I ordered their omakase box and nigiris on Uber eats. It was good, the ikura nigiri is reasonably priced at $3.75. And their box is nicely packed, good variety, and tasty. The box had aburi sushi, sashimi, tuna mango salsa, half a croquette, potato salad, hamburger, salmon, side salad, rice, miso, and fruits for $29.50. The dynamite roll was just ok. I've never been inside, I only ordered takeout. read more

Akira Sushi - Omakase box to go - Sushi Bars Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

We live in Vancouver and we're looking for a quick bite of sushi, and stumbled across this place since our regular spot got old and tired food wise. It was also convenient since it had black rice options which they do so well compared to others. When we ate we were astounded by everything. They are so kind here and remembered us from the first time we came. The service is so fast, the quality is amazing, and we almost didn't believe the price after we ordered much. We could eat here a million times and never get sick of it. Would 10/10 recommend!!! read more

Our first stop for a quick bite as we just got into town. The other sushi place down the road was closed so we decided to give this a try. A little disappointed tbh. Staff was friendly and we got seated at the bar in front of the window. 2/5 Kimchi - it was too wet. I like my kimchi a bit on the dryer side. 4/5 Sunset roll - very good and has a bit of a so icky kick to it 1/5 Oyako don - maybe the worst donburi I've ever had. Lacked any kind of flavor... tried adding soy sauce and that still didn't help. I wanted to taste a bit of the menu but should've just stuck to rolls! read more

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The sushi here was tasty, but the tempura was greasy. Sometimes that indicates that the fryer isn't hot enough. Our server was gracious and took good care of us. Ambiance was casual with some fun murals on the wall. I would return to try other sushi items on the menu. read more

So happy to see Akira is still up and running after a few years away. We were excited to come back and get some amazing, reasonably priced sushi after the pandemic kept us down in the states for the last few years. You can't go wrong with any of the rolls at Akira. The complimentary hot water is also a big plus when it's cold and rainy out. The service was amazing, price was incredible for the high quality of the fish, and rolls came out quickly since it wasn't too busy at the time we went in. Amazing! read more

Akira Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Really delicious sushi served fast at good prices. No wonder this place is always busy! Minimal decor, friendly staff, good service. read more

Akira Sushi - Sashimi platter - perfect. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Warning, Warning ... I live within a minutes walk of this place so I get takeout here a lot (or I used to). The people are nice, & the food isn't bad, but the last four times in a row I got takeout from here it gave me violent diarrhoea. Like, instantly. There's no way at this point that it could be blamed on anything else. Someone who works here has sh*tty fingers and needs to wash their hands. Avoid Avoid! read more

Oh man that Tuna Tataki. Soo Good. The sauce is nice, served with avocado and I don't know what they are but there are these crunchy bits on top (deep-fried noodle pieces maybe?) Those things are great! Oy, I just realized I am eating something very often and I have no idea what it is. Anyways...This place is within walking distance of my place so I probably visit at least once a week for take-out. Not really a fan of the decor or the 'eat in' ambiance. It's not bad, just no effort put into it. Not great. Sort of typical for a small sushi spot in Vancouver. The servers are really nice, upbeat efficient and friendly. But it's all about the food. It. Is. Good. Like the sushi rolls using cucumber instead of nori. Miso soup, sashimi nice. But oohhhh that Tataki ...maybe an addiction. I am posting this review so I can go right now. read more

My sushi tasted great. Salmon in the bc roll absolutely amazing and the tabiko inside the roll! Wow! Great service fast and friendly. Lol and who complains about bathrooms they're all nasty. If it flushes its not a bad bathroom hahaha. Defiantly made my day coming here. I dont live here anymore and where i am now they have like one or two places to get sushi and they're pretty horrible. read more

Akira Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

My first experience of Akira sushi today, left much to be desired. I ordered Spicy Combo and was serve tuna, scallop and salmon sushi which was slimy and smelly and clear off. Not only that, the sushi is heavy blobs of rice. I only ate the Spicy tuna rolls and 1piece scallops rolls. As I asked for the bill the waitress asked if I want to take home the rest of my food and I politely mentioned about the smelly salmon and heavy blobs of rice for the sushi to the waitress who was very apologetic. As I came to the cashier, she told the chef in Mandarin/Cantonese (Obviously not Japanese) instantly the chef wasn't happy and directly speak to me while I'm processing the payment by saying "It's fresh, fresh, fresh". then I replied "it was fresh not its fresh". I can smell the smelly fish from here (cashier counter). Despite the sushi was bad, I still gave 10% gratuity just because the waitress was extended my complaint about the food regardless if the chef wasn't happy to hear that. It's completely off putting to their customers. I'm really disappointed with my experience at Akira Sushi for Denman St location and I have decided never to go again. The fish experience has looked and tasted off. I much prefer the Daikichi Sushi or try new ones. Too many in Vancouver. read more

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Black rice sushi? Not in my wildest dreams! The black rice gave the House Sunset roll a plethora of flavours which decadently melted in my mouth. It is prawn tempura rolled in black rice, avocado, salmon, garnished with ebi mayo and green onion (be aware that this roll is spicy if you are into that) This is a medium size roll (large if you are from the west end) with 8 pieces that are great for sharing. I will be venturing out again to Akira to try out the Volcano roll. Can't wait! read more

Akira Sushi - Sunset roll with burple (black/purple) rice is delish! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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Thank you yelpers! Great find, casual, clean, friendly neighborhood place with above average sushi and great prices. Loved the rainbow roll and black rice california rolls. The gyoza were so nice and crispy, and the wrapper was so fresh it may have been homemade. Great service, our green tea was never empty and always delivered without prompting with a smile, thanks ladies. We will definitely be back! read more

Akira Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Was a little hungry but not enough for a full meal. This place seemed legit so I ventured inside. I was the only one. That should have been a sign. I had the salmon and tuna sashimi. I didn't think something this simple could be ruined. The tuna was still 1/2 frozen; I could feel and taste the ice crystals. The salmon was at least thawed but flavorless. Another lame restaurant on Denman. What a disappointment. read more

A regular spot of ours since we lived in the West end 10 to 15 years ago, but there's just something extra nice about this place. It is very standard -- your typical affordable sushi lunch spot run by Koreans, with all the regular sushi offerings, a few fancy inventive rolls, and a few korean-inspired dishes like kimchi fried rice. But what makes it special is the freshness and the expedience. Every time we go, we get everything we ordered in just a few minutes. And everything is always notably fresh. You can tell they take care with the storage, sanitation, preparation and handling. It must be like clockwork back behind the curtain! read more

Salmon Oshi surprisingly good. "Japanese fried chicken" quite bad -- greasy and doughy. This place is only so-so compared to the best places like Kishimoto. But they are friendly enough and the prices are fair. read more

Okay, it's not bad, pretty good actually (except for those BC rolls, yuck!) and fairly priced for the most part, I'm guessing it's the competition on Denman for your sushi dollar that keeps all of them pretty much in line price-wise. Akira has a nice, inviting little main dining area inside, with a few more seats outside on the sidewalk (if you're into all that Denman traffic). They've got all the regular sushi offerings with one addition, black rice. Like it or hate it, black rice is not available anywhere else nearby, so if that's what you're after, Akira is your best bet. The staff is friendly and energetic, but doesn't kick you out if you're having a good conversation even after finishing your meal. Like I've said before in my sushi reviews in this city, you have a lot of choices when it comes to sushi, so your bar should be slightly higher than say, Saskatoon. This is a solid choice and one of the best on the Denman strip. read more

Akira Sushi - the main dining area is warm with woody invitingness - Sushi Bars Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Came to this place because a friend recommended it. First impression wasn't great - the store was dingy and a bit on the dirty side. Ordered sushi platter and appetizer tempura. Sushi was okay, fish meat was not awfully fresh but edible, rice was slightly too warm and mushy. The worst part was the tempura - they were bathed in a strong bad oily smell... clearly the frying oil hasn't been changed in a while. I spat out and didn't touch the rest. It's downright disgusting. I can't think of a better reason why people give this place good reviews, maybe it's very cheap for a restaurant on Denman. This is not quality sushi and I guess my friend hates me or something... I'd never come back again. read more

Great, fresh food (toro melts in your mouth), as well as super attentive service. Our tea cups were never empty and the staff was incredibly warm and happy to answer any questions. read more

The first time I went to this place was last summer and I loved the sushi with black rice. I went back this week and still liked the sushi but felt that it wasn't as good as my last visit. Don't get me wrong - it's good sushi, but I just wasn't blown away this time around. Location: Vancouver's West End. Akira is located on Denman, along with about a thousand other restaurants. You can easily walk it from the downtown core (I'd say 20 minutes or so) and it's a 10-minute walk from English Bay. I really like the location - sushi then the beach! Food: They have a varied menu that offers many different options including 'lunch' boxes (i.e. specific rolls for a fixed price). I found the lunch boxes to be super affordable. For $9 you can get 16 pieces of pretty decent sushi. They've got specialty rolls as well as your standard sushi and sashimi. If you're not a fan of sushi, they also have Teriyaki and I think I saw a few Korean dishes on the menu. I enjoy the sushi here, though I'm not sure why they charge extra for black rice. I think it was an extra .50 for small rolls and an extra $1.50 for large rolls. Seems a bit over the top to me. Service: The service was very good, and my teacup was never low on the complimentary green tea. Akira is a great place to pick up lunch - many of their customers were coming in and ordering to go. My guess is they were all headed to the beach for an extra long lunch hour ;-) read more

Akira Sushi - Gyoza, and one of their boxes. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Very economical sushi joint. Fast & friendly service but avoid going to their restroom before the meal, that's a guarantee to quickly lose your appetite. Not the best quality fish but ok for the price. Sushi roll (can't remember what we ordered) was WAY TOO BIG!! It requires at least 2 bites to finish 1 piece. Chirachi is the best deal in town ($14) but not very much fish on top (that's why the best deal in town). I appreciate this place does serve Cha Soba (cold green noodle with cold tempura sauce on the side), have not seen any restaurants that serve this dish in years. Chicken teriyaki is a little different here. It uses dark meat battered and fried then topped with teriyaki sauce. My picky eater son ate it so it must be good. Overall I recommend this place only if you don't walk in with a high expectation. Otherwise you will be disappointed. read more

I wanted to try Akira sushi as I live in the area and wanted to give it a shot. I went in hungry and wanting some regular rolls and ordered 2 salmon maki's with cream cheese, spicy combo and yam avocado roll. When I got the receipt, i saw the prices didn't add up as the maki is $3.50 each. So I checked with staff and she said because the maki isn't big enough to add cream cheese, they need to make it a regular roll and add cream cheese. I didn't want a regular roll and no other sushi restaurant has ever told me otherwise. So she charged me for regular salmon rolls and then their was another charge of $3.90 for cream cheese which was also not expected as I usually pay (.50-$1 max to add cream cheese)The lady explained that the salmon roll cost more and cream cheese also has an extra charge which was outrageously high. So for 2 salmon rolls with cream cheese she charged me a total of $13.40. I would have appreciated if the staff told me about these different charges and that she couldn't make me a maki and needed to make a rice roll. The overall sushi was not the best and the tune and salmon didn't taste fresh. The consistency with the cream cheese in each salmon roll was super off. So I am disappointed and wouldn't be returning to this location. read more

Akira Sushi - Salmon roll with cream cheese and yam avocado roll! Total of $32.66 - Sushi Bars Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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I have always been a big fan of sushi in Vancouver for as long as I can remember. More by accident than anything else I passed by Akira Sushi after a long walk around Stanley Park. Somehow I've seen every sushi offer, but I decided to try it anyway after seeing the lunch special included yam tempura rolls. First, I am Japanese and prior to coming here I only knew about black rice in theory, but hands down it is freaking amazinggg! Absolutely fabulous and the lunch special while only being (11 rolls TOTAL) for $7.50 wasn't fabulous it was still a good offer. The only reason this place does not get 5 stars from me is that I found something disingenuous about Chinese people running a sushi restaurant and putting up a lot of pictures and assortments featuring Japanese culture. read more

I loooove this place. The service is good and fast. The staff treats customers with respect and welcomes them to come back again. The black rice sushi pieces are big and delicious. I recommend this place to everyone. read more

I had the tuna tataki, a creation roll and toro sashimi. The toro, my favourite food in the world, was amazing, melted in my mouth and almost brought tears to my eyes. The service and the price is great, you can have a feast for two for under 20. The space is a little small, and the last table available was small and a little sketchy. Besides that it was delish and I will definitely be back to try to v olcano roll and the black rice! read more

Quite possibly the best sushi fish I've had. The fish was so fresh, so good. I got the sushi combination 2, with 6 pieces of California roll and 2 salmon nigiri and 2 hamachi nigiri. Great price - about $8 for all that! (I also opted to get a miso soup, because I was in a miso kinda mood) The fish was incredibly fresh and tasty. The nigiri fish melted like butter on my tongue. So smooth, you hardly needed teeth. And teh California roll....omg.... The one possible bad thing (and thus the four star rating instead of five) was that the rice seemed too.....something. I can't put a word on it, but basically, it was just a little heavy and solid for sushi rice. Now, I got the white rice, and apparently they specialize in black rice for their sushi, so next time I go (which might possibly be tomorrow for lunch....and perhaps for dinner too...), I may have to try the black rice, which everyone else was eating... Pretty quick service, although there can be a long line, so consider yourself forewarned. The wait staff wasn't hugely attentive, but I don't need much when I eat, so I didn't mind too much. read more

Chinese owned Japanese restaurant. Seems to be fairly popular with the west end crowd. When I walked in the doors, the waitress ignored me. Told me to "sit any you like". Oh Okay - I sat. Tea was served 15 minutes after I sat down. I was curious on what was in the Cold Chicken Ramen Salad. I inquired about it. Waitress told me that there was some vegetables and shrimp. So, I ordered it. Service was so slow - I asked for my food to be packed up. She nodded. Portion was fine. Deep fried chicken on top of cold noodles with chunks of iceberg lettuce and a handful of bean sprouts. Not much a salad. My co-worker ordered the same dish - an hour later - she had pickled ginger and no iceberg lettuce. No consistency in their dishes. I also think they short change me. Won't be returning. read more

Totaly decent. The black/purple rice is interesting, the flavour is more earthy, nutty and sweeter than regular rice. The texture is also interesting. I would say not quite as sticky as regular white rice. Complements the more savory type rolls really nicely. If you look up the nutritional information though it isn't THAT great. 4g of fiber/100g, 1.5 mg of iron/100g and still about 350 cal per 100 g. Black rice is still rice and I don't see what the added benefits are compared to brown rice. read more

Akira Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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While it doesnt look like much from the outside, the pleasant servers and photos of the sushi had me go inside. I ordered the vegetable tempura and volcano roll. I was served green tea straight away and my food wasnt long following. Delicious tempura but the volcano roll was amazing! The presentation made me want to snap a photo but I was way too hungry. Wishing I did now though for this review! Other reviews say the price is a bit high but after eating here and the quality food I think its quite reasonable. Ill be a regular for sure from now on :) read more

I'm not sure there are many other sushi places that can compete with the quality of the sushi in respect to the price. I come here all the time when I need my sashimi fix.. You can get ten large pieces of salmon or tuna sashimi for about 14 dollars. And the quality/freshness of the fish is quite good. Also, another bonus, this place does spicy tuna rolls right. The flavor comes from the spices they put in the tuna as opposed to some other places which just dump hot sauce on some tuna maki to christen it as a "spicy" tuna roll. Definitely recommend for the best cheap sushi. read more

This place use to be a real gem in the West End years back. Now it has deteriorated to the extent that I will never go there again. They skimp on the food. The rolls are small filled with sub standard ingredients. The sashimi was soggy and over priced and the general quality of the service left a lot to be desired. Too bad! read more

This place is pretty close to my workplace so I come here pretty often. Since I'm just one person I've only had the single-person combo meals rather than getting to try all the specialty rolls. Sushi is fairly consistent and comes out fast (perfect for that half-hour lunch break). Pricing is affordable and it's possible to have your lunch, tax, tip to be $10. I like getting the spicy combo, which features a generous amount of spicy tuna, spicy salmon, and spicy chopped scallop rolls. read more

Went back to Akira again last week, hoping to get better sushi than the last time I was there, which according to Yelp was over three years ago. Unfortunately, the food was still pretty subpar. It was a beautiful sunny evening, and we were in a good mood. We got seated quickly and ordered a BC and dragon roll (or something similar). Got one with brown rice and the other with white. Got some agadashi tofu and sashimi as well. Nothing we got was good. At one point, we felt a little gross from eating what we had ordered but finished the food anyway. We were that hungry! Then we paid the bill, tipped and left feeling completely the opposite of satiated. Why are the reviews good on Yelp? I don't know. All I know is I live in this 'hood, and there's definitely better sushi in this town. Yelpers got this one wrong. read more

I liked this place. The sushi is made with this black rice and it's all super fresh and yummy. We sat outside where it was a bit loud since there is a bus stop directly to the left hand side. The tea they had was complimentary and very good (green tea). read more

Ordered the tofu teriyaki don $6.75 and a ebi sunomono $3.95 on black rice (for an extra fee of course). Way too much arrived under the teriyaki tofu (hello leftovers) and the sunomono was perfect. Busy little place! read more

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I love this place for quick tasty sushi. Great value, friendly staff. The black rice is a nice change from white. It's the one place that we look forward to going to every week read more

Ordered just one roll, the unagi/avocado roll, fresh and tasty. Sounds a bit generous based on one roll, being my 3rd snack of the day before dinner, but worth going back to check some other food. I just know it's clean, and same for the washrooms lol. service was good too, good location. read more

This place was great. Really nice staff, food was fantastic, and they brought out our 4 orders within 5-10 minutes. F- the haters, I literally made a yelp to give these guys a review - game changing restaurant. read more

Akira Sushi - Volcano roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Best sushi diner on Denman. Ask to have your sushi with black rice. Speak Mandarin if you can, the girls will be thrilled :D read more

Akira Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

I am not understanding the bad reviews as I have been here a few times in the area with friends and we were more than pleased with what was offered. I had the basic avocado and cumber roll, my usual. Both the rolls came out in a timely manner and were nicely rolled tight. The price was decent and the customer service was excellent. read more

This place has been around forever, which is great, but, although their sushi is great and fresh and dishes are tasty, the prices have dramatically increased while portion sizes have dramatically decreased. Unfortunate, but I understand as the rent along Denman street wipes out businesses on a monthly basis. Glad to see they are still around, but we won't be back. In Vancouver, it's very easy to find good cheap sushi and a ton of it for very little money. read more