akiba

i have mixed feelings about akiba. i do feel they are over-hyped and they get away by serving mediocre fusionfoodbecause they're in canberra (and not in melbourne or sydney). the tofu cheesecake (which they should disclose is deconstructed) is just a bowl full of goop with crumb over the top and it was very unappetising. unfortunately that is the standard dessert in the banquet and has been that way for the last 2years. on the other hand, of you order off their menu the josper octopus is delightfully tender with generous amounts of crisp potatoes and octopus. the kobe skirt is also highly recommended as the beef is perfectly rare and has great flavour! perhaps, they bundle the inferior items on their banquet menu to sell more of them?

however, on my fifth visit to this restaurant for lunch today i was very disappointed. they advertised a $10 ramen lunch special and this is by far the smallest serve of ramen i have ever seen. from the top it looks like it is piled full of ingredients. the redeeming factor is that the pork belly slices were tender and the egg was perfectly poached. however, let's not kid ourselves it is obvious from the photo they serve their ramen in a saucer. the sides of the "bowl" is not much higher than the edge of the green plate that is next to it in the photo and is ridiculously shallow in the middle. even as a lunch serve it is grossly inadequate. the ramen was very very over cooked and not chewy at all. the texture of it was like the soggy and paste-y noodles you get from cup-a-soup chicken noodle soup packets. there was barely any noodles in the bowl and i left definitely still feeling hungry. also, the cooked mushrooms on the top were oddly sour for some reason. i'm not sure if they were supposed to be pickled but the sourness was very off putting and odd in this ramen.

i may go back to try their dinner menu but i certainly won't be going back for this pathetic rendition of ramen. save your money and go anywhere near by like the asian noodle house or cbd dumplings and get yourself a human sized serve of noodles.

good vege options,foodis yum. service inside is okay, much better outside (get a table out there if you can). book book book. agadeshi tofu - get it!

great environment and outstanding service. although the fusion style offoodtaste good but the portion is too small and pricy. the drinks are nice. but overall not very appealing... maybe on some special occasion i might want to go if my friends feel like it at the same time

great vibe, loved sitting at the bar enjoying the 'just feed me' meal. thefoodcame fast and fabulous and was more than we could complete. friendly fun staff that were always aware of our needs. a great find.

i've heard many good things about akiba and it sure lived up to the hype. the setting is a modern take on japanese fusion street food. it's cool but inviting, along with the staff who were all friendly and knowledgeable.
we opted for the feed me option, at $49 per person menu. thefoodkept on coming and coming. we were very full and super satisfied. i couldn't fault it. i cannot wait to come back again!

i wan so amazed by the food! various asian infusedfoodserved in yum cha style. all delicious, especially salmon in crispy roll. will definitely visit again if i visit canberra.

thefoodand service here were just exceptional. loved every dish we ordered! especially the beef rib and the agedashi tofu.would definitely come back for more.

if you're visiting canberra, this is the place to try. i could see why akiba was voted number one restaurant for sure. our table of three came here for lunch on a saturday as dinner was fully booked out. to start, we had a couple of the fancy cocktails which were a bit on the pricey side but tasted pretty good. as the place wasn't busy, service was quick and staff were helpful and friendly. the decor was hip and funky with a great atmosphere.

all the dishes we had were share plates so this is perfect for big groups too and means you can try lots of tasty little dishes. for entrée we had the tuna ceviche which was really fresh and delicious. we also had the raw kingfish which was the unanimous favourite of the group. it had a nice kick to it and yummy coconut dressing. we also had the pork belly and slaw buns which were a bit too sloppy and creamy for me but the prawn and chicken dumplings were top notch.

for mains we had the supercharged japanese fried chicken which were covered in parmasan cheese and came with mayo and sriracha sauces. deliciously crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. we also had the short beef rib - super soft and tender it just melted in your mouth and had a nice sauce.

overall, we were stuffed with deliciousfoodand totally worth coming here. it cost us just over $150 for 3 people for 6 dishes and 3 drinks.

service was good, but thefoodwas disappointing. we had the 'feed me' menu which 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 the menu i would easily return to try (i had majorfoodenvy 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.

thefoodis especially good - beef buns and japanese fried chicken are a must. however on a busy night the service can be slow. note - i would recommend booking ahead

what can i say about this place!!!! i walked by with a friend of mine and i said i really want to try it!!!!! i walked in at first the waiter said do u have a reservations i was thinking oh no!!!! well he got us two seat at the bar!!!

this place is amazing the vide is off the hook! the stuff asked us did we want a drink we said yes please we had wine, great selection of wines cocktails and drinks!!!!

they explained how it's works there more for sharing, or u can get a feed me now option where they bring out 6 dishes great option if u asked me, due to my diet conditions i was not able to do that option i wish i could have!!!!

i had sashimi it was amazing so fresh and it was really well balanced with herbs and what ever els they use! if u want a really upmarket place where thefoodis out standing weather it be a date or a group of friends this is your place, it's a little loud however the vibe is really really good!!! i

i can't wait to go back again!!!!

the presentation was much better then this however my friend was serving it up before i could get the photos :-(

food was amazing. kingfish starter was all time. atmosphere was okay but i couldn't help noticing that only a couple of the staff were actually smiling, which makes me suss on service and particularly management.
that said, i'll be back for thefoodfor sure.

great service and food. the standout is the service. consistent even during busy periods. well managed!foodis delicious with portion size slightly on the small side. seating can be a little bit uncomfortable when busy.

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.

thefoodwas 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 the menu - working with koreans and for a culinary/gastronomy business i am going with kimchi).

the real issue is that all thefoodwas 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 goodfoodto avoid it getting cold because someone has no idea how to stagger the serving of an order.