Elmer Ramirez

Recommended by our fav omakasein Virginia (Modan) we had an unforgettable omakase experience at AKIKOS (430 Folsom St, San Francisco’s East Cut). The meticulously prepared dishes were exquisite—pristine fish from Toyosu, innovative dry-aging, and standout touches like toro-caviar shokupan. Flavors were refined, fresh, and perfectly balanced. Service was superior: attentive, knowledgeable, and warm, especially at the chef’s counter. The spacious interior and well-lit bar felt modern, elegant, and inviting. Too bad another SF spot shares a similar name (Akiko’s Sushi Bar)—it’s nowhere near this level. Book the right one for top-tier Japanese cuisine. Highly recommended!

Hana Kim

Found my go to omakase in sf! So delicious and love the ambiance.

+3

Anshul Mathur

One of the very best omakases on the West Coast. Their coffee cured blue fin tuna and their toro are fantastic.

Tina Young

I have come here to celebrate many special occasions. The food and cocktails are excellent, and the service is flawless. The amount of food served for dinner omakase is perfect, but I can never turn down an extra nigiri or two after the set menu is completed.

Karl Zheng

Came here recently to celebrate with work colleagues. Food and service were excellent as usual. Atmosphere is probably still my favorite part about Akikos. It’s modern and open versus a more traditional counter experience. Highly recommended for groups. A la carte menu ensures everyone is satisfied including providing an opportunity to order another bite of something particularly enjoyable on the menu.

+2

Rosa Lee

Absolute delight and the best omakase and nigiri I have ever had. We sat at the bar. Each dish in the otsumami was incredible. I think my favorites were the Fuji Salmon, Sashimi, Robusuta, and Chawanmushi. I thought they had set the bar quite high with the otsumami but the nigiri did not disappoint at all. The rice is steamed very fresh and each piece was made in front of us. The fish intentionally at room temperature with the warm rice really made the flavors pop in a way I had never experienced before with nigiri. Just fantastic. Our chef was lovely to watch and everything she made was perfection. I think my favorites were Karei, Kanpachi, tokishirazu, and botan ebi. We liked all the items so much when they gave us the additional menu we ordered a few more pieces. Can’t wait to come back!

+1

josephine richburg

One of the most delicious meals I’ve had in a very long time. We had the Omakase and each course was unique and tasty. Service was impeccable and the ambience was perfect. Overall a great dining experience. Thank you!

Mrinalini Loew

Delicious lunch Omakase, with sake pairing. Excellent service. Really fun vibe. Hot tip - lunch starts with standard Omakase (no "a la carte" menu") but after Omakase service is complete, they offer you a menu to add on. We added the snapper, uni and wagyu and it was great! Lunchtime sake pairing was 4 generous, full glasses of sake and they were all delicious. Fun modern vibe, with sunlight but not "too bright". I liked that it didn't feel like we were sitting in a cave, which was nice for a lunchtime treat.

+18

Casey Patterson

Impeccable lunch omakase experience. Meticulous attention paid to the individual elements of every dish, making each sing. Hospitality unmatched- for example- immediate coat and luggage check for travelers. Chefs are present and enthusiastic about the food. Notice the details when you go- unique and purposeful flatware, ceramics, lighting, etc. Will be back.

ayush kalani

Ideally, I'd give Akikos 4.5/5. Akikos delivers a truly exceptional omakase experience, earning a solid 4.5 stars. From the moment I booked my "Nigiri only" omakase online, the process was seamless and the reservation easy to locate. Despite arriving 15 minutes late due to the notoriously challenging San Francisco parking situation (a point I'll emphasize later), we were immediately seated at the sleek, modern, and incredibly comfortable counter. The restaurant's elegant decor sets a sophisticated tone for the culinary journey ahead. Our experience began with a delightful off-menu oyster amuse-bouche, a testament to Akikos' ability to surprise and delight. The 14-course omakase (including 10 pieces of nigiri), a whirlwind of exquisite flavors, was presented with impressive efficiency, completing in roughly an hour and fifteen minutes. Each piece of fish was a masterclass in quality – lean, buttery, sweet, and showcasing the freshest ingredients. My personal highlights included the melt-in-your-mouth akamutsu (blackthroat seaperch), the delicate sakuramasu (cherry trout), and the divine scallop and uni. While the fish was consistently outstanding, my only minor critique was the rice, which was slightly undercooked and could have benefited from a touch more flavor. The meal concluded with a beautifully balanced white sesame ice cream, complemented by red bean crumbles – a perfect, light, and refreshing finale. A word of caution regarding parking: The parking situation around Akikos is a significant challenge. We witnessed numerous cars receiving tickets for parking in loading zones. While a parking garage is available near Folsom and Essex, it comes with a hefty price tag ($6 per half an hour). Plan your arrival accordingly, allowing ample time to navigate the area and find suitable parking. Despite the parking woes, the exquisite omakase at Akikos makes it a dining experience worth the effort.

+19

Yon Burke

Amazing experience. I went on a quiet evening. As expected, sushi was fantastic. I have been to Friends Only and wanted to try Akikos upon my next visit to SF. Had wonderful conversations with another guest and our chef. Sushi was tasty and attention to detail was 100%. The Toro, Zuke, Buri, and Uni were my favorite. It was so good, had to order a few more pieces. Will be back and thank you! 🙏

+13

Pasha Gleyzer

The omakase was excellent. Every dish and every nigiri were well thought of and delicious. The service and sushi chef were also superb. Now, this is my opinion, and I do not claim to be any great authority about this. However, I think that a torched baracuda which has a strong bold flavor, should go after the sweet shrimp and scallop which are much milder. That is my only suggestion which should be ignored for the reason that I don't know anything.

+31

Ellen K

We like to have fancy Omakase every year on our anniversary and Akikos really lived up to the hype! Every single dish and beverage were exquisite. We are simply giddy from the pleasure

+1

Mishaal Ashemimry

Omg this is by far the best set menu Japanese restaurant I have ever been to in the U.S. The service is phenomenal and friendly. The food is by far the best! Excellent quality fish and combination. There were items I don’t even like like sea urchin and eel but here they were great! Amazing experience and I will definitely come back.

+15

B A

I went there for the first time ever to celebrate my early birthday dinner. This was probably the best omakase restaurant I've been to, compared to NYC level. My guest and I was greeted by a friendly host who showed us to our seats at the sushi bar. I recommend getting seats here, so you can watch the chefs make your nigiri. Every item they brought to us to eat were amazing, flavorful, melts in your mouth, and no fishy after taste. My guest is a picky eater, but they loved everything we ate! We also ordered the wagyu nigiri at the end and it was better than some wagyu i've had in Japan. Everyone was very hospitable and made my birthday dinner special. Thank you! can't wait to be back and will def. be telling all my friends to come here!

+4

Dara Polnerow

This was a fantastic experience. It was like a perfect dance from start to finish. The kitchen and sushi chefs we perfectly synchronous. The food was elegant with breathtaking delivery. One of the best meals of a lifetime. The cost is quite high at 250 for the experience plus plus for saki and tip… but worth it for the once in a lifetime experience. It may be useful to have one tier lower of an option to get more repeat visits…but… if they can sustain on this then keep the magic going.

+1

I got chicken Karaage and ramen with hot curry and fried gyoza. The ramen and curry were great and the curry was nice and spicy and the gyoza were fresh and flavorful but I would have liked them better of they were pan fried on the bottom instead of deep fried. I would try other things here for sure so I would recommend ordering ahead of time.

Katsu curry was good, chicken was tender, curry was flavorful. I got the large karage too for $9 the flavor is good I wish they will fill it up all the way to the top since i paid for the large karage it looks like i got the small portion but in a larger container.

Had the delicious Chicken Katsu curry (medium spicy) and was oh so delicious - perfectly crispy pieces and such a flavorful curry. As of yesterday, the place doesn't offer any dining options either indoors or outdoors, so you may want to figure out a nearby park or seating quickly to consume it while it's hot!

They say it is cheap. Well that is only to SF standards because I don’t find it cheap. Food is really interesting taste wise. Staff is friendly and food prepared to order quite quickly. Location is off tourist places and surrounded by many other cafes. Inside very little place for dining. Good for take away. Has toilet inside and no wifi.

Interesting Curry Style Japanese food. Line at lunch can run out the door and across the corner. When you ask for spicy, it is SPICY not for the faint of heart. Chicken is perfectly fried

I’m a regular but lately, there has been some deterioration in food quality. I usually get the curry pork cutlet.The pork was fried to almost brown (maybe they don’t change the oil that often being so busy). Prices have really gone up so I hope they give customers a break.

Ken H

The Japanese sushi chef was knowledgeable about sushi down to where the rice was coming from and the different grades of uni. Food tasted great and really enjoyed it until the young waiter came to start collecting my dishes and took away my chopsticks holder while I was still eating my pickled ginger. It was a good meal though. Just the service could be more polished.

+1

Lefty

Food was delicious. We had the tasting menu and most of the dishes were excellent, though some were oversalted, which really is unnecessary for sashimi. Service was attentive in serving dishes and clearing plates but I would have expected more conversation with the staff about how the food was. They were talking amongst themselves and to just a few of the guests they appeared to know. Prices were exorbitant. While I can expect that for top of the line Japanese, the aforementioned service gaps made it feel overpriced.

+46

Got a medium spicy katsu curry and was fairly spicy! So if you are unsure, err on the lower side! Food tasted good, nothing super special. Not the worst curry I've had, but also not the best. Fairly liquidly curry, not thick at all. This is also one of those pick-up only locations, so don't expect to be able to sit down and eat. You order and pick up at the window.

The vegetarian curry sauce is good. However asking about if the tofu and vegetable curry has potatoes the clerk said "I don't think so, but you can order them as an add-on." I did that but it seems from other photos potatoes are already included so I paid the extra charge for no reason. Overall it was pretty expensive for curry ($25). I don't like that it's takeout only and you can't really tell that from the photos of the food on the reviews.

Ordered a Katsu Curry for dinner via DoorDash. The curry was subtle and good. However, the katsu was flavorless and unseasoned. I loved the pickled vegetables though! I probably wouldn’t order again.

David Gottesman

The service and ambiance at Akikos are excellent. All of the staff were extremely attentive and friendly. Unfortunately the quality of the sushi doesn’t match. We sat at a table vs the bar, so maybe that makes a difference, but the sushi rice was hard and cold, and the quality of the fish itself wasn’t great.

I would like to give zero star for this place. I ordered 30 minutes ago online but had to wait in line for pick up. I asked for a bag for this take out but they said I didn’t order the “bag”. I had to say every time I ordered here I was offered a bag when picked up. I was being treated differently today because I saw others pay without a “bag” while I stayed in line but they still were offered a “bag”. And the ladies gave me extremely bad attitude I wouldn’t come here again.

CHURAN LIN

Before going this time, I looked it up again and saw that the reviews were extremely polarized. I honestly thought I’d end up on the good side of that divide… but nope. It made me realize that maybe my taste back then just wasn’t that great. Not a single dish was memorable or impressive. And the service — honestly? It felt like if you weren’t actively watching the server, she’d roll her eyes at you behind your back, like you somehow owed her something. It was incredibly unpleasant. The overall service vibe was bad, too. And the music?? Straight-up pop music, like being in a bar — but isn’t this supposed to be a Japanese omakase? I genuinely don’t get it. And then at the end, the bill had a 6% “mandate fee” added on??? My friend said it was only mentioned in tiny print somewhere on the menu. In the end it came out to $300+ per person. With that kind of money, there are so many better places I could eat at. Why would I do this to myself again? 😡😡😡