Takenaka - Vancouver, British Columbia

Wanted to find out what the hype was all about. This is a very authentic Japanese place. They started off as a food cart and now they have their own store. The Latte was not my thing, but their breakfast set is pretty reasonably ... priced. I was also there for lunch one day, and found their prices a little steep for lunch. Would want to go back to try other things on the menu. Read more

If you are looking for something different in Vancouver, Takenake Onigiri Cafe would be a pleasant choice. However, the cafe is open for breakfast and lunch only.  Reservation is done via OpenTable only (meaning, you cannot call the restaurant to make reservations). This authentic Japanese cafe is nestled amongst various commercial ... warehouses and it is in the middle of no-where East Van ... but what a hidden gem it turned out to be! Takenaka Onigiri Cafe is located on the second floor (very un-assuming) of a commissionary warehouse. I came here specifically to try its famous "onigiri" bento box ($22).  Onigiri is basically a rice ball eaten around lunch hour. My onigiri rice was seasoned nicely -- and not too wet nor sticky. I paid $10 extra for a couple of fresh BC sea urchins. They were sweet and fresh, definitely my favourite dish inside that bento box meal. The pickled radish, salad, egg tamago, pork belly curry, soba noodles/quail egg,  and (unlimited) miso soup completed a good bento style lunch. I found out the owner/chef originally came from Osaka Japan ... so his cooking techniques stayed true to that region. Simple but modern Japanese cuisine is what I would call this foodie experience. Reservations recommended. Read more

Brought my parents from a long way to Takenaka just because to try their lunch. Everything there were new to them, not familiar their menu and no pictures. I took quite some time to understand and explained the menu to my parents (The waitress was patient and friendly to explain ... the menu to us but not the cashier lady) . She was ignoring me and took another customer's order behind me. That's fine. Finally, our foods came, the plate was big contain few little meat with lot of curry sauce. The meats in our lunch special sets were quite salty but the rest side dishes were good. Anyway, my recommendation is make sure you fully understand the menu before visit. Read more

Attentive, detail oriented and very courteous staff. Haven't had onigiri this good since working in Japan over a decade ago. Particularly enjoyed the sour plum onigiri (梅干しおにぎり)! Parking was easy and the store was easy to find as well.

I've only ordered from their food truck previously for their chirashi dish so this is our first time at their cafe. They had a dinner set menu for $29 that came with a little bit of everything. I chose their curry instead and thoroughly enjoyed it. Typical Japanese curry but ... with a slight amount of heat so it was very delicious. My partner had the set menu and loved everything in the set. Parking is ample on the street. Recommend to make reservation on weekends, gets pretty busy. I would definitely recommend trying it out if you enjoyed the food at the food truck! Read more