Takumi Sushi Ramen&Lounge 906 West Main Street, Branford, CT 06405

"This place was recommended by someone and I came with high expectations. But the food and ambiance are rather mediocre, not terrible but just not very good. Service was only so, so and that with an almost empty restaurant at lunchtime midweek."

"So chic and great food. Looked clean and server was very nice."

"Quite possibly the worst ramen I've ever had in my life. First, the noodles were more akin to Sōmen than ramen. Secondly, the soup didn't taste like a miso broth. It was rather flavorless and not very salted. I took 4-5 bites and couldn't eat it. Lastly, menu stated it came with Japanese Sausage, and what I got tasted like a sliced up Brat. Now on the flip side, the BBQ Squid was cooked to perfection and the sauce was slightly sweet and tangy, great match. Service was below mid as I watched my server busy chatting in the corner with some other staff."

"So let me just start out by saying: I HATE EATING TAKE OUT FOOD. I hate every aspect of the experience. I hate that the food sat. I hate that the food had to travel. I hate eating out of plastic. I own my own restaurant. I cook for people A LOT of hours every week. That last thing I want to do is eat food that was cooked half an hour ago out of a plastic container when I get to eat another restaurant’s food. But! I have been completely unsuccessful, in the past three years, at convincing my parents to eat lunch out. They LOVE to order lunch and then bring it home and eat it. And we discovered Takumi during Covid when you actually could not eat in the dining room anyway. So I think that makes it even harder for me to convince them to go out and eat inside a restaurant for lunch when I’m visiting them from Vermont. All that to say that one of the five stars of giving Takumi is for their sheer grit and hustle and professionalism during Covid (they took orders online and over the phone and there was completely contactless pick up in their vestibule) and how that has carried over in these Post Covid Times. You can EASILY place your order online and then Takumi calls you to get your credit card info for payment. I’m assuming that saves them the RIDICULOUS fees so many of these ordering platforms charges restaurants. That star is also for the fact that I have been physically unable to eat inside. But I’d definitely like to… Every time we’ve gone to pick up our lunch it has always been ready. We’ve never had to wait. Not even when they were just BUSTING OUT the take out during Covid. Not once has our order ever been wrong. Sushi/Japanese Cuisine has come a long way in Branford in the past 20 years. And Takumi is really excellent for a town on the Shoreline in Connecticut. They have a pretty extensive sushi menu (cut rolls, handrolls, meals, combos, etc.) . But they also have Soups, Salads, Hot Appetizers, Cold Appetizers, Tempura dishes, Rice Bowls and Noodles, Donburi Lunch Specials, Kitchen Entrees and Ramen! Meals all come with a choice of soup or salad (and there is actually a variety of options for each). I had some cut rolls over Covid. They were perfectly good for take out sushi (not my favorite thing). The Miso Soup and Clear Soup (which is Vegan - the menu notes which items are vegetarian and vegan if it is not obvious) are both very good. Since we’re only ever eating take out I do steer away from rolls. Because I have standards regarding my nori… However! The thing I get over and over again is the Salmon Skin Salad. Sooooooo good. It is a salad of cucumbers and tomatoes and greens (today it was baby spinach) topped with a generous portion of strips of crispy salmon skin. I also ordered the seaweed salad (generous portion on bed of Iceberg) and basically mixed the two salads. DELICIOUS! We had the Pineapple Fried Rice (chicken, shrimp, raisins, pineapple, egg, veggies) which is very good, similar to Singapore Noodle flavoring with some curry in there, but not spicy at all. Generous portions of shrimp and the other ingredients. Edamame is always very good. Perfectly steamed. I ordered a Sushi Entree: Sake Don. Which is Salmon Sashimi over a bed of sushi rice with Japanese Pickles. I’m going to be honest. There was SO MUCH SALMON I almost couldn’t finish it. Which is basically straight up Crazy Talk for me!! Good Food. Good Service. Huge Menu with something for everything. I am happy to support Takumi in Branford!"