The last time that we were at Takahachi in Tribeca, we weren’t so thrilled with some of the dishes that we had. However, we decided to give it another shot and returned there once again for a Sunday night dinner.
Once again we decided to share lots of dishes to try as many items as possible. We started off with steamed edamame, per usual. It was standard, with an ample sprinkling of coarse salt on top.
Edamame with coarse salt
Up next was the nori green salad, which had lettuce, red onion, cucumber, and pieces of nori on top and scattered throughout. The dressing was flavored with yuzu, which gave it an interesting tangy and citrusy flavor. It was a refreshing salad, and miles better than the soba salad we had last time, but I thought it was a bit boring and one note.
Nori green salad with yuzu dressing
The age gyoza, which we loved the last time, were disappointing this time around. The filling, which is made from chilean sea bass and shrimp, was really fishy-tasting, and the dumplings were a bit over fried, making the skin extremely brittle and a bit burnt.
Overly fishy age gyoza
The tatsuta age, which I wasn’t a fan of last time, failed to impress me again. I thought the pieces of fried chicken were still too dry and pretty tasteless.
Dry tatsuta age
The agedashi tofu was still good though, with big pieces of of fried tofu that had nice silky interiors. The broth is flavorful and they put good amount of bonito flakes on top for extra punch.
Agedashi tofu
The shrimp shumai were also a crowd-pleaser yet again. They’re soft and meaty and the shredded skin on the outside provides an interesting texture in your mouth.
Shrimp shumai
Last, but definitely not least, I had to order the hamachi carpaccio with jalapeno sauce again. I loved this dish the last time we were here, and it was even better than I remembered. The beautifully pink slices of fresh, raw yellowtail are drizzled with a light dressing that has the flavor of jalapeno but none of the spiciness. It’s very delicate and really lets the flavor of the yellowtail shine through.
Hamachi carpaccio with jalapeno sauce
We finished up our meal with some maki rolls and pieces of sushi. Even though I complained about the size of special big maki rolls last time, we couldn’t resist some of the combinations offered. The Taxi Driver featured tuna, salmon, yellowtail, cucumber, and avocado, all rolled up inside a soybean wrapper. It was a delicious roll, with lots of fresh fish and refreshing ingredients, but it was still really hard to eat. Same thing with the Apollo 13, which was shrimp tempura, cucumber, avocado, and a spicy mayo sauce. Tasty flavor combination but a pain to pick up, and there’s no dainty way to shove the whole thing in your mouth. I preferred the classic rainbow roll instead, which had tuna, yellowtail, salmon, and shrimp on top of a maki roll that had cucumber and avocado wrapped in the middle.
Rainbow roll on the left, Taxi Driver roll in front, Apollo 13 in the back
And finally, we had some pieces of tuna and yellowtail sushi. Fresh, beautifully cut, and delicious. Alice (Josh’s mom) also had some tamago sushi (sweet egg omelet), and Lisa (Josh’s sister) had a piece of ikura sushi (salmon roe).
Tuna, yellowtail, tamago, and ikura sushi
No dessert this time, as they had run out of the green tea mille crepes. Hugely disappointing!
Overall, I again thought Takahachi hit some pretty high highs, as well as some pretty low lows. However, whenever we go, we just stick with the appetizers and the maki/sushi, so I can’t really speak to their entree offerings. What I like about the restaurant is the fresh fish. All of the pieces of sushi that we’ve had have been fresh, beautifully cut, and delicious. I would come back to the restaurant just for the amazing hamachi carpaccio. I think if you stick with the fish, you’re golden. Just beware that the special big maki rolls are pretty unwieldy, so don’t order those if you’re on a date and trying to impress someone. While I think there are some better and more well-rounded Japanese restaurants in the city, the sushi at Takahachi is some of the best that I’ve had.
Takahachi (multiple locations)
145 Duane St. between West Broadway and Church St.
New York, NY