Taki Japanese Restaurant, Novato

Taki is great! The sushi is fresh and the portions are very generous. Their other items are also tasty, especially the chicken teriyaki and the tempura. We've been eating there for years and have never been disappointed. I like the atmosphere, too, which is simple and unpretentious, unlike some of the other sushi joints in town.

The service is poor. The ambiance is subpar. The inside doesn't look clean and tidy. The food is average. There are much better sushi restaurants in Marin. The prices are in line with other much higher end susi restaurants.

We've eaten here every month or so for 16 years. It's a very dependable place. Food's quite good, portions large and prices OK. They're always busy, but there's usually no wait. We do wish that they'd change their menu occasionally. It can get a bit monotonous.

I went on a Saturday night - it was packed, although I didn't have to wait. The noise level was a bit loud. I sat at the sushi bar but there was no interaction with the sushi chefs - the 2 of them were completely focused on getting the orders out. It seemed they were also getting a lot of take-out orders as well. The service was fair at best. They were extremely busy. After waiting a while, I was asked if I was ready to order, but I hadn't been given a menu. After I ordered, the server forgot some of the first items, but then realized this and brought them to me. I ordered a nigiri combination. The fish was fresh and the portion generous. However, there was a lot of rice in each piece - which made for a big mouthful. This may be just a personal preference of mine, but I'd rather get smaller bites. In the end, I waited about 15 minutes to ask for my check. I left before they had taken away my plates.

The servings are plentiful, the fish is the freshest I've tasted - better than the popular Sausalito place (which I feel is way over priced and over rated and over crowded due to a tiny dining room). Taki's family run and a friendly place. No pretentions here...just fabulous sushi, which they take great pride in.