Takashi
Name a budget at the bar and Takashi Gibo will cook omakase to it, which is how Ted Scheffler and his wife ate for under a hundred dollars between them.
Why go
Gibo cut sushi at Shogun on Main Street before he and his wife Tamara opened this room on Market Street in May 2004 (Utah Stories). He was born in Okinawa and lived in Peru until he was twelve, which is the other half of how he cooks (Salt Lake Tribune).
When the Salt Lake Tribune asked Utah chefs where they eat on their own time, three of them answered with this room. Romina Rasmussen of Les Madeleines sits at the bar to watch the sushi being made. Adam Vickers of Tuscany orders the tuna tartare stuffed into a shishito, or hands the decision over: "You always know you're in good hands when sitting in front of Takashi." Ethan Lappe of Caffe Niche sends beginners to the seared sable.
Scheffler reviewed the opening in 2004 and went back fourteen years later for omakase. He got ankimo without asking, monkfish liver salt-rubbed, rinsed with sake, rolled and steamed, served with daikon and tobiko. Then Gibo cut the skin off the nigiri fish, dressed it in rice vinegar and served that too, telling him It's my favorite part of the fish
(Utah Stories). Dessert was panna cotta made with candy cap mushrooms, which taste of maple syrup and turn the dish sweet.
Jenny Willden wrote about the room seven years after that, more recently than anybody else, and she agrees: In our opinion, Takashi makes the best Japanese food in SLC
(The Infatuation). She points at the Beatles rolls, the Strawberry Fields built on escolar and chili and the Yellow Submarine on yellowtail and yuzu-infused tobiko.
Order this / avoid
- Order: omakase, at the bar. There is no set price. You tell the chef a range and he builds the meal inside it, which is why Scheffler and his wife named a hundred dollars for two and were full before they reached it.2
- Order: the torched black cod. Rasmussen has it twice in a sitting:
It's my absolute favorite.
1 - Order: off the daily fresh board, which is where the suzuki, the shima aji and the firefly squid turn up depending on what the supplier sent.2
- Avoid: planning to book. Small groups get no reservation, a queue forms on the sidewalk before service, and the seats worth having are at the bar.3
What locals & experts say
- Ted Scheffler, Utah Stories:
In my opinion, Takashi isn't just Salt Lake City's best restaurant, it's one of the best restaurants in the country. But don't take my word for it, take it from the dozens of folks queued up outside for a table every night.
2 - Romina Rasmussen of Les Madeleines:
I always have the torched black cod at the beginning and end of my meal. It's my absolute favorite.
1 - Ethan Lappe of Caffe Niche, on the seared sable:
This is a great introduction to sushi as it is seared with a blow torch.
1
Good to know
- Booking: none for small groups. Get there before the doors open or wait.
- Where: 18 West Market Street, downtown.
- The bar next door: Post Office Place is 16 West Market Street, a separate restaurant under the same owner, and Willden's advice is to drink there while you wait for a table here.
- Where Gibo eats: Del Mar al Lago in South Salt Lake, for the chupe de camarones, a shrimp soup with corn and a poached egg in aji amarillo.1
Verdict
should-visit — Three working Utah chefs named this room in one feature, which no other restaurant in this city has managed, and Ted Scheffler, who reviewed its opening in 2004, calls it one of the best restaurants in the country. Jenny Willden says it makes the best Japanese food in Salt Lake. Gibo will cook omakase to a budget you name, which is the most interesting thing anybody in this city will do for you at a counter. No award body has ever recognised this kitchen, and the three chef picks are from 2013, so the strongest evidence here is also the oldest.