Takifugu Japanese Dining
Categories: Restaurants Japanese Restaurants Sushi Bars Japanese, Sushi Bars [Edit]
4800 No 3 RoadSuite 133
Richmond, BC V6X 3A6
(604) 207-1188
- Hours:
Tue-Sat 6 pm - 2 am
Sun 6 pm - 1 am
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
16 reviews for Takifugu Japanese Dining
Review Highlights
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"Beef sashimi - it presented so nice but too chewy." In 11 reviews -
"They rank right up there with the lamb chops." In 4 reviews -
"the sesame ice cream was really great." In 4 reviews
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16 reviews in English
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Review from Jessica C.
6/26/2011
really fresh and yummy sashimi and sushi for very reasonable price! :)
we were on vaca in vancouver and found this restaurant on yelp, i was craving sushi after a week of bad meals that we had during a tour of the canadian rockies.
we had the $88 speical set dinner n' it was amazing!! it include 3 appetizers, sake, a whole lobster sashimi, salmon, scallop sashimi, grilled lobster claws, lobster soup, ishiyaki beef, n' sesame ice cream. the sesame ice cream was really great. the sashimi was really fresh.
we also order live sweet shrimp which was fantastic and cheap too, i think. and had the sake grilled clams which was great, and negitoro roll and sweet shrimp roll which were both really good.
everything was really great there and we even met some nice people at the restaurant including the sushi chef and the owner.
we had a great meal and a great time meeting new people and the bill was very reasonable at $130 considering we had a whole lobster, live shrimp, and ishiyaki. I really need to find a japanese resaturant just like this one in LA. -
Review from Stephen Y.
Richmond, BC
Tucked in the corner of a strip mall on No.3 road, you would not think much of this place based on the simple description. However, don't be fooled by the location, this is a diamond in the rough.
As you enter the small foyer, calm, soothing zen-like music greets you, followed by a server. Right away, you realize this is not like most of the Japanese restaurants in Richmond. Right away, you know this place is kinda special.
We decided to start out with a bottle of cold sake (Hakutsuru Junmai-Shu). Not too bad and price wise, for 720ml bottle, $25 I can live with that.
We started with some sashimi, Sockeye Salmon, Toro and Beef to be precise. They were all really well-presented and quite fresh. Loved the beef the most though, as most places don't do it that well.
Next were some grilled ebi rolls and amaebi tobiko rolls. I love tobiko and in sushi, it's a great finisher on top of fresh amaebi. The eel was retarded soft, it justed melted in your mouth...so goooooD! Om nom nom indeed.
Last to come out was the yakitori dishes; grilled squid, chicken with plum sauce and grilled japanese saba.
The grilled squid was quite filling as it was a whole one and it was very lightly dressed and not too salty. However, the chicken with the plum sauce, I could've eaten another 3 orders of it as the sauce was amazing...tart and complimented the poultry quite well.
Finished off the meal with some green tea ice cream, the check and both of us left satisfied.
Try this quiet little shop in Richmond...you won't leave unhappy. -
Review from Annie M.
Vancouver, BC
We found most reviews on Yelp were pretty good, that's why my girl friend and me wanted to try it out.
When we went there around 7 ish, it only have 1 table there. Hmm...
We checked out the menu and daily special, it have a lot of selection of the menu. However, the food was not impressed and even so disappointed.
We had few sashimi to start with and ordered different things
Sockeye salmon - it was fresh but tasteless
Chef special Kinmetai - it had very light taste and not fresh
Live prawn - it was delicious but not the sushi rice was awful
Beef sashimi - it presented so nice but too chewy.
Chop scollop cone - it looked terrible and scallop tasted fishy
Grilled Squid - it came a bit cold but taste ok.
However, it was so disappointed and the food was not impressed!!
The service was great and the waitress filled up the tea for us. -
Review from Joanne L.
Richmond, BC
Taken straight from their website: "Takifugu is a genus of puffer fish, often better known by the Japanese name fugu (meaning "river pig")"
I've seen several ads on this place and I finally came here to see what it's all about. Thinking it's probably just another Japanese place with the usual sushi and sashimi, but was I wrong after a delightful meal!!!
As I walked in, a little puffer fish was chilling in the tank to the right with a wall of rare Japanese sake and unique bottles of alcohol. We sat by the fresh bar and watched the chef at work. We ordered moriawase, meaning the chef's selection of whatever is fresh on that day, and and live swimming prawns. We had exotic fishes that I really can't name. Oh so good!!! I felt bad when the chef just peeled the shell off the prawn when it was still alive though, but damn, too delicious!!! No word can explain it....just take a look at the photos! Amazing!
The chef explained that he chooses the best parts of the fish and gets them flown over from Japan every few days. So there isn't a lot of one item to ensure the freshest ingredients at all times.
Go to this place, you can't go wrong, and it definitely puts down all the other Japanese joints! Love it!!!
PS: Price is sure a premium for this kind of quality of food, but totally worth it.Listed in: First and Definitely Not Last
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Review from Odette C.
Vancouver, BC
6/20/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Thank-you Yelp for helping me find this place. First of all, parking is no problem which is a plus for Richmond.
2 of us went for the Special Set menu $88 for 2 people, including small cold or hot sake
Started with 3 cold appy inlcuding Watercress and enoki mushrooms in benito broth. Lotus root with mayo (kinda like crunchy potatoe salad except made with lotus root). Cold Bamboo shoot.
2nd course Lobster sashimi with assorted sashimi. Tonight we had lobster, hamachi, Salmon sashimi, Red tuna and a lovely scallop sashimi with the large and small tobiko.
3rd course Lobster claw robata
4th course Lobster shell miso soup
5th course Special noodles takes 1/2 hour to make. Honestly I found noodles a little on the soft side, not al dente but noodles are as smooth as it gets.
Dessert choice of sesame or green tea ice-cream.
We added beef short ribs and lamb chops, both were delicious.
Very good price for all the food we had. However; due to the Earthquake/Tsunami/radiation diaster in Japan they are no longer importing seafood from Japan. Fresh sheet include items from Korea, Boston etc instead. -
Review from Thu N.
10/11/2010
Haha, I'm going to start my review just like Janice F! I would NEVER have come across this place in Richmond without Janice, thank you soooooo much!!!!
It's completely hidden on No 3 in a strip mall and I do hope that all of Vancouver doesn't discover it so that I could get seated on a Friday night right away!
So we were craving sashimi and got turned away by Sushi Hachi (over booked) and decided to head here. After reading Janice and Larry's stellar review of the place, I knew I was in good hands.
The two of us ordered the assorted sashimi - this included salmon, butterfish, scallops, octopus, squid, tuna and shrimp. They were all so fresh - I especially liked the butter fish, scallops and salmon! We also got the grilled kawahaki which both of us absolutely loved!! It's grilled jerky dried fish....which would go so well with beer! You dip it in a mayo sauce which was so good. And yes, listening to Janice, we also go the lamb chops! And yup it is like char siu lamb!!!! It was delicious!
Also, we tried out the grilled short ribs and butter garlic assorted mushrooms. Everything was so good.
What I really like about the place is that it looks like an upscale restaurant with the decor, the service is super attentive and nice, it's not too busy on a Friday night, and best of all the prices are all super reasonable!! I was rather impressed.
I'd like to come back here and order some of their fresh special fish - lobster, oysters and many other things were on their special menu. Another table ordered a selection and I was drooling even though I was full.
Thank you Yelp for yet another hidden gem! -
Review from Larry L.
This place is brand new. Opened on May 2nd, I was here last week, took some pictures of the front and decided to come back and try it out.
Who better than to go with than my regular Japanese foodie expert, Yasuyo (She was the love of my life). Yas and I used to share alot in common when it came to eating out. Especially eating at Japanese restaurants. It was one of the things we loved to do together. Yasuyo Loves Fugu, but were not sure if you could get it in Canada still. We figured that since it had the name, they must serve it!
So upon entering we were politely met with a hostess who seated us at the bar.
Our initial impression was a bit scary. Nobody spoke Japanese there. Everyone, including the customers were all Chinese. We wondered, maybe we came to the wrong place? Well, we're here, lets try it out.
It is indeed a Japanese restaurant, they do have Fugu. A live fish in a fish tank at the entrance, but it's not for eating. Just for display. They don't serve Fugu here.
We had a bit of trouble ordering our dishes since nobody spoke Japanese. So I ordered in English reading from the menu.
We decided to try some stuff off the beaten path and this time I went with everything Veggie. Here's what we had.
Kurake-mozuku, Seamoss and jellyfish shot. Comes in a little wineglass and you just shoot it down. Tasty, very impressive and a little sour. I liked it very much.
Green Salad - very fresh (basic salad greens), good for cleansing our palate.
Enoki Yamakae - Mountain Yam paste with Enoki mushrooms. A good alternative to the ones you usually get with Tuna. The Yam paste was smooth, gooey, slimy good. Mushrooms were flavoured with a bit of dashi / soyasauce.
There were some other vegetarian dishes like Eggplant and grilled green peppers.
The importance in the way the sushi chef made the sushi and the way the rice is flavoured is important. He had good technique.
The pieces of fish was cut properly and had good size and ratio to the rice.
The ebi was fresh prawns from the tank. They had other fresh seafood that was in the tank behind the bar. They even had a little tank of those little crabs that they would deep fry crispy like a cracker.
Yummmm.
I have to admit. There's alot to write about this place. The service was good. Staff were all polite and even though I don't think anyone spoke Japanese, you couldn't tell the difference in the food.
Care and attention to the details and quality was good.
So we were left very very impressed. I'm happy to say that this got the rare 5 stars. I sure hope they keep it this way and continue to prosper here.
This will be one of our best meals that we have had together and if it's the last, then this has been the best so far this year.
Typo's FOC, written by i-phone, thumbs and all!Listed in: Taste Bud Tinglers
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Review from Janice F.
6/13/2010 ROTD 11/8/2010
YES! Another gem found from a fellow Yelper - Larry, thank yoooou! I *never* would have come across this place, or thought to have tried it out.
It's literally quite hidden away in a strip mall just north of Alexandra & no. 3. Taken over the space of an old Italian restaurant (Paesano, I believe?) they've done a fantastic job renovating the space. It's got a classy, calm, comfortable ambiance.
Helpful, efficient and knowledgeable staff. This place has changed my opinion of Chinese-run establishments. The food and techniques used here are really quite special. Best of all, the prices are really quite reasonable for what you receive.
Part izakaya, part robata, part traditional sushi - this could be my new favourite Japanese restaurant! It's like a combination of Hapa (without the hot waitresses), Zakusshi (without the hefty prices), and Sushi Hachi (for the freshest sashimi).
My top three food items were:
Grilled lamb chops - glazed, slightly sweet, well seasoned - completely non-gamey. It's hard to describe the taste, it's almost like char siu lamb chops - terriyaki/bbq flavoured. Delicious, I could have ordered a full rack of this. Eating it with chopsticks is also an interesting experience.
Grilled kawahaki fish - it's like fish jerky! Grilled, dried, cross-hatched, served in strips - it's a perfect bar food. Served with mayo and chili flakes. Chewing releases the sweetness, a dab of the mayo adds moistness, and the chili power provides a slight kick. Brilliant.
Inawari udon noodles - imported from Japan, takes 30 minutes to prepare. Served in a simple, slightly smokey sweet dashi/bonito broth with a bit of spinach and fish cake. I was really skeptical of this at first, at $7.95 for a bowl of "plain" noodles AND 30 minutes to prepare? Well, I was blown away - the noodles are incredibly soft, silky yet toothy. If you can picture al dente pho, that sort of gives you an idea of this dish.
I'm dying to go back and try the other items. There's a lot of rotating daily specials, including whole fish sashimi options. On the night I was there, we tried the whole aji. It was undeniably fresh, served on a bowl of ice. The bones are taken after you're done and deep-fried in a nicely seasoned batter.
Seriously impressed with the entire experience and so happy to have found this place!!Listed in: The coveted 5* list
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Review from Weldon F.
Richmond, BC
8/16/2010
This place is a Sashimi/Sushi Gem in Richmond!
Don't be stingy and ALWAYS go for one of the Fresh Sheet recommendations. They switch it up everyday and feature a few fresh fishes that they can portion off or sashimi the entire fish for you. Once you're done they fry up the tail and head for you to enjoy!
The Sashimi are fresh as it gets. They also have a great selection of Sake and beers some of which aren't even in their menu.
This is a must try for anyone who appreciates Sashimi and good Japanese food. Forget the North American bastardization of Makis.
Go for the goods, the fresh fish.
Some of their hot dishes are also very good. The yakis and the rice in soup was also very good.
The prices are higher then the avg sushi place in Richmond but WELL WORTH the price. Give it a try! You will come back! -
Review from Carson Y.
8/19/2011
Impressive knife skill and very very very fresh fish. Highly recommend trying their special menu which offers the freshest fish of the season. Their attention to detail is second to none. The seaweeds used for sushi are baked right before serving. Chefs don't serve the next dish until you finish the one you are working on.
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Review from andrew w.
8/8/2010 1 Check-in Here
Holy moly. Would have never even stumbled across this if not for Yelp.
Best sushi I've ever had, bar-none. -
Review from Louisa L.
Richmond, BC
The sashimi and sushi is very authentic and fresh. We ordered the chef special sashimi and gave them a $40 budget per person. There were all sorts of fresh sashimi on the plate however I was slightly disappointed that the selection was a bit ordinary. We also ordered the plain udon which was very yummy and also various rolls.
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Review from Theresa W.
Vancouver, BC
3/27/2011
I love this place! Ever since Thu took me here last year I've been looking for a good reason to go back. It's not a cheapie sushi joint, so I always feel as if I need a special reason to come here.
The prices are definitely reasonable for their selection of delicious foods. My dinner with a friend came out to $60, and we dined on the following:
- Lamb Chops. Two per serving, and they're so fantastic. One of the best things here.
- Sockeye Salmon Sashimi. Only 5 pieces on the serving, but it was fresh and flavourful.
- Amaebi & Tobiko Sushi (sweet shrimp and flying fish roe). So yum, and a good mix with the crunchiness of the tobiko, but a slight but more rice than I would've liked. A decent price.
- Kani Uni Sushi (real crab and sea urchin). My first time trying a sea urchin, so I'm glad we had it in this dish. The light flavour went really well with the crab.
- Albacore Tuna with Grated Yam Potato. :\ This was the strangest dish of them all. The "Yam Potato" came out like a white goopy paste which made it look pretty unappetizing. The tuna itself was delicious, though.
- Grilled Eggplant in Ponzo Sauce. It came out looking nothing like eggplant (they had removed the skin), so we weren't sure what it was. It wasn't very flavourful, even the bonito flakes didn't spice it up much.
- Grilled Beef Short Ribs. These were fantastic. There were 6 to a serving, and they were very well seasoned. They rank right up there with the lamb chops!
- Spicy Chopped Scallop Roll. This was really good as well, but a bit too spicy for me. My dining buddy loved it though, and gladly ate the other 5 pieces.
- Black Sesame Ice Cream. This was a treat since I hardly see Japanese restaurants serving black sesame ice cream. :)
Overall, I'm still in love with this place, and recommend it in a heart beat to anyone looking for some Japanese food out in Richmond along the transit line. It's one of my favourite places!Listed in: Sushi!, Richmond!, 2011 Best Of
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Review from Sara B.
8/8/2010 1 Check-in Here
Best sushi I have ever had. We let the chef pick our meal and the variety was outstanding.
I don't think that I can say enough AMAZING things about this place.
It was inviting, laid back and enjoyable! I tried things I never would have ordered! The chef was outstanding and the staff amazing!
Check this hidden gem out and you will never want sushi from another place EVER. -
Review from Lina M.
Richmond, BC
10/10/2010
Good call on tak fugu you guys! Thanks for the recommendation on the udon noodles too Janice! they ARE ever so soft and al dente! :)
Took a friend here to celebrate his birthday and we were both blown away.
Started with some traditional salmon toro sashimi...super fresh and fatty (in a good way of course!), some udon, some robata - (Mmmm grilled chicken hearts!), agedashi tofu with eggplant and of course the infamous inawari noodles!
Tak Fugu has an extensive sheet of sashimi specials - some fish are imported from japan and customers can order a regular portion or they can order a large portion where the chef creates an additional 3-4 dishes with the fish of their choice! Of course, the latter can run your wallet up to $200+ so be careful :)
Looking forward to our next visit here! -
Review from J C.
Richmond, BC
4/22/2011
Nice contemporary decor, felt too fancy for jeans and t-shirt but went wearing them anyways. Sushi bar is a good size. Service was friendly, large menu. Also has 3 private dinning areas for small group of 6-8 people. Sushi was decent, but small portion in my opinion. Prices of food were average high. All-in-all, didn't get me hooked the first time, still a good place for sushi and alcohol.
