Johnny N.
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I was shocked when I read Takara is the oldest Japanese restaurant in Europe. I thought they were cappin, but my rigorous 5 minute google research says this is true. It only opened in 1958, which sent me into an existential spiral.
A city that is such a cultural melting pot like Paris, and Europe as a whole, got their first Japanese restaurant in 1958? The world has not been connected for very long. I don't know why, but this really put time into perspective for me.
When we stepped off the Parisian streets and into Takara, it literally felt like we just entered a worm hole to Tokyo. They somehow bottled the energy in Japan and brought it to Paris. You could take a breath in here. There was just such a calming, respectful energy in here that I have only felt in Japan.
When making a reservation, you are required to order either Shabu Shabu or Sukiyaki which honestly was kind of annoying. We just wanted to rip a bunch of sushi. 52 euro a head was the cheapest option, and we went with that because I'm a brokie.
We sat down in the most authentic Japanese ambiance that I have ever set foot in outside of Japan. I was so damn inspired. One of the walls was lined with 70+ different types of beautifully crafted Japanese wallpaper, and I wanted to steal it and bring it back home to line the walls of my tiny NYC apartment.
Along with our forced shabu shabu, we went with a mixed nigiri platter, 3 different cut rolls, and some fried chicken. My Chase Sapphire Preferred card was in hell.
The nigiri and cut rolls went absolutely insane. The thing about writing food reviews is there are only so many positive adjectives in my repertoire. It was better than any nigiri I've had outside of Japan. Maybe the quality of fish has been the same in LA or NYC, but the vibe in here just took it up a notch... See, my words are futile to describe the feeling this fish gave me.
I would honestly love to hate on the shabu shabu that we were held at gunpoint to try, but it was also PHENOMENAL. Maybe it's just a case of Stockholm syndrome, but it was magical.
Thin cuts of beef with the most perfect marbling, paired with fresh vegetables to cook in a hot pot right in front of you? How could you not love it? The waitress came over and got us started, showing us how to operate the shabu shabu machine.
All in all, this was my 2nd favorite meal we had in Paris only behind the Senegalese restaurant Waly Fay. However, Takara did HURT the pockets. I don't even know how much it ran, I just winced as I tapped my Chase card. I'm refusing to look at the statement as it's all just monopoly money on vacation, right?
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