Akahana Asian Bistro - Charlotte - Asian restaurant in Charlotte - 1308 The Plaza, USA

For the price I was expecting really good sushi. When a California roll is more than $7 (13.95!) it should be excellent sushi. I realize they have a buy one get one special right now but what happens when that stops? The sushi was mediocre, the fish was fresh but not much flavor, the wasabi was grainy, had very little flavor, and was not very spicy. I will not be back.

Let me start this review by saying I’ve been coming to this restaurant for 10 years. I have been on a first name basis with many of the servers and the manager, Ian, for a number of years. Today was my 33rd birthday, and a few days ago I made a reservation for 14. When I arrived today, there was no record of my reservation, and the female manager came the front and had the worst attitude. As a party of 14, they would have made huge money off of us, and instead they made no money off of us and made no attempt to fix the mistake that was 100% their fault. Not only have they ruined my opinion of them after YEARS of service and years of loyalty, but they lost a ton of money on our party. I will never come here again, and I have never felt so disrespected as a customer in my life. Do not come here. Ever. Period.

Casual eatery that has a dark ceiling and dark floor with colorful walls, slight cave feel. The server was kind and well intentioned but very green and had to check on every question. The sushi platter was very fresh. The Bangkok salmon was very tasty but overcooked, specially when the menu says sashimi grade. The fried rice was very tasty. I will go back.

Always enjoy eating here. My go-to is the Bun with shrimp (in the photo - but the pork is also good). I've had many different sushi rolls and all have been good. The staff is friendly and attentive. Overall good experience.

I love Akahana! Can't believe I hadn't tried it until a few months ago. We've only ever done takeout, so I can't comment on the service in the restaurant, but they're consistently good and I love the sushi. They also have a nice variety of vegetarian options, including sushi with tofu, which I've actually never had before until now. They have a huge menu, so it can be difficult to choose, but it's a great place for a family to share several dishes!

This place is weird, as it can't decide what it wants to be. I had Thai green curry tonight. It was edible but on the edge of BAD. They had no thai hot sauce or even fish sauce. The chicken had the texture of being boiled, which was weird. I've been there a few times, MID at best. I must say, never again.

Bad to go experience. 1 they automatically added an $8 tip on a TO GO pickup order without telling us. 2 they bagged hot and cold together - like hot Miso Soup sitting on top of cold raw sushi. If you gonna add an $8 tip please at least bag hot and cold separate. Also I let them know and they were like “meh”. I feel like Akahana is close and convenient but there are WAY better options especially with to go service.

Decided to give Akahana in Charlotte a try before a show at Ovens Auditorium at the recommendation of our friends. Honestly wish we hadn't. The atmosphere still has a very pandemic feel - a weird hostess stand setup with tables and high-chairs creating a bit of an alley which makes it awkward to follow the host to your seat. Nothing in the restaurant felt "clean." Plates, silverware, glassware all had really bad water stains. The silverware was inconsistent (we had different size forks, I had plastic chopsticks while my wife had wooden ones) which isn't critical but just a peeve of mine. The bathrooms were certainly not clean and the toilet seat was broken. The restaurant just seems like it is not well maintained. As far as food goes, the tuna tataki we had to start was good, however the sauce definitely has a strong wasabi flavor. The house salads were good, and we enjoy a lot of ginger dressing, but these had so much dressing the bottom of the salads were basically a soggy soupy mess. My wife had the mixed vegetable stir fry with chicken. The sauce was sweet and had a great flavor overall. I ordered sushi. The salmon and salmon belly were fresh and tasted good. The eel was served cold both on the roll I had and also as nigiri. Typically prefer this to be served warm. Ordered the $30 Poseidon roll which tasted good, but likely carries that price tag because of the BOGO deals they run on rolls. (My other $18 roll was free, so $30 for two rolls). Our server was very nice, but there were long periods without us seeing him where drinks needed to be refilled or plates could have been cleared. A manager/owner seemed to make the rounds a couple times and was very friendly as he stopped by each of the tables. Overall, our experience was just "meh" - but at least outranked our one other experience at Akahana (Fort Mill) where we once sat completely ignored for 30 minutes and ended up walking out. For $150 tab for two after tip, I would have preferred going to one of several other sushi spots which are cleaner & tastier. I won't be back, not for spite, but because there are simply better places to go.