Takumi-Tei Review
Recently I had the privilege of having dinner at Takumi-Tei in the Japan pavilion in Epcot, and what an amazing dinner it was!
Takumi-Tei opened originally in 2019, however was closed during the pandemic until late 2022. When it reopened the menu had been updated, most notably no longer including the comparison of the Japanese A5 Wagyu and the American Wagyu. Although, perhaps even more notable was the increase in price from $130 for the tasting menu to $250 (for the meat based menu). They also have not brought back the beverage pairing at this point.
While I was hoping to do the now eliminated comparison between Japanese A5 Wagyu and the American Wagyu, the menu still piqued my interest, so I decided to make a reservation to try it out.
On the day of my reservation I arrived about 30 minutes early, but they were more than happy to accommodate me. At the check-in desk they did show me the price of the meal to verify that I was ok with it. I don’t know if this is standard to avoid surprises, but I’m sure people who are not aware of the high price tag would appreciate knowing before sitting down for dinner.
Upon entering you find yourself in a hall with globes set into displays in the wall, each one representing a different element such as earth, water, paper, and wood. As I made my way down the hall, the cast member explained the different elements to me before leading me to my table.
This evening I was seated in the Earth room.
The rooms here are beautiful and I found to be very calming. The restaurant was very quiet the evening I was there, only two other parties were there while I was and were in separate rooms. It felt very luxurious.
Shortly after being seated my server brought over a warm damp towel and explained the menu to me. There are two options for the menu, a plant based tasting menu priced at $150, and a meat based tasting menu priced at $250. As a lover of sushi and steak I went with the meat based menu.
At this time the only options are the tasting menus, you can not order a la carte.
While the menus are Omakase, or chefs choice, you are able to select the main course and dessert. The evening I was there the options for the main course were: Japanese A5 Wagyu Steak, Roasted Duck, or Chilean Sea Bass. There were also options for the dessert, they were: Chestnut Creme Brulee, Strawberry Yuzu Sorbet, or Monaka daifuku with ice cream.
This evening I decided to order the Japanese A5 Wagyu, and went with my server’s recommendation for dessert, the Strawberry Yuzu Sorbet.
I also order the Sakurajima to drink. This drink has whiskey, lemon juice and smoked applewood.
Shortly after ordering my drink arrived. It comes in a smoker box and is certainly a presentation!
Once the smoke cleared I had a sip of the drink and I was thoroughly impressed. This drink was delicious!
The appetizer course soon followed. This evening it included a chilled crab salad, a sea urchin with seaweed in a vinegar base, wilted spinach with fish roe, tofu with wasabi, and edamame.
My favorite of the appetizers was the sea urchin, which was a surprise! I loved the flavor of the seaweed and the vinegar base really helped elevate the flavor of the sea urchin. The rest of the appetizers were also very good. I was surprised I enjoyed the fish roe as much as I did. It had a very mild flavor with a hint of saltiness. The tofu appetizer had a tiny bit of wasabi on top, which balanced out the flavor of the soy sauce it was sitting in.
The next course was the sushi course. This included a tuna roll, red snapper, scallops, and eel.
I was expecting the roll to be my favorite, however I was once again surprised that the eel ended up with that designation! The server did note when she brought the dish that the chef had already seasoned the sushi, and I must say they did a phenomenal job. I have never had sushi this flavorful!
I do have to admit the roll was a bit oversized and ended up being a mess to eat since it was too big for a single bite. Fortunately there was no one around to see my struggle!
The next course was the lobster tempura. This was the first warm dish of the evening and at that point was welcome. The batter was lightly applied so didn’t overwhelm the lobster and was perfectly crispy. I was impressed at the size of the lobster pieces, they certainly did not skimp!
This came with a yuzu salt (basically a citrus salt) to sprinkle on top and a ponzu sauce. The salt was a huge hit, I loved the way it enhanced the dish! I preferred the salt to the sauce, the sauce while good, I didn’t think was needed to add to the flavor of the dish.
After the lobster tempura, the next dish was the sashimi. This came with three fish, two types of tuna and a snapper. The snapper ended up being my favorite of the three, it had a very earthy, umami, flavor that hit at the back of the mouth and was just amazingly delicious. Once again, the sashimi was already seasoned by the chef, and was seasoned perfectly!
Finally it was the course I was the most excited about, the main course with A5 Wagyu!
This came with three sauces, pearl onions, potatoes, and mushrooms.
I absolutely loved this dish. The steak was so tender it practically melted in my mouth. The sauces were good, but the one I enjoyed the most was the white potato sauce. I took my time with this course, savoring every bite, it was just so delicious!
After the main course was the seasonal broth course, which this day was a miso soup.
This was so comforting and flavorful. I took my time sipping it and contemplating what an amazing meal it had already been.
It was finally time for the dessert course. I had ordered the strawberry yuzu sorbet at my servers recommendation, and I’m so glad I did.
The sorbet was just the right amount of sweetness, and there were these tiny mint sugar balls scatter about the plate that had this great crunch and explosion of mint flavor that paired perfectly with the sorbet.
Once I finished with the dessert the tea service was brought out. They prepare it for you at the table and then explain why they prepared it the way they do. Now I’m not the biggest tea drinker, so I was very impressed at how good this tea was!
The dinner service wrapped up with a parting “gift” of an origami Mickey with a thank you note for dining with them.
Overall, this was not just a meal, this was an experience. Would I recommend eating here? That actually would depend. If you are someone who loves sushi and sashimi and trying new things, then I would 100% recommend eating here. This was the best sushi I have ever tried.
However, if you’re not the biggest sushi fan, or never had it before, or you don’t like to experiment with new food, then I would say save your money. If you haven’t had sushi before, maybe try it out at a less expensive location to see if you really like it. The one thing about this meal is there is a lot of raw fish with the appetizers, sushi, and sashimi, so if that is not something that appeals to you, then the $250 price tag would be a bit much for a meal that half the courses aren’t something you would enjoy.
For myself, I loved it and I will certainly be back!
