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Akagi Restaurant
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
About This Business:
At Joy Sushi, we find it a joy to serve you fresh delectable sushi and traditional Japanese food. We have it all, from sushi, to nigiri, yakitori, nabe,… read more »
233 reviews for Akagi Restaurant
Review Highlights
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"The bento boxes are such a great deal and you always get..." In 41 reviews -
"I have been going here since I have was a kid." In 7 reviews -
"My favorite has to be their tempura shrimp." In 63 reviews
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233 reviews in English
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Review from M B.
Daly City, CA
4/3/2012
Grew up eating at ONLY this Japanese rest.
This place never fails for my GO TO bento box joint!
I LOVE the PRICE and i LOVE the FOOD!
All bento boxes are under $10.00 and portions are perfect! -
Review from Carol L.
San Francisco, CA
4/25/2012 1 Check-in Here
If it weren't for my recent obsession to go tanning with my friend, I doubt I would've stumbled upon this place. We literally got our GTL on but needed to grub afterwards since we're working so hard.
My friend suggested this place because the prices were decent and she definitely hyped up that infamous ~$10 bento box. I shrugged my shoulders and said," Sure, why not!" We were seated, menus down, utensils on the table, orders were placed and all done swiftly. My friend ordered a bento box while I stuck with something simple: a spicy tuna roll.
My friend' bento box arrived and the food seemed pretty decent and portioned well for a hungry inidividual. When my food came I was slightly perplexed as to what was placed in front of me.. I couldn't tell what type of sauce was on my sushi but one bite in and I knew. Tapatio. Please tell me why in the world would Tapatio hot sauce be on my sushi?? I didn't think it was possible to mess up a spicy tuna roll; needless to say, I ate it all because that was my dinner before hitting up the gym for practice.
Short & to the point: one star for the friendly service. -
Review from Isabelle F.
San Francisco, CA
4/20/2012
Unfortunately a family member enjoys dining here, so I came here for 3 visits, and the food is consistently terrible except for the mackerel.
OTHERWISE...
The teriyaki chicken and beef were both overly salted and tasted like they just poured soy and teriyaki sauce all over it. Sushi here is drowned in soy sauce also.
Avoid. -
Review from Mario S.
South San Francisco, CA
5/9/2012
Go to place for bento box. Will always be back.
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Review from Robert S.
San Mateo, CA
3/6/2012
Can't go run with the lunch bento boxes. $8-10 OTD and you are set. I think I may be a regular there because the waiter knows what I want before I order. Solid Healthy meal with grilled chicken and Salmon (no teriyaki) and some tuna sashimi.
Becoming my go to for a quick meal. -
Review from Cinzia R.
San Francisco, CA
3/17/2012
Customer service:
below mediocre. Came into the retaurant and the sign said wait to be seated, the waiter yells from the back to seat ourselves...then the waitress wants us to order the minute we sit down. "Are you ready?" Not really since we've never been here before....
Ambiance:
Below mediocre. I've seen taquerias with more classy tables and chairs. Japanese restaurants tend to pride themselves the tastefulness of their ambiance when serving their customers. This place has dirty, plain white walls, dirty carpet they don't seem to vacuum too often, noise level is fine. Its great if you're a college student and doesn't G.A.Sht. But if you are a professional well versed in good restaurants, like me, keep looking.
Food:
Its good. The teapot was sticky and dirty outside but the food itself earned all the stars. They brought the pot with the cups on top and took off leaving us to serve ourselves. The bento and sashimi were good. The maki were rolled horribly. All lumpy and looked like a rise rolls with flat tires. Yet, I reiterate, it your a person who doesn't expect japanese food to have presentation or doesn't know any better, don't worry about it. The price is honestly nothing to brad about. I would've paid $5 more/person for...well..more. -
Review from Michelle G.
San Mateo, CA
5/15/2012
The thing I most miss about living in San Bruno is Akagi! I used to eat here a few times a week and now I'm in San Mateo with overpriced Japanese food that doesn't even compare :( I always got a chicken teriyaki and tempura bento box with an order of California rolls and tempura rolls. The price was unbelievably reasonable and the food never ever disappointed me. The staff was also very friendly.
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Review from Grace anne D.
Concord, CA
First impression's of a restaurant I haven't been to will always last forever and this one will definitely leave a permanent bad memory in my head.
Came here with my boyfriend for dinner (almost 7PM) yesterday (03/26/2012) and when we stepped in, there is a pretty decent size sign that says "PLEASE WAIT TO BE SEATED", we waited for a minute and some Mexican guy came up to us and he asked us "2?" and we said yes and he rolled his eyes. At first I thought he was just having a bad day, but it just went downhill from there.
Sat ourselves down and the guy came and put the hot tea in front of us without looking at us, he was just staring at the wall while he put the tea pot on our table. Weird.
This place is definitely a place where they just stuck in table's and chair's and that's about it. The wall's were blank and I felt as if I was eating in the back part's of a restaurant where the bathroom and food supplies were. This place need's a make over.
I ordered their 2 item bento box ($8): salmon teriyaki and tempura which came with soup, salad and rice. Our food didn't take too long to get to our table. Their bento box is decent sized but nothing amazing with the taste or the style of the bento box. You do get what you pay for, IMO.
As we were finishing up, we were looking for a waiter. The same Mexican guy was passing our way so we asked him if we could get our bill, WHILE WE SAID THAT he kept walking past us, with a angry look on his face and he didn't even look at us AGAIN even though we were an ear shot away. My boyfriend was fed up and I had to calm him down from beating this guy's ass. This guy definitely need's to be fired because of his rudeness, he himself left me a bad memory of this place and I really don't want to come back here again. I also saw him earlier doing the same thing to one of the waitress' who was telling him something and he walked passed her, completely ignoring her. If he has time to laugh and smile with the other guy's who are making sushi, then he should have time to treat customer's with respect. PLEASE do something about this because I would love to give this place another chance BUT without him working there. -
Review from Chuck N.
1/11/2012
Quality sushi at low prices.
Normally you'll end up paying $35-50 for a 2 person sushi dinner. Akagi, though definitely not a sexy venue, has quality, clean sushi for about half the price of other sushi restaurants.
The tables, walls, menus & decor are all very blah, so don't expect a maître d' to serve you with a napkin and candle, but do expect to look at the menu and think "Nice! I can go twice for the price of normal meal."
Order the spider roll, philadelphia roll, mixed roll, all their special rolls (all in the $4--6 range)
The sashimi is a bit plain, i'd skip it.
The chicken katsu and spare rib bento box is huge and delicious for $8.50, I recommend it. -
Review from Alli D.
Burlingame, CA
2/11/2012 1 Check-in Here
I wanted to love this place, I truly did. The prices are awesome and so are the portions, but of course there is a sacrifice. The taste and flavor is just mediocre, nothing to rave about.
In my opinion, I would shy away from the sushi, because the bento's are where it's at. I got the 2 combo bento for under $10, crazy. Tempura + salmon teriyaki. I like that they didn't give me a tiny piece of salmon that I can eat in one bite, which is always a plus.
Boyfriend got the Shogun bento, which is probably the best deal. It's HUGE!
I really appreciate how they have low prices and big portions, and I might be back if I'm craving some cheap japanese food. -
Review from boiboi a.
San Bruno, CA
4/15/2012
Gross! not the food but the new waiter. The big guy with the beard. I saw him scratch his chin/beard a few times. And when he brought us our tiny soy sauce bowl, he was holding it with thumb on the middle of the bowl. Someone should teach this guy how to hold glasses and plates. You never touch the inside part even if your hands are clean.
The older, light skinned Hispanic guy, the one who wears a white shirt, he too was walking around scratching his forearm. LOL -
Review from Cynthia B.
San Francisco, CA
3/14/2012
I went here today with my uncle for the first time. He said he has been going here for 20 years, so I know he loves it. Turns out, I enjoy Akagi also. Melt in your mouth hamachi handroll. Tuna sashimi was delicious. Tempura was good. Cheap prices compared to SF. Big thumbs up, I will go back.
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Review from Stefanie W.
Fremont, CA
1/8/2012 1 Check-in Here
This place is quite small. I ordered the chirashi and the rainbow roll with my friend. The chirashi was around $16 and the rainbow roll was around $7. My other two friends that got the bento boxes were around 8-10 dollars.
When the chirashi came out, it was very small. There was a few pieces of sashimi and there were only six pieces to the rainbow roll. The roll was already pretty small itself. However when the bento boxes came out, they had like six different dishes. They already came with miso soup, salad, and pickles.
Just get a bento box here. The sushi isn't worth it. I didn't even get full from my orders. :( -
Review from Yamileth B.
San Bruno, CA
11/11/2011 1 Check-in Here
Just moved to area so the hubby and I decided to go around, and find a new Japenese restaurant. We came across Akagi, and thought why not give it a try.
I ordered the teriyaki lunch special. It didn't take long to arrive, and the portions were huge, The taste however wasn't what I expected. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good enough for me to actually go back.
The search continues... -
Review from Malyshka K.
Chico, CA
4/26/2012
I have been to Akagi 4 or 5 times now. They are very friendly. I like most of their rolls. Highly suggest the Dragon Roll, and the rainbow roll and they have a few with shrimp tempura in the middle - don't remember what they are called. However I am not a fan of the other rolls, them seem alittle bland. all in all a good place - i definitely will be coming back.
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Review from Brandon Y.
San Jose, CA
11/13/2011 1 Check-in Here
With bento box specials less than $10 where you can order 3 items, Akagi definitely sounded like the place to go for lunch.
They had quite a bit of choices for the combo bento ranging from teriyaki to shioyaki to sushi. I chose the beef teri, tempura, and salmon shio 3 item combo. The beef had a good amount of sweet teriyaki sauce and was nice and tender. Tempura was pretty average, but I was kind of saddened by the salmon shio. It was on the dry side and it did not come with daikon oroshii, so I didn't like that about it...
There are many other selections on the menu, so I'll probably come back and try some other food, but I for sure appreciate the amount of food and variety that Akagi presents. -
Review from Jane R.
Las Vegas, NV
2/23/2012 1 Check-in Here
Love their bento boxes and that's usually what I go for. They have other items on their menu to choose from if you're into sushi and sashimi. Other restaurants just give you 1-2 tempura shrimp with 2 veggies. Akagi's offer you 3+3 shrimps and veggies and the price is inexpensive in comparison to other Japanese restaurants in the area. You might have to wait for a table during peak eating hours, but not for long. Service is fast and attentive, at least from my own experience. I would discourage large groups (6+) as the place is small, unless you can rent the entire restaurant!!
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Review from Curtis C.
South San Francisco, CA
12/10/2011
This is one of my favorite japanese places to go to right now. It has excellent food at an unbeatable price. They are also very kid friendly, it is a good family environment where its just loud enough for your kids to have a good time but you can still hear everything across the table for a family conversation. The kids plate also is under $4 and it comes with a lot of food for the children that you can take some home. They serve a Deluxe dinner which is just under $10 and comes with miso, salad, rice, and your choice of three items. Their item selection has quite a variety and the food is very good. My favorite items are the Momiji, Teri Chicken, Tuna Sashimi, and the salmon shio. The sushi is good, not great, but good. For the price although I definitely do go there to get a quick sushi fix without having to blow a lot of money.
So if you go the plate I recommend would be the Deluxe plate, and the three items to be the Momiji, Teri Chicken, and the Salmon shio. It is a lot of food and you get beef, chicken and fish all in one meal, gives your a good range of the food and the quality of it. -
Review from Jason H.
San Francisco, CA
11/17/2011
Great place for cheap sushi. Bento box deluxe with three items for $9.85, you can't loose.
Salmon is definitely on the menu. I prefer Fresh over Smoked salmon. -
Review from Joice K.
San Francisco, CA
7/29/2011 1 Check-in Here
It wasn't close enough by our house to reach this restaurant, but we still kinda like to go there anyway :)
The place was small and there's quite long waiting line while lunch and dinner time. If you're not willing to wait, you can choose another Japanese Restaurant right on the next door, named Spiral. I will give my review for Spiral separately.
At Akagi, the price was cheap. You will get a bento box with 2 or 3 choices of item just under $10.
I really love the mix Tempura. It has prawn and various veggies: broccoli, carrot, sweet potato, cucumber.
Chicken Katsu was not made of the breast fillet which I didn't like it much, the salad was good though.
Too bad they didn't have Agedashi Tofu in their menu like Spiral did. -
Review from Daniel M.
Dublin, CA
6/30/2011 1 Check-in Here
Looking for good valued Japanese food? This is your place!
Portions are huge, and quality is on point! -
Review from Jerry C.
7/10/2011
Well, it's been three days since i last ate at this place, and my ass is still planted on my toilet because my stomach is still as upset as a fat chick waiting in a long line for the buffet.
yes, this place is dirt cheap, and I understand the concept of "you get what you pay for". Yes, i know you won't be licking ikura off Iron chef Morimoto's balls at this cheap ass place, but I also don't expect to get a bad tummy ache either.
three item bento box for under 10 bucks...great news..but judging from all the people eating here, most won't know good japanese food tastes like even if you roll them into a fat california roll and dip them in a tub of soy sauce and wasabi. Mostly a young, NON japanese crowd, more interested in eating cheap than good. that's fine, but man, some of their stuff left a sour taste in my mouth....and my ass.
the beef teriyaki was like jerky dipped in teri sauce. the sashimi looked tired and you wondered if the tuna committed seppuku.
the fried tempura looked up at me and asked me "are you really going to eat me? good luck dude..."
Place still gets two stars because they really have a great price point, and the staff works hard. -
Review from Marcianita R.
San Bruno, CA
4/13/2012
Always consistent food and excellent quality food. The price is awesome! Great food at a great price. Enjoy! Akagi is well worth the effort to get there. The owner makes Japanese food an affordable treat!
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Review from Lauren K.
8/19/2011 2 photos
I grew up getting take out from this place but it wasn't until yesterday until I actually decided to sit in.
Dinner on a Thursday night wasn't too busy. I ordered a Regular Bento (2 combination) with Chicken Teriyaki and Tonkatsu. The chicken teriyaki was literally swimming in Teriyaki sauce which masked the dryness of the actual chicken. The Tonkatsu had a thick layer of batter nicely friend upon it (but maybe a little too thick for my liking). The miso soup given before my meal was a bit too watery.
Service was good. No complaints there. Food was cheap. The rolls ordered by other people around me did not look so good (especially for the pricing). -
Review from Jon R.
Alameda, CA
1/31/2012
I love this place. I usually go here to hit the spot! Tempura along with the bento boxes! Yummy!
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Review from j m.
San Mateo, CA
1/17/2012
Now I remember why I liked coming to this place when I was in college. Good food for cheap price. The wait still hasn't changed (it's still packed) and the decor still the same. Akagi has very loyal customers and I think it's time that the owners upgrade the place. They can start with new tables and chairs and maybe a paint job. Otherwise, this is a good hole in a wall japanese restaurants to go to.
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Review from Emily C.
Daly City, CA
2/7/2012
LOve,love love it! Love the food, prices and the services! Will definitely b back :)))
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Review from Amy C.
San Francisco, CA
4/7/2012
Food is good and consistent. I've been going to this same place for probably as long as they've been open. The ambiance and wait-staff is consistently bland but just keep that in mind and you'll be fine. Also, I think it's a great place to bring kids because it's fairly busy and people don't seem to mind the noise, and also because you can find kid-friendly food. Even if it's just rice and chicken terriyaki, the kids usually like it.
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Review from Olga F.
South San Francisco, CA
5/18/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I love me some Akagi!
I tend to come here for my Japanese fix. Hole in the wall location I've been going to since I was a kid.
Reasonable prices, large enough portions! I love their Saba (although one time I ordered it, it came out cold =( they offered to replace it to anything of my liking, so i got the terriyaki chicken). Bento boxes are the way to go. Even the Sushi Rolls are huuuge. Sashimi is nice & fresh [LOVE ME SOME HAMACHI!]!
Only thing that sucks is it's a small place so sometimes the wait to get seated is long, but so worth the wait.
They even do take-out too!
get you some ;) -
Review from Brendan L.
San Francisco, CA
12/22/2011 1 Check-in Here
We used to eat here a lot for work lunches. The quality of food has been getting lower and the price has been getting higher...My boss found the their sushi was pretty disgusting, i forgot what she ordered. My co worker also ordered something I forgot what it was but it had mystery tempura, we didn't know what is in it...Every time we go the tempura is different, I guess it was left overs from the night before.
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Review from Kristina N.
San Jose, CA
5/26/2011
I've been here several times for lunch. The food is average, but what makes this restaurant shine is the cheap prices. A decent-sized bento box is under $10!
Chicken katsu- decent, they put too much of the sauce so I usually request no sauce
Chicken teriyaki- dry every time I get it (that's not what he said)
California roll- nothing to rave about
Vegetable and Shrimp tempura- really good! It's always fresh and tasty. I recommend this
If you come here, it's very affordable but don't expect high quality food. I always question the freshness of the sushi when I come here. -
Review from Christine F.
San Francisco, CA
5/12/2011 4 Check-ins Here
If you love sushi, please come here!!
Have only ate sushi here, not the rice plates. My friends have ordered the rice plates, and are HUGE in portion size. The sushi is served in large sizes too. VERY affordable here; good prices for the extra amount of food they give. Only downside, the place is a little joint so it may take a while for a group to be seated especially at evening hours when it's dinner time. -
Review from M A.
San Bruno, CA
1/9/2012 1 Check-in Here
Ive been coming here since i was little and the food is just how i remember. No other japanese food can bet this place. Recently coming back to this place i got the meal which came with tofu, tempera, my choice of entree, seaweed salad and salad i think that was all i forget but there was a lot on the plate and inder 10 bucks! i always forget the name of the meal but the waiter always helps me out without attitude or confusion when i order to go. Fast and friendly service.
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Review from Kevin W.
Mountain View, CA
4/12/2011 1 photo
Bento! Bento! Bento!
This is my favorite hole-in-the-wall place for cheap bento boxes. For less than $10, there's a three item bento - teriyaki including short ribs and salmon, nikunegi (sp?), sashmi, tempura, etc. The food is your typical Japanese food, but the portions are generous, and the food is good. And it comes in a bento box!
I've had the sushi/sashami here. Its alright as an "oh I want a spider roll, too!" impulse buy to go along with the bento when your appetite is bigger than your stomach, but ultimately, you want the bento.
The parking gets a bit packed on the streets, there's a wait sometimes during lunch/dinner, the place is a bit dirty and poorly decorated. But I'll gladly take my bento to the curb outside with a big smile on my face.
Did I mention that I like the bento? I want to make that clear - I LOVE THE BENTO! -
Review from Marc T.
12/31/2010 1 Check-in Here
My parents used to take me here when I was a kid, and actually, this was the very first Japanese Restaurant that I have ever eaten at (at least in my memory.
One of the better bento box deals in the pennisula. For under 10 bucks, you get an assortment of meats and fish that are generously portioned. I ordered the Tempura/Short Ribs/Sashimi box.
Akagi set the standard for tempura for me as a kid, and after all these years, it is still pretty damn good. The texture and fluffiness are on point, and they always use fresh batter (versus other tempura houses that keep reusing their batter to a point where it liquifies and becomes oily).
The Tuna Sashimi was pretty standard. The Short Ribs were awesomely cooked, but the sauce was a bit too sweet. I also tried my folks Teriyaki Steak, which was sliced thick (I like it better than the thinly sliced teriyaki steaks since the texture is meatier), as well as the Teriyaki Chicken, and all were grilled well but the sauce was too sweet.
Additionally, 2.95 nigri (which were actually sliced thicker than I thought) and 4.25 Uni is the best in the area. Soft Shell crab under 5 bucks? cheap and good. -
Review from Lily F.
Daly City, CA
3/11/2012
This is my go to place when I'm craving sushi. This place gets packed so having to wait to get sitted is worth it-- $9 for a bento box, mix and match 3 items-- the longest I've waited was 15 minutes. They are open lunch time and dinner time only. I love their tuna sashimi, pickled radish, miso soup, you know the sushi is good when the raw fish is sweet. I hate their tea which is free but I just don't like the taste. If I go to other sushi places their bento boxes start at $16 and the raw fish was not as sweet so this is my favorite spot. People say this restaurant is small...I think it is cozy. You just come and go, someone else is waiting for your table. $24 plus tip for two people, my tummy and my wallet are both happy.
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Review from Siai M.
San Francisco, CA
12/7/2011 1 Check-in Here
This place was recommended by a friend so ill be nice.... the restaurant is very small but clean. I ordered the spider roll and I believe it was called a spicy roll. My husband had the new York maki and California roll. The spider roll was so so. I've had better. The spicy roll..... was horrible.. it was basically a California roll with TAPATIO hot sauce. I was so disappointed! I felt forced to eat it because I didn't want to waste anything because the prices are just a Tad bit too much for the small portions. Anyhow, not all was disappointed .. they do have a great kids meal with good size portions at a very reasonable price. My kids loved it and my hubby didn't complain.
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Review from Justin W.
San Francisco, CA
4/29/2011
I come here all the time due to my cheap ways
The portions are big(unexpected for a Japanese resturaunt.)
And theres so much to choose from when ordering a three item bento.
But my favorite would be the shogun bento, because the foods provided in there is ENDLESS! Theres so much to eat!
Im cheap and love good food
So this joint is a haven for my teenage hunger. -
Review from Stephen D.
San Bruno, CA
8/10/2010
Today we betrayed Spiral and went to our old friend Akagi. The place is the same old:
+Cheap food
+ Somewhat quick service when it's not crowded during lunch hours
+ The portions were big this time!
= Decent quality bento boxes
-They give you plastic utensils instead of silverware.
- They don't have noodles on their menu! I always look for udon at Japanese restaurants.
- Don't like their sushi
Sorry Akagi, I gave you a chance. I'll be around to say hi, but only as I'm walking past you to get to Spiral.Listed in: Japanese Food, "Itadakimasu!"
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Review from Gina P.
San Francisco, CA
10/5/2010 2 Check-ins Here
I've noticed that pretty much everyone who goes to Akagi orders a bento box. And that's because the bento boxes are such a good deal. You can get a 2 item combo for $8.95 or a 3 item combo for $9.95. The sushi is so-so but the prices are still pretty good.
The place is small and is usually rather busy. I've been there a couple of times for dinner, but haven't for lunch yet. Every time I go, there's a short wait so don't expect to be seated right away. Parking around that area was never a problem for us.
If you're going there, just make sure to try their bento boxes.
