Second time we went here and got a boat each time very good and filling for two people. Service was right on top of it, and friendly Everything was clean and orderly. Even when it got busy it was very pleasant read more

I like this place. Casual hole in the wall with fair prices and lots of food options. However, i think the sushi here is a miss. Its not very high quality. The chicken katsu is delicious and so are most of the appetizers. Also love the chicken teriyaki. Now for the service. Our waitress was a bit cold and got upset when she picked up the menus and they had a few drops of soy sauce on them. Which is confusing because theyre laminated and easily cleaned off? And shouldnt you be wiping them down between customers regardless? Anyways she was a nut. Would recommend this place for a casual sit down, but NOT for sushi. The sushi sucks. read more

Akebono is one of my favorite places to eat in Sacramento. The fish is high quality, the restaurant is clean, and the staff is very friendly. There is plenty of seating - although it was busy, I didn't have to wait long at all. The chirashi dish was excellent. I recommend ordering this. read more

We went here as our friend who likes Japanese food had been here said it was good. We started with the sea steak appetizer (friend ordered it). It is seared tuna served cold. Nice presentation. Good size. It was okay, not the most flavorful. I wouldn't order it again. Siu Mai was ordered steamed. Nice presentation. I am used to siu mai with mushroom and these didn't have any so to me they tasted a bit plain. Not complaining, just a note that if you are used to mushroom in your siu mai these will taste different. I had the tan tan mein. Large serving. Noodles was a good texture with a bit of bite. The broth was a bit salty. Flavor was okay but not wonderful. My partner had the pork tonkatsu. Good sized serving. The pork and the coating was a bit tough. To be fair I had a wonderful tonkatsu in Japan a few years ago (very hot, very tender) and mentally I was hoping it would taste like that and it didn't. Service was friendly. Overall a decent experience. If my friend wanted to go back I would and I would try some other food, but it wouldn't be my first pick for Japanese food. read more

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This spot is only a full minutes from home, we tried it out on a limb when trying to decide for dinner because we had heard many good things about it. The restaurant is spacious and we were quickly greeted and seated in the front. We came for ramen and ended up ordering a roll because the rainbow roll sounded so delicious. Now, I am in no way a sushi fan, at all. I've been trying it for years and it doesn't matter how it's made I have not been able to find a roll I enjoy, though I keep trying. The rainbow roll, has been on my mind since. Every time I got hungry I was thinking about this roll and I was thoroughly surprised, I know my boyfriend was sick of me. The ramen and gyoza, also delicious. My boyfriend really enjoyed the spider roll, but for me just get me two of those rainbow rolls! I'll definitely be back! read more

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Have come here a few times now since it's so close to me. Every time my boyfriend and I have a craving for sushi this place hits the spot. It's a quiet place but pretty spacious with plenty of seating. The waiters are always friendly and attentive. We like to start off with the miso soup and pepperfin and then order a couple of rolls or ramen to share. This time we ordered the Ichiro Roll and the Awesome roll which were very good. read more

Akebono - Top to bottom: pepperfin, Ichiro roll, awesome roll - Japanese Near Me - Sacramento, California

My family stopped by here for lunch. There is plenty of parking in front of the restaurant. Akebono is a huge restaurant with a separate seating area in the back. I ordered the lunch special with CA roll and tempura. The tempura was nice and crispy. The bento came with 8 pieces of CA roll, which was also tasty. Akebono offers a kids meal, so my daughter got to eat plain udon. I was able to request all the toppings on the side, so she got a bowl of udon and broth only. My daughter loved the udon here. Overall, food and service is good here. read more

On 1/27, my mother dined inside to have a nice lunch with 4 other friends. They ate their meal and then each paid for their bills with either (4) cash or (1) card. The waitress stacked the 5 trays with payments and brought it to the cashier. When the waitress returned, she claimed someone at their table did not pay their bill. My mother and her friends replied that this must be a mistake because they all paid. The waitress continued to accuse them that someone at the table did not pay. The situation escalated and the manager came to the table. The manager Mr. Ho continued to accuse them that someone at my mother's table did not pay. My mother's friend suggested the manager look at the security cameras in the restaurant for proof that they all paid. However, Mr. Ho stated the cameras were not working and told them that they the customers should pay the for the "missing" $25 and then at the end of the day if there is extra money, the customers should come back to claim it. My mother and her friends replied that this was a not practical solution and they should not be accused of not paying when they all did. This argument continued for 30 minutes. Finally, the manager looked near the cashier and found the missing tray with the $25. Mr. Ho told my mother and her friends that they found the tray but did not offer any apology. The waitress that also misplaced the tray of money never returned and also did not apologize. This is an example of poor customer service and it is extremely upsetting as my mother and her friends used to be loyal customers. Given the unprofessional service and lack of apology after the restaurant's false accusations and mistake, my mother and her friends will not be returning. read more

Good solid food and service. I can't believe I haven't submitted a recent updated soap box review since Akebono is one of those iconic Japanese restaurants that's been a Sacramento staple throughout the decades. My family and 3 others came here for a post Thanksgiving gathering to catch up on how the college boys were doing before they have to travel back to class. So there was 12 of us in total for a late lunch. The staff was very attentive and checked on us throughout our stay but I do have to admit it wasn't the usual hustle and bustle scenario. Maybe it was because people still have leftovers in the fridge. With four families, the sushi plates and noodle soups came out fast while the bento boxes lagged but not long. I had the lunch sesame chicken / tempura combo and it was adequate that didn't make me too full. This is definitely one of the mainstay go to places for Japanese food and can get very crowded with a waiting list. Try it....you'll most likely like it. Gochisosama! read more

I came here to satisfy a craving for seafood ramen, but was sorely disappointed. I've ordered the champon ramen numerous times over the years but on our last trip, it was definitely a miss. Usually the ramen has a rich hearty broth flavored perfectly and is topped with a diversity of seafood. This time, all of the usual toppings were there but the quality of the broth was not. It was quite bland and almost watery. I was honestly really disappointed because I had been craving it all week. The combo tempura and the unaten roll that I shared with a friend were all delicious though so maybe the ramen broth quality was just a mistake because usually their food is always good. read more

Akebono - Combo tempura appetizer - Japanese Near Me - Sacramento, California

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I had been craving good Japanese curry and heard that Akebono was one of the top places in Sac serving it. It was pretty good, but didn't compare to places like Coco Ichibanya where you can customize things like spice level. Even still, it definitely satisfied the curry cravings and I would come back here for it. I also tried their one of their sushi rolls... I believe it was called the Awesome roll. Sad to report that it was nowhere near awesome. It had a very fishy taste to it and could tell it wasn't very fresh. Curry: 8/10 Sushi: 4/10 Service: 10/10 read more

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Don't understand any negative reviews. Wow ! What can I say about this place? I've been coming here for years since a friend showed it to me. And everytime I see negative reviews I am shocked and confused ? Because the ramen and sushi are my favorite in the entire Sacramento area. By far my favorite tonkatsu ramen, and can't reccomend the pink lady roll enough. The staff is always very kind and try their best. However sometimes I notice they are short staffed and having a little difficulty with the amount of tables they are covering. Some things I've tried like the soft shell crab and some of the appetizers aren't as special to brag about, but again it's the ramen and sushi you need to check out this place for. Also don't be surprised but rolls are a little more exspesnive here than most places, but that's because it's excellent quality sashimi and seafood. I had a large party of 11 people recently for my birthday and it went smoothly and everyone loved their food. So they can easily accommodate large parties despite being first come first serve (they don't take reservations). No matter how many times I come here ordering my favorite things it is always consistent and ALWAYS good. I crave the ramen from here weekly and have to resist the urge to come. Try this place and you'll be feeling the same way. read more

My family (family of 5) and I have been regulars to this restaurant for the past 17 years; we come here nearly every week or two and are typically served by Winston. We order pretty much the same thing; my youngest gets the Hamachi Lovers, I get the Hamachi-Kama, my middle son gets some sort of roll, my eldest son gets curry or a roll, and my wife always gets tako-yaki and spicy tuna hand roll. We spend at least $170+ every time we go and used to consider this restaurant one of our favorites. The reason why I mention the above is to help provide perspective around the type of customers we have been. About a month ago we went to Akebono after a long day. Our waitress took our orders and we proceeded to start enjoying our meals. During our meal my youngest son noticed a couple of black foreign things in the daikon from his sushi dish while he was eating it. The black foreign things turned out to bugs!! Below is a photo of one of the bugs. We decided to bring it to the attention of the waitress and let her know it might be a good idea to inform the sushi chef to make sure he was aware of the issue so that the same batch of daikon isn't used with other customers. The waitress apologized and proceeded to take my son's plate back. The waitress returned and told us that the sushi chef wanted us to know that it wasn't bugs but rather root portions of the daikon?! We were absolutely flabbergasted and insulted beyond belief. I told her my intent was not to get anything out of telling Akebono's about the issue but rather informing them so they could take action. All we really needed was an apology but the sushi chef (maybe new owner?) chose the path of denying and deflecting. The waitress knew that we were regulars and apologized profusely. Akebono comp'd the dish but the damage was done. I took the photo below because I was certain the sushi chef would deny this ever occurred. We completely lost our appetite after the issue. If they can't take responsibility over a simple issue and take short cuts what does that say about what they may do with sushi?! The biggest thing to me for any Japanese restaurant that handles fish is TRUST regarding the quality and freshness of that fish. Akebono completely lost a regular customer and we intend never to go back and have already told multiple folks about what happened to us. We used to be advocates until this terrible experience. THE most important thing for a Japanese restaurant is to establish trust with their customers that the quality and freshness of what is served is clear. It is clear Akebono has degraded over the years since the Japanese owner sold the restaurant to the current owner. What a shame... read more

Akebono - Some aphid looking black bug that the sushi chef was piece of the daikon?! - Japanese Near Me - Sacramento, California

In my experience, a really great place. Good location inside a strip mall, enough parking (but street parking also available), friendly service and very reasonable prices. Good selections on their menu. Probably still my go-to place for sushi in Sac. read more

Akebono - Japanese Near Me - Sacramento, California

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All time favorite ramen place in Sacramento. This place is so good and they know how to roll sushi its so big!! Wish I could have tried the sushi but no seaweed for me. However I come here for the cold noodles. It's so good and the sauce they make for the noodles are incredible. I could eat ramen everyday from here and with all their selections I could do that probably for about a month straight. If your looking for the best Japanese food in Sacramento then you've come to the right stop. read more

Akebono - Sushi & Cold Noodle - Japanese Near Me - Sacramento, California

Always love coming here! They have such a large variety of options for food. I love so many different items off of their menu, especially the black garlic tonkotsu ramen. Their service is quick in person and over the phone food orders. The restaurant is very large and has a lot of options for seating and nice decor. read more

Ordering online from their website was easy and convenient for contactless payment. When I walked in, all staff were wearing masks. It was a late dinner and there were only two tables of diners, socially distanced. The ones who had finished eating had their masks on. Good, traditional Japanese food. Their Dream Come True roll is ginormous! Close to the size of two regular rolls. Had I known, I wouldn't have ordered much else. It was delicious though! read more

Akebono - (L-R) Dream Come True, Angel, Ichiro rolls. - Japanese Near Me - Sacramento, California

Absolutely love this place! I am always looking for a good sushi spot and this place is great!! Recommend the awesome roll and the honeymoon. 2 rolls feed 2 people lol. The rolls are a good size and not like others places, when the price is high for a small amount. This is definitely a revisit place over and over. read more

We have been a fan of this restaurant For years. The past few visits the food has missed its mark. The sushi rice was mushy and the fish had no taste. Curry was lacking flavor. Service was fine but if I'm paying 200.00 + for a dinner, it should be decent. read more

Came here on a Monday night and it was quiet. I hear it gets a lot of traffic on the weekends. We were seated immediately and ordered the following: Pitcher of beer Croquettes Salmon Kama California roll Hamachi lover's Dragon roll Ichiro roll All were solid. What I love about their rolls is that they use real crab meat. You can taste the difference! read more

A nice unique Japanese cuisine. The restaurant is quite nice and there are paintings. The udon noodles are yummy and the broth is just perfect. The bento box contain a side like salad and tempura with an orange. read more

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Rice was dry, the most important item in a Japanese restaurant so disappointing Tonkatsu crust was different also I've been coming many years. So disappointed. Maybe Tuesday's are bad??? read more

When we venture into that area, Akebono is a tried and true place for dinner. The place is much larger than it seems; there is a back room with lots of tables for larger groups -- a VERY big plus for our family. The menu has many options, so everyone is bound to find something to their liking. We've tried a variety of things there -- from bento boxes, to curries, to appetizers, to sushi.... What a large number of choices! Haven't had a dud in the lot. Well... the takayoki was just "eh" but I haven't found any local places that make it like I want. Yes, some dishes are definitely better than others, but this place gets points for consistency. Prices are a bit hefty, but the quality of food and portion size make it WORTH IT! (And that is saying something for frugal me)! LOL It can get crowded here and the waiting line can look quite daunting. We've always had a relatively short wait to get a table as well as getting our food after we order. It's been my experience that the staff usually does a STELLAR job in serving large groups in a timely and helpful manner. It's no minor thing to keep a bunch of hangry sorts happy, you know?! Overall, we give it a thumbs up. I've GOT to remember to take photos of some of the dishes! Every time we go, the food is devoured before I remember that others might like visuals. LOL read more

Love this place. Always great service and always great food. We have been numerous times on various days and at various times and you can always count on consistency. It does get busy but the wait is never that long. I would highly recommend if you are looking for a incredible sushi spot. read more

My first time eating at Akebono. My granddaughter was hungry, and it was next to Oto's. We shared 3 rolls, and she also ordered Tonkatsu Ramen. In the picture, Caterpillar Roll (left), Lemon Blossom (middle), and Dragon Roll (right). Service was excellent. Rolls tasted great. read more

Akebono - Tonkatsu Ramen - Japanese Near Me - Sacramento, California

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One of the few Japanese restaurants that prepares party trays. I needed teriyaki chicken for a potluck and was searching all Over town until I found Akebono. I went in the evening before after placing an order that morning. I was expecting a styrofoam or aluminum container but my chicken was beautifully arranged on a platter with fresh vegetables. I took it to the potluck and everyone raved over the flavors! I will be visiting again to dine in. read more

This review is based on their ramen only. It's been over 3 years since I went back to this place & I gotta tell you, the ramen haven't improve much. Wish we order the roll instead since that's what more table ordered. The shoyu ramen: Broth is favorable but meat is thin & tough. Comes with 1/2 egg instead of whole & it's not even runny. Hokkaido cheese ramen: Don't recommend, I didn't enjoy it at all even though the broth taste ok. It only came with a handful of corn, old bean sprouts & a piece of cheese (as seen in pic). And it cost $15.95! I was feeling hungry not too long after I left the restaurant. It will be a while before I am going back. read more

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My only reservation about giving this place 5 stars is that as its excellence is shared, it'll get busier. Now, that's generally not a problem (my wife and I have always gotten seats without a reservation) -and I'd like to keep it that way! Good sushi and good ramen -which I've found is hard for many places to do. Nice service and reasonable prices. Definitely a good, friendly place. read more

Wait staff were kind for being understaffed. It was noticeable that there were too many tables to serve for too little staff, which led it to take awhile for beverages and food to arrive to the table. The sushi boat quality is mediocre. A lot of bland imitation crab with too much rice. I would recommend ordering individual rolls! read more

Akebono - Sushi boat A - Japanese Near Me - Sacramento, California

My friends and I were celebrating the other night and what better way to celebrate than with a HUGE sushi boat & sake!? They have so much variety in their menu. There's something for everyone but party boat D really caught our eye and it was so worth it! The fish is super fresh and it's a huge variety of different rolls with different fix-ins and sauces. Unfortunately, we didn't know which roll was which, was my only disappointing factor, but for the most part they were all tasty! The fish was so tender and buttery, the rice was cooked to perfection and the rolls were cut nicely. I didn't have a single piece fall apart. Their drink menu is just as extensive as their dining menu too! They have an assortments of sake, soju and beers. We opted for one of the sweeter sakes and it was brought to us chilled with an ice bucket. The service was quick and very friendly. We stayed about 20 minutes until closing and I appreciated that they didn't rush us to leave. Such a great spot! read more

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Expensive but totally worth it! This is a wait to be seated establishment, you may be offered seating in the front or back room. For this review I was in the back and it was beautiful. Food was delectable and sake was the perfect 21st birthday drink! We got 4 rolls, 1 appetizer and 3 drinks, costing about 110$ Great place for a celebration :) Staff were wonder and kind, with quick service read more

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I was very unsure seeing the reviews of this place was bad and good from some of these yelpers. However my experience it was amazing! When I came in I was in awe of the art and interior of the restaurant. The staff greeted me as I came to the door. My brother chose the wall by the art of the island of Kanagawa wall. It was cool to see your order made in front of you. Our waiter Aki was very attentive to us. He made sure we were good and gave us some good food recommendations! The was good and it was fresh. However I wasn't able to finish that sushi was huge! I do plan come back one day! Thank you Akebono for this experience! I look forward to coming back! read more

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We use to go quite often but things have changed There use to have good service We were there on a Monday on New Years Day The service was bad Our waitress wasn't friendly to begin with She never checked on us I had to ask for a refill and to go boxes We didn't even get a Thank you I didn't want to leave a generous tip but I did I'm giving 2 stars because the food was ok read more

Excellent sushi place to take your kiddos! Plenty of space and accommodation, as well as a great kids menu! The servers were very gracious. read more

Akebono - Japanese Near Me - Sacramento, California

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Came here to celebrate my birthday, and was impressed by the overall experience at Akebono. First and foremost, I appreciated how this place has a relatively bright, lively ambiance for a Japanese restaurant. Our servers were also friendly and quickly responsive. The main entree we ordered was one of the Boat sushi plates. You have to ask for this boat menu separately! We saw people order it on Yelp and were initially confused by we couldn't find it until we asked our server. The presentation was fun, and the quality was the fish was surprisingly good. The salmon sashimi was one of the thickest slices I've ever seen in a sushi restaurant! The cuts on the nigiri were definitely higher quality and more fatty, but I can't complain too much for how big the salmon slices were! For the few varieties of rolls on the boat, I was also impressed with the dynamite roll! It was a baked roll with hamachi and avocado on the inside, which made it super soft and creamy! Most notably, the hamachi (yellowtail) sashimi was one of the best bites I have ever had. As a salmon lover, I enjoyed the hamachi far more for this dinner as each bite of it just melted right through the fish like butter! Since we knew the boat might take a while to prepare, we also ordered a tonkatsu ramen for an appetizer. I have no complaints about it, especially for what seems to be one of the cheapest ramens you can find in Sacramento! read more

Akebono - Boat fish #1 - Japanese Near Me - Sacramento, California

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Rolls pretty much all taste the same. Fried something with tuna and/or masago on top. Close your eyes and see if you can tell the difference. Get a nigiri something for a change. Was good. Just wanted two different goods. read more

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Best Japanese food in Sacramento, along with great service. Recommend highly to discriminating foodies.

Amazing Yaki Soba. This place is a hidden secret in the Land Park area. Amazing food and service. Highly recommend.

Exceptional lunch with tempura / sashimi, saba/ sushi, tempura, and hamachi collar alaciarte. Service at table was exceptional: endless supply of water and hot tea. The tempura was crunchy and not greasy. The sashimi was great and the slices very ample. They also accommodated us by refrigerating a birthday cake and proving us with cake plates and forks! read more

I got my usual, tempura soba, generous portion, the sauces were good. Observation: American style serving. Miso soup should be served with a meal, not before. Unagi donburi is a typical summer meal in Japan, gives you stamina. I didn't see it in the menu. read more