akiba

as the dear luncher strikes off yet another reputable eatery in the nation's capital, it's fair to say canberra has got its act together in a serious way. akiba is nicely located near the dear luncher's canberra satellite gulag. as such he was able to escape for a swift lunch with minimal effort or time wasted. those that follow the dear luncher are aware of his addiction to fried chicken. as luck would have it akiba have on theirmenua japanese fried chicken dish. not only that, it's smothered in cheese. parmesan cheese. the dear luncher did not hesitate and asked for the supercharged version, which includes spiciness on the side. not much else needs to be said. the mayo provide was spectacular.  the chicken was crispy and delectable.  your dear luncher was an extremely pleased individual following this experience. bravo, akiba.

service was good, but the food was disappointing. we had the 'feed me'menuwhich is meant to be some of their best dishes, but asides from the kingfish sashimi we wouldn't go back and order any of those dishes again. all ordinary and completely rushed, the whole 8 courses delivered in under 45 mins. what a shame, it looked so good on paper.

amazing delicious food. we lucked on this place after a number of other casual eateries committed the ultimate no-no (for us) - no high chairs... but akiba had two (yay!) so we reserved one for an earlyish dinner. it's not exactly a "kid friendly"menu- spices and string flavours abound - but we managed to feed our little ones with the divine barramundi, kobe steak and rice. more importantly us adults had a ball! kingfish sashimi, mouth watering bao buns, surprisingly moreish sweet corn pancakes and so much more on themenui would easily return to try (i had major food envy spying other tables ordering japanese crispy chicken, and the duck!). service excellent especially since my kids left the table and surrounds looking like a rice explosion. so good, words cannot explain - just go. you won't regret it. have the duck for me.

had a great experience dining at akiba - themenuwas exciting, the space had a funky atmosphere, and the service was friendly. we went on a sunday night, which meant if you bought a drink, you could get the left over lunch time yumcha dumplings for $1 each. we got the chicken yuzu deep fried dumpling. it was creative and delicious. our favourite dish of the night was the miso lemon sole which had my tastebuds singing - miso, lemon butter, sweet pickled green chilli and shimeji, salty fried capers. it was genius. the shirt rib was quite fatty, but the flavours and meat were very tasty. the spicy and gingery salmon firecaker was our next favourite, followed by peking duck soup dumpling. we finished the night off by tucking into the impressive japanese whiskey collection. if i lived in canberra, this would be my weekly hotspot. highly recommended!

top food. top service. akiba is one of my favourites.

we tried the detestationmenuwith chef's recommendations and all four of us are content. themenustarts with fresh raw salad type dish, then dumplings, bun, fried rice, vegetables, meat and desserts.

tofu cheesecake tastes much better than it sounds. very light texture, fluffy and decadent.

what a great place. deserving of the awards. dinnermenuprovided good choices and staff very helpful. get there early to avoid the busy times.

akiba is a standing favourite of mine, and i hadn’t been back for a while, so stopped in with friends for a long weekday lunch. we were seated in the nicely-heated outdoor area, and had plenty of time to peruse themenubefore someone came to take our order. we started with the kimchi and angasi pancakes (serve of 4), which were topped with sriracha sauce and bonito flakes. whilst small, the pancakes packed a punch and whetted our appetites for the rest of the meal. next up was one of my favourites from akiba – the fried chicken. hello mounds of deep-fried chicken goodness topped with a tonne of cheese! alone the chicken is

hmmmmmmmm well i have finally ticked this off the list, and was disappointed (not the experience i expected from a restaurant that gets great reviews and accolades) when i was there for a milestone birthday dinner last night.

we had 2 window stool on the other side of the logs (be warned in winter you will freeze sitting there as every time the door is opened the wind goes through the logs. not that i was clock watching but several other tables were seated after us and were served first, and had drinks etc before we were approached. this fits with the 'scattergun' comments in restaruant guides.

the food was good (even if the cutlery is very clunky and at awkward angles - use the cheap disposable chopsticks instead - much easier to use). though it would have been even better it was hot, let alone warm - as you can see from the attached bill we ordered 6 courses (we actually ordered 8 but the waiter had to come back and ask us what we ordered and then forgot 2 dishes).

interesting that we ordered japanese fried chicken and we got the supercharged one - not sure what the difference is (being petty i know as there was only a $2 difference but we did not order supercharged but that is what we got).

the s&p squid was tough, the beef bao was pleasant but nothing i have not seen at a bar at the opera house forecourt in sydney - though my partner thought it was going to be a traditional enclosed bun - not an open wrap. the kimchi pancakes were delicious by the kimchi was subtle (also interesting to see it spelt differently on the bill as to themenu- working with koreans and for a culinary/gastronomy business i am going with kimchi).

the real issue is that all the food was served within a few minutes - so the $33 kobe beef was cold when we got around to eat it. the photo of everything on the bar is with 1 plate removed by staff. there was no sense of staggering the delivery by floor staff or kitchen staff. i have the impressionism that this is really a bar with food, not a restaurant. at the very end one of the floor staff apologised for bringing it all out like they did - well really - why do it in the first place??. we could not push plates towards the windows to make room as there is a massive gap and things would have fallen - it has not been well thought in terms of people who order a lot - which is why i feel it is a bar that serves food, not a place for a dining experience.

i have continually recommend their venues in canberra to people visiting, but akiba will not be any more - i will recommend their other venues as this was a total disappointment for my birthday in being made to rush eating good food to avoid it getting cold because someone has no idea how to stagger the serving of an order.

akiba has a vibrant atmosphere with it's wood and black metal interior encouraging neat casual attire. the open kitchen makes it fun to watch the cooks in action and gives the assurance that your food is being cooked under sanitary conditions. i arrived during its off peak hours so the wait staff were attentive and easy going. it's advised on themenuthat they cannot alter any dishes however they have alternative menus to suit dietary requirements, such as a vegetarian menu.

i ordered the wok blasted mushroom (15) and those accompanying me ordered the kobe beef (33) and flounder fish (34).

the wok blasted mushroom dish was cooked just right - salty with a touch of sweetness and a light crunch. according to the others, the kobe beef was a little too salty with the teriyaki sauce overpowering the beef but still a delightful dish. the flounder fish was full of flavour, lightly salted and required alot of self de-bone-ing.

if you don't usually season your food with salt you may find the dishes to be too salty, otherwise you're in for a treat.

modern set up, hippy servers & fusion asian food.
interestingmenuwith an australian twist.
a good place for having a few drinks and nibbles.
not really a proper restaurant if you're looking at having a full course meal.
kitchen takes quite a while to prep food, so be prepared to wait.
would rather recommend trying out their drinks. an extensive list of drinks with some interesting ones for the adventurous.

thoroughly enjoyed my night. great atmosphere and a quirky yet chic looking restaurant. chose a 'feed me' which is a setmenuconsisting of their top 8 dishes for $45 per head. i received 4 small tapa sized dishes, followed by 3 larger main dishes and 1 dessert. the stand out dish would have to be the pork steam bun and chocolate mousse. food came out within reasonable time and everything was super tasty. would definitely return and try other options on their menu.

fantastic dining... amazing food 
excellent service and wonderful saki
recommend this eatery to everyone  !!! 
we had the feed memenu....and it was huge for us 
could barely finish 
but finish i did 
the dessert was delish

reasonably priced. adequate portion servings. not hungry when i left. all phrases which could not be associated with our experience tonight.

while the food was actually tasty, the $120 bill for leaving hungry wasn't. it would have been nice if we could order the degustation which i had heard contained enough dishes to leave everyone satisfied. unfortunately this was denied as an option as - being non seafood eaters - varying themenuis apparently a crime punishable by enforced hunger.

the rest of our experience followed thusly: a parade of approximately 6 mouthfuls each of actually lovely food. it was kind of like they were teasing us. anyway, it suffices to say we were disappointed with our experience.

lucky dumpling house was open so we didn't have to die on bunda street of malnutrition and poverty.

i absolutely love akiba! it's one of my favourite restaurants and i highly recommend it to any one who asks me for restaurant suggestions. everything from the service, the vibe, the atmosphere, the drinks and of course the food are spot on. it gets really busy so if you can't book a table you might have to wait a little but but if there's just two of you and you have the option of eating at the bar then do it! it's so fun and you'll be amongst all the action. we also tried the jalapeño margaritas and wasabi vodka! they were so different but so good and there are heaps of other fun drinks to try. the sashimi and ceviche are delicious as is everything else on the menu. get dishes to share because it's a great way to try lots of food! they also offer a 'just feed me'menuand for only $45 you can try 8 of their favourite dishes. for the food you get it's so cheap but it can come out a little fast. don't eat before you go and ask them if they can space it out as much as possible. i'm always satisfied when i go to akiba and highly recommend it. a full review will be on the blog soon.

fun, vibrant and great atmosphere, this place has it all to go along side the wonderful food they create in the back kitchen.

a modern take on yum cha is on themenuand boy do they reliever.

yes it's a little pricey but i don't mind considering you get in return a great night and good memories