I’m back in Rochester for a little while and ever since Christel and I got back from LA I’ve been craving Takoyaki like no other. Unfortunately for me, it’s much harder to find it in Rochester than it is in LA but after a little yelping, it’s time to try Taisho Bistro.

LOCATION: 100 Marketplace Dr. Henrietta, NY 14623

New restaurants have been popping up since I’ve been away in Chicago and Taisho is one of them for me. I set up a little date with my friend Victoria and we decide to meet up here. Victoria and I have been friends since high school and while she’s not crazy about octopus she’s down to try new places and enjoys asian food in general. We get to Taisho and the menu is vast. We each order our own main dishes but I add the Takoyaki that I’ve been dreaming about.

As I’ve mentioned in past posts, Takoyaki is a light batter thats cooked into a little ball form with other ingredients mixed in. Taisho Bistro markets theirs as “Osaka Style octopus ball with takoyaki sauce and mayo sauce” so this is made with green onions and the standard batter and octopus.

I had Victoria try one but she’s not a fan of octopus and didn’t make it through. I do appreciate her open mind and willingness to try something even though she has an aversion to one of the ingredients. She’s a champ.

This of course meant that I’d be eating 5 takoyaki balls with my meal but you get what you ask for and after months of craving this I wasn’t complaining. While it’s no TaNoTa, it wasn’t bad for Rochester and it hit the sweet spot of my craving for sure. The takoyaki was hot and still soft on the inside with really hearty bites of octopus cut inside. When I’m craving it again, I have a place to hit up on hand.