AKASHA — Restaurant in Culver City

I recently had a very uncomfortable experience at Akasha restaurant in Culver City. As a European man, I was accused of stealing my meal by the General Manager and Manager, both of whom are Black Americans. My server, a White American, and I had communicated clearly about my guest arriving and needing to move my car closer to the restaurant. However, despite never being asked for ID or a credit card, the management team chased me down and made me feel like a thief.

I was deeply offended by their unprofessional behavior and felt targeted due to my race. As a White man, I was made to feel unwelcome and judged based on my color. I recorded all interactions with the management team and would caution others to be aware of this potential bias. If you are White, you may want to reconsider dining at this establishment, as the owners and management team appear to hold racist attitudes.

In short, my experience was marred by racism, judgment, and unprofessionalism. I would not recommend Akasha to anyone who values a welcoming and inclusive dining environment.

To set the record straight, I'd like to clarify the events that transpired at Akasha restaurant. I ordered food, a cocktail, and a bottle of wine. After drinking the cocktail and starting on the wine, I asked the server to keep the food warm until my guest arrived. Shortly after, I got up and left the restaurant to move my car, which was parked nearly a block away. When confronted by the floor manager, I explained my actions. However, I feel discriminated against due to my race, as I am white. It seems that the restaurant encourages customers to drink cocktails and bottles of wine without regard for safety. I believe this incident highlights a concerning lack of responsibility and care for...

I loved the food! The squash blossom pizza was rich but delicious. The matcha margarita was a bit tart but I loved the Akasha cocktail and the rum cocktail (tiki something). Turkey burger and onion rings were incredible, as were the turkey meatballs with spaghetti. We were a bit full so we ordered a cookie each for dessert to have something smaller, and the chocolate chip tahini (something like that) cookies were wayyy better than expected! We paired it with vanilla ice cream and it was amazing. Do not skip dessert even if you just get a cookie. Prompt service from the support staff (bussers refilling water constantly and runners bringing the food as soon as it came up in the window), and Elaina provided polite yet genuine service that was perfect for the occasion, complete with helpful and informed recommendations and a complete reset between courses. My only complaints are the generic quality of the wood paneling, which does little to differentiate this restaurant from the many other similar designs, (the light fixtures were memorable and unique, though) and the confusion regarding where the entrance is. The door you come to first when parking in the parking garage is NOT the correct entrance and there is no sign indicating that. We stood awkwardly in the door way for a couple minutes before a manager said we were making him nervous just standing there, and asked if he could help with something. "Welcome, the host stand is right this way" would have been a more hospitable greeting, and signage would be helpful. Overall LOVED the...

I had been looking forward to coming to Akasha for ages, but I didn’t end up liking my experience here at all. As a brown person having grown up in SoCal, in addition to the current political climate and how it’s impacted LA, I often feel there is a subtext that certain neighborhoods and restaurants just don’t want me and my family around, and unfortunately, this was one of those places. I used to live here many years ago, back when I could afford it, but Culver City is deeply gentrified now, and things feel strange and different here. I had seen positive write-ups about this place, but I can’t say much was positive about my meal or experience here. The two individuals who brought us water and cleared our plates were lovely and kind, but everything else about coming here sucked. The server was bizarre, both cold and distant, not even allowing us to complete our orders, then suddenly overly friendly when he wanted us to leave. The orders didn’t come out right and were missing main ingredients. The food wasn’t great (this restaurant shouldn’t be offering huevos rancheros, honestly, take it off the menu, it’s an insult to the amazing Mexican cuisine in this city), and I got sick when I got home, which doesn’t happen too often, as I’m very careful with what I order at restaurants because I’m sensitive to certain ingredients. I wouldn’t ever willingly...