The master resurfaces at Takumi

Takumi Restaurant is located at the Coffee Tree Mall at the back of ABC Store in the former Paseo De Marianas in Garapan.(MARK RABAGO)

There’s a new Japanese restaurant on Saipan and it’s helmed by none other than famed chef Takeshi Suzuki.

For those not in the know, Suzuki used to be the executive chef of a hotel in Garapan and also headlined a quaint little restaurant along Beach Road, both frequented by local and Japanese tourists for its one-of-a-kind curry dishes.

After a brief sabbatical, Suzuki is back to doing what he does best—tickling the palates of food lovers—via the opening of Takumi Restaurant, whose backstory is as interesting as the dishes the master chef makes.

Takumi Restaurant chef Takeshi Suzuki at work in Takumi Restaurant’s kitchen. (MARK RABAGO)

Suzuki soft-opened Takumi Restaurant last Jan. 3 in partnership with Saipan Pacific Winds Concert Band conductor and musical director Atsuko Eck.

The two are bandmates at the aforementioned musical group—Suzuki plays the trombone—and share not only the same interest in performing together but also offering fusion Japanese food.

At any given lunch day, Takumi Restaurant is full with customers lining up for Suzuki’s famous curry. 

But the sublime dish is by no means the only treat in the menu, as they also serve hamburger steak, chicken cutlet, grilled chicken, grilled salmon, breaded salmon, garlic shrimp, golden fried shrimp, grilled beef, and assorted cutlets, among others.

While not a classic Japanese chef, Suzuki has managed to seamlessly integrate his French-Italian culinary training with oriental cooking to make the food he prepares entirely his own and now uniquely Takumi’s.

As for the name Takumi, Eck said the word roughly translates to master in Japanese, which is clearly in homage to Suzuki’s expertise in cooking.

Takumi Restaurant’s pork cutlet curry. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Suzuki and Eck also chose Takumi’s location because it’s at the heart of the tourist district of Garapan and walking distance from the island’s main hotels. 

They also can’t wait when the Paseo De Marianas reverts back to a street again after months of construction because it means there will be more tourist and local traffic for their newly opened restaurant.

Aside from Takumi Restaurant, Eck and Suzuki are also collaborating on a side hustle of sorts as an instrument repair shop service is literally alongside the restaurant, which constitutes its interesting backstory.

Eck said the business was borne out of need as many of their bandmates at Saipan Pacific Winds Concert Band and other musical groups on Saipan have musical instruments in different states of disrepair.

She said they used to ship broken instruments to Japan but that became a problem during the COVID-19 pandemic when both the CNMI and Japan were on lockdown. 

With the Takumi Restaurant and the musical repair shop, Eck and Suzuki are truly hitting two birds with one stone and appealing to both the dining and musical community’s passions.

Takumi Restaurant and its adjacent musical instrument repair shop are located at the back of ABC Store in the former Paseo De Marianas in Garapan.

It’s open from 11am-2pm from Monday to Saturday and 5pm-9pm from Tuesday to Saturday.  Takumi Restaurant can also accommodate private parties of up to 25 people.

For reservations or for more information, call (670) 233-8564, email belltreecorners670@gmail.com, and can also be reached via Facebook and Instagram.