Akiko’s Restaurant is located near Union Square and the Dragon’s Gate to Chinatown at 431 Bush St in San Francisco (there is another restaurant also called Akiko on Mason St, so be aware to avoid any confusion). The restaurant is rather tiny with maybe 30 seats in total. It’s very popular and a true sushi classic in the Bay Area. Some of the staff at Akiko’s Restaurant are industry veterans from Sushi Ran, the infamous sushi restaurant in Sausalito on the other side of the bay.
“The exceptional quality of our sushi is attributed to a one-of-a-kind combination of fresh ingredients, coupled with 30 years of experience and modern preparation techniques. Never satisfied with the mundane, we are constantly experimenting with innovative culinary methods to refine our menu. Since we’ve begun our culinary adventure, we have only pursued the most sustainable and freshest products available.
Akiko’s offers traditional-contemporary sushi along with a variety of eclectic seafood items. We pride ourselves on using the finest quality of local and seasonal fresh fish, which arrive daily from local purveyors and Japan’s Tsukiji Fish Market. Maintaining a sensitivity to environmental demands, it is our practice to source out overfished stock in favor of rare and sustainable marine products. We are committed to using as much sustainable, organic and local products as possible to ensure an ecologically-minded component to your eating experience at Akiko’s.”
Source: Akiko’s Sushi Restaurant
Omakase Menu
Although the a la cart menu is filled with many amazing choices of fish, the omakase style menu seems to be best option when one is seated at the sushi bar. It is offered as either sashimi or nigiri and the sushi chef at the bar will gladly incorporate some of your preferences if you want him to.
I started out with an awesome sashimi platter composed of sake (king salmon), maguro tuna (big eye tuna), suzuki (sea bass) and hirame (halibut). Afterwards I was presented with another 7 piece platter, totally blowing me away. It entailed hamachi (yellow tail) and ika (baby squid), ayu (sweet fish), hotategai (scallop), umi masu (ocean trout), sustainable chu toro (bluefin medium fatty tuna) and ankimo (monkfish liver pate). For the grand finale I had two more pieces of unagi (freshwater eel) nigiri. Luckily I took some picture.
Some information about my visit to Akiko’s Restaurant can be found at moritzrecke.com
Sushi Guide Verdict
Akiko’s Restaurant provides a very modern atmosphere with open brick walls and an open bar at the core of the restaurant. The fish was absolutely delicious and of supreme quality. All dished were served in a traditional manner and the menu offers a wide selection from all seas and some select specialties. The drink menu is falling behind the great food options. While there is a decent beer selection, wine and sake options are limited. The service was outstanding with absolute nothing left to be desired. As with many other high class sushi restaurants, it might be worth mentioning that Akiko’s Restaurant is also rather pricy. But considering the menu variety and food quality, it is absolutely worth it. Since some of the personal also worked at Sushi Ran before, there is a somewhat familiar touch to dining at Akiko’s Restaurant.
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Average
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Review date: June 6, 2014