Stopped in for Din at Takuma two nights ago.
They were interviewing Chef Taku-san and taking shots of his food for an upcoming Japanese-language TV show (to be shown here, I believe, not Japan). It was like having dinner AND a show!
Food was great.
Green Bean salad with sesame dressing, GIANT grilled chicken leg with Yuzu, Soba, tuna-avocado tartar (a very tuna forward prep).
is this a new fucking joint moving on forward ???
I love this place, too. Other izakaya places are more artful or have higher quality ingredients, but this place just hits the spot and has a great neighborhood vibe (looked like there were lots of regulars on the last 2 trips there). It’s also nice to go to a sit-down restaurant in Santa Monica and not feel poor after paying the bill.
Giant chicken leg is great (as you mention). Wish the tuna had more, well, tuna. Soboro (sp?) rice is also a favorite of mine. Grilled salmon is also good.
I’ve been there a couple of times recently and I like it very much too. Taku is such a sweety–he remembers me from years ago when I had a birthday party in the larger back room at Musha (Wilshire & 5th). He told me he did all the wall art in the place (Japanese calligraphy) himself!–he said they are the names of things on the menu. (You wouldn’t know if you didn’t read/speak Japanese). I think he said he also made the ceiling lamps too. It’s a really serene place and the food is lovely–very similar to Musha’s menu but for me a calmer environment. I really wish him well–such a hard-working and deserving guy. I also love his taste in salsa music–interesting combination with the food LOL.