David Nguyen
Google
Ta Joia was a little confusing at first but once I got my head around what it actually was, my wife and I enjoyed it.
TL;DR:
If you like teriyaki places, eat here. If you're looking for "fusion"...it's not what it is.
Food: 4 stars
Customer service: 5 stars
Cleanliness: 4 stars
It pops up as an Asian / Brazilian fusion concept and a few influencers labeled it that too. So that is what I was expecting. For example, an Empadao with Korean flavors inside of it. But once I realized it was a teriyaki joint with a sprinkle of Brazilian flavors on the side, it totally made sense. Ta Joia website calls it "teriyaki with a twist" and it's more clear than some of the ads labeling it fusion.
My wife got the bowl with Crispy chicken & spicy chicken and I got the spicy pork and kalbi beef. (Extra charge for added protein, but we wanted to do Ta Joia right!)
The Molho à Campanha (Pico) was good. Brazilian Pico is more subtle than Mexican pico. Think "no lime. Instead, vinegar + olive oil."
The cilantro sauce was good, but Brazilian chimichurri sauce would be way better. :)
Flavors for a teriyaki joint was good, and the charring on the meat and their "made to order style" made it good also. The crunchy chicken was bland, but dipping ANYTHING in that cilantro sauce pulls it all together. Definitely, mixing the pico and cilantro sauce into the rice gave the teriyaki that twist their website talked about.
For how many workers they had, the establishment was a little dirty and the bathroom smell was creeping out and you can smell it. Bathroom was clean, by the way, it just had that gas station bathroom smell. I'm sad to report.
The customer experience was great for a teriyaki joint. A pleasent surprise for sure. She greeted us, smiled, built a little rapport. And the nice server that delivered our food was super friendly, warm and reminded us to mix the pico into the rice. Pay them more owners, they are both are good at their jobs I'd recruit them myself, if I worked in Bothell.
All food is expensive nowadays, so Im not even going to report on costs. It was worth my money, if I were to rate it.
Give them a shot, if you want a new teriyaki joint. I think you'll like the "twist"! We will eat here again and try their version of Feijoada next time.