I've been to the branch located in Westfield and the location here is smaller and is less busy. I got the whole place to myself for a weekend lunch. What's unique about Akai is that it's a joint Japanese and Mexican restaurant (not the case at the Westfield location). You can sit on either side and order from either menu. The Japanese side tends to be more quiet. I enjoyed the food here. I primarily had Japanese foodThe rock shrimp tempura as an appetizer continues to be a favorite. Chilean sea bass entree was well cooked. Fish was fresh and what I would expect per the price point. Fish tacos were the only thing ordered from the other menu. I would've liked it more had they spread the sauce evenly, maybe layered it on the fish as well and not just the top because the bite distribution is uneven. Service could have been a tad more friendlier. It's just not warm and inviting as it could have been. read more

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Akai was my go to sushi place when I worked in Englewood. That was a few years ago. I was never a Blue Moon fan. I to tickets with my family to go to a show at the Bergen PAC and I thought we'd go to Akai (I miss Bennies). I knew they had moved to a combined location with Mexican (formerly Blue Moon) and I was a bit skeptical. The combination worked out great. We sat on the Japanese side. We mixed and matched between Japanese and Mexican menus and everyone was pretty happy. The Japanese side was more crowded than the Mexican side. There seem to be a bit of confusion with the wait staff (we had two waiters that seemed to serve us a bit repetitively), but they were friendly and I'd rather have too many check-ins than none. read more

Very fun spot for sushi rolls! The salmon avocado and shrimp tempura rolls are great, though a bit on the pricey side. read more

Akai Lounge - Salmon Avocado Roll, Shrimp Tempura Roll - Japanese Near Me - Englewood, New Jersey

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Have a craving for sushi ( and other Japanese delights?) THIS IS THE PLACE I've been going to Akai for well over 20 years, but after a recent visit, I realized I had never left a review. Must have been that I (selfishly) didn't want to share! But now days there a ton of sushi places all over eastern Bergen County and I'm sure its putting a dent in business so we need to support a place like this The quality and professionalism put into their food (and drinks) are Top Notch. Located in the heart of the Englewood business district near the Bergen PAC theater, there is street & municipal parking close. Start off with a few amazing cocktails ( shout out to John who is a very friendly pro. Start off with a Patron Special margarita ( with Grand Marnier) or a Lychee martini. For the chocolate lover a Chocolate Dream made with vodka, chocolate liqueur, Kahlua, & Baileys. Both amazing. Plenty of Japanese beers and whiskeys too. I have eaten here many, many times, In house & take out. I have tried plenty of other places that were very good, but AKAI never disappoints. The service & the food. THE FOOD. The rolls... so many to choose from. From $8 and up. Some of the special rolls we've tried : O.M.G.= Roll spicy tuna, spicy salmon, lobster salad and shrimp tempura wrapped in a "tiger soy wrap". Served with eel sauce, honey wasabi and spicy mayo.....a work of art! Goodfellas Roll = spicy yellowtail and crunchtopped with bluefin toro and thinly sliced lemon. Latin Roll =skirt steak and tempura plantain topped with avocado and eel sauce. BUT, we cannot live on sushi alone. AKAI has a full menu of apps & entrees that will be the Yang to the sushi Ying Beef Negimaki ( appetizer or entree) = scallions wrapped in thinly sliced rib eye, pan seared and served with teriyaki sauce...I've had this dish at many places but this is the one that melts in your mouth & bursts with flavor! Miso Eggplant=lightly fried eggplant with sweet miso glaze on top --If you love your veggies, you'll love this. salty & sweet. could actually be a dessert Ahh dessert. If you do have room. I recommend a nice after dinner drink and split a fried ice cream with a dining partner ( they will split it for you). What makes their version so good is the batter\coating is almost tempura style. Super light & not greasy at all. Come hungry & leave with a satisfied sense of warmth as you walk back out into the streets of reality. ( poetic huh? :) Note: they have location now in Westfield NJ read more

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Good food and service! I came here for a work lunch and ordered the lunch special. I ordered a salad and the crazy California roll. The salad serving was huge and I loved the ginger dressing. Would go back again! read more

Fantastic quality, selection and creativity. Friendly staff, management and owners. I've been here a few times and always leave full and happy, wondering why I wasn't back sooner. Run, don't walk, as they say. I'll be back soon for sure. BTW, silly names for food is nice whimsical touch. read more

Akai Lounge - a plate of sushi and a bottle of beer - Japanese Near Me - Englewood, New Jersey

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Pleasantly surprised. I love exploring new places especially since my favorite Japanese restaurant is not offering outdoor dining. I have to say Akai offers a really nice selection of different, unique and savory rolls. I started with a Lychee Martini. It was very tasty and refreshing. We started with the Tuna Pizza, that was very flavorful. We all enjoyed the combination of flavors. We also had the fireball, oh my god was this delicious! For rolls we had the Latin Roll, NY Knicks roll, the OMG roll and the a fiesta roll. The OMG and the NY knicks were our favorite. There was a lot of "wow this is amazing" chatter. So happy to have discovered this place and that they offer outdoor dining in a shared parking lot. They have a tent in case it rains and friendly staff. read more

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Easily one of my favorite sushi spots and one of the best sushi spots I have ever been to. It's better than most NYC restaurants, in my humble opinion. I love the ambiance too, the red and black color scheme is very fitting, and it's upscale without being pretentious at all. Moving on to the most important part, the food...their list of specialty rolls is through the chart and their appetizers are phenomenal. We go here so often they immediately bring us their fabulous crab salad and have a Lychee martini waiting. Some of my favorite appetizers include: chicken yakitori, miso eggplant, tuna guacamole, and tuna pizza. We've been known to literally lick the plate before we give it up to the waiter. For rolls, I highly suggest you give some specialty rolls a try. We absolutely love the Pain in the ass roll and the super California roll. They're staples. I've also had and highly recommend: Fiesta roll, Jersey roll, New York roll, Yankee roll. In addition to their incredible menu, they always have some unique specials every evening. I must also mention the fact that they have a fantastic wine and martini menu too and the people working here are all super friendly and have worked here for years so they know the menu very well. We always finish our meal off with their green tea ice cream in a tempura like casing. It's delicious. read more

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I'm a bit confused by this place. I stopped by with a friend for dinner and the food was alright. We weren't too hungry so we ordered an appetizer and an entree. Rock Tempura Shrimp appetizer - Tastes alright, but portions are too small and the batter is a bit much compared to the size of the shrimp. I'd skip. D.E. Warrior roll - This was an interesting dish. Essentially it's a super-sized roll (it's under Entree) with fresh lobster, shrimp, and black miso cod. Cod was seasoned just right and buttery-flaky. The dish also gives another side piece to enjoy further. The roll had enough rice to act as a base while eating that piece of cod. It's not an everyday roll, but it's quite filling and you get to enjoy 3 different kinds of seafood at once. Now let me explain why this was only 3-star experience: the Service. It was pretty atrocious. My friend and I were both bewildered because this place is supposed to be classy, yet wait staff did things that were not befitting of the image they're trying to put out. First, the Korean owner lady (she had to be, from the way she acted) was talking SUPER LOUD in Korean with some guests for like a good 5 minutes while we were waiting for our waiter. My friend actually cringed and looked over in confusion. Second, our waiter could not pay less attention to us. It was a weekday early evening so place was pretty empty, and bunch of the wait staff were at the back bar area just talking and cracking jokes. Unfortunately our staff wasn't even looking our direction so it was quite inconvenient to wait, wait, and finally semi-yell to get his attention. Really poor service. Maybe it was a weekday evening faux pas, but for my first experience this left a pretty bad taste in my mouth. I don't think I'll be going back. read more

Save your money and go somewhere else. The food is terrible. All the fish is chopped to a paste in the sushi. The service is beyond bad. Did not come to the table unless dropping food. Had to walk up to the bar to get our check. You get better tasting sushi at the grocery store. I don't know what happened to this place. The food used to be amazing. STAY AWAY!! read more

Amazing service, good food, but I don't feel it matches the price. It's was so much more expensive than it should be in my opinion BUT the waiter we had was awesome. He had a great sense of humor and definitely had menu knowledge even suggesting different sauces to pair with our meal that definitely made it more of fun experience. I wouldn't return but it's only because of the price in comparison to the quality of food, their service is worth the 3 Stars. read more

Have the people raving about this place never had really good service or sushi before? Because I must be missing something , I didn't enjoy it at all. It's a cute place, they are trying to make it "upscale" I guess between the atmosphere and the prices, which are not warranted by their taste. It was all bland to say the least. We ordered three rolls and they all tasted the same. And one was 19.50! If it were worth it There's no issue but they weren't. The highlight was the salad dressing honestly. The service was so bad. People that were regulars came in after us and got their items before us. I had to ask for my salad after watching two tables that just sat get theirs. And then the app came out at the same time! Waited forever for our rolls as our waiter decided he was going to play bartender instead. With so many places to eat there I would never go back to this spot. Don't waste your time or money read more

Great food service ambience and variation. The owner and the staff makes the imposible to make you feel at home

Great food, service and bartenders !!!!! Unbelievable burritos and sushi!!! Fun vibes

I've been coming here for many years, and my cousins and family have all been great frequent customers here for around a decade if not longer. We obviously all loved the food, but me and my aunt felt extremely disrespected by the young white hostess tonight (description is for specificity). We felt that she went out of her way to disrespect us for some very odd reason. Never EVER had this issue in any other business IN MY LIFE as a customer. Real shame. I hope other people don't experience this too. read more

Food I'd awful. Lettuce was wilted and brown. Soup had no taste. Rice was old in rolls

Solid Japanese restaurant in the area for rolls & other dishes. Came here for my birthday and the quality of food & service were great. Things get pricey quickly, which is the only downside. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed everything we ordered! Sushi/seafood tasted fresh and had great complementing flavors. We ordered the oysters and they didn't disappoint. And the soup dumplings were surprisingly good (but I wouldn't say *great*) as well. These may have been specials. But all in all, the food was beautifully plated & presented. It's got a hole-in-the-wall feel to it, while still having that authentic interior. So if you're looking for that modern & clean look without losing on the quality of food, definitely check this place out. read more

Akai Lounge - In addition to the variety of rolls, ask for any special dishes available! - Japanese Near Me - Englewood, New Jersey

This is our go to sushi place in Englewood, both because we like the sushi itself and because they are a great place to go whether you're with the whole family or a night with the girls. The grapefruit martini is one of my favorites and the special rolls are tasty. The staff is super accommodating. As an example, we went there this Saturday with a reservation but I misstated the number of adults. They gave us the bigger table which was reserved for a large group. Midway through our meal, that group arrived and needed to be seated. The staff very discretely asked if they could move us down a few paces and then comped our desserts and drinks. Little things like that to show a level of hospitality are a nice touch. read more

Akai Lounge - A variety to share. - Japanese Near Me - Englewood, New Jersey

Fantastic!! Love this place!! Always have the best food ever! So creative and delicious! Tonight my boyfriend had the brisket tacos and I had sushi!! Such a great collaboration of these restaurants every time we go!! Just love it!! You really have to check it out!!! read more

the spicy tuna crispy rice is solid good service solid vibes solid walk in resteraunt read more

Akai Lounge - Japanese Near Me - Englewood, New Jersey

Great Japanese food. Spectacular Sushi. Always consistently delicious. Service, very attentive.

Lychee martini and the sushi pizza are ridiculously amazing! The rooms were eclipsed by the sushi pizza.

Closed for good! Not there anymore. Missed this place soooo much!!! Not many sushi in the area!

Very good sushi and saki bombs. The atmosphere is clean and decorated well. You can tell the cooks but extra effort in, even ensuring the presentation is just right. read more

Akai Lounge - Japanese Near Me - Englewood, New Jersey

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Whenever I order delivery from here I'm always alarmed by the totally cost of my order; that's Japanese food with nyc prices for you. The nabeyaki udon is always great. I find that while they have a large list of speciality rolls they have so much going on that they all taste the same to me. I love Chilean Seabass so the basstard roll and ny Knicks roll are always flavorful for me; their spicy tuna is good too. I would avoid the rock shrimp to go; it tastes better at the restaurant. Fyi they charge for extra wasabi and they now have tacked on a $2 gas surcharge. As if this place isn't pricey enough but yet I'll suck it up and pay because out of all the Japanese places in the area that deliver to me akai's rolls are the biggest and most flavorful read more

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I had not been to Akai for several years but I did have dinner there last night (April 12) with a friend. The food and service were still wonderful but the ladies room!!! Disgusting. Yuck. Gross. Does anyone do anything like clean it? Do something before the Board of Health needs to get involved. read more

I'm confused now. This place is packed and the sushi is just ok. The service is sooooo slow they offered us drinks on the house. (See photo)The waitstaff is actually running back and forth to get the food to the tables. The uni tasted funky. We're going for pizza after. read more

Akai Lounge - This is our free martini because the service was so slow - Japanese Near Me - Englewood, New Jersey

Don't get me wrong, the food was amazing, but the service was horrible. When we sat down we waited 10 minutes before we even spoke to a waiter and then another 10 minutes before we had glasses of water. After that we had to flag down a waiter for every little thing we needed. When we were ready to order, wanted more sauce, or wanted more water, we had to wave our hands to get someone's attention. Like I said the food was great, so after we got our meals we were happier, but the service left a bad taste in my mouth and I'm not sure i'll be returning. read more

The worst service. The server spilled hot water on my friend's lap but no manager or supervisor came to our table to apologize or even offer a free desert! They served green salad and forgot to bring the dressing. They don't check on diner's need. We will not go back and definitely won't recommend this restaurant to friends and/or enemies! read more

...I usually order from here for work. This isnt the first time they messed up my order, but never anything major. Today i ordered a chicken roll also stating i am allergic to seafood and ordered another order for my co worker. They put both orders together. when i got into work i noticed and called. I was told my coworkers seafood isnt real anyway. But that was not the point. Point is they messed up, and should have replaced my order. My co worker and i were disgusted and threw out the whole order. I am not a child to eat out of the same container as my co worker whether its real or no. The kitchen isnt my doctor to tell me otherwise. I will no longer return and we have informed our staff too. read more

Had a dinner here for a birthday. It's a pretty nice place for a girls night! The menu has a lot of options. All the typical custom rolls. I ordered a sushi dinner. It was pretty good - not amazing. The sweet shrimp was a littttttle fishy IMO but the Uni was pretty damn good. Everyone else's dish looked good and tasted great! I'd say the pricing is moderate, I will say ******* set time aside to find parking on a Friday night and weekends ! ******* holy cow I was driving around for 40 minutes trying to find a damn parking spot that wasn't 2453 miles away. I ended up parking 2453 miles away. read more

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Beware. These guys charged us higher prices than what was on their menu, and when I called them out, they dug in. Apparently, Akai Lounge can change prices without letting their customers know. read more

By far my favorite sushi restaurant in the area! I would definitely suggest trying their special rolls, never disappointing. I recommend the Latin roll! read more

Akai Lounge - Japanese Near Me - Englewood, New Jersey

Chic "downtown Scarsdale" venue, with a glass enclosed sushi bar that's somehow intimate. Nicely spaced tables. Immaculate. Our waiter, Ace, was fabulous--welcoming, professional and well acquainted with the menu. Do not miss the soup dumplings appetizer, off the charts (20-minutes preparation time). Highly recommend the yellowtail jalapeño and rock shrimp tempura appetizers as well, both a cut above the usual. OMG roll was sensational. Only quibble was the less than generous sashimi regular entree, but the fish was first class. Visiting our kids, "regulars" at Akai, so glad they introduced us. Hope they open in Boca...come on down, Ace! DavidS, Boca Raton read more

Excellent service fresh food. The sushi was spectacular. Nice music not too loud. Very good vibes will be back.

I love their sushi. I rated it a 4 because I do feel it's overpriced yet with covid I'm not sure. Nonetheless I LOVE their Bastard, NY Knicks and OMG roll Big time!!! read more

Akai is actually 4.5 stars but I rounded down.....no particular reason Very cool place. Sushi is fresh and innovative. Great selection of specialty rolls. I had the OMG roll and Devil's Advocate roll (see pic). Had a big Kirin beer and hot sake. Yea I'm feeling aight! Akai did me right! read more

Akai Lounge - OMG roll & Devil's Advocate roll - Japanese Near Me - Englewood, New Jersey

Went here with a couple friends for lunch. Had the sushi lunchbox which came with miso soup, salad with ginger dressing, and a specialty role (I chose the NY Knicks Roll which is Chilean sea bass with salmon-- delish). I had the lychee martini which was delicious. ---- Edit: 2nd time coming here I found hair in my food. They were nice enough to take the food off the bill. But it's not the same and I will not be coming back here due to they "hairy" experience (disgusting). read more

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Staff was very inattentive was waiting for about 20 minutes before we even ordered, food was average with an above average price.

My wife and I wanted to get some Sushi but wanted to stay local rather than drive into the city. A friend recommend a different sushi spot, but we ended up coming to Akai. This is by far not only one of best sushi joints in NJ, but in my opinion, in the tri-state area. The staff was eager to help and very friendly. The owner came over an greeted us and made sure we knew about their signature cocktails and specialty rolls. Their cocktails were very creative and well balanced. I had the Black Truffle martini and My wife had the lychee martini. Both of which were spectacular. We tried a couple of their appetizers including their Chilean Sea Bass app, which was hands down best piece of fish I have ever had in my life. The specialty sushi rolls were hearty and very fresh. Overall we had a great meal for a very moderate price and with great service. If you are looking for a great sushi spot in NJ, look no further. read more