akiba

fresh flavours, great service and plenty of atmosphere. loved a mid-week catch up here, sampling a range of beautiful plates including kingfish sashimi, wagyu and roasted broccoli with blue cheese. every dish was faultless and full of complementary flavours, and the service was efficient but not intrusive. both interior and exterior are well designed, with plenty texture, interesting blends of materials and a thoughtful layout. will recommend widely and return soon.

went here for my birthday dinner tonight with hubby. booked online, got seats watching the kitchen and sashimi area which was great! the service and food was fantastic. wasn't really sure what to expect as this place hasn't been open long but we were both blown away. will definitely be going back for more!

excellent dining experience!. booked a table for two for dinner and we were sat at what was probably the best table there (had an up close view of the sushi chef).

what appeared to be the owner took care of us for most of the evening, full of great suggestions and knew not only the menu inside out, but how all the ingredients complemented each meal.

amazing share plates. i will definitely be a returning patron! thank you!

went to akiba for a spontaneous weekday lunch and loved it! excellent food, great fit out/vibe, and helpful and friendly service. highlights were the kingfish sashimi, asparagus and beef short rib. would love to see more gluten free dishes on the menu so i could try more yummy food - maybe a gf soy sauce option? :)

ps we were all vegos and we thought the selection was great!


-----05 jan, 2015-----

loved the food here. fresh, tasty and quick. service when making a booking really good- and service in the restaurant very attentive. 5/5

will be back as soon as i'm back in town. was in at akiba before xmas in the first couple of weeks of opening and was really excited to see something new in cbr.

we had a reduced menu whilst they ironed out the opening kinks and it was heaps of fun. the kitchen turned out some really interesting and delicious morsels. they were packed full of flavor for the most part and i'm looking forward to getting stuck in to the full menu as soon as i'm back in town.

no doubt the usual teething process will be well and truly done. can't wait. yay cbr!!

coeliac or vego? don't go here!. i dined recently in a group of 6 at akiba and was seriously disappointed with their efforts. in our group, we have a coeliac and a vegetarian so will usually ring a restaurant in advance to be sure they can cope with those requirements (and understand completely when someone is upfront that they can't). i rang akiba to book and they assured me they could cope as they had many gluten free and vegetarian options. in truth, they really can't cope with either of those requirements. when we asked the wait staff what was gluten free, they said "pretty much everything, there's no flour in anything". pity soy sauce contains gluten and is in almost everything. the reality is that there are two gluten free dishes on the menu, both small servings designed to be shared. they are meat dishes and don't come with any real veggies. no vegetable dishes are gluten free. there are two truly vegetarian dishes and two or three other vegetable dishes. most vegetable dishes can be modified to be made vegetarian, but this often removes the main part of the dish and seems to defeat the purpose. the dishes are small and expensive. akiba do not serve any rice or noodles so there is nothing to pad out the meal. needless to say the coeliac and the vegetarian left hungry despite a hefty bill at the end. the place is also insanely loud and i had to yell at the person right next to me for them to hear me. i couldn't hear our waiter who was at the other end of the table. we left hoarse, hungry and very disappointed!

we had dinner at akiba and absolutely loved all the food. great beers and the beef short rib and soba noodle salad were standouts. slightly disappointed by service - we were seated with menus and ordered drinks which came quickly, however we were then left for 20 minutes or so with no water or cutlery and needing to order food. waiters walked past us over and over again, not even looking at our table. had to ask to order, and then again for water and cutlery separately. we were still so happy with our akiba experience and would definitely come back!

finally a restaurant in canberra that's nailed it!. ive dined at akiba twice now and can't wait to return.
the beverage list is a ripper. great beer selection and a stand out cocktail list. even the house infused 'akipops' sodas are a creative touch and go down a treat.
the food is a refreshing change for canberra. each dish is packed with flavour. the ceviche from the raw bar was a perfect way to start. followed by prawn dumplings and the chicken bao which you have to try. its amazing! then you'll choose from the meats and fish and you can't really go wrong. we went for the kangaroo and was blown away. the meat was so jucey and tender and the masala sauce complemented the dish perfectly.
our waiter recommended we try the tofu cheesecake for dessert. so glad we did. it was the perfect note to finish on.
for those who understand korean, this food has a 'gamchilmat'. (it fills the whole mouth with flavour).
the prices as very reasonable starting at $3-$4 a piece.
keep up the good work akiba.

ok food, but a little too cramped. i probably would go back, but for a drink and tapas (their cocktail menu looked amazing), and not for a full dinner.

service was great and super efficient for such a packed restaurant. however some of the staff need to work on their knowledge of the product - there are some tricky foody words on that menu, but it's the simple things like checking what the fish of the day is that go a long way! we were seated on one of the large communal tables which is usually fine if there is enough space. i recommend removing at least one pair of seats. i'm pretty short, but kept bumping elbows with the diners next to me and the wait staff couldn't fit more than one plate in front of us at a time.

the food was ok. ceviche featured some lovely fresh fish and the bao were a nice tidy snack. the kangaroo was bizarre - huge chunks of meat in a watery curry sauce we were expected to tackle with chopsticks or a fork and spoon (and when we asked for knives we were only given one). the potato skin dish was as big as my thumb for $5 - at first we thought it was funny until we were saddened by the sight of our neighbour's potatoes which were easily twice the size of ours. while most items were under $20 we still left hungry. i recommend adding some noodles or something to increase the carb content of the menu. we do like our vegies and noticed there weren't many options if you're a vegetarian... and they had fish and other animal products included...

great atmosphere but food was a bit of a let down. went tonight with a girlfriend after reading great reviews but although its a very cool and trendy looking place and our waiter was great the food itself was a bit of a let down. ceviche was lacking flavour / salt and the mayo was an unnecessary addition. the sauce for the dumplings also lacked flavour and the pork pancakes were thick, dry and needed an extra sauce or something to help wash them down. luckily we asked for some soy sauce which helped the dishes that needed some extra kick however the strange serving of it in a water glass left us wondering why? softshell crab and chicken 'buns' where the highlight but buns they were not more like soft shelled tacos. but overall a pleasant experience and glad to see canberra is growing and getting some trendy new places just take our advice and even your waiters and fix the pancakes!

paying exorbitant amounts for an image as opposed to for food.. this restaurant/bar has apparently made a discovery of astronomical proportions: that booming bass from speakers makes you hipper and youthful, at least if both the midlife crisis-ridden clientele and the sound equalisation are anything to go by. however, what youthfulness is gained is quickly drowned in the oncoming swathes of sauce, used as a cheap tool to swallow up not only the mediocrity of the cuisine but also the newfound lightness of your wallet by appealing to the equivalent of the subtlety of a rock's palate.
i would instead recommend purchasing a jar of mayonnaise and a foghorn, and throwing a hundred dollars into the furnace; you'll definitely have a more subtle experience for about the same price. also you will save from having to buy a microscope to be able to observe the serving sizes.
(picture attached to demonstrate effects of eating here on one's image)

just what canberra needed ! love the atmosphere, food and service - very melbourne!

eat here. my wife and i ate at akiba tonight, the food was amazing, the cocktails suited all the food we had. the tuna and kingfish sashimi were fantastic. the service was quick and friendly. definitely going back for more.

don't believe the hype. this is your standard trendy pan-asian cuisine, swimming in sauce. not to mention tiny portions, which was probably a blessing in disguise.