Maybe I'm rating this place a little generously because when I went there on a date with an out-of-towner I'd met out the night before and I had stars in my eyes and butterflies in my stomach, but my memory of this place is pretty super fantastic.
The wait for a table was a bit long for a Wednesday night, but we sat in the lounge up front and had some cocktails. The dining area was a little "cozy" for my tastes, but we were led to a corner booth with plenty of room to be space hogs. The giant Buddha across from us was awesome. The food was splendid - the tempura was tender and crispy, the dumplings burst with flavor, and I even had duck for the first time and enjoyed it thoroughly. My dining partner enjoyed the evening so much he took a rock from the assortment behind us as a souvenir. I don't think that's recommended by the management.
The thing that cracked me up the most about this place were the, what I like to refer to them as, Slut Fortune Cookies. My fortune said, 'This evening, don't let common sense be your guide.' With fool proof advice like this, no wonder Tao's celebrity clientele go all over the world flashing their cover-upable bits.