Akida Japanese Restaurant in Richmond

Great sushi. Cute little neighborhood place.

Place was empty so we were stoked . Food came , no stoke. The rice balls were burnt crispy , fried in obviously old oil . We ordered $100 worth of various rolls . . Not real good to be honest , not like it used to be that s for sure. Wouldn t come back

This place is very cool. The flavor is amazing and people is very kind. Give them a chance to surprise you. You will not regret it.

Food was delicious. Staff efficient and courteous. I had an avocado salad Avocados were fresh and came with carrot ginger dressing. They give you a solid portion of dressing when many places don t. In addition to the salad I had the fantasy roll. The roll had yellow tail and tuna and came with a delicious sauce. The roll was soft with oodles of flavor that melted in my mouth well with wasabi, ginger and soy sauce. The place is small and adorable. They do a lot efficiently in the space. There is a wall made of small stones that gives the place a nice appeal. Today, was my first time there. It was prime time lunch-time and most places had long lines. This place was busy too but I believe due to staff efficiency I still got my food quickly. Prices are reasonable, can t wait to go back. Nice to know I found a new restaurant I will frequent for lunch.

a real gem

Most authentic Japanese restaurant Ive experienced in Richmond.

Tried a new sushi place when we were out and about in Richmond. This tiny little spot was highly rated and reviews mentioned fresh fish so we chose to go here. THE REVIEWS DID NOT LIE! Every single bite we had was amazingly fresh, the sashimi portions were great, and the waitress (didnt catch her name, but a very nice blonde lady, says shes there every night) was great with recommending a delicious sake. On point with snagging us anything we needed right away, despite having a restaurant full of guests. The two sushi chefs were spot on, and this place also has a really cool Sky Roll (i think) made with cucumber wrap and no rice. That was not only cool but it was delicious. We will definitely be back again, worth every penny! The food was so good that I didnt even get pictures, we just dug right in! *NOTE: The only reason we spent about $50 or a smidge more per person is because my husband and I can REALLY do work on some ngiri or sashimi. Its our absolute favorite dinner.* Parking: There is a free parking lot right around the corner for all the local businesses, called Devils Triangle Lot

We had the sushi lunch with salad (just lettuce) and miso. It was really fresh and very good. The place is really small . We will definitely be back ! Prices are good.

Small and chic, with great fresh sushi! Lunch deal is pretty cheap as well!

Good sushi and friendly service.

Pork katsu is awesome!

Bomb. Tiny space w/ the best sushi I ve ever had.

Stopped in for a quick lunch. Everything was good!

Reasonably priced and great food. Might be the best sushi Ive ever had.

My wife and I finally found a fantastic sushi restaurant in Richmond. We had Akida roll and Virginia roll. We definitely will be back to try more dishes. If you like sushi and you are in Richmond, VA, this is a mandatory place to stop by.

This is my favorite sushi restaurant. Super friendly staff. Small and intimate setting so close to everything downtown. Great, fresh sushi

Akida has been one of my favorite sushi restaurants in RVA for a reason. Recently I tried a croquet appetizer which was made with tempura. Yum.

Good place for an intimate dinner. Large parties would be difficult to fit. Food was quality. Sushi was smaller than most hence keeping me from giving 5 stars.

Had an excellent experience introducing my kids to Japanese cuisine.

Good restaurant good food

So good!! I ve been 3 or 4 times and it never disappoints. Got the combo #9 and it was amazing! Very cozy and intimate dining experience, highly recommend

Love this place. Reminds me of the legit sushi in California. My #1 sushi spot in RVA.

Lovely! Good quality. Will go back for sure.

I heard good things about Akida. I went for lunch, to find out the lunch special is underwhelming. I ended up ordering from the regular non lunch offerings. The food was good, the service was timely and pleasant. I recommend checking out Akida for yourself.

I had shrimp and vegetables tempura lunch special. It was excellent. It came with rice, soup, salad and sushi. Service was excellent as well. Vegetarian options: Definitely some good options and better for pescatarians.

Need more tables and space. Overall ok.

the food and ambiance were amazing! the complimentary christmas flavored drinks on the table were a nice touch, but a bit out of place considering the season

Best sushi in Richmond. Friendly hard working staff. Parking is a PITA though.

Best sushi in Richmond.

I love going here for sushi. Lots of great food options.

Friendly staff and great sushi, lots of options.

Top quality sushi!

Consistently great food. They are fast and professional

Efficient service at lunch even though busy.

This place is wonderful. I had heard about Akida for years from family, saying they have the best lunch deal in town. I have yet to eat here for lunch, but I have come for dinner over a dozen times. EVERY time, the service is excellent, the food is fresh, and the ambiance can t be beat. Akida is a great part of the Richmond restaurant scene.

Never disappoints. Classic sushi at fair prices (check combo 4 and 5) and excellent service in a small space. But dont tell anyone because I like walking in and never having to wait. And get a bottle of sake for the table

Excellent sushi!

It has unfortunately gone down hill. The sushi is fishy is not fresh

5 stars for the food - great hole in the wall sushi joint

I was looking for a good sushi spot close to work, and I thought the prices were reasonable, but the food was just ok. Ill probably look for an alternative restaurant before I return.

I ve lived in the MD for so long and I m very disappointed in myself for never going here before tonight. Food and service were absolutely wonderful and will definitely return!

Food is amazing. Sushi is excellent. We always do it to go. its been perfect every time. I get the salmon sushi, and my parter and I adore the volcano rolls.

Cozy place, good food and service

As far as sushi places go, this one is a keeper. Its a small storefront, so the dining room can feel a little cramped when its full on a Saturday, but it wasnt loud. The host is very gracious and the service was delivered well. Food was good, edamame was fresh and hot, combo #8 was almost enough for two, plus a couple extra sashimi. The mackerel was perfect. Prices are reasonable for the quality. Definitely worth checking out.

Tiny gem in the middle of Richmond. We stopped by on the way home after spending a day in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts nearby. Akida was definitely a great choice. Great food, amazing service. Chicken and Beef Teriyaki dishes all came out straight from the kitchen sizzling. Dragon rolls were amazing as well. (Definitely deserve the dragon name :)) - spicy.

Went in with a friend for lunch on our way to an event. Its a small place, but very cozy I ordered a Friendly Roll which tasted amazing enough to order it again Great place to come get lunch and chat

Next level maki rolls

Nice little hole-in-the-wall place with great lunch specials!

Delicious. And such a great community vibe. The bartender(?) was AMAZING, very knowledgeable on Japanese cuisine and culture, and funny.

Extremely good sushi. The best in RVA??

Good sushi and a very cute place!

Forrest roll was much better than I expected. Cozi welcoming place. My new go to when in RVA

Great sushi

very good food wait for our food was long but totally worth it!

Two stars for the food. Gained half a star for the service. Facts about the restaurant: It is a bit small, but has a quaint, home style vibe. The dining menu is incredibly extensive, possibly over 50 different food options (it could overwhelm some people). The service: Server was polite and attentive. Decent service. The food: The miso soup was probably the worst miso soup I ve had in Richmond thus far. I ve made miso soup myself from scratch, and I ve bought instant miso soup packets and they both were better quality than what my friends and I received when we dined in. The soup itself was warm, and had almost no flavour. Their Dashi proportion must have been off that day. The sushi was very okay, borderline not okay. There is a quality difference in the salmon roll vs. the salmon and avocado roll. Both use raw salmon, but the one with avocado was lower quality or simply older compared to the only salmon and sashimi salmon. The meat was visibly darker, and had a different consistency, indicating it must have been older, and the flavour tasted off. The salmon avocado was the worst one in terms of product quality. The combo I ordered was a decent price, but the freshness of the salmon avocado and the miso was not up to par for me. I think the other menu items are too pricey for how much you get and the quality. Plus, only combo meals receive miso soup; the other menu items do not. I heard this restaurant used to be good, but when the chef changed, the quality decreased. The quality, price, and quantity do not encourage me to return.

Great lunch deals, best sushi in town at reasonable prices.

Small, tight location with a straight forward expected Japanese restaurant menu. Solid portions, friendly service and everything youd want/expect.

Great sushi. Good service.

This is the best sushi Ive had and the only place where they take the gristle or whatever that tough gross part of the eel is called off. Amazing.

Ordered the Chicken Kastu on a whim and it was the best i ve ever had

What a great little gem in the middle of Richmond in the Devils Triangle. This was our first time trying Akidas. We were celebrating the end of my daughters cheerleading season and she and I tend to try new sushi places. We drove by a couple it a couple of times before we noticed it was in between a few other places. Its not the biggest joint but it was fairly busy when we got there. We saw that the small table in the back for two. They had two waitresses working and they were very attentive. We ordered an appetizer of edamame and then for different sushi rolls. We got a yellowtail, ungai, spider and then a Manhattan roll. The food came pretty quick it look like they had to guys behind the sushi bar working. Everything was very fresh and tasty. The sushi seem to be a good quality and we were very happy with all of it. Probably the only thing I didnt like was sitting at the little to top we are right in front of the bathroom so we can hear every flush that happened but thats just do to it being a tiny place. I would highly recommend and I definitely would come back.

Akida is probably one of the better Japanese restaurants in town and has been my place to frequent. Unfortunately they dont compare to restaurants up in NOVA. I would recommend coming here for some sushi/sashimi or chirashi.

Update 06/14/22: Still amazing. Tried some other rolls here, and I have been to several other sushi places and this is a notch above the others in the surrounding areas. First Sushi I ever fell in love with. The staff were very friendly. I went there on a whim with someone else who loves sushi. I have tried sushi before from other places but I did not like it. Almost gave up on it. I didnt pick out what we were having so I didnt see the ingredients because I would talk myself out of it. So we ended up with some California rolls and the Akida Rolls. I ate with an open mind and it was one of the tastiest foods I have put in my mouth. It was an enjoyable experience and I cant wait to go back to that hole in the wall even though I now know what I ate.

Honestly, I didnt like it. The sushi didnt taste fresh and the miso soup wasnt good. I did enjoy the service though!

Good lunch specials.

Only sushi worth getting in Richmond. Reasonably priced, fast, consistent

The Pork Katsu Don was great! I also really like their spicy tuna roll, its amazing!

This is one of the gems the city has been hiding. The staff here was very friendly and very attentive. The food was excellent. The orders are freshly made and come very quick. You can tell there is a lot of love in this restaurant for the food they serve. The prices where very reasonable and so low I was shocked at the bill. I will be back to try more of the menu.

Best sushi Ive had in Richmond by far

Delicious food. Sushi was fresh and delicious. Lots of unique and creative combinations to choose from. The waiter was friendly and had a great sense of humor. Overall welcoming environment and great food.

Awesome sushi!

One of the best sushi restaurants in Richmond

Delicious food regardless of what you get. Sushi and sashimi are fantastic.

Tried the Akida roll and it was fantastic! Highly recommend!

My fams favorite sushi

Amazing food

The prices have been jacked up significantly since the last time I ve been here. In addition, the portions and quality is now lacking as well. Overall not nearly as good as it used to be; super disappointed. Will not be going back.

The best

Phenomenal, consistently good meals, always delicious fresh tasting fish, amazing and friendly staff. Ive been enjoying this cozy sushi restaurant for at least 10 years. What is there to say? This is the place to get your sushi fix; everything is worth trying.

perfect !

Atmosphere is nice, great sushi chefs and special combos. This is my #1 go to for rolls in town. Try the sunset roll with lemon slice on top, yummm!

Was nervous to call in an order because im not good with accents over the phone but they were easy to understand, extremely sweet and accommodating and the food is amazing! I HATE seaweed and they were able to substitute with soy paper so i can finally eat sushi! Im so in love.

I have always had great experiences here, before and during covid- ordering over the phone is a breeze. I witnessed a customer getting upset with the staff because of the wait for pick up and the staff handled the situation very well. This place has great food! Of course it s gonna be busy! Despite waiting a little bit past the original quoted time, my food was fresh and correct. Will be back again and again!

Best sushi in Richmond by far! Super fresh, good prices, friendly staff, authentic restaurant. A regular of ours for years, dont go anywhere else!

Best sushi in town.

Get the sunrise roll - you wont regret it. Excellent sushi rolls - well be back for sure!!

Service and atmosphere were excellent! The server with the purple hair was super nice and hospitable and so was the rest of the staff. However, not sure how they received top ratings for sushi. Ive had better sushi from a grocery store.

The restaurant is very small but has a very nice vibe to it. The alcoholic drink menu is very small, about 5 beers and some sake only, however I did not ask if they do mixed drinks. The sushi menu is fairly big, a lot of specialty options to choose from! The sushi is fresh and very good. Would highly recommend.

Excellent sushi, probably the best in Richmond

The best place for Sushi in RVA

Great sushi and friendly staff. Not big, so only a few tables. Very attentive. Food was fresh and delicious They could easily accommodate leaving out an ingredient due to allergy. Recommend!

Sushi is very good

Intimate setting, delicious food, and well-priced wine. A great date night spot and sushi favorite.

Food was good, service was a bit much, meaning the server was far too familiar and overly excited. Just not something I appreciate.

Very good sushi! We love it we god monthly! We have been going for years and we had there sushi even when they were at there old location we have seen them get more and more busy and there food has got even better if that s possible. Love them!

This is hands down the best sushi spot in Richmond. I havent had a bad experience here.

Great fresh sushi. Excellent service.

It just wasnt good at all

Don t give many 5 star reviews. I love sushi and richmond is not where one goes for it. I ve tried many places around the tri-cities. This is not the most expensive one, however it s the best quality sushi I ve found. Yes it may be a hole in the wall, but many good sushi places are. This may make it difficult for social distancing, but consider pick up if that alarms you. Can t recommend enough. Staffs pretty good too. I ve had my order messed up once in about twenty visits.

Food wasnt bad but nothing I want to write home about. Sushi and sake were pretty typical. The service was not up to par for me. With being the only ones in the place to start, it was still slow and the server was short with us and was either annoyed that we werent talking fast enough or walking straight past our table when we are visibly looking for assistance. It was busy before we left and the service didnt even suffer, it was just always bad.

Easily best sushi in RVA

Ordered takeout last night. Sushi rolls pretty good, though they didn t give me any soy sauce which I thought was odd? FYI I also got the side salad which was just three pieces of iceberg lettuce in a styrofoam cup. So wouldn t recommend that.

We had tuna rolls and sashimi (that didn t come with any rice under it) and took one bite of it and had to spit it out, tasted as if the tuna had gone bad. No one could eat the rest of it Disappointed, reviews looked great for this one.

So good! Consistent year after year.

Great food, nice staff, have never been let down here.

Top sushi in Richmond! So fresh, SO tasty!! Wonderful service

I had really good time! Tuna sushi was really good! This is a small restaurant that is popular in the area Lots of people stoped by to pick up food. highly recommend!

Overall good. But we ordered the $40 sushi platter and they gave us egg, tofu, cooked shrimp, and fake crab meat. The indoor seating is small. Service was nice.

A smaller spaced restaurant giving it a very cozy mom and pop vibe. The sushi is very well done and location is pretty central.

The restaurant is small but clean. The staffs are very friendly. My 3 yo finished all the steamed dumplings on her own. Both the katsu don and the unagi don were delicious. The udon noodles were nicely done and very filling. Teriyaki chicken was also tasty. A changing table would be nice to have in the restroom, and we were lucky not having to need it on the day we visited.

Very kind service. tasty rolls, good price, and great variey

Favorite sushi spot in Richmond. Their combo meal (salad or soup, appetizer, two rolls plus one specialty roll) is a really good deal. They are usually busy and could use a bigger space, so recommend doing take out.

Sushi was fresh and great. Location is nice for a stroll before or after eating. Definitely will return.

Great sushi!

The best everything

This is my favorite Sushi place in Richmond! Check them out!

Very lovely service and atmosphere

Beautiful sushi, love the portions, excellent taste. Small, but worth the hunt to find this treasure!

Loves the sushi quality here. Everything is always fresh. I usually like to stop by after work and grab something to go.

As a retired female Marine I have been stationed in California and other places so needless to say Ive had sushi and sashimi a lot. My children have been eating it since they were very young. I can honestly say that the sushi and sashimi wasnt bad at all... However I ordered the Teriyaki Chicken and by far it was the worst Ive ever had. The chicken was rubbery, fatty and it had no grill marks. It tasted as if it had been boiled and reheated...The teriyaki sauce tasted as if it was watered down. The rice was overcooked and gummy. The vegetables were extremely overcooked too. I tried to find something positive and even had my children try it and they couldnt eat it themselves. I suggest you just eat the sushi and sashimi...

You know, I ate sushi once in an airport somewhere in Japan. In one of those bins in the refrigerator.. Really, there was no comparison. Hashtag- realfood.

Love this place. Doesnt look like much from the outside but the sushi is great, and I love the lunch specials. I always get extra salmon nigiri, and it never disappoints.

Best shishi you gon find in richmondtown

Yes please mor sushi.

Best sushi in town, at least of the several places Ive tried.

Akida has been my go to place for years, even before they moved to this cute spot a few years ago. The food is great, well priced - specially for the lunch combos, which will have you skipping dinner they are so generous and the staff is friendly. I often schedule meetings there because it s also quiet for conversation. Even my non-sushi guests can enjoy tempora or teriyaki. Now that I live farther out of Richmond, I never miss a chance to go when I am in town and am comfortable being there alone. Update: with the advent of Covid, I still use this great little place for pickup. The food is as good as ever and the procedures safe. It s very nice to have a healthy option for quick pickup.

Some of the best sushi Ive had. I love the aesthetic inside, quality service even when busy. Unfortunately we had to wait for a good while since the restaurant is pretty small but in the end I would say it was worth it. The mochi ice cream especially was amazing

There are so many roll options it was a little.intimidating, so we did the special combo which made the list much more manageable, and a pretty good deal too. Each combo is ~$18 for a miso soup, appetizer, classic roll, and special roll. The only thing I wasnt crazy about was the steamed dumplings

Fabulous fresh sushi! I wish they were open for Saturday lunch.

Cute little place with friendly wait staff. The sushi came out really quickly for our table, which was great. We considered doing the special, which gives the ability to choose from four different categories to make a full meal, but instead to get a variety of rolls. I really liked my roll choices a lot.i would recommend!

Fresh, delicious and good service

Very good but it s small and often crowded. Have a back up plan in mind just in case it s too busy.

Amazing food and service!!

Absolute disappointment and disastrous food. I think this is the first time I had sushi that looked as if it had canned tuna and salmon. Also, the beef teriyaki dish literally had no flavor.

Simple, high quality sushi rolls.

The fish was extremely fresh and the waitress was prompt. Couldn t ask for more!

Expensive but good.

Don t get raw

Skids is an excellent sushi place that we have been going to for Upward of 15 years. As always today the food was great the soup was hot salad was cold and the sushi was fresh. Can I ask for more¡ Oh yes you can. You can ask for the great service we got to.

Great! Quick! Accommodating! Love it! Fantastic value! Great simple date night place!

The selection and quality of sushi is phenomenal. Priced right. My son and I went for the first time and really enjoyed the friendly quick service. You have to try this place if youre a sushi lover. The atmosphere was so authentic and comfortable.

Small space with delicious fresh sushi. Decent sake selection and friendly staff.

A really nice and quaint place. Food is amazing as well as the staff.this place only sits 35 people at the most. We got there as soon as they opened for dinner. They are only open for lunch(sometimes) dinner, opens at 5pm.

This is one of my go to spots for Japanese in Richmond. The sushi is pretty good and I LOVE to order their chicken udon when I have a cold or am not feeling well. Its a great replacement for chicken noodle soup.

Best sushi and sashimi in Richmond Va!

best sushi Ive had in Richmond