Review on Taka
Taka, a Japanese restaurant and bar opened its doors in September 2017, located in the heart of Shepherd Market in prestigious Mayfair. Restaurateur siblings Anastasia and Andrey Datsenko opened their first restaurant of the same name in Tokyo, before launching the UK branch, and Andrey is also the founder of the Melt Room in Soho serving upmarket American styled grilled cheese sandwiches.
Spread out over two floors, with an intimate ground floor contemporary restaurant and a few tables outside in the 18th-century courtyard, the basement has a cosy saké bar with standing room for 16 guests. The dining room is elegantly decked out in a minimalist décor featuring burnished gold fixtures, rich wood tables and flooring, with banquette seating lining the walls.
Tokyo trained chefs send out an extensive range of dishes reflecting classic Japanese cuisine in the form of sushi, sashimi, tataki, salads, yakitori and tempura, that's surprisingly affordable given the area. There's excellent value set menus or from the a la carte you could opt for sliced seared tuna, daikon, shiso cress with Taka dressing or an inside out California roll consisting of fresh crab meat, cucumber, avocado, tobiko and mix sesame. Other options worth pursuing would be the dishes cooked on the Robatayaki like spicy grilled cutlets marinated spicy miso, served with gem lettuce and pickled daikon or the spicy Chilean seabass marinated in a spicy sauce and served in houba leaf. Desserts take in Yuzu crème brûlée with Madeleine, apple and lychee sorbet or chocolate fondant paired with vanilla ice cream and sesame tuile.
Taka has a concise wine list to complement the food together with sakés, Japanese whiskey and signature cocktails such as watermelon and yuzu fizz consisting of Russian Standard vodka, watermelon juice, Aperol, yuzu juice, topped with prosecco.
Cuisine
Japanese
Restaurant Opening Times
Lunch: 12.00 - 3.30pm Mon-Sat
Dinner: 6.00pm - 10.30pm Mon-Thu (6.00 - 10.45pm Fri & Sat)
Accepted credit cards
Visa, Master Card, American Express