The true meaning of - you get what you PAY for. There's nothing that would draw you to the space, real simple walk up - order off the menu or their already prepared section of pre made food. Rice meh! doesn't stick to actual roll (it wasn't gummy) but it didn't stick like traditional sushi ?. Wld I return, not likely. Kind cashier, tho.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Eric Haas-Stapleton
This place is mild hit or miss. Today was a huge miss. All the fish on the rolls was supermarket sushi thin. Thats not OK for a $16 roll.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
Allan Reyes
I happened to go to Castro Valley Marketplace today. I walked by and The sushi at Akemi looked fresh. The young lady at tge front said hello and asked if I had any questions about Akemi. I asked about the eel and some rolls. She was courteous and I ordered some delicious made-to-order sushi. The chef was prompt, professional in attire, and just as courteous as the young lady in front. I tasted the dragon roll. Delicious. Fresh. Beautifully presented. I'll be back soon! Nice experience with courteous polite service and delicious fresh sushi--Excellent!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Latisha M.
Dad & I just gobbled up a 2 delicious lion King rolls. Since dad is watching his salt intake he asked for less garlic sauce/spread? But we both agree on how delicious it was! Also i loved the added bonus of the "torching!" It left a great flavor! Thank you Akemi
Tole B.
If you're looking for some great sushi rolls, stop by at Akemi Sushi located in the Castro Valley Marketplace! The fish is fresh! They make the sushi on the spot or you can pick it up in their refrigerated case, freshly made! Our favorite sushi are the Bluefin & Truffle Roll, Under the Sea, & the Bluefin Tuna & Avocado Roll! Their other rolls are great as well! We highly recommend Akemi Sushi!
Ally Weiss
Best sushi in the Bay Area hands down. Don't let the little hole in the wall grocery store vibe fool you.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: California Roll, Salmon Lover, Akemi Roll 16, Lion King, Veggie, Negihama, Sushi, Assorted Sashimi, Avocado, Spicy Tuna Roll, Truffle Roll, Red Snapper
Alex S.
Dude i'm sorry, but the people putting negative reviews here are TRIPPING and simply don't understand quality. If you think this place isn't REALLY good, i just don't trust your opinion on food. Plain and simple. I've been looking for a place like this for SO long, where you can walk up to (or sit at) the counter, order high quality sushi, and eat it there. Good pieces of fish, warm rice (because it was made fresh), and not these gross/oversized/gloppy sushi rolls/pieces. Which is exactly what we've found here at Akemi. People are trying to talk abt Kansai and Ebiko on here like they're incredible? Don't make me laugh - by comparison those places just serve lackluster sushi rolls (from a quality perspective) that are way to big and just sloppy/unimpressive. There's no replacement for quality, and the food we've had every time at Akemi has been incredible. Order the double hamachi roll, and then honestly just order nigiri pieces because they're insane. This place is a small cutout in a grocery store that runs CIRCLES around most of the full-scale sushi restaurants in the area. And the people are always super nice. Thanks Akemi
Robin K.
Counter service sushi- with fresh sushi made daily (and discounted at 50% off right before close!). Lion king roll is great as well as the nigiris (tuna being my favorite!). Situated in a very small food hall/marketplace with some outdoor dining space
Callum McGrath
They have probably the best quality sushi roll I’ve had. Their toro roll that has fresh toro, avocado, and asparagus was absolutely fantastic. Their lion king roll was also delicious. The freshness and quality of their rolls is great. Its a little bit more expensive than other sushi places but I think the quality and service definitely is why. Its just gooooood.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lion King, Sushi
Sandeep K.
For a counter service sushi place, Akemi is top notch. They have a decent selection of items as grab and go from their display case, but they will also happily make any item fresh for your order. Neat, clean, always FRESH, and a cute date spot if you can snag a communal table nearby.
Akemi sushi is still good. However, When we called for pickup, they didn't respond. We placed the order, and there was no space to write any note. We called them repeatedly over the next hour trying to get ahold of them to ask about making mine gluten free. When we arrived we asked why the phone wasn't working, and they told us they didn't know why. It seemed to be off the hook. They did not try to fix it. It's a hassle to not have any way to communicate with a restaurant that allows takeout. No way to cancel your order, no notes area, no phone or anything. That was difficult.
Cindy D.
I got the deluxe nigiri chef's set and was not disappointed at all. Their bluefin truffle roll is also to die for. The only downside is their wait time. It took a while to get my online order, 35 minutes after the time provided. If you sign up for their rewards, you get $5 off your next order. Also, if they have leftover rolls after 7:15p, they're 50% off.
Bekki Leber
Ordered over the phone. When I came to pickup they let me know one of the ingredients of the items I ordered they were out of. They should have called me to let me know. Service here is unacceptable. Also there is no email to contact them to let them know what happened.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Paul Silk
Food was very average and the portions were small. Spent $150 for a family of 5, it fed 3. This place would be great for a quick bite while at the Market itself. I won’t go out of my way in the future to order and take it home.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Paul S.
Not terribly impressed. Ordered take-out for a family of 5. All roles were 6 pieces even the specialty roles which we are used to seeing 8 pieces at most places. At $17 you'd think they could spare the extra fill. The food was mediocre. Happy to try it again but probably just me and the wife and only as a light lunch.
The true meaning of - you get what you PAY for. There's nothing that would draw you to the space, real simple walk up - order off the menu or their already prepared section of pre made food. Rice meh! doesn't stick to actual roll (it wasn't gummy) but it didn't stick like traditional sushi ?. Wld I return, not likely. Kind cashier, tho.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
This place is mild hit or miss. Today was a huge miss. All the fish on the rolls was supermarket sushi thin. Thats not OK for a $16 roll.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
I happened to go to Castro Valley Marketplace today. I walked by and The sushi at Akemi looked fresh. The young lady at tge front said hello and asked if I had any questions about Akemi. I asked about the eel and some rolls. She was courteous and I ordered some delicious made-to-order sushi. The chef was prompt, professional in attire, and just as courteous as the young lady in front. I tasted the dragon roll. Delicious. Fresh. Beautifully presented. I'll be back soon! Nice experience with courteous polite service and delicious fresh sushi--Excellent!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dad & I just gobbled up a 2 delicious lion King rolls. Since dad is watching his salt intake he asked for less garlic sauce/spread? But we both agree on how delicious it was! Also i loved the added bonus of the "torching!" It left a great flavor! Thank you Akemi
If you're looking for some great sushi rolls, stop by at Akemi Sushi located in the Castro Valley Marketplace! The fish is fresh! They make the sushi on the spot or you can pick it up in their refrigerated case, freshly made! Our favorite sushi are the Bluefin & Truffle Roll, Under the Sea, & the Bluefin Tuna & Avocado Roll! Their other rolls are great as well! We highly recommend Akemi Sushi!
Best sushi in the Bay Area hands down. Don't let the little hole in the wall grocery store vibe fool you.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: California Roll, Salmon Lover, Akemi Roll 16, Lion King, Veggie, Negihama, Sushi, Assorted Sashimi, Avocado, Spicy Tuna Roll, Truffle Roll, Red Snapper
Dude i'm sorry, but the people putting negative reviews here are TRIPPING and simply don't understand quality. If you think this place isn't REALLY good, i just don't trust your opinion on food. Plain and simple. I've been looking for a place like this for SO long, where you can walk up to (or sit at) the counter, order high quality sushi, and eat it there. Good pieces of fish, warm rice (because it was made fresh), and not these gross/oversized/gloppy sushi rolls/pieces. Which is exactly what we've found here at Akemi. People are trying to talk abt Kansai and Ebiko on here like they're incredible? Don't make me laugh - by comparison those places just serve lackluster sushi rolls (from a quality perspective) that are way to big and just sloppy/unimpressive. There's no replacement for quality, and the food we've had every time at Akemi has been incredible. Order the double hamachi roll, and then honestly just order nigiri pieces because they're insane. This place is a small cutout in a grocery store that runs CIRCLES around most of the full-scale sushi restaurants in the area. And the people are always super nice. Thanks Akemi
Counter service sushi- with fresh sushi made daily (and discounted at 50% off right before close!). Lion king roll is great as well as the nigiris (tuna being my favorite!). Situated in a very small food hall/marketplace with some outdoor dining space
They have probably the best quality sushi roll I’ve had. Their toro roll that has fresh toro, avocado, and asparagus was absolutely fantastic. Their lion king roll was also delicious. The freshness and quality of their rolls is great. Its a little bit more expensive than other sushi places but I think the quality and service definitely is why. Its just gooooood.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lion King, Sushi
For a counter service sushi place, Akemi is top notch. They have a decent selection of items as grab and go from their display case, but they will also happily make any item fresh for your order. Neat, clean, always FRESH, and a cute date spot if you can snag a communal table nearby.
Restaurantji Recommends
Akemi sushi is still good. However, When we called for pickup, they didn't respond. We placed the order, and there was no space to write any note. We called them repeatedly over the next hour trying to get ahold of them to ask about making mine gluten free. When we arrived we asked why the phone wasn't working, and they told us they didn't know why. It seemed to be off the hook. They did not try to fix it. It's a hassle to not have any way to communicate with a restaurant that allows takeout. No way to cancel your order, no notes area, no phone or anything. That was difficult.
I got the deluxe nigiri chef's set and was not disappointed at all. Their bluefin truffle roll is also to die for. The only downside is their wait time. It took a while to get my online order, 35 minutes after the time provided. If you sign up for their rewards, you get $5 off your next order. Also, if they have leftover rolls after 7:15p, they're 50% off.
Ordered over the phone. When I came to pickup they let me know one of the ingredients of the items I ordered they were out of. They should have called me to let me know. Service here is unacceptable. Also there is no email to contact them to let them know what happened.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Food was very average and the portions were small. Spent $150 for a family of 5, it fed 3. This place would be great for a quick bite while at the Market itself. I won’t go out of my way in the future to order and take it home.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Not terribly impressed. Ordered take-out for a family of 5. All roles were 6 pieces even the specialty roles which we are used to seeing 8 pieces at most places. At $17 you'd think they could spare the extra fill. The food was mediocre. Happy to try it again but probably just me and the wife and only as a light lunch.