While the food was okay (and really just that- okay), the service was pretty awful. It took almost an hour to get an order in, and they messed up our initial food order. We almost didn't receive one of the items we ordered until two dishes that we did NOT order arrived at the table (which is when the mistake was realized and quietly fixed nearly 45 minutes after ordering, without any acknowledgement). Additionally, we had to continually ask the food runner to order whenever we wanted more food. We were continuously not checked in with to see we needed anything. Overall, the service felt targeted. It appeared that the tables filled with middle/aged white people received regular, attentive service compared to that of my partner and I (a young, interracial couple). While not hugely important, we were also underwhelmed with the decor, although the glassware was nice. Akemi's only redeeming qualities were the Brussels sprouts and the Yuzu panna cotta, which were beautifully prepared and delicious. If you are looking for a nice dinner spot this is not it. We will not be back. read more

Good sushi and friendly service. Came here for lunch and ordered the deluxe nigiri combo. Good ratio of fish to rice. The bentos looked good too. The sake bento had a huge slice of salmon and the tempura on the other bento looked really good too. I had a taste of the ramen and did not think it was good. That said, I just spent a couple weeks in Japan so my standards on ramen are pretty elevated... plus it was much cheaper in Japan. In any case, stick to sushi or bentos and you should be fine. read more

This review is looooong overdue. Pre-COVID times, my family usually celebrated July 4th in a less-than-traditional ways-- that year, we swapped fireworks and BBQ for a walk around Berkeley's rose garden. IMO, more enjoyable and much less stressful than typical rambunctious Independence Day festivities. We wound up finding Akemi as one of few open options for dinner. Huge props to the staff working on a holiday and still providing stellar service. As a family that doesn't typically BBQ for July 4th, we were grateful to enjoy a nice meal out that day. A bit hidden-- with the signage blending into the door, and the door blending into the wall, it was hard to tell where the entrance was. Parking is a mess, so good luck finding any. The interior is slinky and vaguely modern. Our orders took 15-20 mins, with a few nudges to the servers-- we chalked the forgetfulness up to the holiday dinner rush. BUTA KAKUNI: Just falls apart in your mouth, with the perfect fat to meat ratio. This is seasoned and sauced beautifully. BUTA ABARI: Also falls off the bone, tender, and braised perfectly. This comes paired with a slaw that has a slight fruit fragrance? DOUBLE HAMACHI ROLL: The fish here is extraordinarily fresh & sweet. Weird, but it's been hard to find quality hamachi-- Akemi didn't disappoint. Plus I loved the tobiko topper. SALMON LOVER ROLL: Again, super fresh. Even with a few dishes, we were impressed by the sheer quality alone. Planning on revisiting to try the rest of their menu. read more

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Really great Japanese restaurant. Love their sushi and rolls. We got reservations for family on a Sunday night and was perfect. Service was great and food delicious. read more

Came here on 2/2/25 at 1:30 pm. Servers are rude and not attentive. We waited 20 minutes to order and 30 more minutes for the food that was not worth the price. I ordered the spicy miso ramen and the chicken was overcooked and the egg was not soft boiled. They put a ton of spinach on top and not very much of anything else. read more

AKEMI Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Another winner place for freshness regarding their Sushi. A decent selection of Nigiri and good assortment of rolls! Their Tuna belly(Toro) was exceptionally tasty!!! Ordered that twice! The service continues to be good here as well! read more

When we showed up for dinner, there was no one standing at the host station. After some time, we realized that host person was actually nearby, with her back to us, taking a "to go" order over the phone and punching info into a terminal. When she got off the phone, she noticed a bunch of us waiting for her attention but retreated into the kitchen, saying that she'd be helping us soon. The guy who had arrived just ahead of us was there to pick up an order to go; this meant that the host person needed to retrieve the order from a staging area near the sushi counter and then ring up the purchase with a credit card. While the host person was bagging things up for the to-go order, I walked over to ask her if it would be OK for us to sit down at an empty table. "No," but "we'll be right with you." It slowly dawned on me that Akemi had morphed into a ghost kitchen whose in-person dining area was a subsidiary operation. As we waited for permission to sit down at one of the many empty tables, no one showed the slightest interest in welcoming us. Just as we were on the verge of walking out, a member of the wait staff did notice us and offered to show us to a table. This came as a relief. Ordering and getting food on our table was again a long process. The staff and kitchen seemed to be seriously stressed. At no time in the restaurant did I feel like a valued and pampered customer. The drink menu was surprisingly devoid of local options. Are there really no California wines and Bay Area brews that marry well with Anemia's cuisine? We settled for an Italian sauvignon blanc (~ $15) and a Sapporo draft beer. These were OK. I ordered the miso glazed salmon dinner, which was recommended by other Yelpers. The included bowl of miso soup, which came first, was really top notch. Nonetheless, I was disappointed by the salmon dinner when it finally came because the salmon had a mushy quality that is characteristic of farm-raised fish. I don't eat fish all that often, but I try to get really fresh, wild fish when I can. Too bad! My dining partner had the sesame spinach salad, which was great, and the lobster ramen, which was a bit weird (but A-OK). This restaurant probably would have gotten four stars from me were it not for the lack of attention from the staff and the slowdown in the kitchen. read more

AKEMI Japanese Restaurant - Miso glazed salmon dinner -- comes also with a bowl of miso soup - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Akemi is a lovely Japanese restaurant in a dark wood setting, but with large windows to let in light. My grilled miso cod was fantastic. Our waitress was not only beautiful to look at but rendered gracious service. read more

Food is super fresh, delicious, creative. I love both takeout and in restaurant. Food comes out quick, service is fast and lovely. Really nice and quiet spot, beautifully designed! read more

Always a pleasure. Chic location, rapid service, and charismatic employees. Been consistent for years and that's why I always bring new friends to try and experience the place. read more

I have so much respect for this restaurant. The food is fantastic, the ingredients are very fresh and the dishes are intensely flavorful in a very sophisticated way - whoever is in charge of recipes knows what they're doing. Every dish feels like a warm hug full of nutrition. The staff is very professional, kind and quick. The ambiance is very clean, comfortable and upscale. The prices are unbelievably fair given the quality of the food. Akemi is my go to spot when I want to get a nice dinner for a special occasion. Couldn't recommend it more. My favorite dishes are the Tonkotsu Ramen and the Spicy Tuna Roll. read more

Sadly, something has changed here. I used to get ramen from Akemi all the time. The tonkatsu broth was deep, complex, and creamy. It was uniquely good. I took some friends last night to show it off, and found that the broth was now watery and rather tasteless. The same was true of the lobster ramen broth. Everything was inconsistent. We ordered three ramens and the noodles in one were cooked perfectly, but the other two they were overcooked and mushy. The egg in one was quite good and flavorful, but in the other two were bland. The meat in the tonkatsu was perfectly tender, but the chicken in the spicy miso ramen was dry and unseasoned. When I used to come here - and granted it's been about a year - everything was delicious. Maybe tonight was a one-off letdown, but I wouldn't want to come back and pay money for this experience again, so sadly I guess I'm giving up on them. read more

The food quality was there! The people working there were very patient! The decorations was on point inside of the restaurant and it created a good experience for dining! read more

AKEMI Japanese Restaurant - Tonkatsu Ramen - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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The tempura and garlic edamame was a great way to start. The titanic roll is my favorite but all the rolls we ordered were great. Service was very kind to give us extras ginger and wasabi without us asking. Always refilled drinks and were very kind. Everything was super clean and food was great. read more

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This is a late post. I am reminded to comment after reviewing my credit card statement. The sushi was delicious but I want customers to be advised on their bill. Always ask for the breakdown. After having dinner and drinks with a friend, we found that 20% gratuity was already added. We almost added on top of that had it not been caught due to a mishaps with the beverage service. read more

Delicious food. Great for a casual dinner. So many options of sushi and also vegan/vegetarian options too like sushi and ramen. Not just your boring avocado and cucumber rolls. They had other more exciting choices. I loved the grilled steak combo meal and the spinach gomae was delicious. I'm so glad I found this place on Opentable. I highly recommend it. read more

First off, don't walk, run! Super plus items Warm Kale Soup - wow, I hate soup and I want this recipe! Miso, garlic DELICIOUSNESS TORO So smooth and buttery, one of the best I've had Red Dragon Sushi Roll The perfect amount of spice and kick. Come and enjoy! The ratings matched the food! read more

Met an old friend for lunch at Akemi I had the chicken and soup. Good food. Good service. Good atmosphere

Not the best. Very limited menu. Not great. One roll was kind of gross way too much sauce and rice, barely any fish. One waitress for whole restaurant. Rude bartender. Better menu, more customer service, and cleaner environment are my suggestions. read more

We had delivery a couple of nights ago. The food was quite good, but the $29 cod only contained two very small pieces -- way overpriced

This is a favorite spot for our friends, so we've come here for a couple birthday dinners. They have very impressive (and large) specialty rolls, along with smaller maki rolls. We ordered a mixed tempura (large & crispy assortment) combination dinner plate (teriyaki chicken with miso soup, rice & mixed tempura), dragon roll, lion king roll, Titanic roll (aptly named), Hamachi salad, Vegetable Ramen, and a few other items. The presentation and flavors were impressive with just about everything. The Veg ramen was fresh but lacked a depth of flavor so I wish I'd gotten a specialty roll. The service was on point with a sense that we were being hosted by staff who have pride in their hospitality. read more

AKEMI Japanese Restaurant - Vegetable Ramen Dinner- fresh and lovely, but could use more flavor in the broth - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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A slightly cavernous ambience which is a nice respite on a hot sunny day. Cool, clean and spacious. I'm usually a purist when it comes to sushi but I decided to try some of the sushi rolls. I was not disappointed at all, each roll I ordered was exquisitely combined aesthetically and for flavor. I also ordered the blue fin toro and uni nigiri sushi, and both were perfectly fresh and delicious. The service was efficient and friendly. I am definitely coming back. read more

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Yesterday marked our first indoor-dining experience since the pandemic started. Glad to see everyone masked and social distanced. There was plenty of sanitizing, and the hostess even checked our temperature before being seated. The decor signaled that this was a classy joint, and the food reinforced the image. There's plenty of Japanese dishes on the menu, but we opted for a raw fish dinner. Man, it had been over a year since enjoying some sushi and we were jonesing. Akemi surely did not disappoint. We shared the 10-piece salmon (sake) and a 5-piece fatty tuna (toro) sashimi plate with a spider roll (soft-shelled crab) plus scallop (hotategai) and sea urchin (uni) nigiri sushi. The fish was melt-in-your-mouth goodness. Went down like buttahh. Also really liked how the soft-shelled crab in the spider roll had a fresh flavor and didn't taste like it was deep-fried in old oil. Shared a creamy, lemon-flavored yuzu panna cotta for dessert and washed it down with some fine Sapporo draft beer. Akemi may be a bit pricey for some, but the high quality food, top-notch attentive service and stylish furnishing make the bill well worth it. We definitely got what we paid for here and no doubt left satisfied.... read more

AKEMI Japanese Restaurant - Clockwise from top: spider roll, hotategai (scallop), sake (salmon) & toro (fatty tuna) sashimi, uni (sea urchin) plus Sapporo draft beers - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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My husband and I dined at Akemi on a busy Friday night. The food, service, and drinks were all great. We will definitely be back soon. read more

AKEMI Japanese Restaurant - Sake Flight - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Fish is fresh, good ambiance, slightly on the pricey side, but I would definitely visit again since it's probably the best sushi restaurant in the neighborhood read more

AKEMI Japanese Restaurant - Akemi roll - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Surprised at the low rating of AKEMI because it is absolutely delicious. The rolls were very good, quality of the fish was so fresh, and the ambiance was great. The inside of the place was also beautiful. It's clearly a popular place as the restaurant was very full during dinner on Friday night. Luckily we made reservations so I encourage diners to make reservations otherwise be prepared for a very long wait. Took 1 star down because service was really slow and they didn't take American Express. We understand it was Friday dinner, there's a labor shortage, and AMEX can be harsh with fees. Will definitely be back! read more

AKEMI Japanese Restaurant - Chef's choice 10 piece sashimi - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

It looked promising. Great reviews. Elegant atmosphere. Full dining room. We had high hopes. Waiter brought hot sake first. As my partner poured it, something black fell into the cup. He carefully picked it out and put it on his napkin. We could not tell what it was. He showed the waiter and explained where it had come from. She immediately picked up the napkin and promised to be right back with a fresh one. Moments later she returned with a fresh - napkin. Were we wrong to expect a fresh hot sake? The food came. Most of it. Miso soup was forgotten. None of the fish was fresh. Spicy tuna had a strong, fishy taste. The wagyu yakimono was so tough my partner could not chew it. He had to send it back. The only enjoyable dish was vegetable tempura. We are new to the area, and looking for a good sushi place. This wasn't it. read more

We had dinner on a Friday evening which is typically very busy which it was. Service was challenged by the customer pace but seemed to get it done in the end. Food was great! Energy in the restaurant was very good. read more

I had ordered a take out at the Akemi Restaurant. I ordered on line and was told the food would be ready in 15 minutes. I picked it up within 10 minutes. The service at the front was excellent. I had ordered a tonkotsu ramen and the seaweed salad for my wife and I had the spicy miso ramen with the miso marinated cucumber salad. The food was perfectly cooked and they had separated the noodles from the broth. I would strongly recommend this restaurant for take out. Never ate in yet but probably will soon. read more

Our Father's Day dinner was excellent. The staff is attentive, warm and genuinely friendly. The food was fresh, tasty and flavorful. Like the decor and table spacing was right on to provide a comfortable setting for somewhat an intimate setting. We didn't feel like we were knocking chairs with our neighbors and hearing each other's conversations - well done. Highly recommend and it will be our go to new restaurant. read more

Food: Sushi rolls are very fresh! We ordered the Golden Gate and Cherry Blossom rolls, and both were delicious. We sat at the bar, so we saw most of the sushi orders and other dishes come out. All looked very good and fresh! I like how they don't roll up a bunch a rice in the sushi roll, like how many Japanese restaurants do. We also saw them make a sushi roll with brown rice after a guest requested it! Service: Service was good, but relatively slow. Sushi chefs and waiters are friendly, but getting seated and getting the check were delayed a bit, maybe because it was a busy night (Saturday ~6pm) and they were handling a lot of takeout orders. Other notes: Staff (waiters, chefs, etc.) is primarily Chinese. Though I usually don't prefer Chinese-owned Japanese restaurants, this one was pretty good, and I'd definitely return! read more

AKEMI Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

ok everything here is good. food service ambiance location it all. i hope to be back soon.

[ During Covid Review ] This place is nice for dinner, but unfortunately with Covid we cannot dine in. I would like to say that the take-out is quick and easy with them which is great. Their sushi tastes fresh everytime we order something from them and I like how they never get an order wrong. The Wagyu beef was delicious and their Lion King roll is superb. Their gyoza's are cooked to perfection and I like how when you do take out with them, they never skimp out on the wasabi. Definitely recommend this place for take out if you ever have the chance. read more

Came back and sat at sushi bar. Service is very quick. chef very attentive and nice. I got some on the house treat.

Verry fresh and tasty... going back soon with my gf Loving this place. They have what I want. read more

AKEMI Japanese Restaurant - Sashimi plate so good and fresh. - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

I've passed by this place wondering who opened the West Elm outlet store on Solano Avenue but finally came to realize this was not a furniture and accessories store but a stylish Japanese restaurant with a lot of horizontal wood paneling (photo: http://bit.ly/2CDCMXE). Stylishness is not necessarily next to godliness. Be forewarned that I am more of a traditionalist than a revisionist when it comes to sustenance from the motherland, but Jamie W. and I threw caution to the wind and entered their portal on New Year's Day. I could tell from the dishes I saw on the other tables that it wasn't gonna be food from my oka-san's kitchen. We went bold right off the bat, or at least I did, and ordered the $15 Ikayaki, which was a grilled whole squid cleaned and sliced immaculately and served with a swoosh of togarashi aioli (photo: http://bit.ly/2sKvkKN). I liked it because cephalopods are my thing, Jamie less so since he's not into the chewy texture, but we both agreed we wanted more of the seven-spice mayo. Then we shared our standard litmus test for Japanese restaurants, the $15 Rainbow Roll (photo: http://bit.ly/2sNTfZJ). It was fresh enough but pretty standard except for the flourish of tobiko on top. It had the requisite avocado and crabmeat, though we thought they skimped s bit on the various sashimi used. Our main course turned out to be a Korean take on Chirashi. I'm still not sure what made it Korean per se, and at $25, it was quite a leap of faith, but it worked. What was unusual other than the huge shareable portion was that the assorted sashimi came on a bed of mixed greens and cucumber slices over the sushi rice, and then it was mixed in a hwe dup bap sauce, a spicy-sweet concoction that obviously moves this dish from Tokyo to Seoul (photo: http://bit.ly/2EY2pYr). It came with a bowl of hot miso which I generously gave to Jamie as a New Year's present (photo: http://bit.ly/2BIhKud). Nice of me, huh. Anyway, I don't think I saw another Asian face in the place except for the staff. Where are my peeps? FOOD - 4 stars...modern Japanese that manages to satisfy despite deep price tags AMBIANCE - 3.5 stars...yep, West Elm SERVICE - 3.5 stars...busy, not extraordinary TOTAL - 4 stars...authenticity appears to be overrated here read more

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The Sashimi salad was elegant and flavorful and the vegetable udon was filling and delicious. Ambiance and dark gray decor was also elegant. The service was attentive but not overbearing. Polite and efficient. I've only eaten here once, so I hesitate to give it 5 stars, but the one time I went I loved it. read more

Best in Berkeley! I've been on two separate occasions now and I can conclusively say that this is my favorite place to eat sushi in the Berkeley/Oakland area. I would say the price is fairly comparable to most places in the area, possibly slightly higher. But the quality far surpasses everywhere else. When I first moved to Berkeley, I was far stretched to find quality sushi and was repeatedly disappointed by all of the expensive and mediocre options. Akemi stands above them all. From the rolls to the sashimi everything is prepared with attention to detail and care in mind. Enjoy your visit! read more

One of the best sushi Ed in Berkeley, Bay Area. Fresh fish and diverse menu. Also very cute interior

Amazingly long wait. The foyer backs up into the door. Loud restaurant with no fabric to muffle the souunds. Impossible to have a conversation with the concrete. I was looking for a restaurant for a birthday for my husband . 30 minutes after the reservation we had NOT been waited upon yet. Unfortunately I think they are understaffed. Pleasant restaurant and good modern setting. The sushi and the shrimp tempura were so fresh. My hand rolled toro was excellent. I think they put too much sugar in the teriyaki sauce. Reminds me of Yoahida's sauce. read more

AKEMI Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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