Akai Hana

Just had the Asparagus Beef Maki and it was delicious and plentiful. Also ordered the Sashimi dinner and the fish was fresh and tasty. There is a reason this place has been around before I was born. They know what they are doing when it comes to Japanese food. Probably the best Japanese food available in the North Shore– owner or manager is definitely Japanese.

Just your average sushi restaurant, so of course, I’m not going to have high expectations. But the quality of their food was way below average. I had the sashimi bento for lunch with the salad on the side. The salad wasn’t even good at all. Their miso soup was okay. The sashimi was watery and a bit soggy, rolls were dry, and the ginger wasn’t fresh. Worst bento experience I’ve ever had.

This is a great place for Japanese food, especially if you love bento boxes and sushi. We come here pretty often for Sunday lunch and enjoy their teriyaki chicken bento boxes. The portion sizes are good and the food is tasty. The restaurant is clean and the staff are very attentive. Definitely try this place out if you get a chance.

We came in and were seated right away on a Saturday evening at 5pm. It was about 25% full in the restaurant. Plenty of workers not seemingly busy. We were brought warm towels and water right away by someone whom may have been a busboy. Literally 15 minutes later, a waitress walked by and said I’ll be with you in a few minutes. We felt since it wasn’t that busy, it shouldn’t take 20 min for someone to take our order, not even a drink order. We got up and left. No one said or asked us anything. On the way out, the sushi chef who saw us leaving said have a good night. We will, after we find some place else to eat.

I went on a Tuesday afternoon of March 2016. I went with a family member. I had been to Akai Hana once, in December 2015. I had some type of salmon roll, which was good.
The service was good. Green tea was good, and was also complimentary. Our dishes came with a complimentary salad, which was really good. The salad was made of cucumbers, which were fresh. I loved the dressing. Our dishes also came with miso soup. It was pretty watered down, but since our meals came with a salad, it was like a bonus.
We had bento boxes. Both came with tempura. The tempura was delicious — best part of the meal. The batter of the tempura was crispy and light, and not too oily. We will go again for the tempura. (My burps afterward tasted like the tempura and they made me hungry for more, hahaha!)
The most disappointing part were the rolls. They were very sloppily made. The big rolls fell apart very easily. The rice on the outside of the California Rolls looked messy. I liked how they were generous with the avocado in the California Rolls, but the way the rolls were made was poor.

I’m really surprised and bothered that this place gets only 3 stars average. I guess there are people who slam a restaurant for one less-​than-​perfect dining experience? We’ve always had fine times eating here for lunch and that’s probably a dozen times. FOR THE PRICE, it’s a great place. We don’t expect 5-​star cuisine but we don’t pay for 5-​star cuisine. Service is good.
I’m not a sushi expert so I don’t pretend to know all the fine points. The portion in the box lunch specials is very generous. The rice is always delicious and fresh. The meats, salmon or tuna or chicken, are well prepared. The establishment has been at this location forever so someone must like it.
Try it out!

Wow… Low end sushi restaurant. Didn’t know those two words go together until now.
No wonder no one orders sushi here. Ordered dragon roll and crispy dragon rolls. It was horrible. Wow. Just wow. Service was so-​so, too. I regret not picking up from AO sushi across the parking lot and eat in the car instead. Never coming back here again. Never.

I used to go to Akai Hana several years ago. Some of my first sushi experiences were here. Sadly, Akai Hana has really declined in several aspects, particularly in their service and freshness of their fish.
I came here in October and was totally not pleased. The fish was either very fishy or bland tasting and lacked moisture. Their rolls and Nigiri fell apart when I picked it up.
Today, I had a similar experience. The service at Akai Hana tonight was not good. It wasn’t even the fact that they were busy (yes, despite this place’s decline they manage to usually have a full house and a ton of takeout orders) but how we were being treated by the wait staff. My grandmother came in with me and doesn’t particularly like or know much about Japanese food. They were not patient with her at all and were short and snippy with us both. We did not feel welcome or comfortable during our dining experience. The fish was once again awful. One hour later and I feel sick. All the fish was super fishy, the sake (salmon) Nigiri was ok, but still fell right apart. The mackerel was especially fishy and was probably the worst I’ve ever had. The maki rolls fell apart (the nori couldn’t even stick together).
The only reason I am giving them 2 stars instead of 1 is because of their green tea ice cream, their green tea, and their mochi balls (although the mochi isn’t worth the price, $ 5.50 for 3? cmon now). Another reason that they are getting 2 stars is because the unagi here tasted great, even though the piece of Nigiri fell apart (like every piece). Also, the pieces of fish in the maki rolls are thick and make up most of the roll. Their sake selection is quite good if you are into that. I think that Akai Hana is slightly more authentic (yet still not very authentic) than many other Japanese restaurants nearby (i’m looking at you RA and Kyoto Japan). However, authenticity doesn’t mean jack if your sushi falls apart and your fish tastes dry and fishy.
I would prefer sushi from Mariano’s to this (true story!!!). I will not return to Akai Hana which is a shame. Such a convenient location and potential to be a great casual Japanese option. If they continue down this path, they won’t stay open, especially with AO sushi now open in the same plaza.

I have always enjoyed their food.
Unfortunately, the last time I was there, the door to the kitchen was open and I saw a mouse trap on the floor under a cart. Not good. They are getting in from holes in the walls which are plainly visible. I won’t return.

After a long morning of shopping, I was glad I stopped in. The lunch specials they have made my day. They have a fairly large section for lunch and so many combinations which makes it very hard to choose. After a bit of time I ordered the sashimi and udom lunch special (4 slices of salmon and tuna, seaweed salad, tempera and a bowl of udom.
The prices are reasonable for the location and always, plenty of parking.

A north shore classic that is still kicking it. I met some friends at Aki Hana for dinner and was not disappointed. They are reasonably priced with a large Saki selection. They have great appetizers like goma-​ae and agadashi tofu. The dinner combinations were genrous with miso soup, krab and cucumber salad, california roll, sushi, salmon teriyaki and green tea ice cream for under $ 20. Service was friendly and attentive. A great place to get your Japanese fix!

HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE !!! It is a shame the I even had to put 1 star just to write this review because that is giving them to much credit. Tried placing a to go order and the rude woman who was taking our order kept trying to change what we were asking for. We were so confused by her «suggestions» and rudeness that we ended up canceling our order.

It’s a good local sushi restaurant. I haven’t found anything exceptional. They do give nice thick pieces of fish on maki rolls.
The seating area is suitable for families but it wouldn’t be ideal for a event to dress up for or a date.

Both my husband and I were ill after lunch this week. He had the chicken tempura don. I had the Mexican roll, spicy tuna and spicy salmon. Maybe it was the salad as we both had salad. But we were seriously ill. We had never had an incident with this restaurant before this one. We will not chance going back.

I’m trying to figure out how I haven’t yet written a review for Akai Hana seeing as I pretty much lived on their spicy tuna and spicy salmon rolls during law school! Hands down best spicy tuna and spicy salmon rolls I have ever had! I don’t know what their secret is but they are to die for! We even used to sneak Akai Hana into the library to eat while we were studying. Now that I no longer live in Illinois, I make a point to get carry out for lunch whenever I’m in town.
I prefer take out than to eat in. There used to be a location downtown on Rush, which was quite nice but has closed. The Wilmette location is a little run down and it’s usually near impossible to find a parking spot. Warning: the bank next door WILL have you towed for parking in the bank lot! Regardless, the employees are nice and the food is friggin’ amazing! ‘Nuf said.

It is alright but not outstanding. You can kind of tell the caliber of sushi they serve using their ginger as an indicator. Here the ginger was the kind died pink artificially. That was a negative for me.

Décor is decent, full of wood furniture and paintings/​small-​murals all around the walls
Service was good, got our waters filled, beers delivered, and food given to us with quick dispatch.
I had the combination box with salmon, nicely cooked, with a cucumber crab salad, 3 pieces of sushi, rice, and some rolls. All were nicely made and were delicious.
I went here a few times before and its very consistent on the food cooking style, taste and appearance.
I think its one of those Korean owned Japanese restaurants, but this place still hits the spot in being very decent, to at least this amateur food critic (at best).
Tip: come early and it won’t be as crowded. Come in after 5−6pm (for dinner), and you’ll be seated but will be crowded and a bit loud.
Will still come back here for good food and service.

Akai Hana is our go to place for tempura. The shrimp and veggies come out hot and crispy, not greasy at all. Generous portions. The bento box dinner combination comes with miso soup, cucumber krab salad, 6 pieces of california maki, 3 pieces of nigiri, and a dish of ice cream. We also order the sea bass teriyaki and salmon teriyaki. The kids like the pork cutlet over rice. The staff is super friendly. Parking can get crazy some evenings.

One of their bento boxes is the way to go. You get a little bit of everything: choice of protein (beef, chicken, salmon, shrimp tempura), california roll, cucumber salad, rice, miso soup and choice of ice cream (Ed bean, green tea, chocolate) at the end.

While I still think this place has a really good chicken teriyaki bento box, it’s worth coming here during lunch rather than dinner to score their specials (you just don’t get the salad or the scoop of ice cream with your meal). The chicken teriyaki bento box comes with rice, pickled radish, wasabi, a pile of cabbage, 3 types of sushi (tuna, shrimp, and salmon), 6 california rolls with overly riped avocados, and the chicken teriyaki. You have your choice of dark or white meat for the chicken. It is filling. My mom had the salmon teriyaki, and it tasted light and fresh — the fish itself is juicy and the skin, a little crispy.
+chicken teriyaki bento box
+green tea ice cream