Best sushi out there! But...mixed drinks were a huge letdown:-(...whoever works at the bar yesterday, gotta go! Meanwhile, just get the beer!Service was great; a bit too loud inside...They ain't taking reservations...be aware!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
P Pandit
This place has really gone downhill. I can't believe I raved about it all these years. On a Sunday evening when the place was packed, the food seemed like it was cooked earlier in the day. Ordered calamari that was not crispy and completely limp. Asparagus tempura same thing. How dare you people charge $22 for a dish and serve garbage? Hope you shut down soon.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
Zach G
Food was excellent. When they say spicy: you better believe it, but not in a bad way. Just keep in mind that spicy actually means spicy here. Service was fine. It was busy and our server was dealing with coworkers who appeared to just be standing around, so she did the best with what she had. Will definitely go back, the grilled edamame was incredible too.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Brian Hayes
Great food ?
Joey O'Rourke
Really solid sushi spot with great fish and excellent menu options
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Eric Solberg
This is my last straw with Amakara. I've been a customer for a very long time. Their sushi is fresh and pretty much all the food I've had there is good. But I've been going less often, because it is just so frustrating getting in. It's just not worth it. But I tried last night anyway, to celebrate finishing a long project. The wife & I figured- how bad can a cold Tuesday night be? We got there and were told the wait would be 15-20 minutes, but the wait for the sushi bar would be 5 minutes. Usually we do end up at the sushi bar, just because the wait is always so long. But this was reasonable so we said we'd take the sushi bar. We stood there for about ten minutes, then sat down. After a full 25 minutes, we went up to find out when we'd get our seat. THEY DIDN"T EVEN HAVE US ON THE LIST. Its not like they called us and we didn't answer- we were right there a few feet from the guy the whole time. And rather than finding a way to accommodate us, the guy told us he'll put us on the list but there were two groups ahead of us so it would be another 15-20 minutes. To add insult to injury- the sushi bar was wide open. He said they couldn't fill the seats due to the capacity of the wait staff. He had zero acknowledgement of the time we waited (in fact he acted like he never saw us before)- we'd just have to join the list. I turned around and walked out and don't plan to walk back in. There is plenty of good sushi in the area, who needs this?
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Shweta Khedkar
Food is pretty bland. Menu is fancy but less sushi rolls options.Definitely need more flavor for the ramen.Service needs to improve. Not the Japanese polite hospitality that one would expect from a Sushi restaurant.Interior is okay. Open layout.But food lacks flavor.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Denny
Our server forgot to bring us drinks and one appetizerThe food was delicious however I saw how it was prepared and it made me feel uncomfortablesome cooks didn't wear gloves, they were touching fish and other food with bare hands
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 2
Sachin Khedkar
review 3/3/24:How does this place have any good reviews!? Mediocre food and horrible service - that sums it all! Sushi - 2/5. Much better alternatives - Kaki Sushi or Kura revolving Sushi in Pleasanton or Wasabi bistro in Livermore. Appetizers- 1/5. Cooked but no flavor whatsoever! No accompanying condiments too. Ramen - 1/5. I had Chasu ramen. It was essentially plain pork broth with veggies and chewy Chasu! Terrible. I had asked for toppings or flavoring and got Sriracha + loads of arrogance! Ambiance - 2/5. It's like a pizzeria or canteen, not like any Japanese restaurant you'd expect. I understand this is a personal preference though. Service - 0/5. What a joke! Courtesy is not a thing here! Once you're seated and have ordered food - that's it. They don't check whether you got the food, did you like it, need anything else, e.g., water, care for any desserts, to-go boxes... none of that. It's like they are doing you a favor by allowing you to dine in! I've eaten at self service places that are more courteous.review from 2019:Good sushi, fast service. Don't understand all the hype about this place though! Have waited ~45 mins more than once right at the opening hour and there's nothing that exceptional to make you want to queue up!
Alexander Ivaniuk
Excellent place for poker tuna and sushis ? I wish they could have espresso and apple juice ?
We've been going here for nearly 5 years now, and my wife and I love it. It's probably one of the best sushi restaurants in East Bay. We've tried quite a number of items on the menu and have yet to find something we don't like.
We ordered the chasiu ramen and the clam ramen. Both came out hot and delicious. The clam ramen was less heavy (fatty) than the pork ramen but still tasted amazing! I loved how many clams they put in one bowl.We also ordered a dragon roll and it was good as well.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Chasu Ramen, Dragon
Richard NOBLE
Met friends there for dinner. Everything was fantastic. Great place for Lunch/Dinner. I work near-by, so I wanted to try the place. Food & drinks were great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Grilled Edamame, Spicy Crunchy Rainbow Roll and Fried California Roll, Red Dragon, Rainbow, Beef Teriyaki, California, Nigiri
SIS
We definitely go again.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Steven Ramirez
Had a good time dining with friends during the happy hour.
Best sushi out there! But...mixed drinks were a huge letdown:-(...whoever works at the bar yesterday, gotta go! Meanwhile, just get the beer!Service was great; a bit too loud inside...They ain't taking reservations...be aware!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
This place has really gone downhill. I can't believe I raved about it all these years. On a Sunday evening when the place was packed, the food seemed like it was cooked earlier in the day. Ordered calamari that was not crispy and completely limp. Asparagus tempura same thing. How dare you people charge $22 for a dish and serve garbage? Hope you shut down soon.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
Food was excellent. When they say spicy: you better believe it, but not in a bad way. Just keep in mind that spicy actually means spicy here. Service was fine. It was busy and our server was dealing with coworkers who appeared to just be standing around, so she did the best with what she had. Will definitely go back, the grilled edamame was incredible too.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Great food ?
Really solid sushi spot with great fish and excellent menu options
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This is my last straw with Amakara. I've been a customer for a very long time. Their sushi is fresh and pretty much all the food I've had there is good. But I've been going less often, because it is just so frustrating getting in. It's just not worth it. But I tried last night anyway, to celebrate finishing a long project. The wife & I figured- how bad can a cold Tuesday night be? We got there and were told the wait would be 15-20 minutes, but the wait for the sushi bar would be 5 minutes. Usually we do end up at the sushi bar, just because the wait is always so long. But this was reasonable so we said we'd take the sushi bar. We stood there for about ten minutes, then sat down. After a full 25 minutes, we went up to find out when we'd get our seat. THEY DIDN"T EVEN HAVE US ON THE LIST. Its not like they called us and we didn't answer- we were right there a few feet from the guy the whole time. And rather than finding a way to accommodate us, the guy told us he'll put us on the list but there were two groups ahead of us so it would be another 15-20 minutes. To add insult to injury- the sushi bar was wide open. He said they couldn't fill the seats due to the capacity of the wait staff. He had zero acknowledgement of the time we waited (in fact he acted like he never saw us before)- we'd just have to join the list. I turned around and walked out and don't plan to walk back in. There is plenty of good sushi in the area, who needs this?
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Food is pretty bland. Menu is fancy but less sushi rolls options.Definitely need more flavor for the ramen.Service needs to improve. Not the Japanese polite hospitality that one would expect from a Sushi restaurant.Interior is okay. Open layout.But food lacks flavor.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Our server forgot to bring us drinks and one appetizerThe food was delicious however I saw how it was prepared and it made me feel uncomfortablesome cooks didn't wear gloves, they were touching fish and other food with bare hands
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 2
review 3/3/24:How does this place have any good reviews!? Mediocre food and horrible service - that sums it all! Sushi - 2/5. Much better alternatives - Kaki Sushi or Kura revolving Sushi in Pleasanton or Wasabi bistro in Livermore. Appetizers- 1/5. Cooked but no flavor whatsoever! No accompanying condiments too. Ramen - 1/5. I had Chasu ramen. It was essentially plain pork broth with veggies and chewy Chasu! Terrible. I had asked for toppings or flavoring and got Sriracha + loads of arrogance! Ambiance - 2/5. It's like a pizzeria or canteen, not like any Japanese restaurant you'd expect. I understand this is a personal preference though. Service - 0/5. What a joke! Courtesy is not a thing here! Once you're seated and have ordered food - that's it. They don't check whether you got the food, did you like it, need anything else, e.g., water, care for any desserts, to-go boxes... none of that. It's like they are doing you a favor by allowing you to dine in! I've eaten at self service places that are more courteous.review from 2019:Good sushi, fast service. Don't understand all the hype about this place though! Have waited ~45 mins more than once right at the opening hour and there's nothing that exceptional to make you want to queue up!
Excellent place for poker tuna and sushis ? I wish they could have espresso and apple juice ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
We've been going here for nearly 5 years now, and my wife and I love it. It's probably one of the best sushi restaurants in East Bay. We've tried quite a number of items on the menu and have yet to find something we don't like.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Grilled Edamame, Red Dragon, Rainbow, California, Tuna, Rainbow Roll, Nigiri
We ordered the chasiu ramen and the clam ramen. Both came out hot and delicious. The clam ramen was less heavy (fatty) than the pork ramen but still tasted amazing! I loved how many clams they put in one bowl.We also ordered a dragon roll and it was good as well.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Chasu Ramen, Dragon
Met friends there for dinner. Everything was fantastic. Great place for Lunch/Dinner. I work near-by, so I wanted to try the place. Food & drinks were great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Grilled Edamame, Spicy Crunchy Rainbow Roll and Fried California Roll, Red Dragon, Rainbow, Beef Teriyaki, California, Nigiri
We definitely go again.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Had a good time dining with friends during the happy hour.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3