Oh my gosh I love this place! Based in an former pub setting in Islington this thriving small Japanese restaurant is fantastic. It is very reasonably priced top notch food, wines, sake and beer. I almost don't want to tell you all about this place as I want to keep it as my secret, but heck a great thing should be shared. The menu comprises of excellent sushi and sashimi, pan fried, grilled and deep fried meals, rice, noodles along with a specials menu. The "Tuna Tataki" special is mouth wateringly delicious and highly recommendable! The food is fresh, the prices are reasonable and the premises very cosy. You will enjoy your evening and return again and again. read more

Been here a couple of times now and it's always very enjoyable, great atmosphere very clean and the staff are pretty friendly, if you like Japanese food I would totally recommend this place read more

A charming pub-style Japanese restaurant - they have Asian beers on tap and a great menu with daily specials. Hand rolls are particularly good here, as is the deep fried tuna and savory chicken wings. You can construct a pretty affordable meal here, but it is also possible for dishes to add up very quickly. Best Japanese in the Islington area though, I think. read more

Fantastic Japanese bar food in an English pub. What's not to like? I went to Akari with two friends and one of them took the lead ordering. We got a variety of sashimi, hot dishes, and ended on soba. It was a cornucopia of japanese goodness all in the perfect sizes to share. This was also the first time I had natto and I have to say it was good, but messy. The food was great quality, well prepared and the staff really helpful. The ambiance puts it over the top. Great local place for some top notch food. read more

My sushi standards are very high after being spoiled by Genki Ya in Boston. But Akari is genuinely the best sushi place I've found in London. Went here on a date with my (now) husband and we regularly make the trek there (living in South London now) because there's no other place like it. The staff is friendly, the service is efficient, but the food is where they really shine. My standing order of edamame, gyoza, rainbow roll and spice tuna hand roll is always delicious. The fish is very high quality and so fresh. The rolls are impeccably made. I literally can't say a bad word about it. Go try it for yourself!! read more

I love this place. The service is always fantastic and attentive, the food is excellent and they have some really tasty dry Japanese lagers on tap. When it first opened they had a huge menu (both food and whiskey) but they recently reduced it in size and introduced a A4 sheet of specials which is probably a good idea. None of the dishes are big so the best way to eat is to order a bunch a things of the menu and share. I've had so many good new food experiences here, highly recommended if you like raw fish or just trying something a bit different. The decor inside is also cool - it's got an old woodeny pub feel to it, which is probably because it used to be a pub. The kitchen is on one side of the room where the bar used to be. They also do a fantastic green tea ice-cream which is not to be missed. read more

The food is very good, but you tend to need to order so many little things that by the end is cost as much as going out to a top end place. That said, I can't say don't go as I do very much like it and it being in an old pub is quite cute. That said, go when you want a few little snacks, not a meal! read more

Although initially a strange concept, this pub/izakaya joint really nails the concept of casual sushi. And its really good sushi at that. Its one of the few places I'd happily take a large group to to have sushi and i wouldn't be scared of being slightly rowdy (I'm not talking football chanting here). There were some really great specials when I was there and you can get some off-beat fish types too. I'd put this place up there in my top 2 sushi places for London read more

The best Japanese in London. I keep trying other ones but always compare them to Akari and ultimately come back to it. The food is always so fresh and it's pretty good value too. read more

Worst service ever. Never have I left a restaurant BEFORE eating because the staff was so rude. Young woman who said she was owner drove us away with appalling behaviour. Shame as food is lovely and usually love this place but genuine shocked and deeply offended by rudeness. Avoid at all cost. read more

I love this little resutoran (that's Romaji if you think I've spelt it wrong ;) ). It appeared at just the right time in the perfect location for me as I work just down the road. I like to pop in and sit at one of the beautiful wooden tables with warm sake and a steaming bowl of udon and a book in the candlelight. They're a bit pricey (as they are in Islington) if you are on a budget like me, but for a night out when you can afford to splurge, this place is definately worth it. The staff are really friendly and helpful (the boss managed to get me a table even though I had no reservation); the atmosphere is calming and quiet; the decor and layout have been well executed and the food is fab ^_^ The only reason I'm not giving Akari the full five stars is because I love edamame and, though it's on the menu, you can't order it to take away. Other than that, go! Go there now! Actually.no don't. otherwise I won't be able to just pop in, lol. read more

We live down the road and just adore this little gem. We wish we had more money to eat here more often! I come from Asia and have had lots of good Japanese, and I can say that IMHO for the prices it charges Akari does some of the best Japanese food I've tried in London. It was a really pleasant surprise to find Japanese food of this standard in the neighborhood. I love the Akari hand roll, the sashimi is fresh though a bit pricey, and they also do a wonderful salt-grilled salmon belly. My partner cannot get enough of their light tempura. This place is always busy whenever we visit so do book in advance. read more

This place has poor service and a dreadful state of food hygiene. I was extremely ill after eating here with food poisoning. The friend I was with stated they saw the poor state of the kitchen and wasn't surprised. This place should be shut down! read more

Delicious Japanese fare set in an old traditional British pub. Highly suggest the pan fried mixed greens, gyoza and thinly sliced duck.

This is our favourite London restaurant by a long shot - it's not fine dining, it's not slick - just honest and good Japanese stock-food. The stuff you can get on most streets in a Japanese city, but sadly not in London. We used to live on New North Road around the corner from Akari, but sadly have moved south of the river - but we still try and get back as often as possible. A real treat - I just wish there were more places like it! read more

Hmm, seems like I am doling out a lot of 5 stars recently (what's up with that?), but I can't help it, I just need to add another one. This place is simply fantastic. I love the charm that stems from the fact that this is a converted pub, the rustic big wooden tables, the mirrors on the wall, the bar, the big windows and the soft light. The service is just perfect; I always feel soothed and comfortable immediately upon entering. The food is amazing as well - I recommend ordering many different dishes and sharing them with a group of friends. I cannot really judge whether this food is authentic, but I know that it tastes great to my humble palate, and the Asians who are eating here seem to be enjoying it, too. And if you don't manage to get a table, you can sit at the bar in the back and watch the Sushi chefs prepare their food directly in front of your nose. All of this comes with a very reasonable price tag. Highly recommended - and don't forget to book if you don't want to be disappointed! read more

All I can say here is - eh. Which is a bit of a disappointment. Akari is right in our neighbourhood so we were just waiting for the perfect date night to go try it out. Both my partner and I are big sushi buffs with the great fortune of trying some of the best sushi restaurants from Tokyo, to San Francisco, to NYC so we were really excited to try Akari following both reviews here and from word of mouth. We both approach sushi differently as well - where I am more of a purist - always preferring sashimi and noting the fish quality - my partner prefers to experiment with all the different roll combinations offered. We were both pretty disappointed with our meal - the fish quality was so-so (and for this I admit we will have to go back and re-try and time of day and day of the week can definitely make a difference), the combinations at times watered down the flavours, and our recommended wine pairing for the meal did not seem to make sense when combined. As I know other reviewers have raved about this place - we would be willing to try again but the price tag on our meal given our experience has made us hesitate so far. I'll definitely repost if we have a better experience! read more

Skip the sushi- we sat at the sushi counter so we know it was freshly prepared, but it showed up warm.

This place is perfect if you are looking for a great Sushi experience in a relaxed, informal setting. Service is always friendly, though can be a bit slow when the restaurant is full. Food is exceptional - would highly recommend the Saba No Bo, Nasu Dengaku, and the Miso Cod among others. read more

We arrived and asked if we could have a drink. They said they would see if there was a table and meanwhile before clarifying served and charged us for a drink without a table. We were squeezed up at the bar and then treated rudely with no apology as if we were in the way in spite of empty tables. When asked why they served us in the first place, we were told 'What choice did we have' in a clearly rude manner. Both managers were downright rude and in our opinion, probably racist. I would not recommend this rude and racist establishment as a result of this experience. read more

Hidden in the middle of Essex Road, relatively away from the centre of Angel, Akari apparently means ''light'' in Japanese. Situated in a converted pub, this place is offers high quality sushi of all kinds and tastes. Their soup sections has a hidden gem to: The Tanuki or Kitsune Udon, definitely the highlight of the menu in my opinion.A dedicated sushi chef with his assistant prepare the Sushi in a different section than the main kitchen. The overall quality is excellent. The service is great too, but make sure you book, if you are planning to go later than 6 as it does get very busy. Only thing that i don't like is the fact that the open kitchen they have means that after visiting your clothes might slight smell of deep fried stuff. read more

Really rather good. Unagi a little too sticky. Avoid the unfortunate three person table around fireplace. Asahi on tap very welcome.

Sushi done well, and reasonably priced. Good atmosphere, loved the food. The service was fantastic too. When we arrived it was quiet, they'd just opened for service for the day. We all had a great laugh, the server was so much fun. My friends and I weren't able to pronounce some of the names for the dishes so we were given a free lesson in pronunciation and typical Japanese phrases. The food was delicious, well presented, really lovely to look at. We didn't feel like we were being rushed between meals and stayed for a long while drinking and ordering more food. By the time we left the place was busy and full. Will come back for sure. read more

We had the seaweed salad which we thought was very nice, followed by chirashi which was presented nicely, but we felt the portion was extremely small compared to other Japanese restaurants we have visited in the past. In addition, we ordered a tuna special from the menu. Unfortunately, it was a little overcooked and some parts of the dish was very salty. We wouldn't recommend it. We finished off our meal with the pudding and cheesecake. Neither was really worth mentioning or worth reordering in the future. Overall, the salad and chirashi was nice, although a little small, the other dishes were not worth the money. Food aside, I felt the service we received was below par. We asked the waitress for recommendations and she could not give us a straight answer. All she said was, everything is nice. I asked her for a description of the desserts and she she the pudding was traditional. I asked her for more details, she said wobbly I had to ignore everything she said and made up my own mind. We noticed the staff were very clumsy and did not seem to know what they were doing. The waitress spilt the soya sauce, she poured tea outside the cup over the table, she nearly dropped the dessert, she gave us two plates of soya sauce each and did not give us any wasabi to go with the chirashi and to top things off, she bought the base plate for the dessert after she put our desert downtotal chaos. When we went to pay the bill, we asked for the bill to be split in half. After we paid, I noticed that she had overcharged us by rounding the bill up this isn't what we asked her to do. We called her over and explained that we were not happy that this act had taken place as it was dishonest, esp as they had already taken 10% service charge. She said she did not understand why we were unhappy. She said the bill was hard to split in half (it wasn't, she only had to halve it), she also said that they always did that to all their customers, but we were the first people to complainshe then proceeded to rant at us and said it wasn't a lot of money (it was 98p), we said that wasn't the point and we weren't after a refund, we just wanted to point out that it was a bad way to do business esp when they had already charged service charge. She then very rudely said to us we could have our pound back. But we didn't take it as just wanted to get out of there as she was starting to get hostile. It's fair to say that we will not be returning and if you have any common sense, I wouldn't bother going there either. There are much better Japanese restaurants around London and this is def one to add on to my black list. Unprofessional staff and average to low quality food. Absolute disappointment. read more

Delicious food. Fairly pricey. Absolutely appalling service. Not given menus, no chopsticks. Told that food comes when it is readyto the extent that my friend had actually finished his meal before I had anything beyond my sushi roll. Had to flag down the waiter to get it in the endin fact had to flag down the waiter to get anything at all. And of course they had the nerve to add 10% service on the bill. I asked for this to be removed and no one asked if anything was wrong, etc. Nice food and very near my house but the whole service experience leaves much to be desired. read more

I'm not usually the type of person who has the time or energy to write bad reviews about restaurants, but Akari has left me no choice but to write about my experience last night (I previously thought the service was impolite and it was very apparent that the staff put themselves above the customers by their cold and disregarding manner): I went to Akari first about 5 years a go and I thought the food was terrible, then I started revisiting this place only for sushi, since I live in the neighbourhood. I called them to request a quiet table in the back corner of the restaurant. I suffer from diagnosed anxiety and panic disorder and find it very uncomfortable to sit in the middle of people or places where there is lots of hustle going on. I understood on the phone, as I told them I would have a quick meal that I had a table available. I turned up about fifteen minutes later and they gave me a table straight on the runway where all the waitresses walk about and I said could I please sit in the back corner instead as requested. The table was reserved but nobody sat there at the time. They very unpolitely told me I must take the seat offered or nothing. I asked if I could book the back corner table in that case for later and I thought I would invite my friend to dine with me too. The lady (owner) said I can come after 9:30pm. I confirmed with her that the table was actually book for me, because she wrote nothing down. She said yes it is in a rude manner, but I said I will come 9:30 with my friend instead. I was very hungry but decided to wait. I called my friend at 9:30 pm and said I'm making a way to to Akari and she was also on her way there. As I walked in to the restaurant, I noticed that ALL the tables were taken. I told the male staff that my table was confirmed for me at this time and it was booked as they already saw me there earlier the same evening requesting it. They said I can only sit at the sushi counter and there was just 1 seat left. I said no, because I had booked the table for 2 in the back. they quite nervously approached the female owner and she would clearly not want to speak to me. Then she was forced to discuss my booking as I confronted the staff that I HAD MADE A BOOKING FOR TWO. The horrible woman who owns the place walked up to me and said I am BANNED (???!!!!) from the restaurant because I was being "rude" for asking for a certain table, so she told me to leave!!! I was absolutely shocked and told her that it is terrible service and I would write about it; She said she doesn't CARE about reviews. They know I've been going there many times in the past few months and our last bill was nearly £100. I think the food is okay (altough nothing speacial, and too salty) and local to me, but after my last experience being "banned" or not, I cannot recommend this place to anyone and would never set my foot in again read more

This place needs a major wake up call on customer service. I went there today by myself for lunch, at first, only person in the restaurant. I have yet to find a decent Sushi/Japanese Restaurant here in the UK (I am from N. America, standards higher maybe??). Anyway, craving sushi, looked this restaurant up, went there, 1st customer of the day, two waitresses, 4 cooks behind the bar doing nothing, both waitresses were NOT friendly, no smiles, ignored me half the time, the Sake was WATERED down, I am not even sure if it was tuna in my tuna roll as it was red, my real crab and avocado roll for £5.60 had a thread of real crab in it, the rest was imitation (which was not mentioned on the menu), the miso tasted like they put bacon grease in it. When my crab and avocado roll came it was raw salmon instead of crab (I even pointed on the menu to her the crab roll I wanted). I was getting my money out to pay the bill, and the waitress tried to grab it off the table while I was still putting my money on the tray. Whoever the owner/manager is, you really need to speak to your staff about friendliness and customer service issues as they have no skills in it. Get some décor happening, the atmosphere is very negative (and maybe remind your staff about the sign you have on the wall on the way to the toilets downstairs)......remember to always be friendly and kind..blah blah and treat your customers with respect. read more