Taiko Restaurant
“Their incredible tuna appetizer is not to be missed and their house salad with ginger dressing is fantastic.”
“Taiko is hands down my number 1 sushi spot on Long Island and anywhere for that matter.”
“Aaaanyway, the jungle roll is one of my favorite rolls on the planet.”
Taiko Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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As far as special rolls are concerned, this place is top notch. Some of the best sushi rolls I've ever had anywhere, from NYC to Long Island. Extremely creative use of flavors and sauces, and very fresh fish. My favorites are the Incredible Tuna roll, and the Millenium Roll, but there a dozen others that are equally awesome. At between $12-$20 per roll, they may seem extremely pricey, but they are large enough where 2 rolls can totally fill you up. Outside of the sushi, the menu is pretty typical Japanese cuisine. Good, but nothing to rave about. They lose a star from me because service can be painfully slow. Last time I was here we waited a half hour for 4 special rolls, and the restaurant was practically empty. If they stepped up their service, Taiko would be a 5 star sushi joint. Unfortunately, because of their shortcomings as well as their prices, it has become "a once in a while" type dining experience for me.
I wanted to try this place because of the high reviews but I'm not sure I would come back.
To break it down:
Food – 4 stars, the food is fantastic (especially the salmon and yellowtail) can't complain, above average sushi and sashimi… the highlight of the meal!
Wait time (for the food) – horrendous! We were here on Sunday night for dinner and we were seated pretty quickly (this place is a pretty big and it was mostly empty at the time, a few people came in after us but would not consider the place busy or full). We placed in our order (an order for two, nothing crazy and no complicated orders) and after 40 minutes, it finally came out. Thankfully, the yummy food sort of made up for the awful wait.
The night was still going ok until dessert time. After we finished our meal, our waiter came out and gave us our dessert options (I thought, okay, why not? It can't be that long for fried ice cream). So we place in an order for one fried ice cream. 15 minutes later the waiter comes back and tells us "the kitchen is very busy, can you wait another 10 -15 minutes? UM 30 minutes for a damn fried ice cream!? No thanks! Also, why would they come back to us 15 minutes later just to tell us to wait some more..?
We declined the ice cream and asked for the bill. The manager came over and apologized for the wait and offered to throw in free ice cream that was already made / waiting in the fridge. We declined because honestly at this point, we just wanted to get the heck out.
Again, it was not busy on that Sunday night… was the kitchen just way understaffed?
I am so sad to report this, but…. What happened, Taiko? This place was ALWAYS solid… came back after awhile and much to our chagrin, our sushi, for lack of a better word, was bad. One roll tasted fishy, the rice was over cooked and there was way too much of it on every roll. It was a complete disappointment… Especially for me, considering I told my bud we HAD to go in there and that he HAD to try it, to only find we were both completely unhappy with our dinner. There were two of us, we ordered four rolls and left two whole rolls behind that we just couldn't eat because they tasted that bad. What does that tell you?
I will say the staff is friendly. I mean, obviously the decor could use an update, but that never bothered me before because the sushi was so darn good.
But after the meal we had last night, I don't think we will be returning. Sorry, Taiko. It was a good run!
In a older review I wrote that Taiko was tied for my number 1 spot on Long Island, but this has changed. Taiko is hands down my number 1 sushi spot on Long Island and anywhere for that matter.
I have been a sushi addict for the last 20 years, I didn't just start eating California rolls, Spicy Tuna rolls, Rainbow rolls etc. When it comes to sushi, I'm always looking to try something new/different. I don't need my sushi plated on top of multi colored LED lights, nor do I need the restaurant to look like a night club. I have been to at least 30 different sushi restaurants on Long Island and now I ONLY go to Taiko! Why? Because of delicious great quality sushi/sashimi and the awesome people who work there!
As I said in the past, the quality of the fish, the rice, and the very creative special rolls make this place great! In the past we sat at regular tables to enjoy the incredible sushi and sashimi. Recently we decided to join in with the sushi bar crowd and the experience that we have had the last several dozen times at Taiko requires Yelp to add a 6th star!!
Sitting at the sushi bar is a great experience, you quickly become part of some great and usually very very funny conversation. The sushi chefs are all awesome! Tat, the head chef/owner is such an awesome person! He really cares about the quality of the product that he is serving and its that care and dedication to serving a quality product that lets me know that I am in good hands. Let's face it people, this is raw fish that we are talking about! Most Japanese restaurants that I've been to on Long Island usually never have a crowd at the sushi bar, but Taiko's is usually packed! My advice to you is, when available get at seat at the bar and join in on the fun!
The large sashimi platter has been my meal of choice lately, it's absolutely fantastic and its made differently every time I order it. My wife tried the Sweetheart Roll for the first time and absolutely loved it! The Sweetheart Roll is Eel, cream cheese and i think cucumber topped with avocado, a special sauce, and dark chocolate curls!! This place is the real deal!!! They do everything from old school traditional sushi and sashimi, to modern and more Americanized special rolls. Let's face it, many of us are into the crazy rolls with a dozen different ingredients. I like it all!
They can get crowded at dinner time, but would you expect different from a great restaurant? Get off of your computer or phone and go get some!!!
After being in Rockville Centre last night as I was meeting a friend who lived in the area for dinner, we decided to dine here as my friend loves this restaurant and Bonefish Grill, which we wanted to try, had very long waits. After walking in at about 7:30PM, a welcoming hostess greeted us and seated us immediately in a comfortable booth in one of the three rooms. I found the restaurant's various areas to be immaculate and I also liked the authenticity of the atmosphere, such as the tatami tables. We were then greeted by our waiter Jimmy, who was friendly, jovial, and efficient. After perusing the menu with my friend and first ordering beverages, I decided to order the Sushi Deluxe Platter for 1 with no mayo in the included Spicy Tuna Roll as well as an appetizer of Chicken Yakitori. My friend ordered Shumai Dumplings and a bunch of different sushi rolls. About fifteen minutes later, our appetizers arrived. I found the Chicken Yakitori, which was served as a fairly large portion for an appetizer to be juicy, tender, and served in a sweet and salty sauce. Next, I tried the Sushi Deluxe Platter, which was excellent. I enjoyed buttery and smooth Salmon, mild Yellowtail, soft and moist Tuna, salty Ikura (Salmon Roe) that melted in my mouth, and a smooth and spicy Spicy Tuna Roll. Since I did not try the Shumai Rolls or the sushi my friend ordered, I cannot tell you how it was. Once it was time to leave, the bill totaled at $67 in change, which was reasonable given the quality and portion sizes and is on par with other sushi places I have visited. Overall, I would definitely return to Taiko if I were in Rockville Centre as the food, service, and atmosphere were great!
We came here on New Year's Eve, and the restaurant was basically empty when we got there. We were seated right away, and given waters, but they took forever to get us our appetizers. We waited a while for our orders to be taken, and then it was almost an hour before we received our appetizers–the wasabi shumai slightly made up for the wait, but it was frustrating. The edamame was good, but you can't really go wrong with edamame. We also got the tempura plate, and the tempura avocado was great. I had never had it before, and was excited that the avocado worked so well fried.
Our appetizers kept us occupied for a little while, but it took even longer to get our entrees–we all got sushi. The waitstaff apologized and explained that they were swamped with takeout orders, but there were huge parties who had gotten there after us and were getting their food way sooner than we did.
My boyfriend ordered the chirashi (they don't have chirashi officially on the menu, but they made it for him), his father ordered a bunch of individual pieces of sushi and sashimi (they ran out of tamago, which seemed strange to me since you would think it would be one of the easier ones to prepare), and his mother ordered a special roll. I also ordered a special roll called Something Special, which had crunchy jake, fresh salmon, unagi, sweet chili sauce, and unagi sauce. There were 8 pieces, and they were fairly sizeable. I'm usually still starving after I finish my roll, but the time between appetizers and the main course helped a little in stemming my appetite. I also took my time so as not to be the first one to finish…
The quality of the fish was good, and I would come here again if they were faster. I'm also curious to try their Monster challenge… Didn't see a wall of photos anywhere or talk of a free t-shirt, but I suppose it would be for the glory of it rather than the prizes.
Can't believe I didn't write a review sooner about this little gem! Located in the heart of Rvc!, I've been going here for years and it is probably the best sushi on South Shore Long Island in my opinion! The best roll in my opinion is the Millennium, (crunchy Jake baked Jake,ebi,spicy mayo)it's huge so 2 can enjoy the deliciousness!just an absolutely phenomenal roll that bursts w flavor, the shrimp salad and gyozo are very good complementary appetizers as well,The place is small and quaint and the service is very good, super friendly and helpful ,prices are reasonable for the quality and also quantity of the food you get, add this wonderful place to your list for top rated sushi!you will not be disappointed just don't forget to feed the meter in the front or the parking lots nearby!Enjoy!
Very good customer service like the best wet have had ever.
The food not all that. The ramen that I been craving for was okay the broth ramen okay but the fried chicken in the soup just doesn't go to saggy.
The sushi rolls all have crunchy flakes in them. That's just taking away from the freshness of the seafood.
The sashimi pizza was just cooked fish over crackers nothing good at all.
Not coming back but service was great.