Takahachi

Tiny restaurant located beside the hip hop place. We were seated within 10m, just make sure you get your name down on the list. We got the sushi for two which was more than enough. It came with several nigiri, a choice of rolls, and one hand roll. It was filling and delicious.

The sushi is divine, the plating is fine and those apps puts chills down my spine. One of my favorite sushi places for quality and price! They just do it right! Plain and simple. Sushi and sashimi platter for two is worth every penny!
You can tell they take pride in their food just by how hard the chefs work. Do not sleep on the apps! The sea urchin, caviar and quail egg is different yet tasty! Go for cold sushi apps, they are awesome. Come hungry!

Great when it’s a long weekend and everyone’s out of town. Otherwise it’s an hour plus wait at this popular place. It’s packed for a reason! It’s yummy but won’t break the bank.

Amazing fresh fish. I love the starters. Half star off for the interior which is not too special, and another half star off for the staff being super slow when there were almost no guests in yet

Yummy and priced well! Wasn’t feeling too adventurous so I stuck with some traditional rolls and they were really fresh. The chef’s were nice and let us try different things they saw us eyeing while we sat at the bar. Nice place on Ave A.

I love the cozy ambience of this sushi spot. The seafood is fresh and the pieces are good big bites to feast on. The wait on a Friday night was 15 minutes. I’ve been here twice and the next time I’m in the east village, I’ll be sure to stop by to satisfy my sushi cravings.

Hole in the wall sushi place. Would recommend the wild shrimp tempura, crab dumplings (so fresh and delicious), Kashiwa udon.

There’s a reason why its a half hour wait on a weekday… it’s that good.
Sushi Dinner — regular — is just perfection… on so many levels.
Highly recommend getting a hot tea if you aren’t drinking saki.
The fish is pretty fresh, quality is consistent!

Pricing is moderate, came here on a Tuesday night and they didn’t have half the items we wanted to order such as the viagra appetizer and toro sashimi. Uni is moderately priced but ran out after the first order. Service isn’t bad, constant refills on ice water but the green tea was slow. The food was a bit chewy and all seemed to have a left out too long texture

Cozy spot with excellent food. Best sushi I’ve had in the hood… and extra points for being open late on weekends.

Our new go to spot for cheap but good sushi. It’s always busy here and there’s always at least a wait time of 10 – 20 minutes. Luckily, we crept in at the right time and got a seat right away, right before peak dinner time.
We ordered the sashimi platter for 2 and it was more than enough. We also had the fried Japanese chicken and the Shishito peppers. The Japanese chicken was very good, probably one of the best karage chicken I’ve had.
The sashimi platter included a variety of different fish. About 3 cuts of each. The SALMON WAS THE BEST. In retrospect, I would order more of the salmon than the rest of the sashimi. The salmon was very tender and melts in your mouth. Great cuts with the right amount of fat between the layers. Definitely coming back here for the Salmon.
Service was fast and the space was cramped but what can you expect, it’s the EV. Try this place!

This place is great! Food is tasty, service fast & friendly. I’d say is not the place to go out of your way bc you have to try their food, but if you’re in the hood & looking for some nice, easy Japanese place, you got your spot! It is always busy at peak times, seems very popular around here.

Definitely one of the best Sushi spots downtown if not the whole city. Authentic situation, cool vibe and excellent eats.

This place has been great for ages. One of the best non-​posh sushi spots in Manhattan.

I absolutely love sushi, but I’ve had better.
I came here on a date one Tuesday night. We were both craving sushi so decided to give this place a shot. Thankfully, it wasn’t too busy at around 7pm and got a table right away – but that probably was because we had just missed out on the early bird special.
The food around us looked very good, so we went in with big promises. We decided to go ahead and try the sushi and sashimi combo for two, which also came with a salad and miso soup. I must say, the price was a little steep from other sushi places I’ve been to, but we did get a tonnn of sushi and sashimi.
Overall, I would say my experience here was alright. Even though they gave you a large variety of sushi/​sashimi in the combo, it wasn’t as fresh as I would have liked. There weren’t any pieces that «wow-​ed» me, especially considering the cost. The service was accommodating, which is always a plus, I just felt bad when I felt like they couldn’t understand me at times. The place unfortunately felt too cramped. There were times where I felt my elbow bump against the person at the table next to me… a little uncomfortable. It would have been nice to be given a little more personal space. Even though I felt the ambience of the place was a little mediocre, I was too busy paying attention to my wonderfully handsome date who really made the evening the best it could have ever been. ;)

Nice quaint sushi place in the Lower East Side. Pretty busy when I was there but it was a weekend. There’s a sushi bar that you can sit at or there are about a dozen tables. The seating is pretty tight though.
The food and service here very good. Friendly wait staff. I had the edamame, a chicken dish (which I forgot the name) and some sushi rolls. Good food.

I was craving sashimi but my friend didn’t want to go far to eat. To comply with both parties, we opted for this place! We came around 9pm on a Saturday night and were seated immediately.
We ordered the duck tataki and sashimi combo for two. The duck tatami was a bit more chewy than I had liked, but the balsamic sauce that came with it was really good. A pretty decent appetizer to start out with. Our sashimi combo came with sashimi pieces of salmon, tuna and yellowtail; nigiri pieces of shrimp, tuna, white fish, salmon; and tuna and white fish rolls. Overall the quality of the fish was a-​okay. It’s a little more expensive than whats its worth but what can do you do when you have cravings and don’t wanna travel far? A lot of people seem to be raving about their early bird special (happy hour?), so maybe with those cheaper prices its better. Also our hot green tea tasted sooooo watered down :/​
Takahachi isn’t a bad place, sushi quality isn’t the best, but not bad. My sashimi craving was satisfied so yay!

Very popular spot on a Sunday evening — we certainly weren’t the only ones who knew about their early bird special between 5−7pm.
The interior is nicely decorated, but squished. On the bright side, we got a chance to sit at the sushi bar and catch a glimpse of the chefs at work.
For starters, we shared the edamame ($ 4.00), which was decent. For the main course, I chose the avocado roll ($ 4.00), spicy salmon roll ($ 5.50), and spicy tuna roll ($ 5.50), all of which were freshly prepared, but very small. The waiter also gave me a regular salmon roll, instead of spicy. Additionally, note that all regular and special rolls come with wasabi inside — if you’re not a wasabi fan, make sure to tell the waiter.
My boyfriend enjoyed the tempura shrimp and vegetable soba noodle bowl ($ 12.00), which was packed with buckwheat noodles in a deliciously fragrant broth. Only down side was that the tempura coating slid off the veggies and ended up in a mushy lump at the bottom of the bowl.
Overall, we wouldn’t go out of our way to return, but our experience was just fine here!

I came here twice. The food and service haven’t failed my expectation so far. I had the sushi and sashimi combination. The sashimi was fresh. The miso soup that came with it was boiling hot, just what I need for the cold weather. I also got the duck tataki. I liked it a lot. The other time I came, I got the early bird special. The portion was decent but I’m a small eater. I also got the spider roll. Overall, I would come back here when I’m craving for sushi

Honestly this was just… mediocre.
1) we got the mushroom appetizer which had way too much butter. Authentic japanese mushroom should really only have soy sauce, sake, and mirin… no butter
2) tempura was good… could have given more tempura for the price
3) do not get the sashimi dinner set. They give you the bad parts of the fish. they look unappetizing and frankly were quite offensive. Get a la carte or the sushi dinner set.
Im not on board with this hype-​train. There are plenty of places better than this establishment.

This place is always busy! Passing it at 9:30 one night I see the sushi bar open… its my chance!
We get the sashimi for 2, but see people ordering the toro. We get some toro! And then 2 more and 2 more and 2 more… we havent ended the night. We might end up with 20 orders of toro… beautiful!!! Chef jack is awesome! What a lucky night!
No wonder why this place is so busy!!! Sooo happy!
You guys need to come here now and ask chef jack whats good?!?

I was excited to try this spot because it’s approximately 478 feet from my apartment and had seemingly excellent reviews. Unfortunately, based on my first experience, I shan’t be returning ever again.
The price is indeed more reasonable than other sushi spots around, but the quality is nonetheless a bit lower than the price you’re paying. The fish wasn’t offensive, but was definitely not fresh. We ordered a wide variety of items and everything was just meh.

Hits the spot if you’re in the area and want a sushi or sashimi fix for a reasonable price.
Salad that comes with the sushi/​sashimi combos is better than other places that only do iceberg lettuce with the ginger dressing. Theirs actually had crispy romaine and a soy/​ponzu type of dressing which I really enjoyed.
This place can get packed so coming here with a big group might set you up for a wait if you come to dine during prime time dinner hours. Solid place to go if you’re a fan of sitting at the sushi bar, dining solo or with a friend.
If you’re a sashimi lover like myself, the sashimi deluxe is the way to go. Can satisfy 2 people or could be enough for 1. (check my pic and decide!)
What will keep me coming back here is that their uni is legit and are one of the few places that can make my fave custom maki of uni, ika and shiso!

This place is fantastic. High quality fish at a wonderful price. Great Sushi skills on display at the bar. Intimate dinning experience. Nice selection of Sake and good appetizer menu.
You’re in for a treat.
Pro Tip — Sit at the Sushi Bar. Ask Chef Jack Hlaing to take care of you and let him know your preferences. Our friend told us he’s only been eating sushi here when Jack is working and always ask for a special’s Chef’s plate.
Warning — Takahachi can be swarming with patrons so pick your time well.
Why am I so excited? Imagine being able to get top of the line sushi, well made race served at a warm temperature of your palm, nice cut of fresh fish, a burst of Unami flavor filling your mouth as you take a large bite whole. It’s one of the best feelings in the world.
The appetizers. The broccoli rabe and the bacon wrapped scallop. You can’t go wrong there.
We started with a Nigiri of Albacore, Yellow Tail, King Salmon, and Akami Tuna.
Each piece was made perfectly and served beautifully and the first bite of the Albacore Sushi was heaven. And I both tried to throughly savor the moment and eat the other pieces before the temperature changed.
Then Jack made us a special full play of Maki Roll and Sashimi. We had an avacado wrapped in crab meat roll which was really delicious, and something I haven’t tried before. We tried a tune roll with a spicy oniony veggie wrapped, it was enlightening, I had not know tuna would work so well with a crunch.
This place is fantastic. I will be coming back.

Hidden among bars, dive bars and fast food is this small sushi restaurant called Takahachi. Don’t be fooled by the exterior. This sushi joint serves up a mean plate of fish for a great price.
Compared to the best sushi I’ve ever had, some cuts of fish can be slightly tough or sinewy but executive Chef Jack makes up for it in the innovative flavors and combos.
Tips for someone who has never been:
–Come before 7pm or after 10pm. Those are the least busiest hours. That way you can savor your meal.
–Sit at the sushi bar. That way you can chat with Jack.
— order off the cooked menu if you arrived during the busiest times. The short rib app was amazing. So rich and flavorful. I could taste star anise and 5 spices in the fall-​off-​the-​bone beef.
–Tell your chef what you love and don’t love
That’s what we did and we had an amazing meal! Most of the items we ate weren’t on the menu but they were wonderful.
Like the smooth albacore or the Norwegian salmon.
The crab meat roll.
The fried soft shell crab roll.
The squid, uni and salmon roe bowl.
— enjoy your meal! And remember to thank the Chef!

Came in on a weekday night and was seated quickly. Ordered the sushi and sashimi combo (for 1) and two appetizers to split between two people.
We got the goma-​ae (spinach) and tofu salad to start. The spinach portion was extremely tiny but it was flavorful and delicious. While the tofu salad was larger it was mostly the lettuce taking up space on the plate. Both dishes were cold and refreshing. Neither will fill you up if you’re hungry, but it was a nice treat on a hot summer day.
For our main course we opted to share the sushi and sashimi combo meant for one person. It came with 4 nigiri sushi rolls; a tuna roll (6 pieces), and sashimi (salmon, tuna, hamachi). All the pieces were fresh, but the salmon was definitely my favorite. For those who don’t like wasabi, note that sushi chefs add wasabi between the rice and fish in the nigiri rolls.
Overall it was about $ 20 per person for this meal which I think is worth it (including tip).
I would come back again, but it’s quite far from my apartment so chances are I won’t. However, worth the visit for first time customers.

Came on a week night and there was little to no wait. A large variety of small Japanese appetizers to choose from, as well as a plethora of sushi and sashimi. Would recommend the sushi sashimi combo.

Not sure what the hype is all about — I thought the sushi here was just average.
Sure, it’s not as pricey as several other high-​end sushi spots, but it’s certainly not the cheapest, either. My group of 7 ordered a bunch of appetizers to share, and got 2 of the sushi combos — when split evenly, the bill came out to be around $ 35 per person. For that price, I wish the sushi could have been a little more special and not so average!
The fish is quite fresh, yes, but other than that, there really was nothing notable about our meal. I’ve been to places around Takahachi where they serve unique, interesting and delicious rolls/​sushi for about the same price. I guess I was really expecting a lot more since the line was out the door and had to wait 45 minutes for our spot.

Wednesday night, dinner at 9pm and the wait time was 40 mins (NO RSVPS)! They are highly rated, and even is on the Michelin Recommended Guide.
So we decided to wait and we got in within 30 mins so it wasn’t that bad. We sat at the bar and ordered the Sashimi Deluxe and 3 rolls. It was just right for the both of us.
The rolls are only about 4 – 5 pcs but they are jumbo pcs. The Sashimi was fresh but I’ve tried better? sad to say.
Nothing really memorable. Even the special roll menu wasn’t that impressive. None of the rolls even caught my attention, we just picked randomly because there wasn’t anything that stood out.
I had higher hopes… Won’t be back. Too many sushi places around LES to go to a satisfactory place again.