AKEMI is a comfortable and reliable Japanese restaurant on Solano Avenue, with a nice modern dining…read moreroom and a broad menu covering sushi, rolls, tempura, grilled dishes and other Japanese standards. We tried several different items, and overall everything was well prepared. The sushi was fresh and nicely presented, with generous pieces of fish. The steak was properly grilled and paired surprisingly well with the tempura. The tempura itself came out light and crisp, without feeling excessively oily. The agedashi tofu was another simple but satisfying dish -- crisp outside, soft inside, with bonito flakes, green onion and the familiar savory broth. Even the miso soup deserves a mention. Nothing complicated, just a warm, properly balanced bowl of miso soup that did exactly what it was supposed to do. That probably describes AKEMI pretty well. There was no single dish that completely changed my understanding of Japanese cuisine, but there also wasn't anything on the table I regretted ordering. Everything was fresh, competent and enjoyable. Berkeley can sometimes be surprisingly difficult when you're simply looking for a dependable meal, and AKEMI fills that role nicely. I probably wouldn't make a special trip across the Bay just for dinner here, but if I'm in Berkeley and want good sushi, tempura or Japanese food around Solano Avenue, I would have no problem coming back. Four stars. Solid, comfortable, and reliably good. -- Dr. C Independent Culinary Quality Control Raw Material Inspection: PASS Thermal Processing: PASS Tempura Integrity: PASS Miso Soup Performance: ABOVE EXPECTATION Overall System Status: STABLE & WITHIN SPECIFICATION

$6 Strawberry Yuzu Spritzer: delicious and apparently uses real puréed strawberries…read more $24 Gyu Bento: the white miso soup was perfectly fine. Perfectly cooked steak. The roasted Brussels sprouts was a nice pairing. The shredded salad was good, crunchy. The orange wedges were sweetly in season. Really felt the bento needed one more thing. $9 Hamachi Nigiri: buttery! Excellent.

Fresh as always. We have eaten here multiple times and always left with happy tummies. Today we…read moreordered delivery by Ubereats. Everything was delicious. This is our go-to sushi whenever we want sushi.

First time dine in review let's get into it !…read more My daughter was getting a tattoo done near by , which takes hours so I decided to look around for sushi because that's what we both were craving and this happened to be close by . When I walked in it was spacious but empty . Lunch hour . Kinda sketch but maybe because of the area . I sat bar side because I ordered some things for myself and some for us to go . Waitress ( only one ) was very nice and attentive . And the sushi chef was also nice as well . I started with miso soup for me and oysters. You guys know I'm an oyster connoisseur. 4 oysters for 16$ is crazy to me cuz I get oysters all over the place that are bigger and get more oysters for the same price . That was a bummer . They were kinda small . They should do 6-8 for the price they charge and the size they are . The miso soup however was very good came out very hot and just the right flavor . Not salty and filled with a bunch of other veggies like some non authentic sushi houses would do so i appreciate that . Now for the rolls . I got California roll to go for my daughter and got the pink lady roll to go for myself . Extra sauce I asked for on the side that came on my roll they kindly gave it to me . My daughter enjoyed the Cali roll . I too also enjoyed the pink lady . Sushi master is heavy handed on the roll which is refreshing because I could taste everything they said was included in the roll . I'd come back again for rolls if I'm in the area . I love oysters but probably wouldn't come back for them not because they were bad just unreasonably priced . The staff were accommodating. It's spacious. It's a bunch of shops near by so I'd give them a try .

Super fast nice service. No real seating it's more a grab and go and with how fast the service was…read moreI don't mind it. Average size sushi burrito but good for the price and definitely tasty. I would recommend as I will definitely be coming back. I'm just sad they have such small hours.

Brief Summary: - Affordable prices for sushi and it also…read morefills you up - Located near the library and post office area in Berkeley - Wasabi mayo amount versus tolerance: depends on the person - Enjoyed the sweet potato fries too This is one of the places I wanted to visit for the longest time; however I struggled with the timing because I tend to visit Berkeley on weekends, and this restaurant is closed. Finally, the time arrived when I left work early and decided to stop by Berkeley to see the sakura blossoms that bloomed in the university campus this year. What good way to observe the sakura blossoms with the traditional hanami experience, so we decided to take sushinista sushi rolls and eat at the long sakura alley way near University Ave. There are different types of fillings in each sushi, and I chose the saku saku shrimp. Various vegetables are packed inside, with the optional spread of wasabi mayo. I chose to have the mayo in all of the rolls; the staff mentioned 3 levels if I recall: regular, a little, and no wasabi mayo. For the wasabi tolerance, I was pretty alright, it didn't sting my nose. However, this depends on the person because the same amount made a relative of mine sniffle through the eating experience. I wouldn't have tried the sweet potato fries, but my relative is a fan of them. Glad we did because I enjoyed this snack. When it is served fresh from the fryer, the exterior is light and crisp! This paired very well with the match salt that came with it. Thoroughly enjoyed the experience, so I would love to visit after work hours and have this again

Kyoto has a great selection of very, very nice sushi and a lot of other Japanese stuff which looks…read morehella tasty. And the prices are right. I've been there many times and love it.

I went to the Peace vegan restaurant for lunch when I noticed this small sushi shop next door…read more The Futomaki roll had a good amount of mushrooms, spinach, Japanese omelette and carrots. It tasted authentic and good. And it was only 5.99 and the perfect amount for a meal. The veggie roll here is a much better deal than comparable veggie Korean rolls which cost twice as much. Kyoto also carries a good amount of different kinds of sushi. Prices are very reasonable. The food was fresh and I would definitely come back to try different things. This seems like a very popular shop for cheap sushi. They make a lot of sales throughout the day.

My experience was good - nice service and yummy food - but confused about prices…read more I was looking at the menu prices on Yelp while ordering on the phone but was charged almost double. I'm leaving a good review because the total was very reasonable for the amount of food, and the prices on Yelp did seem too good to be true. Maybe the prices are different for sit-down or delivery? The delivery option wasn't available so I called in and picked up the order myself. If someone could please show me where I might find the accurate pricing, I would greatly appreciate it :*)

Manpuku is just alright. It's somewhat reasonably priced and the serving size is decent. That's…read morethe plus side. The downside is that the parking is horrendous and the food is just mid. The place is kind of dingy inside. The table we sat at was sticky. When you walk in you have to order at the cash register which is really unclear as no staff greet you, they just assume you know the drill. The menu is also confusing and not straight forward. The sushi was just okay. Fish did not taste very fresh or high quality. The miso tasted very watered down. I can't in good conscience recommend this place.

So yummy and fresh!…read more Super Food and easy peaceful food! you just can't beat a great neighborhood place to eat some sushi

UPDATE: I had diarrhea last night about 4 hrs after eating here, and then again this morning…read more Unfortunately, will not be returning to Kiku Sushi. We've driven by this place for over 14 years and have never eaten here and we were super excited to try it out tonight, especially given our cat's name is also Kiku! Unfortunately, our first experience fell way short of our expectations based on the volume of 5-star reviews here. We came in on a Sunday night around 7pm. We were seated immediately. I'm splitting the rating between food, service, and atmosphere: FOOD: 2.5/5 -Hamachi Kama: 5/5 -Miso Soup: 2.5/5 Came with seaweed, green onions, and tofu which was good but the tofu was super firm and the miso broth was "cinnamon"-like. Not bad but not something I'd order intentionally again. -Geen Salad: 2/5 Not the traditional sesame/goma dressing. Tasted more like over ripe avocado. -Plain Udon: 2/5 Ordered this for our younger kid. Noodles were good, but the broth was unusual. My wife thought she tasted soap so I tried it. It was definitely not soap, but I think what she was picking up was a seasoning that wasn't dashi - it gave off a bullion vibe. Flavorful but not traditional. -Dragon Roll: 3.5/5 This review is from my older kid who has a trustworthy palette. -Salmon Skin Roll: 3.5/5 So/so. I probably wouldn't order again but the salmon skin remained crunchy. The shiso leaf was a nice touch. I really wanted to like this roll but it fell flat for some reason. -Sunshine Roll: 4/5 Great flavors and fun combinations, but the tempura was chewy. -Hamachi Toro Nigiri: 3/5 Tasty with great texture. But each slice was very thick. Some people might like the thicker cut, but for me it lacked the elegance of a more "traditional" (one bite) size. The deal breaker here was the rice. It fell apart. It was dry, a little al dente, and lacked the vinegary seasoning I was expecting from sushi rice. -Aji Nigiri: 2/5 I love mackerel and this fell short. Its thick slices made it incredibly difficult to chew - it made me gag. As with the Hamachi Toro, the rice completely fell apart and felt undercooked. SERIVCE: 2.5/5 Server was nice but this is obviously a first time summer gig between semesters or something. We eventually got everything we asked for but this young guy is still getting his footing so I don't think it's fair to harp on every small detail. Though it would have been helpful if another staffer gave the fella a hand tonight or if crew spent a little more time training its newer staff. ATOMSPHERE: 3/5 Aesthetically, it looks like your typical Japanese restaurant - no notes. But the music was... odd - it was like a pop hits playlist. When we first sat down, we laughed because Sean Paul was playing and I joked, "Ahh, the traditional sounds of Japan." The Sean Paul track was followed by Lush Life by Zara Larson, Ophilia by Taylor Swift, etc. Just an odd choice,

Had a great experience at Party Sushi. The sushi is solid, prices are fair, service is great, and…read morethe fish is fresh. Such a sweet neighborhood gem.

For $24, this is an unbeatable deal. The sushi combo includes miso soup, a side salad, an 8-piece…read morerainbow roll, and four huge pieces of nigiri. Even from the photo, it's clear that the nigiri pieces are nearly the same size as the entire roll--seriously impressive. If I had known about their oversized nigiri back when I was in college, I would have been here every week. This place is truly a hidden gem in Berkeley. The staff is also incredibly friendly and accommodating, which only adds to the experience. I'll definitely be back soon.

Amazing food and service plus they were sooooooooooo nice. We got the gyoza and a California roll…read moreand it was enough for the two of us to be full with a drink. You have to try it!!!

good service & they open late! however i ordered two rolls which came in the same box instead of…read moresmaller separate boxes; inconvenient when you order to share with someone. the quality was alright at best, wouldn't really say it's worth the price. one roll tasted ok, the other didn't taste fresh & was almost flavorless.