akiba

what a joke. worst meal ever. ordered 3 shared plates but not enough to eat even for 1 person. so ordered a plate of king prawn fried rice but turned out to be full of charcoal-like rice with smell of burned snake beans. would have waited to talk to the manager and demand a full refund had i not to rushed to airport.

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. the food kept 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 infused food served in yum cha style. all delicious, especially salmon in crispy roll. will definitely visit again if i visit canberra.

nice japanese fusion dishes. staffs were extremely friendly.
a bit crowded at night but solo diners should be seated real quick. groups 'd better make a booking in advance.

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

great atmosphere although make sure you get a table that's not under the aircon!
food came out so quickly which was great as we were hungry. great friendly service. highly recommend the chestnut dumplings and the hapuka. the fried rice was good but probably a bit too charred and the eggplant had way too much miso paste on it so it was pretty overwhelming for your tastebuds!

came in late afternoon, had a selection of dishes. all very tasty, a nice fusion of various asian cuisines (chinese, japanese, korean, thai). everything neatly presented and colourful . staff a bit of a worry though, a little abrupt and in your face.

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 delicious food and totally worth coming here. it cost us just over $150 for 3 people for 6 dishes and 3 drinks.

akiba. think fusion new age japanese. 

this is a hip dining bar scene located near the central canberra central precinct. parking on the street is time limited so you may be better off spending $2 to park at canberra centre.

service here is pretty decent for a bar. you can book online instantly and having only booked hours previously, sat on a stool overlooking the 'raw kitchen'. it seemed pretty busy for a monday evening! the bar and waitstaff young, vibrant and about as attentive as you'll get in a busy bar scene. 

the japanese whisky selection isn't anywhere near melbourne bars, and priced somewhat on par from canberra. that is, overly inflated given the supply and demand problem with japanese whisky. everything else was to standard though.

food. there is a 'vegetarian menu that shortlists all the vegetarian options on the menu. 
tuna tartare. simple, of reasonable freshness. the jalapeño mayo not really spicy, and rather creamy. topped with prawn crackers for texture and a sweet, ginger ponzu sauce and jelly. didn't mind that at all. the sweet corn pancakes. batter was pre-made and only took 5 minutes to come out. simple, somewhat dense and filling. the wok blasted asian mushrooms were a bit of a 'miss'. the caramel and soy sauce dressing way too salty and overbalancing the dish. we ended up mixing the sauce with the green papaya salad. the roasted carrot. simple, somewhat soft but satisfying. agadashi tofu. light batter, quite fluffy and fresh. a fun evening. then i suggest heading to one of the well known nearby bars to round up the evening (though my preferred canberra bar isn't open monday evening)

a hip and casual 'bring your friends for a group date' type of place.

outstanding... a group of us treated in the 'just feed me' eight course option for an early dinner. outstanding selection of share plates, outstanding service, and a great jam packed buzzing atmosphere!

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 their menu a 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' 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 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.

we came here for mum's birthday and the 4 of us got the feed me menu, which was $49/pp and included 8 signature dishes. our favourite was the gua baos, kingfish (flavoursome), beef short rib (super tender) & the spicy prawn rice. since it was a public holiday and they were obviously super busy, the service was still amazing and quiet attentive. overall, great atmosphere (kind of reminds me of the restaurants from melbourne) and definitely will be back in the future to try some of their other items.

the food is 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