I really enjoyed this place. The movie was very informative. It smelled weird but all the selection of Sake was good and cheap. I ended out buying about 5 bottles. All and all i loved it. read more

This place a little hidden gem! Definitely something different and unique to check out. Travelzoo also has a special for them right now for tastings AND bottles: http://www.travelzoo.com/local-deals/San-Francisco/Other/27064 read more

Awesome place! Clean open space. Museum was actually interesting with a short DVD:). The owners/ management were friendly and well organized. My fiancé and I enjoyed the different tastings, with a clear understanding of our likes and dislikes,we bought a few bottles and even learned a thing or two:) read more

This is a great little gem hiding in the middle of the industrial part of Berkeley, though it's not too far from the 4th street area. Upon entering, you instantly sense the smell of sake that permeates every corner of the museum. Once you get upstairs, they have a neat little self-guided tour (and a fairly boring video) that do a good job of showing how Sake is made. Of course, the real reason to come to the sake factory is for a sake tasting, which for only $5 is a great value. The bartender/waitress/guide is very helpful in selecting the appropriate flight of sake to go with, and they help you understand the proper way to enjoy all the different sakes Takara has. Limit one flight per customer per trip. (Sigh...) read more

Higly reccommended. What a tasty education. Really surprised something this authentic exists in the US. Loved it! The museum component is a bit average but the sake tasting and the staff are increadible. read more

Great experience of tasting sake! From U$ 5 to 10 you can taste 7 types of different sake and Koki explains everything. Such a pleasure to finish Sunday enjoying this :) read more

Went with a large group and they were very very pushy in getting us to 'upgrade' by adding another sake tasting to it... another 5$ for a 2oz addition. Before each round of tasting, the employee would go on a sales rant about how fantastic this particular sake was before dispensing. Some were ok, but lots of 'flavored' sake that tasted like Capri suns (to my tastes). read more

This place is a little known gem. For $5 you get to sample SEVEN sakes! And believe me, that is enough to get you wobbling. You can choose from 6 or 7 different sake menus based on flavor, dry, extra dry, or sweet (sweet was so so good!). There's also a little museum and an educational video that shows the fermentation process. It's subdued and small, but it's a great place to spend an hour just relaxing. read more

The sake is delicious, but the amazing people are what make it great! We'd been many years ago (we don't make it to this neck of the woods often) and loved it. We were in the area so we stopped by. Well, Google said they closed at 6, but they close at 5. We arrived 5 till 5. They explained this, but still let us taste some that they still had in open bottles. Like I said, nice folks! I was not actually part of "us," I was driving. I checked out the museum with our young daughter. We were stuck in freeway traffic when we realized we had an emergency...our daughter had left her stuffed animal. This was SERIOUS. We called, knowing they were closed. They answered the phone anyway, and we're HAPPY to stay late so that a child could have her beloved stuffed doggie back. I don't think they will ever know the importance of our daughter having her woofie, and not only did they save us a night of horror, but they saved us a 3 hour each way drive the next day to retrieve said doggie. We are forever greatful! read more

Terrible customer service.. I literally stood there for 15-20 min waiting to be helped and the best part was that the staff member was only assisting one other small group (2 people). Once the staff member finished with that family she proceeded to wash dishes and talk to other staff members in Japanese, while I was just standing there. I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt however after the 2nd-3rd time, I was upset. Everyone else got great service except me and I was left wondering why that was so. Due to this treatment I will not be doing business with Takara Sake no matter how good their drinks are. read more

Fun place to visit with adults if you need to kill some time in Berkeley. I would not make the trip from the city just for this place though. But if you happen to be near by it is a cool place. And they do tastings! read more

Had so much fun yesterday at Takara Sake. Beautiful facility, fascinating history of sake video, great museum and the deluxe tasting was amazing. It was educational and fun with a master who introduced us to the fine points of sake with great care and thoughtfulness and generous servings of sake samples. I would do this again anytime. Really enjoyed it. Many thanks to Takara Sake, which is our "go to" sake anyway, but now we will try some of the other kinds. Note: some of the sakes we tasted are only offered at this facility. read more

If you've never had sake, Takara sake is a great place for a sake tasting! There is a mini-museum of the history sake and the way sake is made. Our guide told us to browse the museum first and then she showed us a short 10 minute documentary about the history and fermentation process of sake. After, we went onto our sake tasting! The sake tasting was only $5, and my friend and I decided to also try their special, premium sake for an extra $5. So split between us, we each only paid $7.50 for the tasting. Our guide was super informative and told us the progression of our tasting, and what dry or sweet sake would taste like. She poured us a shot of about 7-8 different sakes. There was also a little paper to tell us the different sakes we were tasting. I particularly loved the Koshu Sake which had notes of cherry & almond. Our guide was super sweet, friendly, and knowledgeable. I learned a lot and ended up buying 3 bottles of sake to take home. One was coffee flavored sake, sparkling sake, & the koshu sake. I would recommend anyone--whether it's someone who's never really had experience with sake or even someone very experienced to go here! read more

Had a wonderful time and learned a lot. The tasting experience was enhanced by the knowledge and friendliness of the staff.

My friends and I had a really wonderful time doing a sake tasting on a weekday afternoon here. The tasting room and museum are spacious, beautiful, and well laid out. They allow you to explore the museum, then you watch a brief video, and finally you do a tasting with staff. The woman who did our tasting was so knowledgable, laid-back, and very engaging. We had a lovely time and learned so much about sake. Highly recommend as a date or something to do with friends! read more

this is nice place to visit .. love all selections of sake here.. although i really miss "Hakusan Sake Gardens" in Napa

Takara Sake's factory is a silent behemoth in a sleepy, residential neighborhood of West Berkeley, not too far from the Fourth Street shopping district. The tasting room is open daily, but the factory isn't always cranking out sake--we went on two different Saturday afternoons and there wasn't much action as we peered through large windows from the upstairs museum/tasting area into the production floor. Contrary to the previous review, the tastings are FREE (it was for us, and it says so on the Takara website): they have about a dozen different kinds of sake from bone dry to the sweet, fruity plum wine. Most of the sake is very affordable, and some are widely available in Japanese grocery stores and fancier gourmet markets. Each sake is served in the way most suited to its characteristics, meaning some are warmed and some are chilled. They are generous with the samples--the servers we had let us try some varieties multiple times to help us make up our minds on what to buy. They also don't do the "hard sell" so you don't feel pressured to make up for the free tasting by buying something. There is one room set up with traditional wooden sake-making equipment and information about the history and the process of brewing sake that serves as the "museum." There is a sake boom that has been building slowly and quietly over the past few years--a visit to Takara Sake will definitely give you a great jumpstart into this burgeoning trend. read more

beautiful little spot inside despite the more industrial looking exterior. i enjoyed the short informational video. they have a wide variety of sake options for all palates. read more

Sake tasting is so much fun! The guy in charge of the tasting is so pleasant and knowledgeable about everything sake. There is an outstanding variety of sake for sale at resonable prices. Good for dates and small groups. read more

Really cool experience. We bought the yelp deal and visited on a Sunday. Learned a bit from the video and museum but of course the best part was the sake tasting! The staff was very knowledgeable and were really thorough in describing each sake. Left with a couple bottles that were unexpectedly reasonable in price. Kind of bummed that we missed the factory in operation but all the more reason to go back again! read more

Awesome experience, definitely worth it if you're a sake lover or just interested in the history and process of sake-making. The hostess was very friendly and knowledgeable too! read more

Excellent tasting!!!! Staff were very polite and taught us a lot about the process of making sake and different types. I liked the sweeter ones (Hana filtered raspberry, takara premium plum, ShoChikuBai Nigori Creme de Sake). read more

the tasting courses are really nice there's only street parking though the museum is a little smaller than I thought read more

I had never tried sake before coming to Takara. I can't say I really enjoy sake, but it was fun to come to the factory and taste everything. I even went back a second time. The tasting is FREE and the bartender is very nice and informative. The sake they sell here is really reasonably priced. The plum wine is especially cheap. The tasting is a cheap way to start a nice sake buzz. read more

whether you like sake or not.... a tour here is a great way to learn about sake and try new things.... it's a fun and tasty way to spend an afternoon. read more

free sake! we loved all the sake! great informative service at the sake tasting! its a must visit!

My friend and I stumbled upon this place because we saw a sign off the freeway for sake tasting a few weeks ago. Their museum is small but has a good amount of information regarding sake making as well as a short video. The man behind the counter was super friendly and was very knowledgable. For $5, you could sample six sakes. The prices per bottle were also very reasonable. I bought a bottle of their Koshu Plum sake (very good) and lychee flavored sake (I know it's a bit odd) and used them as mixers. This place is worth checking out, as we thoroughly enjoyed it. It can be kind of hard to find if you're new to the area and street parking can be a bit of a pain if it's busy so just look out for the building. read more

it was pretty awesome getting a cheap sake tasting tour. you would never think of it unless there was a yelp deal like the one we snagged. there are several sakes to taste that have a lot of character and different flavors to them. read more

As a self-identified geek, I love learning about how things are made. I also enjoy drinking. Takara brings these two passions together in a quaint atmosphere, with free Saki education and sampling. Go. Bring your friends and out-of-town guests. read more

Since moving to Berkeley, this spot has quickly established itself on my list of cool things to do when friends, family and other guests are in town. For $5 you can have a pretty awesome sake tasting experience at the bar whether you're a seasoned saki drinker or a newbie. My advice is to try and buy their unfiltered nigori sake. It's my absolute favorite, and served at most Japanese restaurants in the Bay Area. Most of their products are made locally (not the new flavored styles), so I always order this when out for dinner as opposed to the sake imported from Japan. As the other reviews suggest, the museum portion of this space is neat and definitely a must-see if the sake tasting area is busy. Tip: Drink as much sake as you can and then stroll down to one of the great restaurants on 4th Street for a meal. Fun for date night! The prices are so affordable (compared to the pricey wine tastings we're accustomed to!) you'll want to buy at least one bottle of something delicious to take home. Cheers! read more

learning the history of sake-making was very interesting. tools they had and the video they showed really helped me understand how sake was/is made. tasting was reasonably priced and the lady was very very nice. since we were 1st timers, we chose option A. i really enjoyed the apple flavored sake and bought one after tasting it. however, im still not a huge sake fan after this trip. but if you are curious about how sake is made and willing to pay $5 to sample some with your friends, this place is great! read more

Awesome place. We learned a lot about Sake and got to taste a variety of styles. Definitely a must see.

My friends and I did the $10 sake tasting yesterday and it was phenomenal! Izumi, the man who led the tasting, was such an incredible--and hilarious--source of knowledge about the history of sake and how the industry has evolved through the years. This is such a great thing to do when friends or family come to town and you want to do something a little different or more local than wine tasting. There is also a museum that has equipment from the early days of sake making that are so interesting to see. Plus the interior of the space is absolutely beautiful! I do recommend Ubering/Lyfting there and back, we drank so much sake that we ended up Ubering to dinner afterwards! read more

Had a lovely, relaxing afternoon here. Very attentive staff. Learned quite a bit about my country's traditional drink. Per the staff's recommendations, weekdays are much easier than weekends. read more

The tour and tasting were fun and quite educational. We'd go again!

my girlfriend and I went in today to check out the museum and have a sake tasting and it exceeded expectations by a mile. Our sake guide was fantastic she was very knowledgeable and helpful. I recommend a trip to anyone curious about the different sakes out there you won't be disappointed. read more

Walked in on a whim. I found myself in a very nice, very traditional Japanese style room watching a video on how sake is made. This was all fantastic. For $5 I sampled 7 types of sake. Out of this world. The prices for full bottles after the tasting was extremely cheap. 4 bucks for a 375ml of extra dry? You best believe it. Insane value, amazing sake, very unique experience, a MUST SEE for any booze enthusiast. read more

I have bought a case of hana lychee sake from Takara Sake USA in the last 2 years because I am unable to locate it in Virginia. This year, one of the bottles on top had broken in shipment. I wrote to Takara asking if they had a replacement policy for the broken bottle and received a prompt reply indicating that a replacement bottle would be sent to us. We were SHOCKED today to receive a whole new case! Talk about exceeding our expectations by FAR. This is the kind of great customer service that you just can't find anymore, and it's well worth the shipping costs to deal with a company of this caliber. I am so impressed and will HIGHLY recommend Takara Sake to everyone who wants to try my favorite lychee sake or any of their other products. This is a great company with amazingly good customer service. Buy from them!! read more

Great find! Nice presentation on the making of Sake, very interesting. Sake tasting was really fun and only $5. The variety of Sake is terrific. To my surprise, I found many I really enjoyed. Definitely changed my mind about Sake. The gal in charge, Mika, was very knowledgeable and friendly. read more

great tasting room with a sake museum that takes you through the process of making sake. This is world class global brewer, but unlike other brewers this sake is made in Berkeley using local ingredients. The staff in the tasting room will spend the time to explain the different varieties and will make great recommendations based on what you like. read more