AKAMI sushi & grill — Restaurant in Cumming

Bad food and worse service.

My wife and I visited AKAMI sushi & grill on Friday evening for dinner. We were seated immediately upon arrival.

We began with the scallop katsu and crab wontons, which arrived promptly. While both appetizers were fully cooked, the portion sizes on each plate varied significantly. This led to inconsistent doneness—smaller pieces were noticeably overcooked while larger ones were closer to ideal. The variation affected the overall texture and enjoyment of each bite.

For dinner, my wife ordered the pineapple fried rice and I ordered the Tonkatsu. Her dish was served first and was delicious—well-balanced and flavorful. My entrée arrived several minutes later and was unfortunately overcooked. The breading was extremely hard, and the pork was dry and tough. After three bites, I informed our server that I wouldn’t be able to eat it.

The waitress was punctual in checking on our table, but her response to my concern was unusual. She used my silverware to pull apart the pork herself, suggesting it was prepared correctly. I’ve had Tonkatsu many times before, and this was clearly overdone. She took the dish away, and the manager later explained that the kitchen had fried the pork once, found it undercooked, and then fried it again. They offered to remake the dish, but I declined and ordered sushi instead.

After placing the sushi order, there was a significant delay. The waitress returned three separate times to apologize for how long it was taking. On her second visit, she offered to cancel the order, but I declined because I still wanted to try the sushi. On her third visit, she again offered to cancel, and this time I agreed. I asked for the bill and a box for my wife’s remaining pineapple fried rice.

However, on her next visit, she brought the sushi I had canceled—without the bill or the box. At this point, I was done trying to clarify and simply asked again for the bill and box, then began eating the sushi. Unfortunately, the sushi was not good; both the texture and flavor were off. It wasn’t so bad that I felt the need to send it back, but overall it didn’t reflect the quality I’d hoped for.

The waitress returned again without the bill or box, but instead asked if I’d like to sign up for a rewards card. I declined, but she insisted I didn’t understand and re-pitched the card. I agreed just to move things along. I placed my payment card on the table in anticipation of receiving the bill, but she took the card without showing me the total.

When she returned with the bill and the rewards card, she still hadn’t brought the box. My wife eventually got up to retrieve the box from the bar, where the waitress had left it. As my wife approached, the waitress put her arm in front of the box and said, “I’ll bring it to you.” My wife simply took the box and said, “We’re good.”

I signed the check, boxed the pineapple fried rice, and left the rewards card...

For a restaurant that just opened, it was fair decent. I had the dragon roll (eel and avocado), which was very good. It wasn’t rolled together the best and kind of fell apart when it was picked up, but the flavor was excellent. I think the sushi assembly is something that can improve with practice/experience. My husband had the unagi don, which he said had good flavor but not particularly filling. This can be frustrating for the high price. I also had the tempura udon. It said pretty clearly on their menu that it was a noddle soup but it was just udon noodles with veggies and tempura (no broth or soup to speak of). This was very bland and very much a disappointment. The texture of the noodles was good, at least. The service was surprisingly slow for us going before the dinner rush. There were lots of staff just kind of standing around. It seemed like they didn’t really have fire under them to work hard. This could be because it was slow. But it still took a long time just to get two glasses of water. So make of that what you will. Overall, I think this place has potential. I will revisit in a few months and see how it...

Our family of 6 came here last minute on Sunday and all agreed this place is a 10/10 and we WILL be back! Our waitress, Eva, was possibly the best waitress I have ever met. She was not only kind and polite, but was quick with service and refills, very knowledgeable on the menu. The food was incredible - I’ve eaten a lot of sushi over the years, but this us the best I have ever had. The quality of everything was superb. We ordered the Calamari, Fried Gyoza, Shrimp Shumai, and Crab Wontons as our appetizers and wre blown away by all of them! I ordered the Angry Dragon roll and Chicken Katsu for my Entree and enjoyed every bite. The inside if the restaurant is beautifully decorated and impeccably clean. If you are local to the area or even just passing through- you are missing out if you don’t go here!!! We are already trying to plan when we can come back! Thank you to Eva and the chefs for an incredible Sunday...