Akaihi Japanese Grill & Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Texas

This was our second visit (12/20/24), previous visit was a couple months ago for lunch. We were very impressed with the food and chose to take our adult son for a nice dinner tonight. Me and my son ordered a chicken sushi roll and tempura shrimp for appetizer, Bento boxes for dinner. My husband opted for the all you can eat menu. The waitress was a little “snappy” when she advised my husband his food could not be taken as leftovers or shared. We were aware of this, as that’s what he did on his lunch visit as well. Even though she was a bit harsh we kinda let the attitude roll off our back. She was pleasant after realizing her words were kinda rude. She apologized and told us we wouldn’t believe how many people get mad at her claiming she never told them. We ate as much of the food as we could and both my son and I had leftovers. My husband cleaned all his little plates. I packaged my chicken, rice, spring roll, and crab puff (all included in the bento box) up for my son to enjoy as leftovers. We were waiting for the ticket when a lady walked up to the table and said something that did not process in my brain, so I asked if she would repeat, she pointed at my box and said I couldn’t take the shrimp… I was lost and opened my box to see what shrimp she was asking about. My son had eaten all his tempura shrimp so I was sure I didn’t have any. I HATE SEAFOOD! Shrimp would be the last thing I would pack up in a to go box. I however was not grasping she was accusing me of taking my husbands shrimp! As soon as I figured out she was saying I was stealing leftovers I lost it! I asked if she was insinuating I would pay $100 for food and steal from the 4 small shrimp my husband was served. He had cleaned his plates. He ate the 4 little shrimp! She insisted even after checking my container that I stole SHRIMP! I tossed my to go on the table and told her she could keep the leftovers and throw them away. I was embarrassed in front of my husband and child over what cost the establishment maybe $3. They were also willing to lose customers over that same $3. The best part is, the waitress came up to me in the entry way and asked what was said to upset me. I pointed out the lady had accused me of stealing shrimp…She started apologizing on behalf of the OWNER! The lady was the freaking owner!!! She didn’t come to the table to see how our meal was, see if our service was good. She came over to accuse me of stealing shrimp that was destin for the trash! My advise to the owner is if you can’t figure out a way to handle situations like this, don’t offer the freaking service! She could have easily taken our waitress to the side and asked about his order. The situation was embarrassing and handled completely...

Absolutely disgusted by the way the manager treated us. We came here for my birthday night out, we called ahead to make the booking and to inform them that my husband has a shellfish allergy and will get sick even from cross contamination. Once at the restaurant we told the waitress and the chef to make sure there was no chance he would end up sick. Well my husband had already tucked into his meal when he realized there were shrimp on his plate! I asked to speak to the manager after waitress had brought back his food to the kitchen. I said what had happened to which he waved his hand in my face and said he already knew and will sub the meal. I explained that this is not something to brush off, we will have to go to hospital if he has ingested any shellfish or anything that has touched it....and its my birthday. He yelled in my face saying "I have subbed the meal and I have good insurance so don't worry about it!" I told him "for a start he didn't even get a meal for you to sub as he couldn't eat it" he yells at me "he ate plenty!" and proceeds to the storm off the kitchen and get his plate to show me how much he ate! This is when my friend stepped in and asks him to stop yelling at me, he is ruining my birthday. He starts yelling at my him, showing him the plate. He explained that it is worse that he has eaten a third of the plate because he had no idea there were shrimp hidden in his food and it could kill him! to which he replied "WELL I HAVE GOOD INSURANCE, SO HIS WIFE WILL BE HAPPY IF HE DIES BECAUSE SHE WILL BE RICH!!!" needless to say we were all mortified at this comment. Then to top it off they messed up all of the checks and had to redo them, they charged the bill for my brother in laws ticket 3 times and maxed out his card!! They did refund these but it will take a couple of days to post and they will get the money back according to the bank. The only thing I can say is the food was good, except my filet mignon was very well done, when I asked for medium rare...but still tasty. Not the way I wanted my birthday meal to go, definitely will no...

We visited for dinner tonight, and while our experience had some positive aspects, there were also significant downsides worth noting.

First and foremost, our server was wonderful and very attentive, which made for a pleasant start to our meal. I ordered the teriyaki chicken, shrimp fried rice, gyoza, and a shaggy dog roll. Most of the dishes were appropriately sized for an all-you-can-eat setting. However, the shaggy dog roll was massive! I managed to eat all the gyoza, shrimp fried rice, and teriyaki chicken, but I could only finish about half of that enormous roll.

Even though I was full, I was eager to save room for the tempura Oreos on the menu, so I called the waiter over to place the order. To my surprise, he informed us that we would incur an upcharge because the shaggy dog roll was not completely consumed. The manager then instructed me to eat three additional slices before we could leave, much like a parent telling a child to finish their meal. While I'm no stranger to all-you-can-eat establishments, I would expect some leniency when you're close to finishing, especially since there is a significant difference between sushi and a small dessert when it comes to fullness.

Additionally, we had a very antsy three-year-old who had not taken a nap, and our nine-year-old was not fond of any options on the kids' menu, adding to the stress of the situation. On top of this, we noticed that the quality of the food has declined significantly over our last few visits, and the shaggy dog roll was not made in the traditional way we’ve come to expect.

For context, we've been loyal customers of this restaurant for 15 years, and unfortunately, this visit has left a lasting impression that makes us reconsider returning.

Overall, while the service was commendable, the strict adherence to the menu's requirements and the decline in food quality diminished...