Akahana – Asian Bistro, Bar & Sushi

We walked in last Sunday night and a very strong unpleasant fishy smell hit you in the face. I like sushi, and have been in dozens of sushi places in my life and never remember smelling a bad fish smell. Then the wait staff offered us the bar area even though several tables were not occupied. They didn’t seem to care whether we were there or not, and made us wait for several minutes at the hostess station. Finally we just turned around and walked out.
Hoping they can improve things or someone else can come in and offer the upscale sushi experience Baxter Village sorely needs.

First time here and I have to say I enjoyed it. The restaurant was clean and we were greeted and sat right away. They are offering buy one get one free sushi roll everyday and night right now. I don’t know how long that’s going to last.
We got the chicken lettuce wraps as an appetizer. I was surprised at how big it was. It had diced chicken with peppers and onions with some water chestnuts. Lettuce was crispy and refreshing. Chicken was flavorful and savory.
I got the crunch roll and surf & turf roll. Crunch roll was good. Had crab and shrimp. Decent size. Surf & turf roll was also good. I love my steak medium rare and that’s how it was. Shrimp inside with cucumber was good too.
I would definitely come back here again. Service was good too!

Just not good. Wanted to like this place because there are so few options in Baxter area but everything was working against it.
Completely lack of ambiance. Just a plain bad experience.
Bad service, wait staff hung around chatting while we waited for 10 minutes just to get water or acknowledgement. Our eventual waitress was good but the wait staff really killed the mood.
Food is ‘eh at best. My wife’s tuna had something weird going on with it. Hard to explain. Red Bowl is a better bet.

Overall this is a great lunch spot. We started with theLettuce wraps — outstanding! Then took advantage of the buy one, get one rolls. The sushi was fresh and delicious!

We go here a lot! I love Akahana in Baxter Village. We always start out with their house salad with their ginger dressing. It’s great for big groups and we like to have birthdays here. They have a great atmosphere and lots of seating. You can sit in the formal dining area, the bar, or on the patio.
We love their lettuce wraps and they always have buy one get one on the sushi rolls. I don’t really like their spicy tuna rolls there and that makes me sad becuase thats my favorite kind. I recommend the charlotte roll and the bagel roll!
Their noodle stir fry is really good too!
They are not pricy at all either!

One of my favorite spots in Baxter village. The Asian place to go to when in the area.
Great selection of good food and the service is great too. The plates are very big and I always have to take half of it home. I love their lettuce wraps which I think are an appetizer but are big enough to eat as a whole meal or to split with someone else.

Alcohol/​beer is a RIPOFF!!! Do not buy!!! Poseidon roll used to be huge but is now normal sized but price isn’t-$ 24. Yikes. And I just paid $ 7 for a Southern Tier draft beer. Yes, $ 7 for one draft beer. One. Draft. Beer. Fail on all counts. No wonder this place is dead tonight.

Watch your check! They will add charges on drinks that are not on the menu. Service is slow and no apologies made for the delay or any of the mistakes.

Service was very rough! It took 40 minutes for our apps and 45 minutes for the entrees. They overcharged us for the beer and tried to tell us it was because we ordered drafts vs bottle. It did not state that in the menu. When we complained the manager came out with no apology. We had to find someone to get our check. This place is on the list.

Food is fine. Service is bad. Prices are not good. Manager rude and inconsiderate.
Place is packed, food is slow to come and not near enough servers. Caution, watch the beer prices. You order a beer based on the price in the menu and they serve you the «pint» size which costs a dollar more. Not on the menu that way, but that’s what you get. Can you say «rip off»?? Well, at least an attempted ripoff!
Overall a bad experience. Will not be back.

Sarah Abouissa was our server. The sushi was great, the spicy edamame was also fantastic. But Sarah made the experience that much better with her knowledge of the menu, and making perfect recommendations. Definitely will be back but requesting Sarah from now on.

Friend recommended so I finally got to try and was disappointed. Must have been an off day because my fish in sushi wasn’t fresh. Also the rolls were sloppily done and lacked flavor. Server was very nice, but not enough for a repeat.

I’ve been here twice… The first time, I sat at the bar and the second, I got my food to go… Both times I got the same thing because it was so good! lol
I’m a sucker for some edamame and the spicy edamame here is delicious! It’s not super spicy, but it’s got a nice little kick to it… The sauce is just the right balance of sweet so it doesn’t go overboard and the salt is a perfect compliment. I’ve heard their sushi isn’t bad, but I haven’t tried it yet.
The service has been great on both occasions. The bartenders were attentive, courteous and fun. They were quick with refills when I stayed and when I took it to go, I received silverware, napkins and an extra container to put the shells in. Nothing worse than nowhere to put your discards! They even offered me a cup of water to go as I waited. I appreciate that. Next time I’m in the area, it’s on at Akahana!

First time here in Akahana, and I must say that the quality of the food is second to none in the area. I love sushi and have tried most authentic sushi restaurants in Charlotte area. The quality of fish here is one of the best. We will definitely come back again and again.

Service was terrible first time here because dirty martini was closed. Sat outside on a slow Sunday, silverware was dirty took at least 10 mins with food at the table for someone to come by and acknowledge our existence. Decent drink specials food was terrible bland, pad Thai smelt like wet dog, beef shaking something «special» was again bad but more flavor than the pad Thai. Poor service as I said silverware and chop sticks both dirty. Don’t know if this place has been around a while but I couldn’t see it being around long. Avoid.

Good lunch spot. I got the seafood hot pot and it was amazing! You really don’t need the rice that comes with it as it is more of a soup.

Spicy Edamame, Agedashi Tofu, Zen Rolls, and Massamum curry — all yumilicious.
All rolls were Buy One Get One (BOGO) free, but they are over priced to begin with. For Zen Rolls were $ 12, which is pricy.
Service was pretty darn good too.

Always look forward to coming or ordering out at Akahana. Amazing sushi. The sushi is better than the hot entrees albeit the hot entrees are above average.
I always get either the crunchy roll or the Charlotte Roll. The Charlotte roll is is packed with flavor. A must try if you are feeling adventurous.
The quality is great every time whether we dine in or take out. The presentation, taste, etc. is exceptional. Can’t beat the BOGO sushi roll special!
Akahana is one of the few sushi spots in the Fort Mill area. It’s located conveniently in Baxter to enjoy before or after a night in the area. The ambiance is pleasant with both indoor and outdoor seating. Akahana is within walking distance of all other shops and nightlife spots in Baxter.
The owner is very nice and introduced himself and talked to us last time we were in. A week later we saw him while in the area and he recognized us. He offered to buy us sushi next time we were in. It meant a lot that he remembered us.
Only qualm I have is that the draft beer was either stale or the tap system needed cleaned. I had a NoDa Jam Session and it tasted skunked.
All in all I love dining at Akahana when I’m in the mood for some good sushi. Definitely recommend if you are ever in the area and looking to get something out of the ordinary.

They always have bogo sushi, but their prices reflect the «bogo». $ 10 for a spicy tuna roll… especially when at every other place they run usually &4.50-$ 5.
Even though their prices really make it so that it’s not «bogo», their sushi is tasty. Every time I’ve gone, the fish has been fresh and their presentation in appealing. Also this akahana has a large outside seating area so you can enjoy the weather and people watch with some sushi.

I’ve heard a lot of hype surrounding Akahana and can now say I get it. This place is absolutely fantastic for everything Asian, as well as Indian cuisine.
I came for lunch the other day, and against my better judgement tried an Indian dish. Believe me when I say, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the dish and it was VERY good. I was simply jealous of all the other more Asian dishes in my party of 10.
Per the dish I had, a chicken dish with yellow curry with white rice, made great use of curry sauce ingredients as well as a fresh vegetable medley– sprinkled with fresh jalopenos. It was fairly hot outside that day on their patio so I can’t really pin-​point my sweating due to the dish or the heat. My guess is a combination of the two (most likely), and I will say it had the perfect kick. The dish had a perfect flavor balance and was not skimpy on its proportion.
In general, it seemed like just about every dish on the table for in upwards of $ 9, for a lunch menu item, seemed well worth it proportion-​wise. All 10 plates looked delectable and it seems to me it wouldn’t be hard to find a new, great dish off their menu.
Aside from enjoying a lunch here, the interior is such that would warrant a great date night. Very modern and upscale décor. I haven’t looked to hard into their dinner menu, but I can assume quality, quantity, and price are all adequately proportioned, as in lunchtime.