Taiko Japanese Restaurant

This was my first time having lunch here. My wife has raved about this place for years and I was excited to finally try it. When you first walk in, you smell immediately fish and good food. The place has ample seating with booths, tables, and a bar area. The servers were all nice and helped answered questions. The build your lunch with 2 or 3 items is a great deal. I got the 3 item lunch bento ($24) that included chicken teriyaki, shrimp and assorted vegetable tempura, and California roll. There was so much food so I was really excited about the portion size. The lunch came with miso soup, rice, and dips too. I liked the cooled green beans with the mayo sauce and the side salad. The chicken teriyaki was tender and flavored well. I really liked the fried tempura, it was crispy and tasted good with the sauce. There was a good size bowl of rice. It definitely exceeded all my expectations and I walked out feeling satisfied with lunch.

This was one of my favorite Japanese places since college and it's still the best. It's been years since I've been able to come back and it brought back a lot of yummy memories. We arrived around 11:45am and were seated right away. The menu has been updated and it was pretty easy to follow. There's plenty of seating at the sushi bar and tables inside the dining area. We got the bento lunch specials, which has a lot of variety. The sesame chicken is still delicious as ever and the crispiness of the tempura was wonderful. I love that the portions are huge and really filling. The miso soup was tasty and went well with the meal. The salad and veggies with the sauce was a great pairing. The staff is so friendly and welcoming. We didn't even need to go boxes because we finished our delicious meal. Highly recommend this gem of a place!

Authentic Japanese Bento, Izakaya, Sushi at reasonable prices. I've been coming to Taiko since the 90's, the food quality and service have been consistent. Over the years, the exterior and interior of the restaurant remained largely the same, but the menu offerings have evolved to keep up with the times. In my humble opinion, the price to value a customer gets is beyond amazing, unlike other establishments which tend to practice price gouging during these inflationary times.Don't let the complex menu selections overwhelm you (lots of reading the fine print, colorful pictures too look at and major decisions involved) which is the same in Tokyo. Feel free to ask one of the attentive staff for ヘルプ (help) and recommendations. I like the fact that you have ample choices in one bento (ranging from Tonkatsu, Beef Teriyakis, Tempuras Sashimi to Calamari). Portions are exceptional too.Don't forget to look at the overhead board which list Day's "Specials". Handwriting a little hard to read from far.I also like their wide liquor and Japanese biru selections which is quite educational since they map out the various sakes (hot and cold) from different regions of Japan. Be sure to note, happy hours range from Happy to Happiest with deep discounts in alcoholic drinks.読んでいただきありがとうございます

It was easy to make a reservation here. We ordered appetizers before our food, but it still came out at the same time as our food did. Honestly, I thought everything was ok. Some our meat was over charred. The chicken was good though .

Taiko is definitely not what it used to be. It used to be a gem in Irvine with high quality seafood and fresh ingredients, but with the change in ownership, the food tastes somewhat old and stale. The spider handroll had cold soft-shelled crab rather than hot and the tempura was mostly batter. Service was not that friendly. Overall it's a miss for me unfortunately

Growing up, my family would always come to Taiko for Japanese food, specifically their teishoku. Over the years, I've noticed small changes here and there, but this is still a restaurant that my family frequents because of its location and quality of food. Service can be hit or miss, sometimes we are attended to really well, and other times they'll get our orders mixed up or wrong. The staff are always friendly, smiling, and doing their best to help which I appreciate.For their teishoku, I will usually get sesame chicken and chicken teriyaki, but have also had every other option on their menu. Taiko gives a large quantity of food, especially with the sesame chicken and chicken teriyaki. It can easily last another meal. The chicken teriyaki is grilled and topped with a nice teriyaki sauce that isn't too sweet, while the sesame chicken is lightly fried, juicy, and flavorful. I love the dressing they use for the salad and the rice and miso soup are pretty standard. Sushi-wise, Taiko isn't necessarily the highest quality, but if that's what you're craving, it is a suitable option to select. Both the seafood and sukiyaki nabe udon are shareable options that are hearty, with clean broth, a variety of vegetables, and hit that noodle craving if you want that.I have to say that part of coming to Taiko is the nostalgia, the big plates of food topped with whatever combination of items you selected, and knowing that you'll have leftovers the next day for lunch or dinner. Even with the changes over the years, Taiko is still a solid Japanese option in Irvine that may not excel at one area very well, but does a decent job across the board.

Taiko used to be our go-to Japanese food spot. When we moved to Irvine during the pandemic, we'd come often to get chirashi and sushi takeouts. The fish was always fresh, and the food was solid. When things started opening up in the last few years, we saw that folks would actually line up before the lunch hour so to get a spot. We continued to do take-outs for awhile though the food became more of a hit or miss -- sometimes the sashimi pieces were tiny, and other times it didn't taste the best. To be honest, we eventually shifted to another spot in town as our favorite given the price and lack of quality stability at taiko. But I remained on their mailing list for the occasional promotions should we wanted to give them another chance, and I've noticed a change in their menus and even the way they market. A few months ago we saw this promotion that coincided with my birthday, so we decided to go in person to check it out one more time. Let's just say... the food was ok, nothing too spectacular. I got the sashimi which met "minimum expectation" but did not wow me in quality or quantity, particularly given the price. Maybe the management had other things in mind? But really, quality sushi at a reasonable price point is what sushi restaurants should strive for...

Tried out this restaurant yesterday for dinner and was super satisfied!! Had a handroll with salmon + salmon roe, red snapper and bluefin tuna nigiri, and then tuna, yellowtail, and salmon sashimi! The serving was perfect and the server I had was also super sweet - she did a great job! The restaurant itself was very spacious yet homey and there was tons of parking!

How could I possibly write ANOTER review???? BECAUSE IT'S JUST THAT GOOD HERE...We were here last on 09-07-24 and I am happy to say we got a new waitress, Yuri, who was the most pleasant and friendly waitress, not to mention she was very knowledgeable of the menu. The best part of this restaurant is THEY KNOW HOW TO MAKE TEMPURA. Never fails. The best tempura in town, this town, the next town and all the towns with a 50 mile radius. THIS IS THE BEST TEMPURA!!However, tonight, I ordered the Salmon skin salad and an appetizer side of tempura that I shared with my husbanc. Good, but NOT the best. There was actually TOO MUCH SALMON and NOT ENOUGH skin, if you could believe that? I was looking for that crunch, and because they did not skimp on the salmon, it was different. Good, but different. (bummer, I didn't take a photo)My husband had the unagi and a rainbow roll. The unagi here is spectacular for $15.

This is my go to Japanese spot. I also get the tempura and sesame chicken combo. It comes with rice, salad, and miso soup. About a two ago the soup and rice were unlimited. Not anymore. The California rolls are always good in my book too. The service he always decent. Every server is willing to help you. You usually don't have to ask for refills. The restaurant is always clean and inviting. The prices are decent and affordable.