I have been many times and will continue going for as long as it stands, one of the oldest and most earnest casual Japanese dining in town, no tricks no fancy over priced non sense nor hefty 20+ pages menu, just your simple good old authentic izakaya style dishes, salmon sushi is must try staple, always try to get uni, sardine or mackerel sashimi on special board, ambient minimalist modern decor with cool jazz humming from the speaker and Uptown Jazz next door. A true hidden gem of Melbtown.
We went in here for a quick dinner. We found the prices quite high. We took a starter box and a sushi platter. All the food was delicious. The service was very friendly. I would love to go back to try some more things. If they weren't this expensive I would have given 4.5.
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Another great find for authentic Japanese food on Brunswick Street. Always went past but never actually dined here. It was a quiet night for these guys (it's a freezing cold Monday night after all) which is a pity. The food is not mind-blowing or out of the world, but every dish was executed well, tasted delicious and prepared with care. The restaurant interior is simplistic and modern with a calm/relaxed ambience and soothing music playing in the background. Perfect for a date or an intimate dinner when you want to engage in a conversation. We started off with a bowl of mussel miso soup each and it was hearty and warming, quite light in taste and not that salty. For appetizers we had some gyoza, a wafu salad, tatsuta-age, mixed tempura and yakitori skewers. Every single one of them was tasty and beautifully presented. The gyoza, tempura and fried chicken were well-fried whilst retaining the moistness inside. Wafu salad was a good palate cleanser, with a variety of veggies. We then moved onto a sushi & sashimi platter and a plate of gyu sashi (this is different from beef tataki because the latter is usually lightly seared while this is actual sashimi). There were diced onions on both dishes and it added a nice flavour kick to them. The sashimi was fresh and my favourite was the tuna which was melt-in-the-mouth soft. Same goes for the gyu sashi, it was incredibly tender and such a delight that I ate every single piece slowly in order to savour and fully enjoy the taste. We were extremely full after finishing everything so we didn't try dessert. On the whole it's definitely worth trying out if you are in the area or live locally. Lunch specials also look very enticing!
North Fitzroy Food Addict
+4
If you're after some delicious and fresh authentic Japanese food, make your way to Akari.
The sashimi melts in your mouth and is very reasonably priced. We asked for extra salmon sashimi and they only charged a fraction of the price other restaurants charge for this request.
The ohitashi (boiled spinach with sesame sauce) was amazing. Fresh and packed with a great flavour. We doubled up on this we loved it so much.
Miso soup tasty but not over powering and salty like some places.
Next time we would love to try the tempura as it looked delicious as they were taking it out to other tables.
The service was lovely and very attentive. We are really looking forward to going back soon.
Brunswick St has a stack of good places to eat and even though it's not famous for its Asian food you can do a lot worse than Akari. Service can be slow but the food has been fresh the few times I have visited.
Wonderful authentic dishes. Run by a Japanese couple, lovely atmosphere and service. Highly recommend the beef sashimi, plus the fused Izayaka experience upstairs-yesss, you can have their food at the Jazz cafe with live jazz)))
Delicious Japanese for what it is worth. I won't say this is the best Japanese but the restaurant serves honest Jap cuisine. Simple, quick, affordable and worth going back. The chef is quite stingy with the sashimi. When you order sashimi, it is fresh but each slice is about 0.5cm thick which is very ungenerous and non-standard per slice thickness. I will usually go for the soba and other dishes such as okonomiyaki, tofu, nabe, gyoza and mussels hotpot.
Great, reasonably-priced food. Friendly staff. I can recommend the teriyaki chicken (very succulent and generous portion, served with a substantial salad), and the excellent takoyaki and gyoza. Would certainly go back. A starter, main, rice and flask of sake will set you back about $45.
I had a feast with friends last night and everything was impeccable! Delicious, timely, courteous, well-priced. I am sold - this is an outstanding restaurant.
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Delightful local neighbourhood restaurant. Akari is the place the locals come to for a nice night out. If you want posh silver service (and the bill for it) you go elsewhere. If you like Japanese food (esp Sashimi and teriyaki) and you want to be a friendly, local buzzing but not rowdy corner locals place, go to Akari. The restaurant is not large but it gets a pleasant buzz of people on a weekend night.
Good value for money, the 'special set' includes miso soup, rice, and two small main courses (I like the cooked Salmon and the tempura whitebait but the Sashimi is good too). The Bento Box is yum and I recommend ordering two or three extra oysters that come with it if you are into cooked, really rich food. (The oysters are very rich with mayonnaise etc so its not to everyones taste but I love them). Red bean and green tea ice cream are yum, but I really like the parfait with a splash of Grand Marnier through it. Also ace, the Japanese plum wine on ice. You'll often see some local resident japanese small groups in there who have lived in Australia for years, but come here for a little taste of home.
The owner has supported local schools with give aways etc over the year. The decor is is sleek and modern but you don't have to sit on the floor. Service is sometimes slow but always by a Japanese speaker (usually native), they try very hard (A+ for effort) and the owner is almost always on site behind the main counter making up sushi. It's a good place to take kids who are say learning Japanese in school for a bit of practice in ordering and sample how the locals eat.
It was a combination of 'Cry me a river' playing & a customer paying his bill by saying he used to come here 18 years ago & he'd bought his mates back even though he has moved out of the area. The place is not flash but the handwritten sign stated that sea urchin is available today is promising & it's seem that you could settle in for a night of some good food. A staple but the best I have yet - agedashi & teriyaki chicken bento next time when not in a rush will be more adventurous.
Love this place, great authentic Japanese food. Good variety available on the menus and I have yet to get anything I didn't enjoy. Some of my favorites would be the sake streamed muscles, any of the sushi / sashimi, okonomiyaki, and the mochi dessert is awesome! The food does usually come out at a slow pace so if you are in a hurry keep that in mind.
There are a great many Japanese restaurants in Melbourne, but Akari is one of our all time favourites. Great food with beautiful presentation, good service and charming ambiance at a reasonable price. Highly recommended.
Food was really very good, price was very reasonable. Staff were very friendly, but not very attentive and got a couple of our orders wrong. all in all the meal was very good, thoroughly recommend the pancakes.
Can't rate this place highly enough, really really great food and fresh ingredients. One of the few places where the take-away is as amazing as the sit-in food. Go there. Eat!
Food is very fresh and tasty and reasonably priced... a great little restaurant. Very much a favourite of mine! Highly recommended.
Great sushi, awesome tempura. Did not complain when we accidentally stayed past closing time.
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