Akira’s Scratch Elevated Bistro

Sunday is Brunch day at Akira’s. Nothing on the menu will dissapoint it seems. Had the Nutella French Toast this time, which tasted even better than it looked. Ordered some potatoes to go along with, which reminded me of home fries with the seasoning and onion. The price was reasonable. As is indicated, this is a $$ establishment. Wait staff was courteous and swift. I really like this place.

As soon as I seen the menu (on Unilocal), I knew I just had to eat at this restaurant. I’ve lived in the Killeen area for almost a year now and I have to say, this has been the best restaurant I’ve eaten at so far. The food is decently priced for the amazing quality dishes they serve. The restaurant is small but the food packs a big punch. The staff is friendly and will answer any question you have with a smile. I ordered the Korean fried chicken wings. The waitress recommended I try the Sticky Sesame flavor, and that’s what I got. I also got the Pork Belly Steam Buns and a side of Kim Chi. My Husband got their Spicy Chicken Burrito. Every bite we took was just an amazing one. The chicken wings is juicy and full of flavor. The moment my husband took a bite of his burrito, I knew he loved it. His eyes rolled back in pure pleasure haha. He couldn’t stop talking about how good it was. We had an overall great experience here. I’d go back to this restaurant in a heart beat.

I ordered the ramen. Presentation was beautiful, but the noodles need to be replaced. They use the same noodles as that of the cup o noodle packages. Owner should think about upgrading to fresh noodles with better consistency. Overall, the broth taste was OK and the pork in the ramen was delicious.

Bulgogi nachos, K-​Town Philly, and the short ribs were amazing! Both the taste of the food and the presentation were more than I was prepared for. Had I not been in public, I would have licked the plate. The staff was awesome, and the atmosphere was relaxing! My sincere compliments to the chef and his team!

Got the fish tacos and the bulgogi plate. Both were great. Presentation was well executed. Restaurant was clean but I guess a lack of space causes them to have to put a prep fridge in the back through the dining area causing the chef to have to leave the cooking area, then walk through the dining area to have to grab supplies, large containers of sauces, etc. At one point he went and grabbed a large (5 gal?) Container of what looked like ponzu sauce and some liquid dripped either from the sauce container or from the bottom of the fridge through the dining area. Minimal staff so no one really noticed. Whatever not that big of a deal. Probably doesnt help with their cook times although it came out quick. I dont think the crowd was anything the guy couldnt handle because he seemed super chill when he was walking through the dining room and the food came out pretty quick. I think he really has his @#! $ together in the kitchen. Hope they can expand or get a door. Server was by herself and a little overwhelmed with 6 tables at 5:30 pm but she handled it like a champ. They had a guy playing some cover songs on acoustic guitar (Alman brothers, Beatles, etc…). All in all it was a good experience and I would go back. I think it definitely is a plus for this area.

Oh my gosh, the food was delicious! I actually went there for breakfast. Everything was high quality in taste from their omelet to their maple syrup. Staff was friendly and they do take out, so left with some strawberry French toast for my husband. The only reason why I didn’t give them a full 5 stars is because it was a little expensive for the amount of food, but hey, Bistros always are. It was a perfect little place for me and I left satisfied. Definitely must comeback here for lunch at some point.

Server was quick and attentive. All the staff was kind and curteous.
This was my first time to have grilled tuna, I have to say I was incredibly impressed with quality of the dish and how it was prepared.
We look forward to coming here time and time again in the future!

Excellent food! I had the bulgogi tacos with a side of fries for my 2 yr old and it was very tasty. Very cute place as well. I will definitely go back to try other items from the menu and the breakfast.

Waited about 50 minutes for our food and the place wasn’t even full. When we received our food, it was cold and flavorless. Customer service was horrible, will not be returning. Very disappointed!

Just had a great dinner here. We split the pork buns which were delicious. I had the bulgogi that was amazing and a huge portion. The homemade egg roll that came with it was awesome. My husband got the TKP aka Korean Philly cheesesteak which was tasty. Then he helped me finish off my plate. Glad there are cool places like this in town. Will definitely visit again soon.

Had a great meal on a night where everything on the main drag was packed. We were the only patrons present at the time and we got the full benefits.
Wife had what she described as the best Appletini that she’s ever had. (Now I gotta step my bartender game up). We ordered dinner and appetizers together thinking we were «that» hungry… we were wrong!!. She ordered the LA style «kalbi» ribs entrée and they were awesome. I had the scratch burger and it looked intimidating but I finished it… finally. it was cooked perfectly medium with fresh lettuce, tomato and red onions. We also ordered the bulgogi nachos to come with dinner and that’s where we made the mistake. Not that they weren’t good because they were excellent, but it we realized too late that we ordered too much food that we had to pack the rest up.
Definitely going back and bringing our foodie crew

Best food in area hands down, don’t miss out on this gourmet restaurant and amazing staff.

Scratch is something very different in Killeen but is much needed in the area. The chef is out of this world and his wings are great but they only sale them at lunch. EVERYONE SHOULD GO CHECK IT OUT!!! You won’t regret.

This place has a lot of potential. We ate here 3 times this fall. Our first experience was amazing. We had the mac and cheese eggrolls for a starter with a black and blue burger and bulgogi grilled cheese. Everything was amazing! We couldn’t wait to come back. By far the best burger we had had in the Killeen area.
We came in at 2pm on a Sunday wanting a good burger again. They only serve breakfast all day. My husband had a chorizo omelet and I had a honey ricotta bacon waffles. My husbands food came out and our server didn’t return till he was almost done with his meal and told us they had to remake my food. It took away from our dining experience for sure. We had a huge breakfast that day, so it was just not in the cards to have two breakfasts that day. My food wasn’t that great and my husband was not feeling his omelet was that good.
We came one day and the door was open, but they said they were closed. They changed their hours and it is really confusing. So make sure you call first before you waste your time driving there to just be disappointed.
Our final visit, we were hoping for a burger once again. We got seated. No burgers on the menu. We were super disappointed. So, the menu really didn’t have any wholesome food on it. We shared some appetizer eggrolls and pork buns. Everything was good, but it juts wasn’t a meal that hit the spot. We left still hungry.
When I say potential, I mean it from a place of good intent. I think having a set menu would be key. You are right off a military base and most people just love a quality burger. Nothing is more frustrating than when you have something that is so delicious only to never be able to have it again. That creates frustration and turns people away and off. The food we have had (minus breakfast) was so delicious. We are in Killeen and you can’t be too hip and trendy with a menu, when people just want a good consistent meal. That is my only recommendation.

I used to eat at Akira’a a lot when they were inside Whiskey Business. One day, I found hair in my tacos. It was a huge turn off for me and I couldn’t go back.
A few days ago, I went in and got tacos and an egg roll. I was trying to get over my mental block because that can and does happen in restaurants and I wanted to give them another chance. Dang it if I didn’t get a hair in my egg roll!!!
Sorry but it’s two strikes with me. No more.
In regards to the food after the merge: The food is good, but somewhat limited. I liked their menu prior to the merge (you can’t even get a salad here anymore). It would be nice if they had more of a mixed menu instead of one dominated by Korean fusion. It would be a lot easier to take a group here if they did. There is still a burger but that’s about it for «American» food. For our large party, very few wanted Korean fusion and there just wasn’t much for them.
For me, I doubt I’ll be back. The trust is gone. It’s sad because I loved those tacos.

This is a great place in Downtown Killeen to hang out and dine. The food is great, the atmosphere is delightful, and the servers are attentive. The Chef was kind enough to come out and talk to our group. I tried the Bulgogi taco which was tasty and presented well. Will definitely try other dishes on there menu.

Scratch is a fine place.
But it is not what you would expect in the middle of downtown Killeen.
It is a Yuppie café in a downscale no-​nonsense military town.
It is like a little piece of Sixth Street in Austin magically transferred to Avenue D.
The crowd is young. At brunch, I think I was the only person there older than thirty five.
The bar has a machine for vape shots.
They stock lots and lots of inexpensive rums — and not too much beer.
I didn’t know Captain Morgan came in that many variations.
So my guess is that people do some serious bulk drinking here on Saturday nights.
The food itself is korean-​fusion-​all-​american
I didn’t see a korean either on the staff or as a customer — but execution by the USA-​all-​the-​way staff is completely fine.
I had a bulgogi chili, which is a fine alternative to plain old texas chili. (Spicy, but sweeter, and less of a chili powder taste.) This is one recipe I want to try to figure out just for my own home use. It’s a great idea.
Bulgogi shows up on about 40% of the items on the menu.
Breakfast had lots of American upscale café staples. (Vegetarian omelet, crème brûlée style french toast, greek cheese omelet, buttermilk pancakes)
There are other fusion dishes like korean-​style chicken wings.
The place was not super-​mobbed, but it was Sunday breakfast on a grey rainy day.
I don’t know of any other place like this in Killeen.
It’s a nice thing to have in town.

We had such high expectations for this restaurant based on multiple reviews but in the end we left sorely disappointed.
The ambience was pleasant enough but the comatose waitress had absolutely no interest in engaging her customers.
Our order took way too long to reach our table and when it did, it was cold. We waited about 25 minutes to be served and during this entire time we never saw our waitress or our utensils.
Paying for our bill resulted in our server charging us for our meal and someone else’s. When we reached out to the restaurant we were instructed to call our bank and figure it out ourselves.
Needless to say we will not be returning or recommending this restaurant to any of our friends.

Our waitress seemed super stressed out, almost annoyed to take our order (party of 8) and forgot to bring my wine for 20 mins, and it is BALLS hot in here on a Saturday at 7:40 in July, should have AC pumping! I was a waitress so can understand a bad day in wait-​staffing but please… at least check on us!
The menu didn’t specify mayo on the black and blue burger so I didn’t say «no mayo» well it came with mayo and I HATE MAYO! she never even came back to see if we needed anything and since I didn’t get fries they didn’t ask if I wanted ketchup, I need ketchup!
Mac n cheese was interesting tasting. My medium well burger was well done and swapped blue for cheddar and it wasn’t melted at all. It was dry but tasty but would prob order something different next time. Fries are handout so that’s a plus but maybe make them a little crispier. Good try first time around we may try again but please turn on the AC!

I decided to try this restaurant based on reviews from
and Unilocal.We were greeted upon entering and told to sit where we wanted. The restaurant is very narrow and has tables that sit either two or 4 people. The tables on the patio only sit 2 people, which wouldn’t have worked for my husband, daughter and myself.
Our waitress was new and couldn’t recommended anything. We ordered shrimp tacos with a side salad, steak tacos with grilled veggies, wings and a child’s chicken strip and fry meal. My salad came first, followed by the wings. Then both orders of tacos came out. I waited for a re minutes for the kids meal but I had to ask for it. After waiting about another 10 minutes I was finally brought the meal and told that she, our waitress, hadn’t heard me order it. Once we began eating we weren’t asked if we needed anything else.
The shrimp tacos were blah, I wouldn’t recommend them. They lacked flavor, maybe even salt. It just tasked like shrimp and a coleslaw on a flour tortilla. The steak tacos were better because the meat was seasoned. The kids meal was ok, fries were fresh cut. The wings were good but would have been really good if they had been seasoned prior to cooking. They are fried crispy without flour.
We would consider returning to try more of the menu and even the brunch if the waiting staff were better.