153 Akira

Excellent sushi quality and the rice is wonderful. Now a warning — it is the north shore and as I like to refer to it «the great white north» of suburbia — so they must cater to the NS white folks who want a «slab o fish» instead of a delicate sliver of fish on their negeri — - but very fresh and very well priced. Further if you say «cam-​sa-​ham-​ni-​da» you will get a very accommodating and responsive waitstaff. They will also make your negeri cut Japanese style if you ask.
Appetizers — the seared garlic tuna — it is the bomb.
Great Americanized rolls too!

My son and I had dinner here tonight. I had a softshell crab sushi and he had a scallop appetizer. Both of which were very good. I had them make my sushi with brown rice, for which they charged an extra dollar. I thought this was a bit out of line considering how little rice is actually in a sushi roll. Also, the pricing overall was higher than the two dollar signs on Unilocal indicated.
Our entrées were Nabeaki udon and tempura udon. They were both good, but could’ve used more substance in the noodles and broth. Service was good, especially when the server was around. But, she wasn’t around quite enough.
What wasn’t classy was that the restroom did not have any toilet tissue or paper towels. When I mentioned it to the owner, he said «do you really need it»

My husband and I went to 153 Akira with some friends. It was our first time, but we were expecting good things (mostly because of the reviews we had already read on Unilocal).
Oh man, it absolutely did not disappoint. We had a variety of plates: Tako, Not Scary Spider, Hotategai, Red Roe, Spicy Tuna Roll, and more. All were delicious, though my favorite was the Not Scary Spider which came out on fire. And what a great mix of flavors.
Serving size is generous. Prices are reasonable. Service is attentive and responsive, but also not intrusive.
Overall, we loved the food here, and we will definitely be coming back.

This was a great sushi place! I met a friend for lunch and the food and prices were very reasonable!

They are really friendly there and the food is delish!

Nice quiet area to sit out on a summer day and enjoy lunch. Good selection of tasty items to choose from.

Sushi might be good but the place needs ventilation and better service. Have to say that it’s my second time coming. Despite the

When my husband and I moved out of the city and into the suburbs, one of the things I missed the most was our favorite sushi spot in Lakeview. After «meh» experiences at several other sushi restaurants, a Groupon brought us to 153 Akira and it was love at first bite. The sushi is absolutely delicious. Generous portions of fish in well balanced maki rolls are what won us over. The actual restaurant is small and bustling with carry out orders, so not the quietest of dine-​in experiences, but the quality of sushi makes that totally worthwhile. I am so glad we have found a new go-​to spot and I point my friends here whenever they venture north of the city.

Excellent and creative sushi rolls. Very fresh. Although the specialty rolls are pricey, they are well worth it! I have only eaten the rolls as carry out but the service was fast and friendly.

Went here with a groupon which was nice. This is a nice little shop in Wilmette just east of the tracks.
Everything we had here was really good. If I have one problem it seems like they rely on spicy mayo or some variation thereof quite a lot. But it certainly is delicious!
We had a number of different things including shitake maki, soft shell crab, spicy tuna, and a specialty roll that I can’t remember but it was delicious! Soft shell crab is always good. Spicy tuna was ok. But the awesome thing we got was the avocado volcano (I think that is what it’s called?). We saw someone getting this thing that had two avocado halves filled with crab meat and spicy mayo type stuff, and then ON FIRE! And we were like, WHAT IS THAT? Do yourself a favor if you go here and order that bad boy. Delicious.

Excellent food. Their sauces are excellent and made every dish we had very tasty — but a bit sweeter than what you would get in Japan. Have traveled to Japan a lot. Atmosphere good. Got a table at 7:30 on a Sat night no reservation.

Love this place! The owner is very friendly and the food is fantastic! I have come with groups and just two. Every time I have come it is always fresh and delicious! Make sure you have a reservation even on a weeknight! It is a small place and they do their best to get everyone seated. If you have a reservation be sure to get there on time and have everyone there.
Will definitely go again!

153 Akira! Loved it!
I had an advance scout on sushi patrol and she reported that she enjoyed it, that it was worth a trip off our usual path, away from other credible restaurants. Interpretation: partner had a meal there with a friend and enjoyed it, saying we should try it.
Since there were three of us when we went, we had a wide variety for our order and to react to.
Rolls: Red Ocean – spicy tuna with seared tuna on top (perfecto! 5 stars); Honey Fire – crabmeat and jalapeño with other items (too sweet for me, but top of the line for the right palate); and Menage a Trois – a talented roll of three separate treats (great to share and sample with someone else).
The rolls are generous in size and would serve as a full entrée for most.
Appetizer: Gyoza – standard Japanese fare, but it met the test – very good. (The first time I find bad gyoza, I am not ordering another item!).
Dinner item: Bulgogi, a grilled meat dish with teriyaki. (The scout ordered this. She had it before. She likes it. I’m not a teriyaki fan so I can’t offer any true comment).
The restaurant is smallish, but not too small, having artwork on the walls (playing recorded jazz played in the background); they seemed capable of handling spontaneous drop-​ins without reservation. We were there on a Tuesday and a number of localites popped in for pickup – they were met with a friendly welcome and left quickly with their order ready for them.
The host checked on us periodically (I did not mention to him the very loud, very, very loud ménage a trois of women who could not speak any more loudly if they were in a gym shouting at the top of their lungs – inside voices please! I can say these three are not there daily – whew!).
So, our host was very affable and relaxed. The whole staff seemed at ease and truly desirous of us having a good dining experience. We did.
I say bravo to the advance scout and to Akira!

There has been a lot of chatter about all the new restaurants in downtown Wilmette, but the best restaurant is around the corner on Greenleaf Ave. 153 Akira. We’ve been going here for years and it’s always a fantastic experience.
The owners are always there and they treat us like family. The sushi rolls are works-​of-​art prepared by real sushi chefs who obviously take pride in their creations. They are also delicious! We have tried all of the specialty rolls and they are packed with an array of delicacies layered with generous portions of fish.
We have never been disappointed with the sushi. It’s always fresh and well prepared! The owners are so kind and even offer menu suggestions to change up our routine. You can’t go wrong sharing 2 specialty rolls between two people. (We’re partial to the rolls ending in «ocean».)
The wine list is good and the beer is cold. It’s a small place but the lighting is nice and intimate. In the summer, we sit outside and watch the sunset. The prices are great for the quality and portions you get. It’s also great for carry-​out. The rolls hold up well.
I always like to reward restaurants that work hard to maintain standards of excellence. 153 Akira is as good as any Chicago sushi joint, and we are lucky to have it in our town!

This place is amazing! All of their specialty rolls are super creative– I especially love the french kiss roll and the strawberry roll. Now that I have moved away from Chicago, I definitely will make it a priority to come back next time I visit my parents. They love this place too– service is very quick and the fish is unbelievably fresh. They also have a golden shrimp appetizer which is to die for.

I’ve been wanting to try Akira for a while now based on the Unilocal reviews. It lived up to the hype on Unilocal and I feel was pretty good value.
I stopped in for lunch today and got Sushi C — 2 pieces of each tuna, salmon, unagi, and a spicy tuna roll. That’s quite a bit of sushi for $ 14. Includes Miso Soup as well. Both the tuna and the salmon were excellent and quite sizable over a small bit of rice. Pretty lean cuts as well, full of flavor and lighter on the fat. The unagi was superb, clearly well prepared with just the right amount of eel sauce and the sauce was delicious throughout the eel not just a dab of sauce on top like so many other places.
The spicy tuna roll was very tasty but not the spiciest and was definitely lower quality fish. I’ve had better spicy rolls elsewhere but it was a good compliment to the other 6 pieces of sushi.
The table next to me ordered a handful of rolls which looked incredible — very colorful, sizable, brilliantly presented. Next time I go with other people, I’ll definitely get a couple of the rolls.
Looking forward to going back.

Good surburb sushi! I was definitely impressed.
This will definitely be on my mind when I want sushi (though I don’t think they deliver or use grubhub unfortunately)… Here’s why:
1. Fresh fish… what a concept. Not sure why so many places skimp on this. Lack of competition? A clientele that can’t tell the difference? Eh.
2. Parking! Not so much a suburb issue, but seriously… having to settle for crappy sushi vs dealing with city traffic… I like a place that avoids both.
3. Fast service — I placed an order after I walked in because I had questions, and the sushi was ready in minutes. With a hot kitchen app, the whole order took around 5 minutes!
4. Generous portions — The prices on the menu might look steep, but having put up with Chicago prices, you will be very happy with the amount of fish. $ 15 for a specialty roll might seem high, but it’s like twice the diameter of an 8-​pc roll from a city joint… plus fish wrapped all the way around the large circumference. You do the math.
The menage a trois was very good. Interesting flavor and textures without hiding the fish entirely. You’ll also find the same generous portions of fish in the spicy tuna salad! I’d skip the Golden Scallop — way too heavy and greasy after 2 bites and you can’t even taste the scallop.

153 Akira, wow this was a surprise! For the last year I have been purchasing Groupons and going to different places to eat or drink that I would have never gone to with out a Groupon. With a love for sushi 153 Akira caught my eye and after seeing many other positive reviews I thought why not try it out!
Location & Ambiance:
153 Akira is definitely not the largest place, its actually quite small, but that only adds to the feel of the restaurant. It is located near Northwesters so for me it was nearly a half hour drive, but it was definitely worth it! Ambiance & Location are great!
Drinks:
Both of us got hot tea, and we stuck to the basic green tea. Their green tea has a brown rice esque flavor to it which was great! Since getting dinner there I have been looking on Amazon to see if I can find their tea. I would definitely recommend you get some hot tea especially while its still so cold outside!
Food:
WOW! We ordered three dishes (We took pictures of all of them and posted them to Unilocal so if you curious check out those pictures): First we had an appetizer of Tuna Tartar. The Tuna Tartar was amazing! Wow, probably the best tuna tartar I have ever had. It was the perfect mix of spicy and flavor. We then ordered two rolls: Blossom Roll and Menage A Trios Roll. Both I would recommend highly!
Service & Staff:
The service was average, and the staff was nice. One big thing for me is always: Can they keep my glass full or water, tea, or any other beverage. They were on top of it the entire time! They kept filling up our cups with hot water for tea. Also the service was relatively quick which was nice!
Overall, 153 Akira was a fantastic experience! If you are looking for a nice place to go on a date or even hang out with a friend for a nice dinner this would be a good spot to settle for! Before you go definitely check Groupon and see if their deal is live! The prices are a little high, but its definitely worth the price you pay!

I’ve frequented Akira on more than 1 occasion and it’s always been fresh and flavorful. This evening I started with the Gomae and found their homemade sesame sauce delightfully different than traditional Gomae.
The Agedashi Tofu was very tasty but the tofu texture was not smooth like I am used to and I prefer a different crust than what was presented.
The rolls were a hit: Holiday Roll with real king crab, tuna & shrimp wrapped in soypaper had a slight hint of sesame seed oil and perfect sushi rice to accompany the roll followed by the Turtle Roll with fresh water eel, shrimp in a creamy wasabi sauce topped with wasabi masago! Yummilicious.

Took my girls here on Friday night. Wife plus 2 teenagers and 1 princess. The place was pretty packed. We didn’t wait, but they were busy. The handled it pretty well. The place does get noisy and tables are close together.
The princess loves the shrimp dumplings. They also split a chicken terriocki dish that was very good. I had a «dynomite» roll that was super tasty and my wife had a shrimp tempora roll and the California roll. Both so-​so.
Thanks for the « Unilocaler» who mentioned the no refills on the pop. Definitely saved me a few bucks.
All in all, not bad. I dropped 1 star because the meal was pricey and another because the California roll was so-​so.
I would go back for the dynomite!!!