Takenoko

The iconic Japanese restaurant has a new address and a new attire

Takenoko, the first Japanese restaurant in Zagreb, opened its doors some twenty years ago. At the beginning of May, the restaurant moved to its third address in the city centre. In regards to many things, Takenoko is a truly iconic Zagreb restaurant. Aside from being one of the oldest running Japanese restaurants, Takenoko is also the originator of Japanese cuisine in Zagreb and is equally popular with the city's businessmen, trendsetters and Asian cuisine lovers.

After Kaptol Center and Masarykova Street, Takenoko moved to Preradovićeva Street, to a spacious street location with large glass windows. The modern restaurant is dominated by neutral colours with red accents in the form of sumptuous velvet curtains. The interior is divided into several sections — the front one facing the street, with booths, a bar and an open kitchen; a low seating area that can be used for private dining, and a separate private room with a teppanyaki table and a private chef. At full capacity, Takenoko can accommodate 100 guests.

What is served?

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Takenoko 3.0, already known and loved for its Asian classics, has introduced some changes to its new menu, primarily regarding the steak offer and interesting Nikkei cuisine (a mix of Japanese and Peruvian cuisine).

Starters include snacks such as edamame beans and horenso gomaae (spinach with sesame paste), two kinds of soups and cold appetizers — beef tataki, wagyu carpaccio, Takenoko tartar and tuna kakuni. There are eight hot appetizers — signature eggplant dish, Nikkei calamari, kobe cracklings and classics like gyoza and spring rolls; there are five types of ceviche and four types of tempura. The selection of sashimi and sushi is impressive — from simple classics to elaborate rolls that are real mini compositions of flavours. Main dishes include fish and meat dishes such as salmon, sea bass, black cod, lamb chops, duck, steak with creative side dishes and sauces. The Robata selection offers a variety of steaks, including kobe beef and fish, with a rich selection of side dishes. There are ten desserts, from Japanese classics such as mochi and green tea ice cream all the way to lemon sorbet.

Takenoko also offers five types of Tepanyaki tasting menus that are served in a private room in two seatings starting at 6 p.m., and you can choose between beef, lamb, shrimps, lobster and kobe options.

The wine list comprises Croatian and international classics, including expensive wines such as Chateau Margaux and Chateau Petrus. There is also a list of cocktails, must-have sakes, but also a whiskey experience in which you can taste whiskeys from Japan, Scotland and America. The selection of fine liquors is also quite extensive.

What our chefs had?

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We went to Takenoko for lunch on a warm and sunny Friday. The restaurant was bathed in light, with just the right number of guests and a pleasant atmosphere. First, we had some refreshing Tomac Diplomat sparkling wine along with Tom Yum Kung spicy Thai soup with prawns, Takenoko special eggplant, Nikkei Panco Calamari and spinach in sesame. The Tom Yum soup and spinach with sesame sauce were excellent as always, and the signature eggplant dish was worthy of a standing ovation. The dish is made with roasted half of an eggplant with seared prawns and scallops in miso sauce — creamy, umami, sweet and savoury – it was a perfectly balanced dish. Nikkei calamari in panko crumbs were served on a crispy iceberg salad with two Nikkei sauces.

For the main course, we decided on two types of rich and creative maki rolls — soft-shell crab and crunchy tempura. The soft-shell crab roll is made of soft-shell crab meat, cucumbers, avocado, sprouts, mayonnaise, gochujang sauce and tobiko roe, and the tempura crunchy roll of prawns in tempura, cucumbers, avocado, dynamite sauce and pieces of tempura. With our sushi we enjoyed German Riesling.

For the sweet ending we chose green tea ice cream with sesame foam.