Taki Nori Hand Roll Bar

One of my favorite - not just Japanese, but any cuisine - restaurants in the Bay area. Worth the hour+ drive in traffic for me, plus now that Nori Nori closed down, I'm finding myself driving out more often. Although it's a hand roll bar and not a full sushi bar like Sushi Jin or Kaisen Don, it's also a fraction of the price, a very good deal for the area.

The hand rolls are amazing. The sashimi is also fresh, but there's nothing like being given a hand roll as soon as it's made, so that the nori is still crisp and not soggy when you bite into it.

Chefs are young and cute, and good about taking special requests like "no eel sauce." And the owner works just as hard as the employees, which is inspiring and great to see.

I have visited enough times that by now I've managed to try every roll and side dish on the menu, several times over. It *is* a somewhat limited menu (1 page), but that keeps the quality and variety consistent from visit to visit - no finding out something is out of season.

Everything involving raw fish is good. My favorites of those are the hamachi, salmon belly, chu toro and oh toro.

The spicy tuna can sometimes not be spicy enough, and occasionally is too spicy, but that's minor to me.

I don't love the oysters only because I'm a bit of a purist and don't like too much stuff on top of them they tasted fine, just busy, imho.

Cooked items:

Hits:

Tempura shrimp roll - served piping hot, so be careful!

Sukiyaki beef roll - hot, tender, and not too sweet, which is often my complaint with sukiyaki (it is still sweet, however, so you may want to skip it if you're diabetic).

Miso soup - piping hot, big portions, good amount of tofu, though not a lot of seaweed or green onions.

Edamame - also hot, perfectly cooked, lightly salted (you might need to ask for salt).

Yaki ramen - al dente, looks and tastes like fresh, not instant, ramen (yellow, eggy, and thick), big portions, but a bit bland (also may need to request salt for this). This dish is normally slightly sweet but it's strictly savory here.

Sushi tacos - more like sushi tostadas. Way too sweet for me but everything else about it was good: generous portion of fish, super crunchy base.

Misses:

Fried calamari - slightly sweet, it tastes like Taiwanese fried squid, which is what I want to have with boba, not in a Japanese meal, where I am expecting an ika geso-style preparation.

Fried chicken - as above, it's more like Taiwanese popcorn chicken rather than Japanese karaage.

BBQ ribs - basically LA kalbi. You're better off ordering this at a KBBQ.

Ambiance:

Pluses: the big whale mural is beautiful, and the decor feels traditional yet modern.

Minuses: just a few detail issues that could easily be addressed. Nothing that stops me from returning, but things that could elevate the experience for not a lot of elbow grease.

One, things are a little dusty for a place that serves raw food, so don't look too closely at the shelves, haha.

Also, customers are always getting marker all over their beautiful wood counter. It can easily be cleaned off with a little bit of hand sanitizer, which would go a long way to keeping the bar looking upscale.

Not a lot of food selection but almost every single item is so tasty! Reserve beforehand is easy and they do get a line at peak dinner hour. Highly recommend the scallop one. The otoro one has cilantro so do watch out if you don’t like cilantro

I’ve had my fair share of handroll experiences and this place is pretty good, but quite pricey for the experience. Most handroll places I’ve been to have stellar customer service — very attentive to you even when it is full house.

Reservation on Saturday at 5PM. Walked in and the seating is very limited — there seems to be only bar seating (which is totally fine and what I prefer for the experience). No one greeted us at all but my friend sat down and was early to our reservation, so we just took our spot and sat down. There was probably 4-5 other people inside so it was fairly empty on a Saturday. There was also some time where the music just stopped playing and it was so oddly quiet (the only party that was talking was my party!).

Also we had four seats but we only got two small plates of wasabi and ginger haha - not a problem since I asked for my own.

Pricing of the handroll is pricey compared to other places I’ve been to but makes sense since it the Bay Area (I’ve only been to handroll places in Japan and SoCal).

4/5 - Crab Handroll was good! It was my first time having this since I’ve only eaten blue crab, but I’d get this again since it was on the cheaper side of the menu ($8)

5/5 - Uni Toro Handroll was so good and very nicely presented! It is quite on the hefty side at $25 but gotta at least try it and plus I wanted a nice picture for my review and instagram

3/5 - Hamachi Handroll was pretty basic, but fresh!

4/5 - Uni Handroll cause they use Japanese Bafun Uni instead of bland Santa Barbara Uni haha

3/5 - Maybe I’m biased with service, but all the handroll bars I’ve been to were super attentive and I feel like they just tried to get food to us and never really followed up with us or ask how we were doing. We waited awhile to finally flag down a host/manager to get the bill.

Not a terrible experience but wasn’t up to my standards for some parts. The more expensive items were absolute fire though. I’d still come back if I’m craving a handroll spot since I’m only 20min away haha

Great hand rolls. Not for sharing. You absolutely want the roll for yourself. Ingredients are very fresh.

Excellent service too.

Currently you cannot make reservations. Waiting time can be long if you show up after six. It was cold outside when I visited. They brought out small cups of tea for folks waiting in line outside. So sweet.
Great for small parties (2~3 people). Most seatings are at the sushi bar. So for larger party it would be hard to talk to all your friends.

Try the Saki bomb if you like beer. Saki gives just the right kick.

Update 2023
The place is not as busy now. Recently wr visited the place several times, between 5 to 6ish, each time we were able to be seated fast. Food is just as good as before.

In love with this handroll bar!! Their food was really fresh and with amazing flavor & texture!
I personally like the hamachi, salmon belly & scallop rolls. Their oysters were on point too besides i think it was a bit small :(
Overall a pretty good place for a night out with your friends or on a date!