Akebono — Restaurant in Sacramento

I was disgusted with the service here. There were 5 of us. And we (my family of 4 and a sweet extended family member). The food was less than mediocre! Other than the Tempura Vegetables which were good and the Miso Soup and the side salad... the Queens Sushi roll tasted like rotten fish; the fish that was in the center looked bad and tasted worse. So my son and grandson could not eat it. The Yakisoba looked and tasted like it was leftover and reheated. We didn't eat that either. The appetizer was actually good. Agedashi Tofu it was. Good flavor and edible! The really disgusting part was the service. The server was bringing food to the table and standing at one side of the table and reaching across is and handing the plate into the hands of someone at the opposite side of the table right over our food instead of walking around and seeing it down. Then she walked over and handled a dirty bus cart without gloves and then picked up food and brought it to the table. Her name was Uyanga. At one point they were clearing a table off and the people had left a Bottle of Apple Juice that they didn't drink. The guy clearing the table handed the bottle to the server and she took it to the kitchen. Not a good practice. Bottom line is I would not recommend this place at all. The prices are high and the quality is low. Not one time did anyone come to the table to take away anything or provide anything. We had no napkins. 2 kids and no flatware. I had to flag someone down to get a spoon for my granddaughters soup. I waved someone down for napkins. There are 5 purple at the table and he brought 3 napkins. This is the very first time I refused to leave a top. $92.11 check. I would normative leave at least 20... but not this time. You'll see...

I decided to try this place after seeing so many positive reviews and high ratings on Google. When I arrived, I was greeted at the door, and the restaurant seemed large with different seating sections. However, it appeared that smaller parties (under 5–6 people) were seated in the front area.

The main reason I gave 3 stars is the service. It took more than 8 minutes before anyone came to take my drink order, and when I finally ordered a drink with my sushi, it was another 20 minutes before the food arrived (the restaurant wasn’t busy). During that time, I noticed a group of four elderly guests who came in after me and left angrily because no one attended to them. That speaks to how inattentive the service was.

I also felt bad for the two servers working the front—they looked exhausted, which I believe is due to understaffing and poor management. No one ever came by to ask if I needed anything or to check if my food was okay.

The food itself was just average compared to other sushi places I’ve tried. One roll that was supposed to be served hot was only lukewarm, making me wonder if it had been sitting out.

The bathroom was clean, but I was disappointed there were no touchless faucets or paper towels, and the door opened inward, forcing me to touch the doorknob after washing my hands. On the positive side, free parking was available in front of the restaurant.

Overall, this place has potential, but they really need to improve staffing and...

Very, very good ramen - my friend said his ramen was just OK, with very weak broth, but my spicy chicken ramen was first-rate. Lots of chicken, mushrooms, a great sweet-spicy sauce. Their noodles are very good, second only to Shoki Ramen House in Curtis Park.

The service was pretty spotty - had to ask for plates for our appetizer, took a long time for the order to be taken - but I think they were just understaffed, as the young folks working there seemed very very busy. Everyone was super nice and the servings are very large. I didn't try their sushi, but I would definitely go back for the ramen.

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I went back with the wife, she ordered the deluxe chirashi, which was not so great. The quality of fish was fine, but the serving was really small for what she paid - for $26 you want to be full, at least, and this was the same size as the regular chirashi one table over from us. They claimed we got an "order" of amaebi with it, but 1 tail / 1 head does not an order make.

I think this place is a bit disappointing for sushi. I'd drop it down a star, but the ramen is so good that it's worth the 4/5 I gave it earlier. Staff was even nicer this time.

Go here for the ramen, maybe the rolls, but the chirashi is overpriced. The nigiri seems good though. Lots of selection, very fresh. However, they do serve Bluefin and a few other fish that Seafood Watch and other groups say are super threatened, and I'd like to see them take those things...