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Akira is good sushi for a good price. It isn't the best sushi on denman, it isn't the cheapest sushi on denman, but it strikes a good balance between the two. You can have two people eat for about $22. A great place to go regularly that doesn't break the budget.
Denman Street has had a heavy turnover of restaurants over the years. The rents are high and the winters are quiet. Despite the large population there are many people who never eat out...Safeway and Super Value are their restaurants. Akira survives because it is a small hole-in-the wall diner with good reliable food and friendly service. The yam tempura rolls are excellent as are their other choices, all good value. Two can eat for $20-$25 which for sushi lovers who can't afford Tojos is not a bad deal.
My b/f came here w/ some friends a little while ago and he's been craving to come back for more! Just so happened when we went for a walk we came by this place so he just had to have me try some of their sushi.
Food: the rice on their sushi is sooo soft! just melts in your mouth. the tuna and sushi is really good too, none of the fishy taste.
Service: we had take out so can't really comment on the service, but our food was ready very quickly.
Ambiance: nice a little spot on denman. most tables seat 2-4ppl. not much for decor but i dont really expect much.
Overall: i'd come back for the sushi whether it's eat in or take out. they've got great price pts for all sorts of combos. if ur walking along english bay and have a craving for some good sushi, i'd def recommend checking this place out!
I ate here twice. The first time, the server was a little snotty, but I didn't mind that much as the food was alright for the price. Also, I thought maybe the server was just having a bad day. Then the second time I went there, I realized that the bad is something normal around that place. My friend ordered "beef udon" but seemed like the server mistook the order and gave us "beef teriyaki don" instead. When she spoke with the server, the server offered no apology and was very rude instead. She said "if you ordered beef udon then I would have given you beef udon". She should have get her @$$ fired if she doesn't even know the basics of quality food service. Now we tell our friends about this experience and they said they will NEVER go to this place.
Now I know that a lot of people don't mind the service , as long as the food is good, the rest don't matter. For some, restaurants should come as a full package. Akira sushi has decent sushi, although compared to the many other places in Vancouver.
As a first time customer, my friends and I went in because it was a decent looking place with DECENT prices for sushi. I order my sushi with black rice, and it tasted mediocre. My bill came, and I saw that they had charged me for my black rice! The extra 1.75 was a surprise to me, although fairly small, hidden fees for lunch was not appetizing. I called the waitress over, explaining that she did not mention the extra fee for having black rice as an option. She quickly and rudely defended herself saying that " They can't write " extra fees for black rice every where on the menu", and she flipped to the first page saying that it explains it here, ( in small letters) and everywhere around the restaurant. ( A small 8x11 sign at the BACK of the store is what she meant to say)
Her bitchy attitude and her snobbish defense left me feeling frustrated.
If you want a decent meal with pretentious service, by all means try it out.
If you are in the mood for some quick sushi in the English Bay area Alira is decent. The Bento boxes offer great value for under $10 and the sashimi, maki and sushi is good. The fish has been pretty fresh each time we have gone and you can't really beat it for the price.
However, as some of the reviews indicate, it may be hit and miss depending on how busy they are and who your server is. This is not the place for a high end sushi experience but of you are in the mood for a quick meal give it a try...
This is a great little local sushi place where their sushi is worth the slightly disconnected service! I would recommend the black rice sushi it is delicious and a healthier version to the usual white or even brown rice sushi. Their Akira special of salmon and cream cheese is delicious but certainly more of a treat!
It's inexpensive but it doesn't taste good either. The restaurant is kind of filthy inside. It's not authentic Japanese food, the chefs are Chinese. The food just doesn't taste good.
I find that a lot of Chinese operated Japanese restaurants don't make Japanese food right. It's either sushi rice is warm or there's none or not enough vinegar in rice. They seem to be on the lazy side and skip a lot of important steps of making Japanese food. They make it taste like Chinese food.
I give it 2 only because it's not expensive. I would be pissed if I had to pay more for badly made Japanese food.
This is a really great sushi place! The sashimi is fresh, the food is good with a relatively cheap price! The location is convenient. I often take out from them and go to English Bay with my boyfriend. This's the designated sushi place that my boyfriend would go~
the portions here are huge..they serve sake at a reasonable price..nice..not much to speak of in terms of ambience..guess it's mostly a take-out joint..when we were there, many customers came for their take-outs..it helps that they offer some discounts for pick-up as opposed to delivery..there is quite large TV for dine-in customers as well.
I used to hit up akira sushi on a weekly basis when i worked across the street from it. Their yam tempura roll and salmon avocado rolls were de-lish! The yam tempura in the rolls were hot and fresh unlike other places which served up cold and dry yam tempura for their rolls. Their salmon avocado rolls were also a favorite; fresh and tasty. But today I went there and just ordered the salmon and tuna rolls and I must say i was disappointed. There was BARELY any salmon in the rolls and the tuna wasn't looking too hot either. Next time i'll just remember to stick to my two faves.
Solid place to get a sushi fix. The food is of good quality and generous portions. We've dined in and had take out numerous times. Highlights include the oyako don (steamed chicken and egg atop vermicelli and rice, all in a slightly sweet sauce, with vegetables) and the spicy sushi roll combo (spicy tuna, spicy salmon, and spicy scallop). The tuna and salmon sushi are nice, though the tuna was still thawing on one occasion. The party platters are well prepared (especially the veggie tray). Friendly service, and the staff make sure that your tea cup remains filled.
I used to go here when the kitchen staff were Japanese and it was good, so I stupidly assumed nothing had changed. ( I was desperately hungry) The menu is a mess, literally and figuratively- mine felt sticky and dirty. I ordered the gomae which was a big mistake. The spinach was gritty with dirt and sat atop a blob of sickly sweet sesame. It was inedible. Next came my sushi. (Did I mention the tea wasn't even lukewarm?) I had ordered the inari roll and a veggie roll. The inari roll tasted like nothing but sugar and had an awful texture and the veggie roll used the cheapest, nastiest veggies and was falling apart (I wish I could be more specific, but I just remembered how bad the food was and had to write even though it was about 3 weeks ago.) I hardly ate anything and when the server asked, I told her it was the worst Japanese I had eaten of course to no avail. Regardless of the cuisine, don't go to a restaurant where the kitchen staff are not from the same country as the food. I have never wanted to dine and dash more in my life.
When I'm in the area I always go to Akira for sushi and I have never been let down. The food if always tasty, the service is always good.
The restaurant is not much to look at but really, that's not the reason I go there. I don't want to be wined and dined, I want to eat my sushi and leave. If I want fine dining I will go to a restaurant that is just that. Akira is a a simple place, with great sushi.
Akira does not strive to be the best sushi bar in town, but they are a great choice for a good price. Quick and friendly service, convenient location and fresh, well prepared sushi will make this a regular choice for me. I recommend trying it out!
This dinning is very memorable. Great time for familes and friends. Strongly recommend people to try this when you are near the beach at English Bay This sushi place has many different variety of sushi. They have invented many speical sushi. The most that I enjoyed are the tuna tataki, spicy tuna crunchy roll, and ebi mayo. Price is relatvely cheap but the food and service are excellent. Thumbs up
Cheers
This is by no means the be all and end all of sushi restaurants. That being said it provides solid service with tasty well priced dishes. It does in a pinch when my boyfriend and I are craving sushi but don't feel like dishing out too much cash.
The first time I went, I had ordered Avocado rolls and some agedashi tofu. Avocado roll was decent,nothing special. Agedashi tofu was nicely fried although the sauce wasnt too tasty.
So I wanted to give another try and went back yesterday to order Chicken Yaki Udon and OMG.
Its sauce was horrible. :S I think they used TonKatsu sauce..sour and salty. It only had cabbage as vegetable.No sprouts or carrots unlike other places. The chicken was alright until i took a bite and tasted its uncooked batter. I didnt even finish halfway. I doubt i'll go back again
Akira Sushi is a tiny little spot on Denman that is great for cheap, fresh sushi & combos. Their beef teriyaki bento box is excellent, as are the spicy tuna rolls. Gyoza is ok - too much oil - much better steamed - so stick to the sushi instead. Too bad they don't deliver but you can call them for take out.
Yuck! I have eaten in lots of Japanese restaurants all over the lower mainland and some are great and some are ok. This one was the worst restaurant Japanese restaurant I have ever been to.
We planned on going somewhere else but the wait was too long and we were too hungry. So we had gone to this restaurant a long time ago and it was good (obviously the owners must have sold). As others mentioned, it's in need of an overhaul including the food! The cushions were stained and very worn, the menu was sticky, the bathroom toilet was held together with duct tape - I could list more but you get the point.
The food -- well, we ordered three things from the appetizer menu and didn't finish one of them. We left as quickly as we could (unfortunately after paying!) Later that evening, I felt sick to my stomach and my husband had stomach pains. Luckily it didn't develop into more!! AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!! Go to any of the other tons of restaurants around there!
| 1. | C-Lovers Fish & Chips (9 m) |  |
| 2. | Flying Wedge Pizza Co. (10 m) |  |
| 3. | Legendary Noodle (13 m) | |
| 4. | Central Bistro & Lounge (13 m) |  |
| 5. | Nat's New York Pizzeria (19 m) | |
| 6. | Original Tandoori Kitchen (21 m) | |
| 7. | Shima Sushi (28 m) | |
| 8. | Urban Rush Cafe & Catering (35 m) | |
| 9. | Banana Leaf (37 m) | |
| 10. | Grove Inn Restaurant (38 m) | |
