Aki Sushi

Ive been meaning to go to this sushi place bec of all. good reviews and its close from my place. Starving as hell but all the good reviews just did not click. It took 30min to get our first order which was miso soup on rice but how hard is that to make? Im sorry but the rice was not even cooked completely 40 minutes passed I asked wheres my order and till then they gave me my second order of shrimp tempura… but gave me the wrong one. And don’t want to be rude I think 40min is enough to. make my sushi since it wasn’t even a lot of of people at this time. Yes they did serve my main order after 40min but since I was so upset already didn’t bother to. take picture plus the presentation was very poor.
I know perhaps I might just got into. wrong day as the table next to me got messed up order as well. Im sure theres room for improvement. Sorry cannot give 5 stars based on experience. Was ready to walk out as orders was forever and nobody bothered to inform me and nobody ask if we ok or not or if we need anything. not even a water.
And my garden roll i think it was called…
I have to literally
drink for it was too spicy :(

The sushi here is good. Not the greatest ever but good. The ambience sucks though. This place has like a pool hall/​hole in the wall bar vibe rather than the tranquil Japanese sushi spot vibe. There was a dude that sat at the bar and kept blabbering real loud with the chef which was real annoying and i felt like i was at a bad sports bar during the off season when only sad people that hate their lives go sit and drink alone.

Stopped in on my way home from work. I’ve been coming here since the first day they opened and I’ve been hooked ever since. Food is always fresh and delicious. I love the Crunchy, Passion, and the Dragon rolls. The staff is very friendly and extremely knowledgeable when it comes to sushi. Rolling sushi is not the quickest process so if it’s busy there can be a bit of a delay in getting the orders out, but if you can be patient it’s well worth the wait.

My family and I visited Aki Sushi last Friday based on a friend’s recommendation. We were looking for a good place to try sushi, because we had never eaten it before.
We tried the Veggie spring rolls, the Rock and Roll sushi and a set of veggie sushi rolls, with a rangoon crab puff appetizer. All were very tasty and served fresh. Out favorites were the rangoon crab appetizer and the Rock and Roll sushi.
The saki we ordered was served hot and hit the spot. We are now sushi fans, and can’t wait to go back to Aki Sushi again.
Update: We visited Aki the following Friday evening and had the Crunchy Roll and the Rock and Roll sushi. Both were awesome. The servers checking in with us took our order. The entrees arrived in a timely fashion but my daughter’s order of spring rolls was missing, because the server forgot to enter that part of the order. My little girl was hungry and in tears when the spring rolls finally arrived. The server apologized for the confusion and took the spring rolls off our bill. Our order of a crab rangoon appetizer was also forgotten, and ultimately brought out with our entrée. The service knocks my review down by one star. In summary, the food is awesome but the service could be a little better. Aki Sushi should hire at least one more server during busy evenings.

I stopped in here a couple of months ago for the second time. I forget the place is there honestly. I don’t drive up that part of Tampa Road very often. But I have been left satisfied both times. I don’t think it would replace my main sushi place, Sakura. But the food here is fresh (something that may not matter to you as much at a bar but definitely at a sushi place!) and the service was friendly.
The only drawback I would mention is that both times I went at lunch and both times the place was in need of tidying up. There was food left on the table we were sat at and on the floor. Let’s grab a broom, guys! :-)

Had lunch here today and it was incredible. Sushi was fresh and their specialty rolls are different and very good. We had the Luna (my favorite), Screamer, Aki Harvest, Crunch and Cali roll. Joseph was great, and make sure you say hi if you go. Nice thing is you could walk from the Marriott Courtyard, plus they stay open from 2pm-​5pm when most of the other sushi places close if you want a late lunch.

Returned to Aki Sushi for a late-​ish (8:50pm) dinner on a Saturday night. It was apparent when we walked in that the owner was entertaining a group of friends at one table… and we were the only other table. Ordered 4 rolls, two specialty and 2 basic. All were very tasty with very fresh fish. We both thought the candy cane roll was the best of them all. Shocker was the price tag…$ 6.95 for salmon and avocado and $ 7.95 for eel and cucumber. We pay $ 5 for salmon avocado and $ 6 for eel, cucumber and avocado at the top sushi restaurant in South Tampa. Not sure why the prices here are so much higher…
Fresh sushi and kind server, but didn’t love the margaritas from next door being served to the staff and table next to us (they could’ve offered one to us, right??) and the high price tag.

Small restaurant with very friendly staff. Sushi bar was lined with regulars who liked chatting with the owner/​staff.
Sushi was good — tried the CA, Veggie, and Veg Elite rolls. The CA wasn’t my thang (mayo/​krab mixture and no roe = meh). The Veggie was really good — loved the spring mix and red pepper — not the usual veg ingredients. The Veg Elite was super — tempura tofu and seaweed salad made it unique and awesome. Minor ‘complaints’: the wasabi seemed to not have any ‘hot’ to it — to the point where I could taste it alone and not feel the slightest amount of heat, and regular soy vs. low sodium on table (I didn’t bother asking if they had low sodium so that was my bad). Side green salad was small portion of mixed greens with smooth ginger dressing (vs. the chunky kind). A little pricier than I like to pay for rolls.

Don’t waste your time just go to The Hot Tuna. Their food is so unrefined. I just ate the most salty sushi roll in my life! These people need to get serious with their delicate food preparation.

Yay! Found my new neighborhood sushi place. Great service & selection. Don’t let the look of the strip mall dissuade you. Be sure to try the Catch 13 roll.

Small place but the best Sushi around. The owners is the nicest and sweetest lady and he staff is so friendly and nice. If you like spicy the El Diablo roll is to die for. But you can’t go wrong with the Red Dragon, Roman Holiday, Screamer, Candy Cane, I could go one forever.

Last night was probably the fifteenth time I’ve eaten at Aki, and while there’s plenty of room for a restaurant to slip up over the course of fifteen visits, Aki has never disappointed in any way. I’ve never had a bad experience, regarding the food or service, and that’s the sole reason I’m giving it five stars. Last night’s meal was fresh off a viewing of the short documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi, so I was particularly excited to, well, eat a bunch of sushi. And eat I did.
Before I moved back to Tampa (from Tallahassee), Aki was the one place I’d always make sure to hit up when I’d come home and visit. There has yet to be a single instance where I’ve felt: «Ehh, the rolls were just a little off tonight.» Sure, sometimes the wait times can be a bit lengthy given the fairly limited seating and single sushi chef, and sure — sometimes a waiter might be a little slow on re-​fills if the place is bumping, but the sushi is always on point.
The rolls are creative, the fish is always fresh, and the food is consistently stellar. The wonton soup might be the best I’ve ever had (no, really), the salmon and tuna wonton nachos are incredible (I could probably put down ten orders), and the White Fuji might be the best sushi roll I’ve ever had; I’ve still yet to taste anything like it anywhere else, it melts in your mouth. The Candycane, Sunset, and Catch 13 are other favorites. The Kamikaze is also pretty unique, but it’s a little heavier compared to the Fuji or Candycane.
The owner, Bei Mei, is incredibly friendly and engaging, and greets every guest like they’re family. Given the intimate (but super casual) atmosphere, Aki feels very Mom & Pop, and I like the smaller, more laid back ambiance. Michelin reviewers concentrate on the quality, personality and consistency of the food (sorry, still have Jiro Dreams of Sushi on my mind), and while Aki may not be getting any Michelin stars in the near future, they certainly live up to each of those criteria each and every time.

Not much to say hear, its our go to Sushi place for the past 2 years, always fresh, always creative, always feel welcomed, always leave happy.

Excellent sushi. I ahd the kamikaze roll and is one of the best rolls i have eaten.
The service was also perfect. The owner greeted me, beautiful woman

Very good sushi. The nachos were awesome Yes I said nachos crispy fried wantons with salmon & tuna and a great sauce Wonderful mix of fresh sashimi, flavor and textures.
The red dragon roll and the passion roll were delicious especially if you like fresh jalapeños. Service was friendly and attentive. The owner/​chef even stopped by to check in and was extremely gracious. Not inexpensive but that’s always the case with sushi and you get what you pay for;)

Normally we don’t like going to a place right before they close, but they were very nice and welcomed us in. They have the BEST tuna tataki I’ve ever had! And I’ve been to a lot of sushi restaurants. The Catch 13 was a delicious roll! Also their miso soup is on point! Our new favorite sushi restaurant! Although next time we will be here earlier even though we received excellent guest service for being so late. Thank you AKI SUSHI! :-) We will be back soon!

Last week, while at work,
I got to go sushi from Aki.
I would’ve rather eaten it there
And enjoyed it with some sake!
Since I called in my order ahead,
It was ready when I got there.
It’s a good choice for lunch
When you haven’t much time to spare!
I tried the red dragon roll
With tempura shrimp, avo and jalapeño.
And a spicy tuna roll
Red like cherries, maraschino.
The seafood was super fresh.
The rolls wrapped nice and tight.
I had plenty of leftovers
That I had for dinner that night!
I agree with everyone
Who says Aki is the best!
You’ll see it for yourself,
Once you’ve tried the rest!

Food is good but ambience is very poor, service was better than most local restaurants. I’d try Hot Tuna or Zen instead. They aren’t my favorite but better options in the area. Grill 54 has much better sushi as well.
In summary, I’d skip it unless you are sick of the alternatives.

We had dinner here on a Saturday night, it wasn’t very crowded so it was nice and quiet and the staff was so friendly and attentive. I had the Caterpillar roll (eel tempura, DELICIOUS) and the Tampa roll. I’m not sure what it was about it, but it was the best Tampa roll I’ve ever had and that’s usually a pretty bland, boring roll. The Caterpiller roll was fantastic. My husband had the Catch 13 and the Aki Harvest, both great choices. The salmon nigiri was small but fresh and yummy.
Everyone was really friendly and attentive, it had much more of a family restaurant feeling than other sushi restaurants in the area which I really like.
Prices were what you’d expect for fresh sushi at a small restaurant on a Saturday night, obviously no specials but we’ll be back when they have their happy hours specials which sound great.
I liked this place better than Hot Tuna, which is saying a lot. Highly recommend it and I know we’ll be back many times.

We tried this place for the first time today. The place is cozy, there’s about 8 – 10 tables, and maybe 6 seats at the sushi bar. You would think that the reggae music playing would distract from a sushi ambience, but quite the contrary, it made it more awesome and laid back. They had a Unilocal check in special, which made a non-​alcoholic drink free, score!
The owner/​waiter was friendly and attentive. As we had a small child with us that wouldn’t eat sushi, he had no problem with us ordering something for her from the Mexican restaurant next door and bringing it in.
They had a lunch sampler for 2, (photo attached) which included an impressive array of appetizers, soup, tapas, 2 classic and 2 specialty rolls. It was a very large amount of food. I was really impressed with the appetizers and tapas. The specialty rolls we ordered were the Candy Cane and the White Fuji. They were very good, don’t get me wrong, but I have had better.
The price was ok, but not what I would call a deal. The food overall was very good, the service and atmosphere were great. This place gets a solid 4 from me.