Takumi Japanese Buffet: Possibly Bangkok’s Best Japanese Food!


Japanese Restaurants in Bangkok
NOTE: Unfortunately the quality of this restaurant has really gone down hill, and I don’t recommend it anymore. For mid-range priced Japanese food I like to go to Yuutaro at Central Embassy for their lunch specials.
I don’t think there’s any better cuisine to eat buffet style than Japanese food.
At Takumi Restaurant, it’s all you can eat, but instead of having to waste energy by getting up to help yourself, you have the privilege of just ordering off the menu as many times as you want.
In Bangkok we are blessed with tasty cuisines from around the world, ranging from luscious Lebanese food to spectacular Japanese food.

Takumi Restaurant, Bangkok, Thailand
Now at first I thought the menu was kind of small, a double sided piece of cardboard with around 80 items on the list.
I thought I could devour 1 of everything… and I did try, but it was actually a feat that I couldn’t accomplish.

Glorious sashimi platter
Don’t worry, I did manage to stuff in my money’s worth by inhaling countless plates of sashimi and a smorgasbord of other Japanese delights.
Takumi restaurant has a number of different hand rolls available including two of my absolute favorite: spicy tuna roll and shrimp tempura roll.

Curl of Octopus
I’m a lover of octopus, but Thai seafood really doesn’t include much octopus – it’s all squid. Isn’t it just so beautiful, like an ear ring?

Salmon Fish Head
Seeing the salmon fish head stew on the menu, I couldn’t resist. It was marvelously tender and all the fatty Omega 3’s were like butter melting in my mouth – super tender and full of salmony goodness.

Pan fried salty fish
I can’t remember this exact fish, but it was some kind of salty and slightly dry fish. Not the best thing on the menu, but excellent nonetheless.

Japanese squid nuggets
I couldn’t get enough of these little breaded nuggets of deep fried squid, they were simply magnificent.

Japanese tempura
A Japanese buffet wouldn’t be complete without a few helpings of tempura. The deep fried batter was lightly crunchy and still fluffy while the shrimp were perfectly cooked.

Japanese pancake – Bangkok, Thailand
Okonomiyaki is a purely unhealthy Japanese seafood pancake fried in lots of oil and topped with mayo – and at Takumi it was fantastic!

Teriyaki beef
After way too many plates of sashimi, I though it may be appropriate to taste the chicken and beef teriyaki. The thin slices made the meat so tender and juicy that it was almost unbelievable.

Pork Curry Katsu at Takumi Japanese Restaurant
I like to think of curry katsu kind of like I think of yam pla duk foo – it’s almost all deep friedness, but it tastes ridiculously delicious!
To my liking, Takumi Japanese Restaurant served their curry katsu not overly salty like many places.

Seared salmon
The seared salmon was another award winning dish. Again, it wasn’t overcooked and it was flaky, juicy and the seaweed and spring onion garnish worked perfectly.

Salty mackerel rolls
After every few cooked dishes, I ordered a few more plates of sushi or sashimi. These “chef recommended” salty mackerel rolls were pretty tasty.

Fried kingfish
I think this was kingfish, not fully sure, but it was good as well.

Gooey Cuttlefish
Have you ever had cuttlefish? This was extremely slimy and included fermented Japanese beans giving it almost a wood apple smell. The cuttlefish was sticky and gooey.

Little egg fish
These little female fish that were stuffed with eggs. Their eggs tasted like chicken yolks!

Udon noodles
And when I had eaten a serious amount of seafood, I decided it was necessary to partake of some carbs. The Japanese thick udon noodles were salty and aided wonderfully by some of the tempura droppings.

Buckwheat Soba Noodles
The Japanese buckwheat soba noodles were chilled and refreshing.

Edamame Soybeans
When you’re nearly stuffed to capacity from eating too much Japanese food, it’s time to take a little break with a few bowls of edamame (boiled soy beans), just be careful, they are highly addictive.

Sweet red bean soup
Finally it was on to dessert.
This red sweet bean soup with little doughy dumplings (similar to Thai style bua loy dumplings) was wonderful – not overly sweet.

Fruit plate at Takumi Restaurant
I enjoyed a few plates of fruit to ease the belly.

Milk and Cheese Pudding
Takumi Restaurant in Bangkok is extremely famous for its milk and cheese pudding.
I’ll have to admit, even though I’m not a big sweets fan, this stuff was killer!
It was the silkiest, creamiest, and smoothest substance that I’ve ever had. Imagine a cream cheese that’s been thinned with milk and tastes more like pudding.

Green Tea Ice Cream
The last thing to touch my tongue was a little bowl of strong green tea ice cream.

The bill came to 1,386 THB for 2
Everything is included in a single price and you can eat as many items from the menu as possible, granted you can dispose of them all (otherwise there’s a charge of 100 THB per plate if your eyes are bigger than your stomach).
The cost is 589 THB per person, but they add 10% service charge and 7% VAT so it actually comes to 693 THB per person. Our bill for 2 was 1,386 THB.
Not cheap, but worth it on a special occasion.
The Bottom Line
It’s probably my favorite Japanese buffet restaurant in Bangkok. The food is high quality, extremely fresh, and truly incredible. Also, if you book ahead, you can arrange a private Japanese style room at the restaurant.
Takumi Japanese Restaurant
Address: Swissôtel Le Concorde Bangkok, 204 Rachadapisek Road, Huay Kwang, Bangkok 10320 Thailand
Phone: Tel: 66 (0) 2694 2222
Hours: Lunch: 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm, Dinner: 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Prices: Comes to around 700 THB per person for the buffet
How to Get There
Takumi Japanese Restaurant is located at the Swissotel Le Concorde. It’s easiest to take the MRT to Huai Khwang station and the hotel is just a 5 minute walk from there.
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Micheal Silva
4 years ago
It looks so yummy. I gonna try this at my home. You made so easy for me. Thanks
Amigo
5 years ago
Great pics, I am getting hungry now. It’s a shame you said that the quality of the restaurant has been going down, since the pics look like very good quality. The price didn’t look that bad either.
Harvie
8 years ago
I do agree with the other comments. I went last year and the price went up and the quality was so so. I mean it wasn’t horrible but it has certainly gone down hill from all the great reviews the place was getting.
Mark Wiens
8 years ago
Thanks for sharing your experience Harvie. It’s too bad this place has lowered its quality.
John
8 years ago
Been in the Swissotel for the japanese buffet some years ago. It was really disappointing.
We went there after reading all the raving reviews, it’s the worst one of all.
Mark Wiens
8 years ago
Thanks for the update John, I haven’t been here in a long time, so sorry to hear about this.
Joshua
9 years ago
Time to update your review. Food is horrible. Better take your money elsewhere. I visited this place 20 July 2014.
Mark Wiens
9 years ago
Thanks for the update Joshua, will try to check it out soon. Sorry about the bad experience.
Sammie
9 years ago
Hi Mark…those pixs looks amzingly yummy…goin to check it out over the weekend when im there..just wondering, do they serve buffet dinner too on weekends?
Mark Wiens
9 years ago
Thanks Sammie, I’m not totally sure, but I think so. You might check their website to confirm. Enjoy!
edmund
9 years ago
I visited the restaurant on 1 Jan 2014 and sadly the quality of the food there is the worst Japanese food I ever had.
Most of the cooked dishes are cold and the quality of the sashimi is poor. They probably use a lot of frozen food for the cooked dishes from the taste of it.
We left after less than an hour in the restaurant as the food is really bad.
Mark Wiens
9 years ago
Man, sorry to hear this Edmund. I’ll check it out again when I have a chance.
Joe
10 years ago
Thank you so much for the information, Mark. Will definitely try the Japanese buffet on our next visit in October. Recently, I just discovered your videos and am extremely impressed by the way you presented them. By the way, do you know of any Thai buffet around BKK, with reasonable price tag?
Mark Wiens
10 years ago
Hey Joe, this place is excellent, thanks for checking out my videos too. Hmm, I can’t say I’ve ever really been to a Thai buffet (other than at a hotel)… I’ll let you know if I go to one.
Mo
10 years ago
HI There!
Looking forward to Bangkok and want to eat @ Takumi!
Is this buffet available all day? Is there any dresscode? And what is about drinks? Are they extra or included?
cheers!
Mark Wiens
10 years ago
Hey Mo, yes, this is a wonderful restaurant. Open for lunch and dinner. Dress code is business casual, and drinks are included (not alcohol). Enjoy!
Mo
10 years ago
So business casual means, I have to get a suit? OR a dress shirt? Are jeans (no cuts, good quality) are ok with dress shirt? And shoes… probably no chucks/sneakers?
Mark Wiens
10 years ago
Hey Mo, jeans and t-shirt should be fine, with any sort of shoes. Enjoy!
Mo
10 years ago
Thank you very much! I’m really looking forward to my trip to tonsai/railay and bangkok. Got your ebook, so I am hopefully ready for a great time and experience!
Mark Wiens
10 years ago
Great, thank you Mo!
Jas
10 years ago
Hi, have the prices been revised? Also, any price/menu differences for lunch/dinner? (:
tze chien
10 years ago
Thanks,Mark :)
Mark Wiens
10 years ago
No problem Tze!
tze chien
10 years ago
any time limit for Takumi Japanese Buffet?eat all we can,right?
Mark Wiens
10 years ago
Hey Tze, there’s no time limit on this one!