Taisho Hertel

Yesterday, I went out with a friend to Taisho. Looks: You walk in to this beautifully modern bar like place. There'd an upstairs too. Colorful led lights, nice art om the wall. On our table we had a little cute vase with a glass flower. The Napkins also had printed flowers on it. Doesn't take long for you to be directed to your seat. Staff: Respectful, professional, yet relaxed and casual Food: I had the chicken teriyaki bentonite box and my friend had the shrimp teriyaki bento box with the tuna rolls . ! And for an appetizer we had tokoyaki balls which is octopus balls. The octopus balls had fish flakes on it and some sauce. Truth be told I thought it was alive because the airflow is pretty good and the flakes are light so it was moving weirdly like the fish flakes on top. The ball itself was nice hot and good! I've never had octopus ever so it was a first. It reminds me of a very soft fried fish I use to have growing up. I liked it! For the bento box I wasn't a huge fan of the the California rolls ( crab meat and crunchy veggies) but the execution of it was good! The spicy chili sauce or what reminds me of duck sauce was there with a little kick and I used it with my potstickers and spring rolls. Delish! The chicken teriyaki was okay but I liked the shrimp teriyaki better . More flavor in the shrimp . There was rice too which was good but I like to dip it into the sauces like the teriyaki sauce. This is a great place for a date or just hanging out with friends for a drink . Ih by the way! There's really only alcohol at this place so I just asked for a water. Overall, I had a good experience here and hope others will also come to experience it!

The staff was friendly, the physical location quite nice. The food was okay...very Americanized and a little lack luster to be honest. I was expecting more, but it seems maybe their energy went into the location and the bar. Was a little disappointed on food quality, but my expectations might have been too high.

Our server was fantastic. It was super busy and she didn't skip a beat. Was super friendly and fast. Seriously one of the best servers we have ever had. The food is always on point. Atmosphere is casual and fun. Prices are reasonable. Only negative - and I'm not even taking away a star for it- The peach champagne is absolutely horrible. Would be better if they change whatever orange juice they use. It really is bad. But the server took care of us and I super appreciate it.

They have a great menu that also has pictures. More places should be like that, include more pictures of your food and people might branch out and order something they usually wouldn't. They have a good lunch deal and happy hour prices, I should have gotten pix of their menu for that, woops Ordered takoyaki (my favorite), spider roll (deep fried crab), spider appetizer, tuna roll. All were great and nicely presented. They have a good amount of TVs, too, looks like a good place to watch a Bills, Sabres, or Bandits game. Service was good

I'm so excited, The City of Buffalo has a new upscale Japanese restaurant on Hertel! The food at Taisho Hertel is fantastic, and the presentation of everything we ordered was very impressive. We found the atmosphere and service to be a bit disjointed. Upon walking in, it was great to see they kept the historic Buffalo mural up behind the bar (although the host had no idea of when it was from or where it was taken) I had to look it up to find it was from the 1901 Buffalo Labor Day Parade on Main Street-very cool! The restaurant and bar have great potential, but the complete lack of any music left it feeling lifeless. We had no idea who our waiter was the entire evening. They attempted to bring other table's orders over to us a few times. The service wasn't bad. It was just confusing. You could tell they were trying. We would also love to see some more drink options to stay competitive with the restaurant bars on Hertel. Aside from their specialty drink menu, their options are very limited. Our reservation was for 6 pm on Saturday. We were lucky to find a parking spot right out front (it seems only street parking is available). They seated us promptly when we arrived, which was much appreciated. Overall, it was a very enjoyable evening! With a little fine tuning, Taisho Hertel could easily be in the running as one of the best sushi restaurants in the city!