Tai Tai Japanese

Such an incredible hidden gem of a restaurant! The "welcome in" is a traditional style to a Japanese restaurant, the decor is clean, simple but classy and the food as well as presentation is exceptional. Just fell upon this restaurant by chance and it did not disappoint. The space is clean, classy, quaint and well decorated. Definitely worth a dinner night out.

CRIMINALLY underrated and far too much of a hidden gem. We went for my 40th birthday and had a wonderful experience. Very friendly staff, the counter and decor was just we what wanted, and the food was INCREDIBLE. I can’t recommend Tai Tai enough. They deserve to be in the conversation for best sushi restaurants in all of Denver/Colorado. Everything we had was excellent but be sure to try the Pink Lady Roll & the Toro. The cocktails are also wonderful. Skip your next stop and come here immediately.

We are in town for a few weeks for medical stuff and stumbled on this place our first night and wow, it did not disappoint! Delicious fresh sushi, most welcoming and attentive staff, and beautiful intimate setting! We sat at the bar and met the owner and he was so kind and even made me off menu request. 6 stars!

The best sushi out there. We came for lunch and their lunch specials are out of this world. $18 for 6 piece Nigiri and a spicy tuna roll. Fresh, great quality sushi. Full bar and incredible staff especially Wes. Come for lunch or dinner or both. :)

Highly recommend this place to anyone tired of mediocre sushi in the Denver area. Cozy environment, and the chef's station is spotless. The fish is fresh and delicious. Thank you so much for the finely chopped scallions in the soup — it made me feel like I was back home in Asia.🙏

This place is a hidden gem! We found ourselves here a couple months ago and can’t stop going back. We’ve tried a lot of the items on the menu and everything has been delicious. The quality and taste is top notch and the service is always friendly and amazing. They also have some great signature cocktails. I’d recommend the Poke bowl, which comes with a miso soup and tasty salad.

Ok, soooo, I'm so excited to write this review because my favorite restaurant, Sushi Sasa closed permanently. My favorite rolls EVER, were the Scottish Salmon and Pink Lady. My friends and I were so sad to hear that Sushi Sasa closed. Just yesterday, we visited this place after finding out the same chef works there, and my goodness... The food was absolutely amazing! We started with the crazy spicy cucumber, which is moldy spicy, then ordered the blue fin tuna nigiri and yellow tail nigiri. The blue fin tuna melted like butter.. God damn.. We ofcourse/obviously ordered the Scottish Salmon and Pink Lady roll, then ended our meal with the eel handroll, which was fabulous! Eel is hit or miss for me, but this one was amazing!

This is not your typical sushi experience! (In a great kind of way!) The food was incredibly fresh, delicate, and delectable; the service was attentive, grounded, and kind; and the decor and ambiance were classy and charming. Everything we tried was wonderful: * The dragon roll * The pink lady roll * The philly roll * A few handrolls (spicy tuna, Rocky mountain, unagi). Btw, "open-faced style" has a presentation and composition, and is worth a try. * House made dessert (tonight, we had a banana custard mousse, which was delicious) So glad we discovered this place!

The good is when you walk in the door the place is clean, well designed and very pleasant. It makes you think "this is going to be special." The menu offers a more interesting selection of fish than say Mika Sushi. The presentation is passable but not delightful. The disappointment is how mediocre the food is. There's no "wow" moment. Barely an exclamation of "yum". The food is not bad. But it's not memorable either. Especially when the tab approaches $100 per person. At that level, a meal should be something you want to tell your friends about. Think twice, unless money is not a concern. In that case it's better than the other sushi places in the area. But if you're looking for a unique experience this isn't it.

Our friend introduced us to Tai Tai, as Sushi Sasa was a favorite of ours. Very cute and cozy small restaurant. We had reservations and sat at the bar and enjoyed watching all of the mouth-watering food preparation. We started off with the lychee saketini. YUM! So light, refreshing, not too sweet and loved the itty bitty ice chips. The rest of the meal was amazing! I wanted to lick the ponzu sauce on the hamachi jalapeño. So so good! Loved the strawberry accents. Tofu burrata was a nice surprise, very mild and creamy with the puff flatbread. Wagyu just melted in your mouth. Great flavors. I wish I had taken a picture of whole big ass tuna as he brought it out and prepared it for us - I was in awe of how beautiful and fresh it was. Delicious! We tried the cool demon slayer sake and it was so nice and smooth, it may be my new favorite drink and replace my white wine for a little bit. Give it a try. The ice cream dessert with the two flavors was the perfect way to cap off the night. Definitely recommend you go!

The sushi at Tai Tai is incredible! Having grown up in the Bay, I haven't tried that many sushi spots in this land locked state, but this spot is definitely worth it! We got the Diablo Roll, the spicy tuna roll, and the salmon roll. All three were amazing, fresh, and filled us up. My favorite would have to be the Diablo roll because the flavor was rich and delicious. Presentation of the rolls was also a 10/10! We placed an online order for pick up and it took around 35 minutes. It looks like there isn't a whole lot of seating inside, but I would love to come back and eat here in-person!

I have resisted giving this place a five star rating but every time we eat here it seems to get better. Tonight we loved every item that we had to eat. This included Hamachi Jalapeno, Scottish Salmon Sashimi, tangerine red snapper, chopped cabbage (a real sleeper), maguro and shake, all super fresh and delicious. Wow. I am always surprised by how much it costs--with tax and tip all included in the final bill is always higher than I expected. But the food tonight was perfect. Can't complain when you get perfect. We were able to resist the desserts which also looked very tempting.

Tried this on a whim on a Friday for dinner-5:20 arrival. There was no wait but it appears they are a newer spot and I imagine that will change in time. We tried the Rocky Mtn Roll, Tuna roll, YJC roll and a tuna poke bowl. The smoked trout was really delicious in the roll. All portions were a good size, the poke bowl came with salad and miso soup. My son (17) commented how you could tell the tuna was good quality. The staff were very friendly. I recommend this spot if you're craving sushi. The menu is not huge which I sometimes find overwhelming and makes it hard to decide when going out for sushi.

Overall: Seafood is fresh. Simple, straightforward menu. Clean, contemporary vibe. Minimal seating. Food: Ordered the lunch combos and an order of uni nigiri. Chirashi - Fresh ingredients. Fish is not fishy. Plain and not bastardized in any way. Handroll sushi - Fresh. Correctly portioned. Miso soup - Standard with seaweed and tofu. Salad - Ginger dressing was good. It's a white color vs the usual light pink im used to seeing. More runny consistency, which I prefer in this case, vs thick and creamy. Uni - Creamy and smooth. Not fishy or gooey. Water - Tasted weird. I'm guessing it might be because the glass water bottles were prepped and stored in the fridge with no caps/lids so whatever odors in the fridge flavored the water? Service: Polite, quick, smooth. Place: Chill. Small place, so not the best for big groups more than four. Price: $$. Makes sense considering the location. They also charge an automatic servicing fee.

The former owner of Sushi Sasa (now closed after over 10 years of accolades) has a mistress, Tai Tai (literally, in Japanese, "a partner who does not need to work but exerts influence" like a politician's spouse). I am so grateful Chef Conwell has turned his creative energies to Tai Tai. It is a small shop and dramatically paired down menu from Sushi Sasa but survives all the freshness, crisp space and perfection of every bite. Both the House Mixed Greens Salad and Spicy Cucumber Salad are perfectly light bites to ready your palate for the buttery sushi/maki to follow. Brought over from Sasa, the Diablo Roll is a steadily smooth, bright bite of blue fin tuna and avocado, topped with more tuna and a crisp spicy ponzu. This roll typically is topped with seared tuna, but I find the sear is a misstep. The tuna Tai Tai has procured is sooooo fresh that searing it is an overstep. Tai Tai is quickly accommodating of this request. Next, Dragon Roll (eel, crab, shrimp, cucumber, avocado, topped with strawberry. If this was summer, the bites would be even better. This roll too is balanced, smooth and crisp. It may sound silly to focus on the more subtle but Tai Tai has the same lightly nutty sushi rice and sweet ginger as the former mothership. Service is friendly and casually social to the point where you feel invited to a very talented friend's home just down the street. So when the host invites you to try the special Ume (plum-like tasting apricot) Cheesecake, you say, "yes." And you smile as the dinner was capped off with another hit. A review is nothing if we don't discuss where five stars can elevate higher. In talking to the Wayne and his Sous Chef, it appears the menu is fairly set. As I stated from the top, the menu is small. From my standpoint, that limits the variety that pulls me back week after week. I would love to see even two rolls rotating in/out every other month. While I love the food as it exists, I could readily tire of the limitations. Wayne Conwell has proven he may be the best sushi chef in Colorado, but like a politician's spouse, the temptation to sit back and do the minimum may be quite tempting.

Came here after a hike one weekend afternoon. Good mix of sushi and other fusion noodle dishes. We had about 8 people for a late lunch so we ordered a mix of sushi and noodle dishes. There was a really good selection of dishes to choose from. I especially liked the beef and broccoli dish. Service was very quick and amazing and our waters were always refilled quickly. I'm not on this side of town often but I would definitely recommend and go back.

Tai tai is by far my favorite sushi in Denver! I, selfishly, didn't want to leave a review because I don't want the secret to get out. I am super picky about sushi but have not been let down by tai tai. It is a small and quaint establishment and the owner and staff are super friendly. You won't be disappointed!

The ambiance is great, beautiful restaurant and music isn't too loud. Fresh fish and beautiful plating. I really enjoyed the salmon roll but the tuna and eel rolls were also delicious. Only downside was we ordered gyoza and sashimi and never received either. The gyoza wasn't on the bill so maybe they didn't see it marked but the sashimi was. When we asked to have it removed, the server seemed annoyed about it which was weird. Anyway, I'll be back.

This is some of the best sushi you're going to find in Denver. The quality and freshness of the fish is exceptional, even reminding me of some of my favorite west coast sushi joints. The bluefin tuna tasted like the ocean, which previously I only thought possible when eating sushi on the west coast. The size of the rolls and handrolls are substantial, so you can get full eating here and spend very little relative to other sushi places. The ambience here awesome. It's a really tiny place, seems like they can fit at most 20 people. It smells and looks great in there, and during the evening they have nice dim lighting. The sushi chef and the rest of the staff are very nice and attentive. It's a great experience eating here. And it's the kind of place you can come anytime without reservations (still very little people know about this place, not sure why). They also offer delivery which is definitely something I'll take them up on at some point. If you're familiar with Sushi Sasa downtown, I think this has the same owner and the food is similar. I would say though that this place edges out Sushi Sasa slightly because the fish tasted fresher and the rice was warm right out of the rice cooker. I've ate at all the sushi institutions around (Sushi Den, Uchi, Matsuhisa, Temaki Den, Makizushico, etc) and this is legitimately right up there with all of them.

New Top 3 Denver sushi spot confirmed. Very quaint restaurant and makes for a personal and curated sushi experience. The staff was friendly and clearly cares about their customers having a comprehensive culinary experience. Extremely fresh and flavorful fish. Certainly a deep menu for the adventurous and seasoned sushi veteran. Side note- fun beers and drinks. Matcha IPA and Zamboni cocktail are some winners.

Small (only 10 persons at 5 tables and 12 comfy chairs at bar) Japanese eatery in the Happy Canyon shopping center. It is located near Hampden Ave facing north. I met the owner, Wayne Conwell who recently closed his Rino restaurant, Sushi Sasa. Most menu items are geared towards lunch and light dinner options. They have a QR code to the see the full menu. The most expensive item was a large sushi platter for $60. I got a lunch special of Churashi that came with a small salad & miso soup for $17. I added Gyoza (5 pieces) for $9. The miso soup had plenty of unami and had very little salt. The Churashi bowl had mackerel. tuna, salmon. octopus, shrimp with crunchy pickles and a large amount of white sticky rice. The Gyoza was served with a spicy chili sauce. They have a 21% service charge, so no tipping. They are open 11am-2:30pm for lunch and 5pm-9pm for dinner 7 days a week. Reservations are highly recommended for dinner.

A college friend of mine that I have not seen in over 6 years came into town for a recruitment event and asked to meet up for dinner. I recently moved to this area and have not had a moment to begin exploring to find my favorite food options, but Tai Tai is now top on my list for favorite sushi and poke in the area. First off, service was phenomenal. I should note that we were there on a Tuesday evening so it was nearly empty, and our server knew just the right balance between ensuring we were taken care of but not hovering since we were one of a few tables at that time. Also, it is a small and quaint space but expertly decorated to make you feel like you are in a high end restaurant. As for the food, we each ordered poke bowls and shared the pork gyoza. I ordered a triple tuna poke bowl and my friend ordered a double salmon and single yellowtail poke bowl. It was by far some of the freshest tuna I have had in the Denver Metro. My friend echoed that sentiment and with her living near the ocean in Cali, that is high praise. The arrangement of the bowl and delicious sauce combinations made this the best poke bowl I have had, ever. And at only $18, I have already made plans to return with my wife for her to order and for us to try their specialty and craft sushi menu. The gyoza was also good, but probably nothing to phone home about. That being said, the presentation of the appetizer was top notch with a beautiful tempura flake fried onto the center dumpling. Overall, if you are looking for a higher-end but still casual spot for a date, reunion, or small gathering of 4 or less people, I would HIGHLY recommend checking out Tai Tai. Just note, because the space is cozier, they do require reservations so grab yours as early as you can for busier nights or just a bit ahead for slower evenings. I would not recommend larger groups for this space.

Stellar Service!! The owner was so kind, very personable, presentation was fantastic. Get the seaweed salad, also the gyoza was tasty!

Tai tai has received so many positive reviews, and it did not disappoint! The sushi was extremely fresh and all the rolls were perfectly executed upon! The space is pretty small with only 20 to 30 seats, but it is decorated beautifully! They do add a service fee to all charges, so be cognizant of that when you go in, but that does cover gratuity! The old fashion was good but would look to try another drink next time. Definitely a great local sushi spot and will be back!

Awesome sushi, great decor. One of my top three sushi places of all time. (One in BCN and the other in NYC). Best fish I've ever had. Better than Nobu, better than the places in Japan that I went. Pic is of the dry aging fridge.

Lunch combo is incredible and affordable. Amazing service and very personable experience.

Sensational experience, starting off with pristine service and a quality meal. The restaurant is very beautiful along with Wayne's smile. To top it off there was a free dessert with is sitting nicely in my belly right now.

Simply the best for the freshest sushi. They have a terrific lunch special. Highly recommend!

Well worth the stop. Sushi was on par with other top notch restaurants in denver area. Cozy little spot with friendly staff and quality food. We will go here again.

The fish was super fresh. Flavors were awesome. Love the kewpie Mayo used in the sauces. Loved my Poke bowl. The only thing I'd recommend is not using disposable plastic to-go trays for a $45 in-house lunch. Not so appetizing, or environmentally friendly. Otherwise the food was great.

We are in town for a few weeks for medical stuff and stumbled on this place our first night and wow, it did not disappoint! Delicious fresh sushi, most welcoming and attentive staff, and beautiful intimate setting! We sat at the bar and met the owner and he was so kind and even made me off menu request. 6 stars!

I could eat that house salad all day. Best pre salad I've had with sushi. Can't wait to come back soon! ambiance is memorable too. Very relaxing

I consider myself a sushi person from New York and Miami. This place was UNREAL! The food, presentation and service are the best in Colorado. The owner Wade makes the food while still keeping up his excellent customer service. Do not hesitate...just go!

Personable service, very fresh fish, extensive but not overwhelming menu. Hummus in the cucumber avocado veggie roll is a delicious addition, and the tofu burrata is lovely. So glad we have them in the neighborhood!

Love this place, hands down the best poke bowls and customer service. Yes there's a surcharge, which I'm happy to pay, but they don't take tips and are reasonably priced. I love coming here on a weekly basis.

The food was wonderful! Our server was lovely and the restaurant itself is a well designed, intimate space. Would come again!

Incredible food, lovely ambience and brilliant staff in a cool and classy restaurant. Checks all the boxes. Very high praise!

One of our favorite restaurants not just because of the amazing Sushi but the service is always impeccable. It's wonderful having one of the owners make your food right in front of you. We love the quaintness and intimacy of Tai Tai.

This place is a gem. Small, intimate, thoughtful and beautiful design. The food is outstanding.

the owner is so nice, and the food is absolutely delicious! There is a very upbeat but calm vibe and im personally a huge fan of all the plants.

Wow! What a fantastic experience! First of all the service is impeccable. I walked in and instantly felt taken care of and every need was accommodated. It's a smaller place with bar seating and a few tables, so quite the cozy and quaint setting. There were two workers behind the bar but they were both attentive and knowledgeable of their menu. I ordered one of their lunch specials, the moriawase, which came with miso soup and salad. While I waited for my food I got their lavender lychee cocktail at the recommendation of one of the servers. It was fabulous! Super refreshing and flavorful. The salad and soup were great starters but the main dish blew me away. Such fresh fish, which was so tender it melted in my mouth like butter! Both servers constantly checked on me at the bar and asked how the food was. When I stated how fresh the fish tasted, one of the servers let me know they are lucky and get their fish from Japan every Thursday. I felt as though I was at a high end restaurant without the insane prices and with a more casual and relaxing atmosphere. The other nice feature is the service charge is already included in your bill, meaning you don't have to worry about calculating your tip. Just pay and be on your merry way. I left knowing I will certainly be a regular customer. Do yourself a favor and pay this place a visit!

I was at Starbucks since I can work remotely, which is also why I did a double-take at the restaurant next door, Tai Tai. I initially wrote them off as hacks till I Googled them as I sat at Starbucks. I then saw that they were part of Sushi Sasa a.k.a. Wayne Conwell, WTF! They are one of the only legit places in Colorado, so I was happy/excited to see an extension of them open up only blocks from where I live and "graduated" high school from (TJ is the high school next door to Tai Tai). Finally! A location in my neighborhood means not having to Uber it all the way to Sasa because a drink or three is a requirement for me. Now, I only have a short Uber ride away or worry of a DWI on a bike which is slightly harder to do. Although, LA County sheriff's department gave me a firsthand experience when they pulled me over on my bike. After being asked to step off my bike, followed by a pat-down, handcuffed, all my belongings thrown on the hood while narrowly groping my franks and beans, and questioning me. If it were not for the fight down the street, my detainment on my bike could have gone further (I have a Yelp review on them). Except that wasn't an issue tonight at Tai Tai since they never opened their doors. Since I moronically checked Yelp, like a dumbass waiting for them to open (the one platform they have not claimed/maintained). So I am posting on Yelp and my blog to let you know they only do take-out currently, which I didn't bother doing. Well, I guess this 1.6 GPA student with a 4.90 on Uber will patiently wait for them to open one day, hopefully soon. Because like they say, the best things are worth the wait. An example that comes to mind is like with my ex, I had to wait till the very end of the night on our first date for some snoo snoo.

Awesome food. We had new rolls we had never tasted before. Super friendly. Cozy atmosphere.

Was about to make a reservation for my birthday dinner when I read this on their website: "To support the continued operation of Tai Tai Japanese Hawaiian, a 21% Operations Surcharge will be applied to all in-house and delivery orders, and 15% to takeaway orders." Ummmm... yeah... no thanks.

Best keep secret, and honestly would really like to keep it that way! absolutely one of the best lunch specials in town and it's he food they serve an very high quality. Happy hour are great deals too!

Great quality. Service is not great, but freshness of the fish makes up for it. Pricy as will but worth it if you want fresh fish and no BS. Great spot

I personally think this is the best sushi in Denver. The lunch specials are a great deal as well. Absolutely recommend!

Amazing food and experience. One of the best Sushi spots in Denver. Great selection of Japanese whiskey. My family loves this restaurant.

We had a lovely meal at Tai Tai. The sushi was delicious, the service was great and the staff was friendly and knowledgeable. We will be returning!

This is the best kept sushi secret in Denver; this is not strip mall sushi. The fish is fresh, high quality, and delicious! I adore the atmosphere of the restaurant and the staff is friendly and down-to-earth. The owner, Wayne, has created something very special. Do yourself a favor and stop in for everything that's on the menu plus a rotating list of off menu specials. ALSO prices are reasonable!

Nicely decorated restaurant with friendly staff and great sushi! We met our cousins here--they're fairly new to sushi, and wanted to try more with some guidance on what to get. This place covers the gamut--good sashimi, and nice friendly rolls and even some fried rice dishes for those who aren't into full on raw fish. Very fair prices, the four of us walked out of there (only one drink), for $120-and that includes tip, which is automatically on the bill. The staff made very helpful suggestions too, and they even had chopstick helpers. I generally try the hamachi sashimi and the fatty toro to judge a restaurant. All was fresh, the hamachi was especially good, and the toro was very rich. The spicy tuna roll wasn't overly mushy either, which is another good sign--lots of chunks of tuna in there. This place deserves the good yelp reviews!

I really enjoyed this place! Great prices and really yummy food, the staff was super kind as well and even gave us an extra spicy tuna roll when they ran out of Toro. I ordered a vegan poke bowl and it had such great flavor. It's a great place for lunch for two people or takeout. The sushi was also really well received by my party plus the fish was all really fresh! I can't wait to go back.

I am surprised that there are so few reviews. I recently discovered this gem. It is a little hard to find in the shopping center hidden next to the Starbucks and facing the street. However, once you get there, it is so worth it. They have these amazing lunches for $15. I am slowly working my way through the menu. I highly recommend the moriawase which is a sushi lunch paired with salad and miso soup. Super fresh nigiri and a roll ( I get the California roll with snow crab for a little bit extra). The service is great. It is a small group of two men who prepare the sushi and serve you. The tip is added to the bill so you don't have to worry about figuring out the tip. Overall, it's a satisfying meal and I encourage you to come try them.

The absolute best! Food was excellent as was the service. Love Tai Tai! You cannot make a bad choice all delicious.

Probably would have been a 5 star if I would've come earlier before they ran out of some items. It is a clean, comfortable venue. The service is nice - attentive but not intrusive and friendly. The chef was quite meticulous with his technique - it was nice watching him while sitting at the bar. The menu feels somewhat restricted, but the dishes they do have are excellent. The unagi, maguro, hamachi roll, and salmon roll were excellent as was the fresh Hokkaido hotate. Topped it off with a light and delicious lychee sorbet. Definitely need to return!

We had sushi and sashimi--the fish was very fresh, and everything was excellent. We were also very impressed with the outstanding service we received. Our experience was very good, and we look forward to going back.

We are sooooo glad Wayne and his team have re-opened for lunch with a fabulous expanded menu in Happy Canyon. Had a wonderful pair of generous rolls today and we are so satisfied. Now we don't have to drive to the Highlands!!!! Thank you for being here! Lee Keeler