Food was 3.5/5 Service was 4/5 Ambiance 5/5 Interior 4/5 These are categories and my subjective review. read more

Did not expect such great sushi from this place! The outside looked like it needed repairs... Or needs sprucing up a bit. But when you walk in its a really nice cozy place. The staff are really friendly. The food is delicious and fish is fresh. BUT the one thing that really stood out to me was the presentation! It was not just food plopped on to a plate. Now other sushi places serve really nice plating as well but Akai just seemed a step above them. I dont think the pictures do the presentation justice. Yes I would come back. When I finally got over how pretty the plating was, I saw how generous they were with the fish servings. Yum! Worth the money for sure! read more

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A very soothing atmosphere emanates from this restaurant in an intimate setting. I had the spicy roll set and it was very good, although a little too spicy for my taste. This is a solid bet for sushi in the area. read more

Akai Sushi - Spicy roll set - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Really great sushi place with a good variety of rolls, sashimi, sushi, don bowls, and udon. If you're indecisive then I wish you good luck on deciding what to order as everything sounds delicious. There were a few rolls on the menu that I hadn't seen at other restaurants before, so it's great to see some creativity in their menu. I ordered the spicy scallop roll and rainbow dragon, while my boyfriend got the orangeville roll, salmon sashimi, and another roll I can't remember the name of. Presentation was so pretty, I was surprised when the waitress brought our plates to the table. Rolls were great and fish tasted really fresh! Definitely recommend coming here if you're looking for a good and reasonable priced sushi place downtown! read more

Akai Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Ordered delivery from here for my birthday. My spouse isn't into sushi and generally orders cooked dishes. He was delighted that his hot food arrived quickly and still warm. My chirashi was delicious and very fresh. I look forward to one day being able to dine at Akai Sushi in person. read more

Now here's the thing about all you can eat sushi restaurants. It usually costs around 25-35$ per person depending on the restaurant - not a bad price considering you can eat whatever and how ever much you want - but they tend to use way too much rice and they force you to buy a drink. Akai serves their food a la carte style which means there's no "ayce buffet" option. This translates to paying more but receiving better food in return. The place is a bit small but comfortable enough to enjoy dinner. Water was filled up without being asked to. Food portions were visually appealing and delectable. The spicy gyoza was amazing. I'd definitely recommend this dish to everyone. They even gave us little candies to take home and omg they were amazing too! It's hard to find decent sushi restaurants without having to go to Richmond hill so finding this place is like finding a needle in a haystack. 5/5 stars. read more

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This place impressed me with its cute decor and relaxed ambiance. It's a very tiny restaurant so I imagine you would need to make reservations on a weekend. I got the sashimi dinner set and It's definitely better than AYCE sushi. It's also priced very fairly which makes this place the better option. There were a variety of sashimi pcs and made me very filling at the end! Service is very prompt and attentive! read more

Akai Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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We had lunch at this restaurant a few months ago. We wanted sushi around U of T and found this place while searching Yelp. The reviews were promising, so we decided to try this place. This place did not stand out in any area, as the selection was standard and the service was average, but their fish was fresh. One thing that lessened our experience was that tea was not served because something was broken in their kitchen at the time (I think it was their water boiler). Although this was out of their control, they could have at least offered patrons something in lieu, such as soda, or even a small discount off the meal, as a matter of good customer service. read more

Impeccable service and delicious sushi - Akai sushi has it all. My boyfriend and I had dinner here and ordered a 5 roll combo (California, spicy tuna, dynamite, black dragon, forgot the name) and a lobster roll. They gave us free miso soup and a side salad. Normally it's not included in dinner, but it was cold outside so they served it anyway. The miso soup was really flavourful and I especially liked the applesauce-like dressing on the salad. The presentation looked delicious and the sushi was even better - flavourful and super fresh. In total for 2 people (including tax and tip) it came to around $90. I also really liked the tea they gave us. I asked our server and apparently it was green tea with some brown rice. Speaking of tea, our waiter was very attentive and refilled our tea without us ever asking. The details mattered too: our napkins were folded nicely with our chopsticks tucked in, and our waiter packed our leftovers for us. Instead of generic hard mints they gave us fruit-flavoured gummies. One last thing I must mention: we left our leftovers on the table and the waiter ran after us in the cold to hand us the leftovers. Keep in mind that this was a cold November day and we had already walked a good 50 metres away. It's pricey but the sushi and flawless service definitely made it worth it! read more

Akai Sushi - Spicy tuna / lobster roll / black dragon / California / dynamite - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Loved this spot. The food was great and our server recommend a lovely sparkling saki to match our meal. read more

Akai Sushi - Golden bridge and spicy salmon - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

I would give it a 4.5 if only Yelp had half stars. We found this place randomly on googlemaps coming home one night. The reviews of this place were very consistent so we thought w would give it a try. We LOVE Japanese food of all tiers. Whether it be a cheap neighbourhood sushi joint or an average/above average priced range sushi restaurant or michelin-starred omakases. We will go anywhere that serves up some good sushi! This place is our favourite downtown Japanese restaurant in the average price point tier. We've been back over 5-6 times since we discovered this place a few months back, and this does not include the numerous Doordash/Ubereats during those harsh winter days. They have consistently served really good food! Our absolute go-to is their Love Boat. Their Golden Bridge roll, the mackerel and the white tuna certainly stand out the most from the boat. The portion sizes are quite generous. Their tempura is also made fairly well. The batter is very light and crunchy. Overall, we have always had a positive experience eating here. The food is delicious, the price is right and the service is impeccable. Love it! read more

Akai Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Best food I've had in so long I cannot believe that they produced such magnificent food right before my eyes the decor was enticing and the company was nice although I brought them ha ha. Seriously though I think you should all come here often for lunch dinner whenever honestly you should come here like ASAP rocky! The service was decent but don't be expecting crazy theatrics, just low key candle lit fiasco. The boat on the menu looks absolutely crazy it is only $54 and it is literally a boat of sushi you half to use a boat in order to catch the fish that are going in sushi so I feel that it is an interesting idea to incorporate the mode of transportation into the meal but it's not a real boat ha ha. P.S. The bathroom was like a portal to a whole new world, wild experience. For the record, if I could give it 6 stars I would! Lets take that one star review from Kelsey's that I wrote... and slap it on this bad boi. read more

Decided to refer to Yelp to find a new sushi restaurant. Akai came up and have pretty good reviews. I ordered the Love Boat which was the perfect amount for 2 hungry people. It came with an assortment of 3 salmon sushi 2 red tuna, 2 halibut, 2 white tunas, and 2 pieces each of salmon, red tuna and halibut sashimi. The boat also had 2 rolls which was an avacado tempura roll and a spicy salmon roll. Soup and Salad is also served before your boat arrives, you will not be left hungry. Service was great, staff is super friendly. Definitely will be back! read more

Akai Sushi - Love Boat with wide variety of sushi. - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

I walked into this sushi place at 9:30 on a Saturday night and was shocked (and a little worried) that the place was completely empty. No idea why, the food was fantastic and the service impeccable. I had a tempura yam roll (no mayo, yay!) that was incredible - hot, crispy, sweet and savory. Also an AAC roll (Avocado, asparagus, and cucumber) that was quite good. The rice could have been a bit more seasoned, but the miso was perfect. read more

It pains me to write this update, but our last experience at Akai was so disappointing that I think it's only fair. I have to reframe my comments about this restaurant to say that when Akai is not busy, it's a great place to go. But a couple of nights ago it was slammed (there was a pumpkin festival on the street after Halloween) and it was among the worst service experiences I've had. I went with my mom and stepdad and from the beginning, everything was just off. Tables were left uncleared by the server, so we waited for a clean spot. We waited a very long time to have our order taken. We waited ages just for the water and tea we had ordered to arrive (20-25 mins?) After about 45 minutes our salads arrived but not together. My mom's calamari salad was frozen and inedible. My stepdad's sashimi salad was completely different than what was described on the menu. When my mom explained that her salad was frozen, our harried server took it away with no explanation or suggestion of whether she would get another one. Then another 30 minutes went by with no service at all. We reconciled ourselves to the fact that the usual tofu appetizer that they serve was not happening tonight. Finally, more than an hour after we sat down, my mom and stepdad's sushi came to the table. But mine was nowhere to be found. Then another calamari salad arrived for my mom - still almost frozen. Still no meal for me. 20 minutes later, when my mom and stepdad were almost done their rolls, my roll arrived with no ginger or wasabi on the plate. The server seemed apologetic, but took nothing off the bill (even though she said she would take my stepdad's salad off because it wasn't what he ordered). To make matters worse, my stepdad reported feeling a little sick to his stomach later that evening. Oh, Akai. My heart is breaking for you. I still love you in my heart, but this experience truly sucked. My advice? Go during the slow hours to enjoy a great experience. Skip it when it's busy. read more

Cute little shop in the Harbour Village area serving up delicious and fresh sushi. We ordered the small sushi & sashimi combination tray and a spicy scallop roll and it was really good. Be prepared to wait if you're planning to order a boat/tray! The staff is very friendly and the place is nice and quite but quite dim. Would definitely return and recommend this place to anyone looking for delicious sushi in the area! read more

Love this place! It's my local sushi spot and every time it's so good! I've had take out and dine in and both experiences are wonderful. Great service and delicious food. read more

Since they were out of my 2 favourite Sushi, Hamachi and Uni, I decided to order just an assorted sushi set, their least expensive called Akai sushi. The sushi was very fresh and tasty, and the assortment offers very good value. The decor is pleasant in sort of a more traditional Japanese style with paper lanterns, low and intimate light, and the service was excellent. read more

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This is a 3.5 from me. I came here for an early dinner a week or so ago. It's a little dark, but the ambiance is still pretty cozy. I decided to get the Chirashi dinner. It came with the standard soup and salad, along with fried tofu and potato strands. Like another yelper mentioned, the miso soup had a bit of an odd and unpleasant chlorinated taste to it. Chirashi was $15.95. There was a lot of fish! Quantity wise, definitely worth the cost. It was at the point where actually getting to the rice was difficult. Still, the fish was fresh and the rice was good! I particularly enjoyed the juicy butter fish and the fresh BC tuna. While the flavors and the freshness were good I feel like the temperature was not controlled well despite being one of the few patrons of the restaurant at the time. By this I mean that the fish was kind of oddly luke-warm. It's a little hard to explain, so I'll just say I've had better Chirashi for the same/less cost. That being said, Akai is definitely better than say, Sushi on Bloor or New Gen, despite being a little more expensive. It's also only open for dinner. Before I left I was also treated to a complimentary mango ice cream. Awesome! It's why I'm tacking on the .5 to the score. For a full review, feel free to visit my food blog, conveniently located in my profile. Cheers! :) read more

Akai Sushi - Akai Chirashi - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Akai Sushi is a small, quiet sushi restaurant that definitely exceeded my expectations! Our group of 4 arrived at 7pm on a Friday night without a reservation and were seated right away. We ordered 2 love boats, which each included 16 pieces of Sashimi, 12 pieces of sushi, and 2 fusion rolls (the green dragon roll and the blazing salmon roll). It also included a miso soup and a salad to start. The fish was incredibly fresh and the rolls were delicious. My personal favourite was the blazing salmon roll, which was your typical spicy salmon roll, but topped with torched salmon. I've never had anything like it and I am definitely a fan. Our server was friendly and attentive, and our food arrived quickly. Since it wasn't too busy, they allowed us to stay and talk even after we had finished our food, without rushing us to pay or leave. The price was pretty reasonable too - $54 per love boat. I will definitely be returning for more! read more

Akai Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Quite impressed with this tiny, friendly, family-run (I think) sushi restaurant. Had the sashimi bento lunch, and it was excellent; generous portion of high-quality fish, and relatively inexpensive. Somehow it was the little touches that made all the difference: the salt on the edamame had a unique flavour, and they even managed to make California rolls interesting. My one small complaint (a frequent one for me at sushi places) is that the miso soup felt a bit sparse on wakame and tofu. read more

Akai Sushi - Sashimi bento lunch - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

This neighborhood has a lot of fantastic sushi places, and because we live here, we sampled quite a few. This place does serve some fantastic sushi, but we ended up settling on this one because of the extras: the atmosphere is great, warm and cosy and quiet; the menu is very big; the staff is very nice. And then there are the details that end up mattering: the healthy salad dressing or the extra cup on top of the hot sake to keep it warm (never understood why sushi places never think of this). Highly recommended for a romantic night! read more

Akai Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Food was pretty good and the price isn't too bad (was a dollar or two cheaper than everywhere else around the area). Got the spicy seafood udon and it was pretty darn good. Only downside was that the service was a little poor in terms of them trying to rush us out of the door. We took a little while to order and they continued to rush us to order. I understand you're trying to get people moving along and you want to ensure you make the time for reservations later, but it's not great to rush your customers through their meal. Also one of the servers spilt soup all over my friend's phone and didn't really notice it. Food: 4/5 Price: 4/5 service: 3/5 overall: 3.5/5 read more

Quaint little sushi joint off the beaten path, off Harbord at the end of a residential street. Maybe 6-7 tables. Potentially romantic set-up since there are booths. Ordered #6 from the Roll Platter Dinners ($24.99/25 pieces w/ miso) + salmon/avo roll. In hindsight, probably not the best choice to determine whether or not it's a good sushi place as there wasn't a lot of raw fish selection in the platter. (Spicy salmon primarily composed of tempura bits. So if you like your spicy salmon that way, this is a good place for that! I couldn't really taste any salmon.) What stood out was the presentation. Attention was actually paid to the platting, including garnish and a design with some sauce. Would definitely go back and order more fish-based sushi! read more

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This is a worthy restaurant in a very crowded market. It is a significant step up from the cheap and "all-you-can-eat" type sushi restaurants just to the north on Bloor street. It was pleasant to see that it was relatively full, even on a Monday evening. So, others clearly appreciate it. The restaurant is divided into different sections, so you do not feel crowded and the ambient noise is perfectly tolerable. The service is impeccably polite and careful. Without going through the whole of our menu, we found the Edamame fine and hot, the Maguro sushi was spectacular as was the yellowtail sashimi, the Kamakasi roll was indifferent, the vegetable tempura were very hot and good. All in all you will find some well worthwhile offerings here and there is plenty to choose from. There were lots of different Sakis on the drink menu. read more

very tasty sushi, reasonable prices. Got it for takeout because of covid

3.8/5 Not the best sushi in town if you compare to the other ones. They are serving mediocre Japanese food. It is nice as it is close around the campus, in which you domt have to take another few blocks down the street to look for another Japanese restaurant. read more

My new favourite sushi restaurant in Toronto! The food is fresh, the cuts are good and they don't over-do it with sauces or dense rice. The restaurant itself is basic and cozy. Come to this restaurant if you're looking for the best, fresh sushi, not if you're looking for a fancy restaurant experience. read more

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Nice sushi place away from the Bloor street crowd. Really friendly staff. The sushi was really well presented and very tasty. We had the dynamite, spicy salmon and spicy tuna and they were all fresh and well put together. We also got the gyōza which were good too. read more

The sushi was great but the service was absolutely awful. The food came quickly but the server took forever to put in our order and bring us our bill. She kept saying splitting bills confused her and she actively avoided us for 15 minutes before delivering a bill that was all wrong. I ended up paying for items I didn't order. I won't be coming back, sadly. read more

The is a great spot to grab a quick lunchtime o go or even sit down! Their lunch bento boxes are pretty reasonable for the price the quality of the fish. Great service and atmosphere! Would highly recommend it if you carving sushi and are in the area! read more

My fav sushi place! And not only because it's only 5 min away from my home.. Akai is a mostly quiet little sushi joint on the not-so-busy street of Harbord, and it makes a nice place to have lunch alone or have a small group dinner. It is ran by Korean owners/chefs so some of the dishes have a bit of Korean take to them. The Golden Bridge roll (with seared salmon on top) is many people's favourite, Hwe Dup Bap (rice mixed with assorted sashimi and chili paste sauce) and udon are great menus for lunch. read more

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I've been to A LOT of sushi places in toronto but Akai is the best HANDS DOWN. Amazing presentation, AND very generous portions. The sushi tastes amazing. You have to try their fusion rolls. I highly recommend the Twist roll. read more

Akai Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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This is such a classy spot! The staff are amazingly attentive. If you drop a chop stick, they hear it and bring you new ones. Seriously that just happened to me. decor and feel are authentic. And the food... unreal. I always go for the Sashima because it's so fresh. Seaweed salad is very flavourful and light. Had the tamboura too (as you can see, I love the food!) and it was a well balanced assortment of vegy and shrimp. I live down the street. Very lucky. Cause this is my tied for first sushi spot in the city. Sushi 930 is also unreal. But I do think this spot is better value. read more

Three of us came for dinner. We had no reservation but they figured out how to accommodate us. We had a mix of sashimi, sushi and rolls. We did the premium plates for both sashimi and sushi. The sashimi was fresh and the pieces large. Similarly, the premium sushi plate had good quality variety on it. The roll that comes with that combo is smaller than the ones you order a-la-carte. We grabbed a couple of rolls along with this and they had some nice original flavour combos. The Black Dragon filled our need for Unagi but I wish we'd picked one with more fish. The Calimax on the other hand was loved by all with a good amount of fresh fish inside. The beer selection was unfortunately standard boring sushi restaurant. Fish + ambiance + fair prices make this a return visit. read more

Akai Sushi is a cute, friendly Japanese joint situated in an odd part of the street. The decoration is very tasteful and welcoming, and the staff is attentive to your needs. There weren't many people there during a weekday lunch, so it's pretty cozy. However, the lighting is very... dark? The contrast between outdoor and indoor lighting was uncomfortable. You are served genmaicha tea immediately, and the food arrives quite quickly as well. We ordered calamari, tempura, some rolls and sashimi. They were all delicious! The only odd thing is that they fried up broccoli and peas for tempura? It was still yummy though. For two people the total came to around $40 including tip and tax. Another thing about Akai is that it's run by Koreans, but apparently it's supposed to be Japanese-Korean fusion cuisine, so it's not a problem. As well, they have really short ceilings in the basement, so if you use the washroom you will probably have to bend down a lot. I would come back though! read more

You guyyyyyyyyys I think I have a new favourite sushi plaaaaaaaace... Offered to take the boymanfriend out for sushi (his favourite) the other night and decided I wanted to try somewhere different - I'm frickin' tired of those cheap-o places on Bloor - so (naturally) I checked Yelp for some other options. Anyway, you get the point. We only ordered two items, (the sashimi app. and a dynamite roll thingy. also I got some white wine.) but our snack-like order ended up magically becoming a full meal thanks to magical free things. A (complimentary) deep-fried tofu dish was served before the sashimi. It was tasty and crispy and tasty and stuff. The SASHIMI was crazy-fresh, melt-in-your-mouth awesome. The roll was yummy and nummy and omnomnomnom. But THEN. THEN they gave us freeeeeee ice cream. Strawberry ice cream with slices strawberries and a kiwi slice and whipped cream on top! Yes!! ANYWAY, as I said to boymanfriend after dinner: YES this place is a bit more expensive than, say, Sushi on Bloor or New Gen BUT they give you free crap and that TOTALLY makes up for it. Also the atmosphere is WAY nicer and so is the staff (our server was LOVERLY as was the man makin' tha foods). I dig it. read more

This place recently reopened after an indefinite hiatus. The previous reviews on Yelp, except for another 5-star review two weeks ago, are from 2010 and earlier. Judging by the fantastic meal we just had, I'd say the hiatus was more than worth it. It doesn't appear extraordinary from the outside, but the decor is a very pleasant surprise, with wood and paper partitions between some tables, and a very cozy atmosphere that fits right into the Bathurst/Harbord area. Great first impression, check. We had the Gyoza (beef dumplings), and they were delicious, and obviously fried only once before being served i.e. they weren't frozen beforehand. On to two rolls of maki, where it became immediately obvious that the ingredients were perfectly selected, quite possibly the best and freshest maki we've had in a long while, with none of that refrigerator-taste you sometimes get. We asked for the sushi to be sliced into three pieces rather than two, to make them thinner, and the salmon melted in our mouths. We also had the Katsu chicken dinner, and boy, was the chicken a revelation. The total was about $40, which is fantastic for good Toronto sushi, and with a 25% tip, about $50. We're probably going to be regulars. read more

We had a great experience last night at Akai. The decor/atmosphere is fantastic. I had the veggie bento box which was fabulous, my husband had a sushi selection. It was beautifully displayed and extremely fresh and tasty - as good as anything we had while living in NYC. I'd definintely recommend it, it is a much better atmosphere than places in the surrounding area - I think it belongs on Harbord among all of the other great restaurants. read more

Akai is miles ahead of anything else in the Annex. It's a little out of the way on the corner of Harbord and Major, and completely worth the 5 minute walk. The Annex has no dearth of second-rate sushi restaurants -- the best of them boasting shoddy service and run-of-the-mill fare. It's really nice to have an option like this in contrast to the rest. The perfect seared sashimi, quaint and traditional decor, mom and pop ownership, and friendly and present service will quickly shatter your new-gen/sushi-on-bloor paradigm. read more