If you're looking for a swanky sushi spot to woo a date, Akasaka's your place. The warm, ambient lighting sets the mood right away, and my girlfriend and I immediately fell in love with the Japanese brushstroke tapestries on the walls. They also make sure to deck the place out for the holidays, and even add little decorations to the food, like little paper hearts for Valentine's Day. It's a stylish kind of flair that doesn't feel forced.
Now, the food. The vegetable spring rolls came out fresh from the fryer, perfectly crisp and crunchy. The calamari was well-seasoned, though sliced a bit thin for my taste, which made it more chewy than crispy. Not a dealbreaker by any means, just a small note in an otherwise solid meal.
For entrées, they really delivered. My girlfriend ordered the tonkatsu ramen, which was rich, flavorful, and loaded with melt-in-your-mouth pork slices. The portion was generous enough that she had lunch figured out for the next day. I went all in with the Super Volcano, Eden, and Irenko rolls, each one being super fresh. The Irenko stood out as the star for me, since the curry sauce and fried plantain added a bold depth and sweetness that you wouldn't normally expect from sushi. If you like stepping outside the usual spicy tuna routine, this one's worth it.
We finished with the tempura cheesecake paired with ube ice cream, and it was phenomenal. Crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, and sweet but not heavy or greasy. Basically the perfect dessert if you have zero self-control around sweets (like us).
Shoutout to our server, Isa, who was attentive all night and answered all of our questions without missing a beat. My girlfriend doesn't drink alcohol, and Isa went out of her way to get her a virgin matcha yuzu cocktail, which was incredible. Service like that makes a great meal even better. All in all, Akasaka earns five big booms from me. We'll absolutely be back. read more