Ako — Restaurant in New York

We gave this place a try and we did not regret it. All the other sushi restaurants in Williamsburgs are either hard to reserve, very expensive, require $50-75 no show fee deposit or closed on Mondays. We reserved for 7:30pm on a Monday night and upon arriving there were plenty of seats. The host asked us if we would like to sit in the back outdoor area and we said yes. It is beautifully decorated in the back, with lights, a mural, but you will be hearing the zapping of mosquitos and getting a few bites! We ordered a tray of sushi to share, some speciality rolls, an udon dish, gyu-don rice dish, and purple yam fried and karage. The appetizers came promptly and they were so good, the chicken was hot and fresh and came with sauce and a dipping salt. The purple yam fries were very interesting and I think it came with a matcha sauce. These two appetizers are really good and a must try. The sushi came and it was the typical rolls, not the best sushi quality but that is okay because it was still good and presentable, and this isn’t a $$$$ type of restaurant. The udon was good and so was the gyu-don beef over rice. We also ordered beers and cocktails which were good. Our party enjoyed our time here, it was quiet, soft, ambient, the food was good, and it is a great place to catch up with friends...

I was looking for a heated outdoor sushi place and again pops up Ako. I met with 2 of my friends who were in Manhattan and asked them to come to Williamsburg for better parking and food. They got to Ako before me. I found plenty of metered parking on the street and when I entered, all the chairs inside were stacked up. No indoor dining. Went all the way to the back and all sections back there were sectioned off. They do a good job separating everyone who wants to dine there. Since I have been here before, I ordered the Chicken Karaage....this is so fantastic. We loved it so much, we ordered 3 throughout the time we spent. Also had the same male waiter as I did last time. He takes care of us. He seemed to smile when we asked to do the Sake Bomb! We had 3 of those also!! My buddy ordered the big bowl of meat soup with noodles, and it hit the spot. They also give you a bottle of powdered hot pepper so you can add your own heat. The pan seared gyoza also hit the spot. The place started filling up but because of the dividers, its not easy to see the other people there. Its a good thing due to this covid. Ako is a good place to go with good prices and a friendly staff. I would return here...

Please give yourself a favor and avoid this very restaurant! The front house is a lady who is extremely disrespectful. She talks in a way that she owns you and she makes sure your day is completely ruined. When I asked her name to make a direct complaint to the manager her colleague stepped in and tried to kick me out. Then her husband came to apologize on behalf of her, but she stepped in an attacking mode threatening me and talking in Japanese (most likely insulting me) Later they all changed the dynamic to flip the blame on me stating that I was not so called Nice. That being said I was insulted by her even before I opened my mouth! You and I don’t have any experience to insult people, behave out of manner and then lie about it, but they do! They will win! There are a lot of restaurants in Bedford street. You deserve to be treated like a human in any of them. Make sure to skip this one. I hope the manager read the comments here and make a necessary...