came satisfyingly quickly. As a matter of fact, the miso soup came less than a minute after we handed in our order sheet and the sashimi came before I was done with my miso soup.
Like with most AYCE places, some of the things we didn't order ended up at our table and some of the things we did order never made it. This restaurant is no exception. However I didn't find it to be a big deal since 95% of our order was right.
Tables and chairs were not cramped and I like the huge windows even though the view wasn't spectacular.
Service was friendly. We were even reminded about dessert when we asked for the bill. Dessert is included in the all you can eat menu. We had the Red Bean Pudding which was white jelly with a layer of red beans on top. It tasted alright.
For sashimi lovers out there, note that there is a "6 pieces of sashimi per adult" limit and all you can eat for kids does not include sashimi at all. I really like sashimi myself and this was disappointing. However, I would still return since this AYCE beats most of the other ones I've been to by a long shot.
This place is locationally challenged, being at the corner of Denman and Georgia. Conventional wisdom says you don't want to site a resturant in the corner of a city where there is little walk-by traffic, and even less parking. They claim to have parking in back, but realistically this is a venue for those on foot. And being upstairs (despite the terrific 40+ seat patio) makes it all the harder to stumble upon. It's predecessor Yoshi limped along for several years then disappeared right after the Olympics. I was never a big fan of Yoshi for a number of reasons, and was worried that the former owners had done a "bait and switch" by simply changing the name.
The new format however is an AYCE, competing with Tanpopo (see my dinehere.ca review of it) and Kisha Poppo further up Davie, but in my opinion following a first visit, Taiko easily outshines them both.
Right now they are running a "Grand Opening" 20% off deal which reduces the already competitive $23.95 adult dinner AYCE tariff down to quite an affordable level.
The staff are attentive and smiling, the front of house sushi chefs (3 of them on our visit) are welcoming and enthusiastic as one would hope, and the food variety and quality was really surprisingly and refreshingly good.
Sashimi includes the usual salmon and tuna, but also singles out sockeye as an alternative to the farmed variety, and it is fresh, deep deep red and sweet. Other sashimi choices include things you don't often see on AYCE menues such as tako and hokkigai and several others. It would not be hard to imagine having an all-sashimi meal here and not being at all bored.
And the presentation is first rate. Artfully arranged on attractive glazed earthenware dishes with all the garnishes and attention to detail you would expect if paying full shot for a sashimi main dish elsewhere. Many AYCE places just slap 6or 8 pieces of sashimi on a plastic tray.
There is the usual assortment of nigiri sushi, udon and yakisoba dishes and a couple of desserts, plus a very nice assortment of robata and deep fried items, again some of which you do not see on typical AYCE menus, such as scallops.
My litmus test for a decent AYCE menu is the tempura prawns. I criticized Tanpopo's (further down Denman) as being limp, oily and soggy. Taiko's were textbook good, with delicate crunchy battering over fat juicy prawns (not shrimp masquerading as prawns).
Partly because Taiko is close to where I live, but also because I was very pleasantly surprised by the value and quality of the place, I will certainly be going back soon, and will tell my sushi-loving friends about it too.
(Oh yes, they also have a cool private tatami room that seats 12 and would be a great venue for a birthday party of similar small gathering.)
I've been there several times now, with a young child, and the staff are very friendly and attentive. The food comes promptly and there is more variety in the menu and much higher quality than other all-you-can-eat sushi restaurants, which I generally won't go to anymore because of the low quality food. This one is great, and it is my go-to sushi place in the west end now.
I just had a birthday lunch with my son at Taiko. It was absolutely wonderful! At $13.95 it was a couple of dollars more than I usually pay for all you can eat sushi but it was so superior to any other AYCE Japanese.
The service was amazing and the food was all delicious and freshly prepared. The whole experience was of an above average Japanese restaurant and not at all the typical AYCE experience.
We ordered off the menu in a non rushed fashion. The food came at the perfect pace. we always had something on the table but the table was never piled up with food. Dirty plates were cleared away graciously and tea was poured often. The decor and ambiance were beautiful and serene. All of the items we ordered were beautifully presented on classic Japanese glazed pottery plates. The sushi was delicate with large pieces of fish on small bundles of rice. The tempura was light and crisp and perfect. The sashimi was very fresh.
I honestly cannot think of one negative thing to say about the entire experience. I just hope they can afford to maintain the level of service and quality of food. It was just amazing value for the $13.95!
We decided to try Taiko last night for our 2nd Anniversary dinner. We were not disappointed,,,this little gem serves great AYCE sushi fresh and very tasty. Their menu is varied but a lot like many other of the AYCE's,,,pretty straight forward Japanese food.
The service is good,,,but there seems to be the same thing happening as with many AYCE's,,,you order a line of food and you only get 2/3's of it like so many other AYCE's there must be a broken link between the waiter and the kitchen staff.
We waited a long time to get our bill as well,,I asked 3 different people and finally after 20 minutes it arrived.
It wasn't busy there at all.....so I wonder if Taiko will fall prey to all the other AYCE's and eventually have crappy service and crappy food. I hope not....try this one out fast, because at the moment is really good.
The Restaurant is clean, washrooms are impeccable and the staff very friendly.
I suggest you try it and be your own judge....I think when you order you have to keep track and ask your waiter when you are receiving what you have ordered if it doesn't arrive. For $ 23.95 Dinner its a bargain,,so just reorder it again!
Good luck and good eating
99North
I go downtown once or twice a month. Heard friends talk about this place, so give it a try.The place call Yoshi before this restaurant took over . They have little bit change in interior and overall is about the same. Anyway, I order the all you can eat, food came. I have to tell you, most of them taste like "chinese japanese", and the server doesn't know what I am talking about on most of the items that I ordered. One word - DISAPPOINTED
There's better AYCE places in that area, wish them luck.
Taiko on Denman was our favoruite AYCE sushi place for the last 6 months but I can no longer say that after our last visit this Sunday, March 6th, 2011 (lunch)
We were surprised with a new "better" menu that was full of crossed out/blacked out items. No more unlimited sashimi, no more deep fried scallop (our favourite), no more tamago, plus other things...
In addition, a lot of the food items we ordered drastically dropped in quality (e.g. spicy salmon, salmon sashimi, etc). When we asked for salmon teriyaki, they told us it was not available "today"...
Service was also at best.
In conclusion, it's very unfortunate but i am afraid Taiko started going downhill (just like all AYCE sushi places seem to do after being open for a while...). Looking for a new AYCE japanese place now...
My son and I went to Taiko on Denman and I am actually happy and satisfied not only with the service but the food as well. The view is incredible looking at the mountains. Also their sushi are fresh and sashimi is sooo good! I recommend this to everyone. The service is really fast and the people are very friendly.
The quality is very good here, very fresh, everything very well prepared. They have a few items I haven't seen elsewhere such as the delicious seaweed salad, beef and enoki mushroom wraps, asparagus wrapped with bacon, beef sashimi in a really nice citrus-y sauce. I highly recommend this place. Very good service.
The food is not so bad, we were seated on the right spot where we can park the stroller of our 11 months old baby. After eating for 20 minutes our baby started to make short and quick squeaky sound just because he was happy but of course I look around thinking that other eaters would mind but most of them are busy eating and talking and our neighbors just gave us a reassuring smile that it's ok. Just as quick as my baby stop the manager asked if we could give him beans because he said that it's bothersome and hurts his ears. I assured him that my baby is happily eating at the moment with his own food and on the other hand he will choke on beans. When we're about to be done my baby squeak again and the manager came back to us and telling us to do something to make him stop because again it is bothersome and it hurts his ears. On the first place my baby was not screaming, as parents we are embarass too if our baby makes a really loud noise that was just 1-3 squeaky sound if his having tantrums we used to bring him out to appease him but at that moment he was happy. If the manager is concern about that he should have atleast handle it properly by moving us somewhere by not ruining our lunch. We were never treated like that eversince we dine out with our baby. I can say that this is not the best restaurant for family dining.
The waitresses and sushi chefs were very friendly. Taiko has a great ambiance, and has the space to seat a big group. We were immediately greeted and seated by the staff, the All You Can Eat Menu is great! My Girlfriend also ordered their Gold Dragon Roll and it was delicious! Definitely coming back to this new gem on the West End.
My husband and I decided today to try this new Japanese restaurant. We had read a couple of positive things about their AYCE lunch. We weren't expecting much...as we know good sushi, sashimi, etc is expensive and not easy to find. For $13.95, we expected mediocrity. Well, this was NO mediocrity. The lunch was fantastic. The menu was quite varied and interesting. The service was lovely...all with a smile and very welcoming. Our favorites were the sashimi (fresh and delicious), the gomae-e, pan-fried dumplings, sushi (maki and nigiri), and kimchi, It even included dessert. We ate until we were (over)stuffed...we just couldn't help it...everything was SO good!!
The location of Taiko, at the end of Denman Street (Coal Harbour side) can't be beat. For us, it's a short walk there and the views are special...we sat on the terrace overlooking mountains and the harbour. The inside of the restaurant is very spacious and elegant..and their dishware is beautiful. Nothing skimpy about this place!
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