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Aki Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Japanese Japanese [Edit]
745 Thurlow StVancouver, BC V6E 3V5
Neighbourhood: West End
(604) 682-4032
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
41 reviews for Aki Restaurant
Review Highlights
"Black cod was rich, buttery and flavorful."
(in 9 reviews)
"The grilled (Robata) eggplant."
(in 13 reviews)
"They use high quality fish to prepare sushi and sashimi."
(in 4 reviews)
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41 reviews in English
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Review from Lisa T.
Vancouver, BC
1/14/2012
great first impressions. except for the fact that i had to walk down an quietly eerie corridor.
i met up with a friend for lunch. the moment i walked in, wonderful wafts of food smells tantalized my senses. it was such a welcoming entrance. the staff was energetic. the decor was very japanese and added to the atmosphere. it was quite busy and i was glad we had decided to make reservations the day before. i ordered the lunch box A and it was quite different from other sushi boxes. it came with chicken karaage, short ribs, rice, miso soup, and sashimi.
mm mm good! -
Review from Lisa C.
Burnaby, BC
1/11/2012
I came here with a friend, whos in town from overseas. She was staying at a place right nearby and raved about the sushi at this place, so we decided to go.
She was right, the sushi was really good! Very fresh and well done. We both ordered multiple dishes and they were all delicious. Including: Sashimi, sushi rolls, veggie tempura, and agadashi tofu - all very tasty. So, food...definitely impressed.
The service, however, I'm not as impressed. A couple of the girls were quite nice, good attitude and all. But our waitress had an attitude, and questioned my order - which is big pet peeve of mine.
Whenever my friend and I go for sushi, we eat a lot. We can probably eat for 3 or 4 people lol. So yeah, I understand that they would question my order and "how much I can eat". But seriously? Do you know me? Or my appatite? No. If I have leftovers, then I save it for later! Come on!!!
This is the second time I've had a waitress at a sushi place question my order. For goodness sakes, STOP IT! What I chose to eat and how much, is NOT your business.
Would I come back here? Hmmm, probably not honestly. -
Review from Amy S.
Maple Ridge, BC
1/2/2012
Below street level on Thurlow and Alberni is a little Japanese restaurant called Aki Japanese. I met up with some fellow SFU food bloggers (Foodology, Good Eat and I'm Busy Eating) and we decided to go here for dinner. The inside was pretty busy and there aren't tons of seats. They also don't take reservations.
We decided to get a bunch of different dishes and share them all. We ordered the steamed clams in sake sauce. This was the first time I've ever tried clams and I really enjoyed them. I've always been a bit scared of clams because I was worried they would have a slimy texture but I was pleasantly surprised at the nice meaty texture they had. They tasted fresh and the sauce had a light lemony flavour.
We got an assorted sashimi which came with tuna, salmon, and snapper. I didn't get a chance to try the snapper but the tuna and salmon were super fresh. I preferred the tuna sashimi just because I like the buttery soft texture of tuna better.
Next up was the yakitori which came with two decent size skewers of chicken. The dish was a bit plain but the chicken was moist and nicely grilled.
Another dish we ordered was the grilled black cod. The inside was very moist and it had an almost sweet miso flavor. I liked this dish I thought it had a nice flavor.
The spicy tuna roll was made of minced tuna meat and it had a good amount of spice to it. This wasn't the best I've had but it was pretty good.
The chicken karaage dish we ordered was made with chicken wings. I personally prefer the karaage made with chicken thighs because I find its more moist and there is more meat. These had a nice crunchy batter but there wasn't much meat on the bones.
The last dish we ordered was the yakiudon. This wasn't actually on the menu which was kind of surprising since it is a staple on most Japanese menus. I felt like this dish was a little dry and I would have preferred a bit more sauce on the noodles to give it some more flavor.
Overall I had a great time hanging out and eating with my fellow SFU food bloggers. I enjoyed the meal and I thought the food here was pretty good but not outstanding.
http://thefoodqueen.co... -
Review from Dustin B.
Vancouver, BC
Updated - 12/19/2011
Went back here again and went for the Salmon Butter this time. It was about $9.00 and came with the same sides as last time.
The salmon was baked in tinfoil with butter sauce and some broccoli florets. Do you like butter as much as I do? Cause this sauce was incredible. I considered using the tinfoil to funnel the remaining sauce into my empty tea cup for drinking. My coworkers didn't seem very pumped on the idea.
Party poopers.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/7/2011
As Jordan H. said, we went for lunch the other day and absolutely enjoyed the food.
I had the Salmon… Read more »
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Review from Wendy Y.
10/12/2011
I've been to Aki a number of times for lunch but I still couldn't say if I love it or hate it. Whenever I go to Aki, I am always there to have my fix of either the grilled black cod lunch box or Nabeyaki Udon.
The food is good but the quality is very inconsistent. On a lucky day, I would get a black cod grilled to melt-in-your-mouth perfection where finishing a full bowl of rice wouldn't be a problem. On a not-so-lucky day, the cod would be either under grilled or over grilled. If you wish to order the grilled cod, I would suggest calling in advance and order as it takes 15 minutes to prepare.
Aki's Nabeyaki Udon has the same consistent problem. Some days the soup base would be overly salty and bland on other days. Some days the eggs would be over cooked to the point they taste like rubber or other days they are perfect. The udon, however, has always been consistently chewy - the way I like it. That's a plus.
Unless I find a better place that makes better grilled black cod or Nabeyaki Udon I would be fine settling for this restaurant, for now.Listed in: Japanese Food
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Review from Larry H.
12/19/2011
Excellent sushi. We had the sushi deluxe. The miso soup was very good. Fresh, tasty fish. A wood tabled casual atmosphere. Food was 4.5 stars. Service was slow and disjointed. Server started to give us a bill before the food came. Then did not bring a bill, then grabbed credit cards and money without asking for the split. A 2 for an overall 3.5.
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Review from Melissa K.
Vancouver, BC
11/5/2011
Wear your worst clothes!! No seriously...wear your worst clothes to Aki. They have no ventilation and grill everything in an open kitchen in the center of the restaurant. One of my favorite lunch spot, Aki serves the best grilled black cod in the city. It comes with rice and potato salad. Its only $12, and way better than any izakayas. The also have a good nabeyaki udon, but not as good as the one from Gyoza King. Their fish is fresh...but the must have is the black cod
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Review from Jordan H.
8/29/2011
At this price point, I can't think of a single japanese place in Vancouver that compares, so 5 stars it is. Our group went for lunch today and had Black Cod, Salmon Shiyoyaki, Curry Katsu, and the Sashimi/Karaage/Short Rib set. Everything was fantastic.
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Review from Mars K.
Vancouver, BC
1/24/2011
It seems that in Vancouver when people talk about having Japanese food, they're usually talking about izakayas or quick-service sushi bars. Aki is what I consider a traditional Japanese restaurant, one that offers a robata grill, sushi/sashimi bar, and a full kitchen. It is also traditional in that everyone who works there is Japanese, which contributes to a more authentic feel.
The regular menu is already quite extensive, and there's a also a seasonal fresh sheet. I've been here over 30x in the past 4 years, the food and service have both been extremely consistent. This is not a place that tries to do anything super fancy or different, it does the basics well. You can usually tell the quality of the restaurant overall by a simple test of their Tamago Sushi. If the egg is a single bring yellow color and looks like it came out of a mold, this is a place that's about fast and cheap. If the egg has texture, some slight charred marks, you can see the layers, and isn't overly sweet, then it is a good sign the rest of the food will be properly made as well.
Some of my personal favorites include: monk fish liver, katsu curry rice, chawan mushi (steamed egg custard), robata grilled chicken gizzard, and robata grilled black cod, and wild salmon sashimi.
As at other traditional Japanese restaurants, if you buy the chefs (through the waitress) a beer, they usually reciprocate by making you a small plate surprise, if they're not too busy at the time.
The building where Aki is located will likely be demolished and redeveloped in the coming year or two, better enjoy it while it's still around, the chefs look ripe for retirement and may not decide to relocate the restaurant elsewhere. -
Review from S G.
Surrey, BC
10/11/2011
Went there to have a family dinner with my hubby and 2 yr old son. Ordered a few appetizers (Goma-ae, clams) and black cod since it was highly recommended by Yelp users. Also had a beef butter teriyaki (nice) and a veggie roll (so so). Overall it was ok. Nothing special. I found their food too salty, especially the cod. Had to pay extra for a bowl of rice. They gave us a spacious room as we had a toddler and it was comfortable. The server was very attentive as well.
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Review from John W.
Richmond, BC
8/9/2011
you need to come here for the right things to order, don't get their udon noodle soup, you can get way cheaper/better udon elsewhere.
i only get their fresh sushi here and the miso black cod.
sushi is hand made and the sushi chefs are japanese, they compact your rice with the right amount of pressure, unlike the cheap machine compacted sushi. seafood is also very fresh here.
Miso black cod is creamy and literally melts in your mouth, the chef marinates it a few nights in white miso paste before patting it dry and grilling it on the robata. Get that next time, lunch miso black cod comes to 15 after tax/tips. -
Review from Stephanie M.
Vancouver, BC
10/8/2010 1 Check-in Here
I came here with 2 co-workers who recommended it, but I wasn't impressed at all. The sushi/maki itself was fine, nothing special. Two of our meals came first and our fellow diner's meal did not come until we were done eating. Moreover it took forever to get a server's attention to notify/ remind her of the fact that our third meal was missing. Also, personally I have been to sushi places that offer much better maki combos, which I prefer, but I know that doesn't matter to people who enjoy bento boxes or tempura instead.
On the positive side, the sashimi that my fellow diner had was excellent (as was the fish that came on my sushi) and they do offer wild salmon sashimi upon request, when it's in season as it is now.
Overall Vancouver has a million good sushi places so I'm in no hurry to return here. -
Review from Anthony F.
Vancouver, BC
10/20/2010
Background: Raised in Vancouver around good sushi. I popped in here as a backup one quiet Tuesday night.. now that I think about it, I have friends who've been a fan of this place for years but I never gave it a second thought til now.
Food: This is a sushi and robata (Japanese grill). Tonight we have the grilled short ribs which were marinated in sweet soy, similar to bulgogi seasoning. The meat was medium cooked. Chopped scallop roll was delicious and on par with Japanese-owned sushi restaurants. Chirashi don and my friend's yaki udon were both excellent. The BBQ menu is extensive and it's a shame there wasn't a sampler available.
Ambiance: Feels like the type of tavern you might expect serves izakaya. Wooden simple decor, nothing special really.
Service: Cheerful Japanese waitresses spoke reasonable English. I was almost tricked into thinking it wasn't Japanese-owned.
Pricepoint: $40 for two.
Overall: I would say this place is slightly above average when it comes to Japanese-owned Japanese in Vancouver. The robata I believe are key items on the menu, so my reserved rating may well change the next time I come here. -
Review from Haedis L.
2/9/2011
My family decided to grab some sushi and this place was the closest. It's tucked away underground in a basementyish kind of place, but the decor isn't decent.
Our waitress was new and didn't speak a lot of english (which was okay with me, I understand) and our beer got mixed up but that wasn't a big deal.
I don't know why this place didn't really excite me.. It was kind of quiet.. The lady making the rolls looked kind of bored and would bring out the roll and kind of look off in the other direction..
THey didn't have good veggie options! I only saw one veggie roll (Which was 3.50 btw...) so I was pretty disappointed. I know I can go a get a veggie combo for 5.50 and service with a smile in other places.
However it was just a last minute drop in so no worries. I'm sure the meat stuff was delicious, but for me not having veggie options kinda dropped the excitement. The price didn't really seem in line with the quality really, though the roll I did have was light, fluffy and good it's not something I plan to return to in the future.
Kudos to a japanese owned place... my advice? More veggie plz! -
Review from Chantelle J.
Vancouver, BC
7/10/2011
The first time I came here was some years ago during lunch time, I then realized that most of the people that came here were Japanese business men and Japanese families. I thought, ok, if Japanese business men would bring their business partners here for lunch, the food should be pretty decent, and I was right about that.
Since then, I've been coming here with friends, family, and coworkers all these years. I also come to Aki by default when I don't know what other restaurant I want to try that day and I tend to come here a lot!
One advice to everyone, it's better to make a reservation to avoid disappointment. Sometimes the restaurant gets really packed and it's a long wait for a table, so I always make a reservation a day in advance just in case. -
Review from Joe L.
Vancouver, BC
7/17/2010 2 Check-ins Here
It's ironically refreshing to be able to find a good traditional Japanese restaurants serving up good food with good service in a sea of Japanese restaurants in the city.
We've been in Vancouver for over a year now and have visited many Japanese restaurants in town. Having been disappointed by many of them with mediocre sushi and a certain highly acclaimed izakaya just down a block or two with horrible service and idiotic wait staff, we are extremely pleased with our dinner at Aki tonight.
Sushi chefs and wait staff genuinely welcome patrons coming in. The menu offers a very good selection of traditional Japanese dishes like sushi, sashimi, udon, robata, o chazuke, and many other grilled and steamed side dishes. Between the 2 of us, we had chicken skin robata, chicken wings robata, nabeyaki udon, vegetable tempura, dynamite roll and spicy tuna. There is no mushy minced tuna in the rolls except fresh tuna pieces. The udon was firm and chewy. The tempura plate came with a good amount and variety of vegetable. The best has got to be my chicken skin robata - 2 skewers packed with crispy grilled skins sprinkled with sea salt.
Good food, friendly service and great atmosphere. The kitchen closes at 10:30pm but the restaurant stays open till 11pm. -
Review from Allen W.
Vancouver, BC
7/31/2010 1 Check-in Here
I never would have guessed that this place existed ... it's a basement level robata/izakaya restaurant on Thurlow. Glad we stopped in though!
Food came quickly and was delicious. I ordered a vegetable tempura which can vary *greatly* from one restaurant to another. At a bad place, it contains only yam ... but here, it contained like six or so different types of veggies -- YUM! The tempura was also light and not greasy, so kudos to Aki.
Sushi was tasty, fresh, and decent sized portion. Staff was quick and friendly. -
Review from Angie L.
Burnaby, BC
11/2/2011
I've been here around 2 - 3 times before after work with coworkers. Service was ok, sometimes need to wait a bit as it gets busy at the weekends. Food was regular Japanese food that you can find easily in Vancouver, nothing particularly special to me. Servers can get busy and forget to get back to you at a point, but nice place to grab a quick bite late night.
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Review from Marc D.
Vancouver, BC
6/20/2009
* Classic izakaya mixed with robata and sushi *
Aki has been around for a while, and it produces consistent Japanese food. It has the feel of an izakaya, but also has a sushi bar and a robata.
I hadn't been here in a few years, as there are other izakaya that I tend to prefer. But I stopped in for a lunch meeting yesterday and had a very solid meal.
The chirashi had a very generous amount of sushi. It included bincho, salmon, tai, ikura, tobiko, dashimaki, hokki, ika, and ebi. All were very fresh and generously portioned. They also served complimentary miso soup and green tea. The miso didn't have much in it, but had good flavour.
Consistent stable sushi at lunch downtown in a Japanese setting! They also have nice looking teshoku at lunch including some of the robata items.
But I would perhaps pass on dinner for some of the other izakaya not too far away.Listed in: Vancouver Japanese Food, Something fishy (hopefully…
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Review from Jillian O.
4/18/2011
Totally disappointed!! Went here with 2 girlfriends of mine (Caucasian) and were told by the hostess "we don't have any tables"... we asked what the wait was and the hostess said "ehhh, more than 30 minutes". We asked if there were spots at the bar and she said "no"...
Refused service cause we are not Asian??!! Seriously!!
Would NOT recommend this place!! -
Review from Phil S.
Vancouver, BC
6/9/2009
Soooooo reluctant to YELP about this place, I love them but the lineup gets long and if yelping increases traffic flow then I have to wait and when I have to wait to eat I pout....but I'll share this incredible gem with you cuz yelping is about giving no? Its hidden from foot traffic which means unless you know of them its unlikely you'd stumble across. Go for their grilled cod, at lunch is about $11 and comes with a salad, soup, rice, pickles and this grilled cod with grill marks and the taste will send you to heaven.
I took my new lunch bud Erika there today and she became speechless after one bite of their cod and asked when we can come here again while we were still eating our lunch! And needless to say their sushi/sashimi is fresh and authentic and yah can get a little pricey but what's an extra buck or 2 for fish so fresh your eyes will roll backwards, the good way. -
Review from .Nette T.
8/24/2008 1 photo
I came here with friends for lunch. Restaurant is downstairs from the sidewalk which if you walk too fast you might miss it.
We had to get some sustenance before heading out to empty out our wallets on Robson. I ordered the Black Cod lunch set which came with rice, miso soup, pickled vegetables and potato salad. I love that the portions here are so much smaller than the US - it was just perfect for me. Black cod was rich, buttery and flavorful.
Service was efficient and friendly so no complaints here, it's definitely one of my Japanese comfort food places in Vancouver.Listed in: Vancouver
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Review from Judy H.
Vancouver, BC
5/3/2009
I might give it another try, but the first visit wasn't impressive. We went there on a Friday night, and it was pretty packed. The stairway and hallway leading to the restaurant reeks of toxic cleaning fluid, which was terribly unappetizing. Then we found that the inside of the restaurant was filled with smoke from the robata grill, which is also very unappetizing. It was so bad that we had to ask to be re-seated away from the grill.
Where we ended up sitting was right under a speaker blaring loud music, next to a group of shrieking suburban girls wearing tiaras. Yes, tiaras. The acoustics is terrible in the restaurant, and everything was just too loud. My eyes were watery from the smoke, the monkfish liver (ankimo) was dry, and the "deluxe assorted sushi" was overpriced and hardly deluxe. Servers never came around to refill water, we had to ask twice for our check, and then eventually walked up to the front register to ask for the check. We couldn't wait to leave.
In spite of the bad first impression, I'll probably give it another try. The food seemed pretty authentic and oriented towards real sushi, not silly rolls. And it's only 3 blocks from home, and I really want to like this place. -
Review from Jeff S.
Vancouver, BC
2/25/2010
Konichiha tomodachi:
The first time that I went to Aki was in 1996 when it was called Naniwa-ya (and the owner also owned Shanghai Chinese BIstro) upstairs. At that time, Aki was the last holdout in the old Japantown.
Since then I have been to Aki about 1,500 times (seriously!) and have spent about $50,000 here. It is not the best in town, but it is in the top 5 or 6, is very authentic, and IS the best value.
My personal favorites are the negitoro temaki (the tuna is very good), ankimo, maguro no kama (Tuna Neck - it is a bargain), Chawan Mushi, Ten Zaru Soba .....I will run out of room if I go on.
It makes me miss Japan, particularly Osaka. It is authentic enough that it would do well there.
Mecha Oishii!!
Jeffyori -
Review from J K.
2/8/2009
I like Aki. It's pretty old-school as far as Vancouver Japanese restaurants go. The sushi is good, the grilled fish is excellent, and the robata is not even worth ordering. Stick to the fishy stuff, and you'll do fine.
My favorites here are the grilled salmon kama (head and neck), and the gindara (black cod). -
Review from Jeanes V.
6/2/2009
Went here twice for lunch on my honeymoon.... I loved the food and would l love to come back for dinner when we visit again!
The salmon butter and beef butter was good... I am hoping to try the robata menu when we go back there one day! -
Review from BB H.
Burnaby, BC
12/8/2009
Easily the best Japanese restaurant in town but then again that's not saying much. At least they do tesihoku right (i.e., no sushi or sashimi mixed in with your tonkatsu set). Problem is they really skimp on the miso soup with the tiniest bits of tofu ever.
They also don't do great kaarage which is a HUGE disappointment. -
Review from Tim L.
8/14/2008
Much like a Japanese version of Cheers, this is the place to go for that "everybody knows your name" Japanese style.
This sake bar has a great assortment of food and you'll want to come here for their bbq dishes.
Try the bbq cod! -
Review from Alexander Bromley Clark D.
Vancouver, BC
10/26/2009
Before I get started: do...not...order...the...yamaimo (sticky yam).
I have always loved Japanese food; partly due to the fact that the compartmentalized, fastidious preparation and presentation of Japanese cuisine suits my obsessive compulsive tendencies, and partly due to the wide variety of flavours and textures available. There is such diversity and complexity in this cuisine that I religiously select at least one unfamiliar item from every Japanese restuarant that I patronize. I saw that Aki had a "yam and egg" appetizer, which sounded pleasant enough, so I ordered it. I (we) also ordered the beef tataki, hamachi nigiri and the agedashi tofu.
Everything was prepared with a home-cooked feel and was thoroughly enjoyed...BUT the "yam and egg" appy was the most disturbing, unappealing, mucusy dish I have ever consumed. When it arrived - with a raw egg casually lounging atop its pale, slimy constitution - my companion and I just sat and stared at it, in shock. We didn't know what to do, so we called our waitress over and she whisked our sticky yam with soya and wasabi, and brought us some rice to eat it with. Laughing at our polite attempts to ingest this supposedly "wholesome" dish, our waitress explained that yamaimo is an oldschool comfort food, like congee...or jook...or bread pudding. This poor choice seemed far from wholesome OR comforting.
I will return to Aki, for sure...and I will never eat yamaimo again, for sure! -
Review from Janet Y.
Vancouver, BC
10/14/2010
I am not a big fan of this place because the tables are very close together. The seating areas are not too comfortable for me. Food is great though. Lunch menu is definitely a better deal than the dinner (the lunch and dinner menu offer similar if not the same food). It's in downtown, so it's hard to find parking.
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Review from Bryn D.
8/22/2008
Cozy basement atmosphere, convivial staff and energy, career chefs, maybe a little lowbrow for some but my favourite Japanese restaurant in the city thus far.
Order from the robata menu for sure. (Chicken skin, asparagus, black cod, onion, ...)
It's refreshing to patronize a Japanese restaurant that has (a) Japanese chefs, (b) Japanese staff, and (c) Japanese customers.
My lady says the food is competently prepared ... nothing to get too, too excited about, though. I'm not allowed to rate Japanese food so I'm deferring to her. -
Review from Sofia E.
Vancouver, BC
9/18/2010
I am a fun of that sushi restaurant. They use high quality fish to prepare sushi and sashimi . Their barbeque grill is the best. My favourite is the asparagus and misu marinated cod. I have been their customer for almost 7 years now and I am never disappointed.Great Job Aki!
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Review from Liv F.
West Vancouver, BC
7/14/2011
Strange location, but decent sushi. I wouldn't recommend this place for couples -- I seem to remember getting a tiny table and having the waitresses rush by us all the time.
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Review from Jason K.
Vancouver, BC
1/4/2011
good tasty authentic japanese food from a family owned and operated restaurant , i really enjoy the roe on kelp and the robata is a bonus also. Brian (owner) really cares about his customers and makes sure they are satified, thankyou AKI's
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Review from Sachi M.
It's a basic good Japanese restaurant. Not outstandingly delicious, but they're authentic and know how to do the basics well.
It's Lunch menu when I usually go:
+ the Udon is actually the chewy kind. Yay!
- the Udon noodle soup is soy sauce based (it's authentic, just that the recipe varies according to the region of Japan, and this isn't mine).
+ Zaru Soba (cold buckwheat noodles that you dip). Not easy to find!
+ All the different kinds of grilled fish! With grated daikon radish!
+ The Natto Don is actually Natto, about 3 different kinds of pickles, and an egg yolk (which you add a bit of soy sauce to and mix it up). Just make sure you know what you'll be getting :-)
- The only thing I was disappointed with here are the box combos. Especially the karaage -- it's not worthy of being called that. Not marinated enough, if I recall correctly.
- My boss likes the nostalgic curry... which means it's starchy like they used to have in his university cafeteria. Not for me, though.
+ It's not everywhere that you can find Kaki-Fry (oyster cutlets).
- They used to have a chef that specialized in Tempura (I'm not kidding! It's an art!) but he's not there anymore. Their tempura's still good, though.
+ The sauce they have for the Dynamite Roll is AWESOME!!!
The few times I've been here for Dinner:
+ My vegetarian friend liked the Yu-tofu. The stock is fish and seaweed.
+ The grilled (Robata) eggplant!! The ginger and sauce is perfect.
Oh, and the sushi is good too. I like the Chirashi. -
Review from Erin P.
Vancouver, BC
1/5/2011
As this is right around the corner from us, we decided to try it. The quality was good! We enjoyed everything. The ambiance was the only thing that threw me. I don't like hearing the tv when I'm out for dinner. Other than that, it was great sushi.
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Review from Jack D.
Vancouver, BC
7/11/2010
I love sitting at the bar on a Saturday night and having a few drinks while enjoying the great Japanese-made sushi. It is lively and full of visiting and local Japanese which makes it fun.
My favorite is the fresh sushi and cold beer.
For lunch I go for the Saba lunch combo. -
Review from Shannon B.
10/24/2008
I had a craving for sushi today while venturing out and about in Vancouver. While traipsing back and forth down the side streets between Robson and Georgia, I happened upon this small sign indicating sushi down a set of nondescript-looking stairs off of Thurlow. Most curious, I decided to pull an Alice down the rabbit hole and investigate. Once down the stairs and inside the doors, I encountered a long hallway with two doors; the one of the left was open and the most delectable scents were wafting out, gently perfuming the hallway. Good sign! I entered and grabbed the last spot at the sushi bar - and once my tuna sashimi arrived, I entered nirvana. Rich and melt-in-your-mouth buttery texture with a clean, barely there from-the-sea taste that is only enhanced with the slightest smear of wasabi. Drop what you're doing and RUN. HERE. NOW. I'm going back tomorrow.
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Review from Justine S.
8/27/2009
Being a tourist in Vancouver, the first thing I wanted to eat upon arrival was sushi. Our hotel directed us to aki and I could immediately see why. My man and I ordered a bunch of things: sashimi, gyoza, sushi, salad, cucumber salad, sake and shared all. The sashimi was the highlight...so, so, so fresh. Not sure if that is a credit to Vancouver or Aki..but either way the freshest salmon, snapper and tuna I have ever had! Prices here were also pretty awesome..I think we spent a little under $60CAN (basically $58 American). Ambiance pretty good too.
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Review from Jeff M.
1/14/2009
We discovered Aki by accident many years ago while trying to find an acceptable sushi destination. It's been one of our can't miss destinations ever since. The quality of their fish is really good - everything is very fresh. One of the few places I've been in the pacific NW where the amaebi were pulled out of a tank prior to being served. The robata options are all excellent, and the guy behind the grill attends to every order with phenomenal attention. One item worth special mention would be the salmon belly robata - definitely on my 'last meal" menu. Order some beer, get over the fact that the waitresses don't speak much English, and take in the atmosphere and excellent eats. You won't be disappointed.
