Akiko’s Sushi Bar

Awesome fresh fish. The chef is great to chat with. He’s very happy and friendly guy. Plus the plates are very beautiful and well placed. The place is small but very cozy and the service is fast.

Their food are so delicious! Their sushi is so fresh too! They only have four table and one bar. Very small room. Hard to walk in from door to the table that we were seating in. The four table was quickly seated. Friendly server. They do have wifi. You better go in before 11am for lunch or it would get crowd. Definitely will go there again. Also they don’t have tempura on the menu.

This place has the best tasting salmon! I’ve been to many sushi bars and their sushi is so fresh and authentic.
I was a bit caught off guard to the size of the area. There’s literally 4 – 5 small tables and a 3 person bar. Luckily, it was just my boyfriend and I so we got to sit ASAP. Not really ideal for big groups because of the space.

Good service good food. Fav dish of the night was the catapilar roll. It was done a little different than I an used too, but delish. Sashimi ahi great, but as expected, had to screw up. Place is small as pointed out in other reviews. Parking is as special as any place in SF. They only take Visa or Mastercard… or cash :).

What an amazing experience I had eating here at Akikos. Not only was my food delicious, my waitress was an amazing asset to my dining experience. She took a Polaroid of us as well which melted my heart

My husband and I ate here with our toddler last night. We had a delicious meal with friendly and accommodating service. While there wasn’t a high chair, we sat comfortably on the bench seat by the window. The flavors and quality of food are excellent. We had vegetable udon, a cut roll, hand roll and chirashi, along with some miso soup. Very tasty! I wish the udon had a little bit more vegetables in it, but it was very good nonetheless. Get to this place early though, it fills up quickly because it’s just a couple of tables.

So my standard for sushi is pretty high. I enjoy trying different sushi places even knowing I can be allergic. Hahaha. That’s how much I love sushi. Having that said, this place is ok. The sashimi was not bad. It did not have any fishy flavor and was enjoyable to eat. Not the best I’ve had. The Lizzy Roll was nothing amazing. But for $ 9, it was worth it. The Lion King Roll… sucked! Nothing like what u think it would be. I didn’t get it baked in foil with toasted mayo on top. It was baked but with a weird flavored sauce. Not worth $ 15 bucks!!! I would rather have gone to Domo or Amami and their lion king is ten times better and cheaper! Another sushi place to try but will not return. I, however, will still try the one on Bush since it looks like it was rated higher by fellow Unilocalers.

A friend and myself ate here last weekend. Needless to say the food and service was outstanding. If you are in SF by any chance and looking to eat some delicious sushi or sashimi, this is the spot for real!

Interesting place. It is very tiny. 3 seats at the counter& 2 tables for 4 & 2 tables for 2 in the window. The staff is Chinese, not Japanese. They were speaking Cantonese to each other. Must have bought it from the prior Japanese owners.
I just had a unagi donburi and a large bottle of Saporro. The beer was freshly bottled an cold; can’t say that each time I’ve had it. The donburi came w/​miso & a salad. Oddly, the unagi was placed on the salad on top of the rice. There were also some edamame and chopped cucumber included w/​the salad. The unagi tasted ok but seemed a bit undercooked — not raw — to me because it did not seem as firm as I am used to having it served to me.
The bathroom is located in the basement to the apt bldg in which the sushi bar is s located. You have to access it thru the apt lobby down a narrow stairway. It’s located across from the coin op laundry under the stairway. THAT’s very Chinese.
Should also note that the prices are about 50−60% higher than indicated in the Unilocal online menu. The donburi cost me $ 15 when it’s lusted online. for $ 10 but they do take credit cards.
Can’t say whether can he Chinese staff affects the authenticity of the food but if you’re looking for an out of the way, less touristy place to eat while downtown, Akika’s may be the place 4 you.

This is a teeny tiny place, but the sushi has BIG flavor. Maybe we got lucky. We only had to wait two minutes on a Saturday night to get seated. We enjoyed the Seafood Udon (large fish pieces), the San Francisco roll, Saki Maki, and (highlight) the Double Star roll. We added this place to our «will return» spots.

We went here to grab a quick bite before a concert at Nob Hill Masonic. The restaurant is tiny, like a converted coat check room (but tastefully decorated), and it’s all downhill from the Masonic so it’s a steep climb to get back!
Lots to choose from on the menu, the waitress was very knowledgeable about gluten free options, and when we explained we were in a hurry, she helped us select dishes that could be turned around quickly.
But besides being fast, our sushi was beautiful and delicious! I wish it was closer to home because I definitely would come back!

THE BEST SUSHI IVE EVER HAD. I’m not just saying this. The fish is so fresh that it feels like it’s melting in your mouth. There are about 5 tables, and I think the place can only hold 12 people. We didn’t wait too long to be seated. We ordered the vegetable Udon (fresh broth, generous in size), and for specialty rolls: RCR, and one that had butter fish (it was a special of the day), and the Lizzy roll. Everything was perfect. It’s literally just one sushi chef and a waitress but they are kind, accommodating, and attentive. Worth the visit. I’m coming back for sure.

I’m going to be honest, I stumbled here accidentally because I could not get into Ryoko or Sanruku. However, I am glad I did. The other two places had super long lines. This PLACE IS SO CUTE CAUSE ITS SO SMALL. When my boyfriend and I walked into this place and was offered a table (after being rejected by the other two sushi restaurants), our eyes widened and we were amazed at the small size of the restaurant. YOU REALLY HAVE ROOM FOR US? WELL SURE THEY DID. There are 4 tables total in this restaurant and we got one!
We got three rolls total and that might have been too much. I got a dragon roll and then I forgot the other two. I do remember that the rolls were pretty fresh and not bad at all! I will definitely come back again but be cautious since there are only four tables there!

This is what I want when I go out for sushi. I want to feel like I am ordering things that I couldn’t get from other places and if i can that is it done in a way that is worth going out for. Everything about the set up of this place and the quality of the food made it worth if for me.
The place is incredibly small so be prepared to wait for a seat or if you are lucky to be squeezed in next to several people. Once you are finally able to get in you are greeted by an eclectic menu of sushi. We ordered the nigiri and several rolls when we went.
The sushi was so delicious and fresh and I wanted to come back and try more. The only problem was that I would not want to wait in that line again or have to sit in the cramped building again. It is worth stopping by and trying once but unless you are able to go during non peak hours its hard to recommend it being your only stop.
For the sushi lovers out there it is a great little spot near union square and should be checked out if you are looking for alternatives to Ryokos.

I was extremely disappointed in my experience here. I wanted an omakase style meal which was reported on Unilocal but which they do not offer and also was also told no when I asked for a specific cut of tuna, and I waited 10 minutes at least for a drink refill which actually never came: the real problem is that they didn’t care at all, no alternative recommendations or help. SO disappointing!!!

Came here yesterday with some friends for dinner. It’s a very small place — just 4 tables and 2 seats at the sushi bar. The menu is also quite limited
I ordered a eel donburi and there were more veggies in it than eel. Overall it was okay, but I wouldn’t recommend coming here if you’re with a large group or if you want to eat more than just sushi rolls.

Absolutely horrid. Do not come here. If I could give them something lower than one star, I would.
I went here with my sister and friend. Let me start out by saying that the three of us have eaten at numerous sushi bars/​restaurants, from low grade but fresh, to air flown directlyfrom Japan. This is not my first rodeo.
One of my sushi pieces today had a bone in it. I pointed it out to the waitress, and showed her the bone. After she told the chefs, the chefs proceeded to talk about how surprised we were to find bones in our fish — in Cantonese. «They ordered fish, and were surprised to find bones?» What the chefs didn’t know was that I actually speak Cantonese, and understood everything they said. Anyone with a 1^st grade education could tell you that fish have bones. I can also tell you that it’s a chef’s job to prep the fish, which includes deboning the fish, especially if the fish is meant for sushi/​sashimi purposes. Note: at no point did they offer to replace the piece of sushi with the bone. (My sister later commented to the chefs that we understood them, and they just stood there staring blankly at her, speechless.)
Next, another piece of my sushi had a sand-​y solid piece of «rock» (unknown actual substance) inside the rice. It was so hard my tooth nearly chipped as I bit down, and I had to spit out that piece. Even after spitting out the piece, I had small sand-​y pieces of that unknown substance left in my mouth that I had to wash down with soup.
Come here at your own peril. Be prepared to debone your own sushi, check the rice you are about to bite into, and be prepared to have the chefs talk about you while you are still in the restaurant.

When my family and I went to this restaurant, the wait was 10 to 15 minutes. We decided to go here because all of the other restaurants didn’t look appealing. So after that we were able to get our table.
When we went to the table, we ordered a donburi, a beef teriyaki, a sashimi, a miso marinated salmon, and a chicken udon. Everything was excellent, and the sashimi was really fresh. Also we ordered some rolls, like the lizzy and dragon rolls. These two rolls were very fresh! Overall, I thought this restaurant is worth it, and you should give it a try when you are in San Francisco!

Came here late Wednesday night. We did wait about 10 min for a table because there is only 4 tables, each seating 3 people to 5 people. Plus a sushi bar that sits about 2 people comfortably-​3 elbow to elbow. Service was very rushed but food was good!
Sashimi was very good — cold, fresh and nice thick slices.
Rolls were alright — nothing out of the ordinary. So I’d come back for sashimi!

There are not a ton of great lunch options near Union Square but a colleague of mine found Akiko’s. It’s right around the block from my work so makes it super easy.
The spot is tiny so I’d suggest getting there right when it opens. I got the chef’s selection and it was pretty good. The spicy tuna had a nice kick to it.

This is the smaller sibling of another location I guess. And it most definitely is quite small, three or four tables and a bar. We walked in early without reservations and were sat at the bar.
There was just one dude rolling everything right in front of us and he was really cool to watch. Just him making sure he chose the right piece of fish to cut from each time was so engaging it was almost hard to think about anything else. There was a kitchen in the back where the soups and other dishes were being prepared.
Ma girl got the udon noodles, which I thought were really awesome. She later informed me that udon noodles are actually hard to screw up. But I personally don’t think that had much to do with how good those noods were. We shared that bowl and had like 6 rolls otherwise. I don’t think I’ve ever had a spicy tuna or salmon roll made as intricately as this. The chef made the simple taste truly fantastic. Couple in the high quality of fish they were serving, and it was lights out.
Other notable things from this venture were the lack of table space, and the intricacy of their wasabi delivery. When we were in there literally every seat was taken and the space became quite cramped. As homegirl and I definitely don’t take our orders lightly. We easily knock out like 6 – 8 rolls each time we grab sushi. So we couldn’t support all of our rolls with the table space available, we had to consolidate different rolls onto one plate, probably wouldn’t have been a deal if we made reservations and just got a normal table. Also the wasabi came out with a special little leaf design on it and as simple as that was NO other sushi spot I’ve been to regardless of price has done this. I love when places pay special attention to little details like this, makes them all the more memorable.