My goodness, Taiko is such a lovely place.. What extraordinary is how delicately each dish is made. Order the Taiko Special which is a sample of appetizer. This is really more delicious than anywhere else... Crispy Spicy Tuna + Seared Albacore with Crispy Onion + Yellowtail Jalapeño Sashimi The quality of it... Try the Fire Crunch Roll and the Ginger Black Cod. The Mixed tempura. Anything. Incredibly lovely place, service is made by this lovely family , you feel you stepped into Japan somehow, this really is a superior place.. It is so funny , how could we have missed this place... read more

Taiko is a fun, charming spot tucked away on the third floor of the Brentwood shopping center. We went early -- which I highly recommend -- because by 6 PM this place fills up fast, and for good reason. We started with the appetizer sampler, which was the perfect way to get a little taste of everything Taiko does well. The albacore sashimi with crispy onion was a standout and instantly brought me back to the style I grew up eating -- incredibly fresh, not fishy at all, and simply delicious. The udon was exactly what I needed on a cold day: warm, comforting, and deeply flavorful. If it hadn't been chilly out, I would have tried the cold dipping noodles, but this bowl absolutely hit the spot. The tempura shrimp and vegetables were also excellent -- crisp, lightly battered, and not heavy or greasy. Service was quick, attentive, and extremely friendly, adding to the overall relaxed vibe. I'd recommend Taiko to any soup lover, noodle fan, or even the occasional sushi eater. It's a cozy, reliable spot with great food and warm service -- a definite Brentwood gem. read more

Taiko - Tempura Hot Noodle - Udon - Japanese Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Super intimate little sushi place located on the top floor of a plaza. Service was great. Agedashi tofu was amazing. Spicy tuna crispy rice was phenomenal. Sashimi platter was delicious. Good assortment of fish! Masago roll was great as well. I enjoyed everything we tried. All the items were fresh. Everything is super fair priced. read more

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I went here with a group of 9 to celebrate a friend being in town. We were able to make a reservation for our large group a few days ahead (would recommend for large groups as it's not a huge restaurant). Our waitress was wonderful and patient with us while we looked over the menu. Most of us ordered a variety of combination plates and I ordered the Niku don combination, which came with thinly sliced beef on rice, noodles (soba or udon - I chose hot soba since it was cold that night) and salad. I think all the combination plates came with salad and some came with miso soup instead of noodles. The portion was huge (see photo) and I had enough food to take home for another meal the next day. We were all quite full with our choices and would definitely come again for a filling meal! Restaurant is located on the 3rd floor of the complex. Garage parking is available underneath. Unfortunately no validation and we paid $6 (not bad since the parking in the area can be quite difficult). read more

Taiko - Niku Don Combo - Japanese Near Me - Los Angeles, California

A Japanese restaurant hidden on the third floor of a business complex with underground parking. Authentic Japanese foods, but not Japanese portions. I highly recommend the weekend special deal. For $22, you get a healthy portion of Soba Noodles, a large bowl of Salad, and an entree such as a Chirashi Sushi Don. The portions are very generous overall for the price. The sushi pieces are very thin slices, but for $22 and overall portions, it's still a great deal. Service is very good and attentive. The restaurant has three private booth and simple decor. Overall, it's a keeper for price, quality, and portion. read more

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Food was AMAZING!!! Fire customer service. Lowkey feeling ready to conquer the world.

A little torn between 3 & 4, but made it to the 4 because of the pumpkin & asparagus tempura roll. I cannot get over how excellent that was. Soft pumpkin but crispy tempura, balanced with the asparagus. Really an incredible bite and one of my favorite rolls around. The chicken roll was good, but didn't come close to the tempura one. The reason why I was contemplating the 3 was bc the chicken karaage was inedible. Fatty chicken, soggy breading, inedible. But, oh, that tempura pumpkin n asparagus roll! read more

Taiko - Japanese Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Ok this place was really good! I got the tempura udon and the broth alone was rich and flavorful! The service was quick and the staff were very accommodating! There's indoor and outdoor seating and it wasn't really packed too. I definitely recommend this place if you're in the area! Would come back! read more

Taiko - Tempura Udon - Japanese Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Great Japanese food, big menu selection, great service. Family friendly. No wander it's one of the very few restaurants that survived for a long time in the ever changing Brentwood. read more

Best sushi in LA!! Their udon is incredible, their house salad dressing is to die for , and their ikura is unmatched. The staff is friendly and efficient I couldn't recommend it more. read more

Taiko - Salmon ikura don - Japanese Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Taiko is like that one loyal friend you have back at home, always there waiting for you to come back and visit. Whats crazy is that they've been in this same spot for almost 40 years which is super surprising considering how much change has come to this plaza. The lunch menu has something for everyone, and through the years I'm happy to report that the portion sizes are still super generous. You will most likely leave super full or with leftovers. The food I felt was pretty standard and nothing special, but the value makes up for the shortcomings. I also did want to note that our service was slower than normal on the day I dined. Not sure if it was due to the holiday or if it was because we came in an hour before the lunch service was ending but would love to update review next time. read more

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Anthony was the BEST!!!! So sweet, considerate and kind. ask for him if u come here hes a vibe!!!!!!!

Taiko has very authentic Japanese food, and we especially enjoy their ten zaru soba noodles. The batter on the tempura is light and crispy, and made to perfection! We've been regulars for a while now and the staff is always welcoming and friendly. The indoor private booths and outdoor seating are also a plus. read more

Awesome best place in the world. Been going since I was an infant and I absolutely love their food.

This is our favorite Japanese restaurant. Everything we have ordered here has never disappointed. Serving portions (sushi, sashimi, regular meals) are incredibly generous. Service is very good. The ambiance is a typical family style Japanese restaurant. You can't go wrong here. read more

I have been coming to Taiko since 1996 and it's a true gem. The pumpkin tempura roll is one of the best rolls I have ever tasted. I'm not sure why other sushi spots haven't added it to their menu. It's a great casual spot with fantastic food. read more

Food is so good; fresh, nicely prepared and interesting creativity! Service is attentive and accurate a'while the atmosphere is classy but comfortable. read more

awesome diverse menu and been around for years. you gotta try the noodles with sides. place has been empty so you get in and out read more

Had to create an account to rate this place TERRIBLE. Food isn't good at all and personal is so bad. Especially one guy.

Always great quality and great wait staff! They are able to accommodate my gluten allergy.

Our go to neighborhood sushi spot. Always great. Nice servers, plenty of seating, parking downstairs ($). Only dinner now but always a great choice. read more

Everything is bad about this place. Food is mid, interior has been asked for renovations for last 20 years personal is unacceptable, women were ok, but the men was so rude and mad (September 21 evening) read more

Delicious, well-made, reasonably- priced and speedy sushi. Service is always quick and friendly and the happy hour specials are a particularly good deal. read more

Service took over 45 minutes for some sushi, miso soup, and some fresh seaweed. They were severely understaffed, but c'mon, this is truly unacceptable! IF that's the case, time for management to raise employee wages to meet demand. Sushi was just okay. Very dry. Miso soup was excellent. Seaweed was not fresh -- had to toss. This was absolutely not worth the 45 minute wait -- even if on a busy Saturday night. read more

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The fish did not taste healthy or good. It was the second time I have had this experience where the fish is really awful at Taiko. The service is always good but unfortunately the food is not good, sadly because the people that work there are very kind. read more

Came here for the first time for lunch and was not expecting to leave as full and satisfied as I did. The Tuesday Soba Lunch Special came with a generous sized salad dressed with the most refreshing dressing, then came the giant bowl of hot soba with the perfect amount of green onions to satisfy every bite and then came out the shrimp tempura roll that I couldn't even finish. And it probably didn't help that I ordered their $1 beer special too . The service was amazing with very attentive staff and I will definitely be coming back to try the cold soba! read more

Taiko - Tuesday Soba Lunch Special - Japanese Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Was in the mood for sushi today and stopped by this spot in the Brentwood Gardens Center. From the service to the food, nothing stood out as bad and nothing was memorable or great. Below is what was tried: Edamame - 4 Stars. Just Fine Spicy Tuna Roll - 3 1/2 Stars. Very basic, and probably the best item I had here today. Salmon Roll - 3 Stars. Wrapped in seaweed, this was kind of meh. Baked Crab Hand Roll - 3 Stars. This is usually a staple hand roll for me, but didn't work for me here. Japanese Fried Chicken - 3 Stars. I usually love this dish, but this was also very basic and not great. I'm a sushi addict and this spot just didn't work for me. read more

(+) Curry Don Taiko is a Japanese restaurant that is located on the third floor of its complex. The menu is very extensive and finding something you like won't be an issue. I made a reservation here for my brother's graduation dinner and the whole process was easy and manageable. Food: The curry don with chicken was very good. I enjoyed the authentic taste of curry and the taste was better than expected. My mom ordered the Oyako Don taiko combination and she did not like it at all. I also tried a piece and though the flavor or something was off. Most of my family ordered the sushi and gave it a 3/5 stars for taste and quality. Service/Ambiance: The attention to our table was ideal. Everyone who helped us was kind as we had a large party. The part that was disappointing was the sushi took about 30-40 minutes to reach our table. By that time, most of us were done eating. Parking: There is parking within the parking complex. Parking is a little confusing but we did not have to pay for it. There is also street parking if you can find a spot. Overall, I don't know if I would recommend Taiko for you Japanese food desires. I loved the curry but everything else seemed sub par. Go ahead and try it yourself; I hope it was just an off night. read more

The food here is pure flavors. The miso soup is tasty not just salty like at other places. The udon in soup hit the hunger spot. The tempura does not have the old oily taste but is very good and nicely presented. Sorry no pics because we were busy eating! Service is very nice and the dining room is comfortable. When we checked in, ( as were others) we were asked if we wanted a private room-- but we chose the general dining room. Definitely my go to place for good healthy food. read more

Great place to go on a rainy day. Inside valet parking. We always start with salmon skin salad. Nabeyaki udon is good on a cold day. read more

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A lot of choices for their lunch special if you are in the area. I got the beef teriyaki that came with miso soup, tempura, salad and a choice of the spicy tuna or crab hand roll. I appreciated it when the waitress noticed that the kitchen gave me the wrong roll and exchanged it for me without me saying anything. They also had sashimi in the lunch special but I had felt that I wanted something more savory, plus I haven't been able to make this kind of Japanese sirloin bbq flavor with teriyaki sauce. However the amount of beef was very little, as expected from a Japanese restaurant, so next time I would ask for it a la carte Valet parking was $2 with restaurant validation read more

I don't recommend their sushi /sashimi to go. It was kind of gross, not fresh, not delicious. Their service for to go was cold. I was greeted with a startling 'yes?' when I walked in to pick up my $120 to go order. Guess they're nicer when you dine in. read more

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Good lunch deal. Good service. Japanese restaurant run by Japanese. Nice looking and clean atmosphere. No validation, on the 3rd story of the building. read more

I'm pretty bummed to say, but it was just "ok". They handed our party of seven three menus (were they short?) when we arrived and our waiter wasn't super helpful in explaining some of the different dishes when we asked questions. I'm a vegetarian so I had the agedashi tofu (surprisingly soft and flavorless), vegetable tempura (which was just ok), and a house salad (hard to mess this up; good dressing too.) The food came out fairly quickly, but again, I'd hoped for better. read more

Really cute small sushi place! Has kind of a neighborhood feel to it. There are some interesting private rooms in back. Could be good for like business meals or like meeting the parents type dinners. The food was really good and I'll definitely return. read more

So good! Get the albacore it was so fresh and you get that ginger sauce with it and the onions were perfectly fried. They weren't those brown onions you get everywhere else bravo Taiko for using fresh oils. Also the sushi the rolls and the fried chicken! read more

Taiko - Albacore with crispy rice, friend chicken, Eel eel eel, salmon sushi, special roll and much more. So good! - Japanese Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Been going here for decades and it has been consistently wonderful. Lovely people, delicious food and good value. The fire crunch roll is always a winner and the udon and yakitori don are generously portioned and lovely quality. read more

Showed up one half hour before closing only to be told cannot be seated because they close in thirty minutes... Very poor service

Great place and food! Enjoyed everything. Stand outs were the crispy rice (pictured) and the tuna roll on the first page of the menu. Also loved the albacore carpaccio read more

Taiko - Crispy Spicy Tuna 100000/10 - Japanese Near Me - Los Angeles, California

This place is SO DOPE! Great aesthetic, cute tea mugs, beautiful presentation of the noodle dishes, and just packed with flavor too. Very fast service, super nice staff, and has a great variety that you'll just keep coming back to try more. One of two of my fav Japanese restaurants in LA. Highly recommend the hamachi kama (not on the menu) and cold soba noodles read more

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