AKADI PDX — Restaurant in Portland

Second visit: Appetizers are delicious. Main server was cool and chill. Cocktails were great. We had the okra stew this time and was really disappointed. It was very slimy and lacked flavor. Tasted very "green" but could've used more herbs or salt. I love okra and have had okra stews but this was like they didn't cook out the slime before adding other stuff resulting in a thick, sticky, slimey texture. Wouldn't get the okra stew again but that's okay because the menu changes every few months (which is pretty cool) Always get the fried whole fish. Just soooo good! Our other server was kind but she would say she'd be back with plates or spoons etc and then turn around and go right back to chatting with her coworker. I had to gain her attention for her to remember the stuff she said she'd bring twice. It was my birthday dinner and needless to say the service that night was lacking but our main server was kind, friendly, and funny.

The atmosphere was okay. It was really loud at first and no music so lots of chatter and yelling (not on the establishment) but I think some background music would be nice. It was very, very hot though. I was sweating and I had on a summer dress. Other people were sweating too and even had sweat marks.

First visit: (the video doesn't have all the toppings on the meals, they're on the side and a wing was already eaten)

First, WOW the flavorsssssss. Second, amazing hostess (Eissa?) We walked in around 7:45pm on a Friday night, very busy! Reservations were even behind because of how busy it was. We were debating on eating elsewhere but decided to do togo. So happy we did! The hostess was literally so sweet and funny, kept it real with us and we appreciated that!

Nokoss wings: 9.8/10 I NEED that green sauce! I wish the ends of the wings were a tad crispier but overall it was delicious! It was 3 whole wings and very filling. I've had some darn good wings and this is top 5 for me.

Poisson frit: 8.9/10 the fish was delicate, slightly dry but possible it dried out from our 20 min drive home. We had a few bites when we got in the car and it wasn't as dry so keep that in mind. The relish/pickled veggies were so yummy and crispy, really tied everything together. Overall for a whole fish, it was crispy, juicy (before sitting) and packed flavor in the relish.

Egusi stew(lamb): 10/10 just WOW. I'd sell my left tiddy to eat that weekly for the rest of my life. Not even exaggerating. It was so tender and packed soooo much flavor. You know that moment when you first eat some darn good Indian food? Same feeling. My soul dissipated. Sometimes the stew sauce carries the dish, but this was the sauce AND lamb. If anything, the lamb had more intricate flavors. Just amazing. Please order this!

I will absolutely love to come back and sit down! We also got complimentary drinks with our order, which was unexpected and very sweet! It was a pineapple ginger lemonade (?) And a berry hibiscus. Both were equally delicious but very different in flavors!

Honestly, good food is hard to find but good service is even harder and the hostess made this...

We had the worst experience EVER at this restaurant. It started out great, and although the service was slow, the original server was nice. We were a group of three Asian women. The food was actually great, and we were enjoying the night until towards the end of the meal. Another server came to us and asked if we wanted any desserts. We told her we needed a minute, and then she said we needed to order soon because they were expecting a group of 15 people and they needed our table, and the dessert would take some time. We were like, okay, so they want us to leave soon. And then another guy came to us and said he needed to move us to a different table to make room for the 15-person party without any apology for inconvenience. It wasn't a request. It was an order. At that point, we were pretty offended. First of all, right by us, there was another party of four white people who were there before us, and they were pretty much at the end of their stay. Instead of going to them, he came to us, who were still enjoying the meal comfortably. We were never treated this way before at any restaurant. We told him we'd rather not move. We were still working on our meal and didn't want to move in the middle of eating. We asked for a manager or the owner, but he said they were not there. And then he became very annoyed and started to tell us that he had made the decision that we needed to move. I cannot express this in words, but the way he spoke to us was beyond rude and inappropriate. We were so shocked at how any customer service person could act so irrationally and rudely toward customers who should have the same rights as other customers. Obviously, it's on them for not planning the tables accordingly, and yet, he had no intention of apologizing. After a while, we decided to leave, and there he was at the door, waiting for us! He got upset because I started taking a video of him speaking at the table, and he decided to chase us OUTSIDE of the restaurant with his phone in hand and start taking our pictures, saying we were the worst customers ever and we would be banned from coming to the restaurant. We were pretty scared at that point. We refuse to go to this restaurant ever again as long as he's there. And if you decide to go there, be prepared to be moved in the middle of your meal. I hope the owner at least realizes this kind of customer treatment is...

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The food was excellent, we got the wings and the whole fried fish and loved both dishes. Unfortunately, the service wasn’t up to the food’s standards. We didn’t have a reservation, but we were told we could sit at the bar if we wanted to, which we did. The bartender clocked us as soon as we sat down, but she was clearly avoiding making eye contact with us, we didn’t have an interaction with her the entire night, which just seemed odd. We sat there confused for close to 20 min, at which point we had to flag someone down to take our order and bring us water. Once we had someone’s attention, they brought us water and cutlery, instead of grabbing the cutlery by the handles, the server touched every part that would touch the food with his bare fingers, which felt awkward and wrong. Because we were sitting at the bar, we were looking directly at the bartender. When mixing drinks, she barely made an effort to mix them the way you usually see drinks being shaken. She had several cocktail shakers that attracted some flies, because she wouldn’t wash them right after pouring a cocktail. On top of that, she would’t add the cocktail to fresh ice, she would just pour the mix with melting ice into a glass and garnish. At some point, she took her phone and sat on top of a box behind the bar and got pissed when a server began asking her questions about the drinks, after which she started swearing and ranting to herself for about 15 minutes. We witnessed drinks sitting at the bar for several minutes before being taken to a table; there was one in particular that had about a full inch of melted ice water on top, and it was taken to a customer just like that. Finally, when we asked for the check, the server charging us asked if we had made a reservation, to which we answered “no”, to then get scolded for not doing so, as if it was our fault for the shoddy service. He charged us and made sure to skip the feedback option on the payment device. We went to the restrooms before leaving, both men’s and women’s were very uncleanly and gross. Maybe they had an off night or they were short staffed, but as a first time customers, we left feeling mistreated...