Family Dining in Marin: Taki Japanese Restaurant
Our go-to place for Japanese food in Marin has always been Taki restaurant in Novato's Pacheco Plaza. We've been dining there for years (even before we had kids), and it's consistently provided good food, friendly service, huge portions, and a pleasant atmosphere. It's a great family dining experience.
Taki has a rustic Japanese country inn atmosphere, with lots of woodwork and Japanese art and decor. While most of the seating is at regular tables, there's a Japanese-style tatami area for larger groups in back, where you sit on the floor, courtesy of cutouts for your legs in the raised platform. There's even an outdoor dining area in front of the restaurant, in case you happen to be there on a nice day.
The a koi pond and fountain near the entrance contribute to the serene atmosphere, and the owner sometimes lets the kids feed the brightly colored fish, who swim over to them in anticipation of a meal. The kids also enjoy watching the sushi chefs at work at the wooden sushi bar, and looking at all the Japanese decor items around the restaurant, including traditional geisha dolls, lucky cats, and darumas.
Sit down at one of the tables and you're brought hot towels and steaming cups of hot green tea. It's a nice touch and welcome on a chilly day. Taki has a children's menu with kid-friendly dishes like tempura, teriyaki, and even a sushi selection with California roll, ebi, and tamago. (It's a Marin County rule that all kids have to like sushi, right?) Our sushi fiend son usually opts for that, while our daughter is more partial to the teriyaki and tempura kid's combo. Bowls of miso soup and small servings of tsukemono (in this case crisp pickled cabbage) are brought first.
Main courses come in portions sufficient for sumo wrestlers, so there's never any shortage of food. Everything is always fresh and well prepared—tempura is crisp and light, teriyaki is not too sweet, and sushi is well made. We also love the shredded cabbage salad dressed in Japanese mayonnaise (they give you a lot, so it helps to like it). Service in this family-run restaurant is efficient and friendly. You really feel welcome!
We've never had a bad meal at Taki, which is one of the reasons we've been going there for over a decade. We've found that Saturday lunch (11:30 am to 2:30 pm) when it's less busy is a great time to bring the kids; on weekend evenings the restaurant can get pretty busy and we've often had to wait for a table. While prices can appear to be a little steep at first, it actually ends up being a pretty good deal considering the amount of food you get. Lunch prices are a bargain, though. Taki is located at Pacheco Plaza at 452 Ignacio Boulevard in Novato. Call them at (415) 883-2423.
