[T2DMan]

Add your review of Taiko Restaurant/Taiko Japanese Restaurant and be part of the fun .

Contact Details:
Beside Kingsland Railways Station
460A New North Road
ph. 0-9-815 0610

http://www.taikokingsland.com

Thanks for the details Ninzaburo. Predated this post to the moment before you posted.

[ninzaburo]

Has anyone else been to the new Taiko Japanese Restaurant in Kingsland.
It is beside Kingsland Station, where Pasta mia used to be.
They have a team of 2 Japanese chefs and 3 cooks who produce the most amazing food.
Try the beef tataki and the sashimi salad.

[Chabo]

We arrived with a group of 5, and found the place inviting and friendly.
The staff are friendly, but our waitress wasn't too helpful, and our meals arrived at odd times.
So one person was finished before some others even got their rice!
Rather odd considering the restaurant was not full.
The rice bowl was a bit too small also.
Lighting was a little dim, and I was sitting with stereo speaker directly behind my back which could have been better mounted in a quiet corner.
But the food was good, and presentation was great so we would go again.
Let's hope the service and environment comes up to par with the food & Price.

[ninzaburo]

Wow. That was a shame that you didn't like Taiko.
I have been several times and the staff have been real friendly and the food is terrific. Maybe the waitress was new or couldn't understand English well.
I know what you mean about food arriving at different times. It is Izakaya style so you get food as it comes out of the kitchen. It is a custom to share each dish. Japanese Izakaya are like this. I am used to it.

[Chabo]

Originally Posted by ninzaburo

Wow. That was a shame that you didn't like Taiko.

I didn't say I didn't like the restaurant, rather I explained our experience and said it could improve.

Originally Posted by ninzaburo

Maybe the waitress was new or couldn't understand English well.

Well she was a kiwi, so possibly she was new.
We could speak Japanese so it wasn't a language problem.
No-one suggested she was in training, so I can only judge as if she was normal staff.
She was friendly, as were all the staff.

Originally Posted by ninzaburo

It is Izakaya style so you get food as it comes out of the kitchen. It is a custom to share each dish. Japanese Izakaya are like this. I am used to it.

Ah my friend don't jump to conclusions!
I have visited Japan often, as have all of us this night.
We had one Japanese citizen in our party, and we were all intrigued at the meal arrivals.

The waitress took our orders as individuals and we made it clear that we were ordering mains as individuals.

Also nowhere does the restaurant list itself as Izakaya.
Not on the menu, not on the website, not on this site.
They are listed as "Taiko Japanese Restaurant", so I expect to be served as a restaurant serves food.
Normally Japanese restaurants manage to serve food around the same time, not with such a large time difference.

I still think it is a great restaurant, and we will visit again, but I stand by my previous comments that it could do with some improvements.

[!!scott]

Originally Posted by Chabo

The staff are friendly, but our waitress wasn't too helpful, and our meals arrived at odd times.

I found exactly the same. food was amazing I thought, but the service was a little less than. Won't keep me from going back though...

[Marlena]

Similar experience with us. Extremely friendly staff, but one waitress described a meal completely wrong and I ended up with raw fish when I was after a meaty/egg thing pictured in the menu. BUT they were very quick to apologise and take it back when I looked confused and explained.
Only gripe might be the cost, probably the most expensive Japanese I've had, so it wouldn't be my first choice next time...

[LoveYummyFood]

Too bad my experience at Taiko was not very nice.... Two of us ordered 4 dishes
the food came very quicky (within 5 min). I guessed it might be becasue of V day yesterday. We found the sashimi very disappointing, the salmon has bone and the snapper were very chewy. I gave fairly high expectation to this place, as 2 very picky friends of mine gave this place very high rating a few years back. I have never tried it til yesterday (despite of another friend's average rating for her recent visit). I guess the only good thing was that we could leave the restaurant within 30min and then went to another store to get some better desserts instead.