Sake Sushi Bar and Lounge Glendale

Disgusting!
As a previous Unilocaler stated… sushi+Glendale=NO! Not only was the fish not fresh and served warm, it tasted and smelled awful. The dishes were filthy with some clear sticky substance. My husband literally put his thumb on the dish and it stuck like glue. Then our first order of sushi was served on a dirty dish. When we made the server aware, he apologized and reassured us we would get a new order. Another server came back with the same sushi just on another dish. The booth we were seated in was absolutely filthy. The seats were grungy and covered with white spots… gross. Does management or the employees not see this? We ended up just leaving but have to say they were nice enough to just close out our bill… no charge. Their sister restaurant Sake in Montrose far surpasses this place. Food and service is way better. If you are looking to have a bite to eat in Glendale, I do not recommend this place. 1 star is too much to give to this place!

Absolutely loveee this place! My favorite place for sushi! Tokyo Sunset and Jalapeño Salmon is the best! And also amazing Service specially Chris! LOVE LOVE LOVE!

Amazing! Delicious! Fabulous! Always great service and fresh, refreshing rolls! Salmon jalapeño is our favorite! The Great White was fresh as always! Our server Chris is awesome: attentive, personable, friendly, funny and really takes time to get to know the customers in a professional and respectful way without being too pushy. Strongly recommend!

After an eventful evening a few friends and I decided to stop by for some sushi, and given the very high ratings it seemed like the perfect spot!
The interior is really nice, modern, clean, sheik, a big ass dragon on the wall
It is also dark and intimate almost so that was nice
The menu is a good size, plenty of options of appetizers, meals and sushi
After scouring the menu is settled upon two rolls I thought would be exceptional. but they were not
Albacore volcano: I think this was the name, it is the first albacore roll on the first page of sushi rolls. I don’t remember the description either but it was basically albacore and avocado on top, crispy onions, and California roll inside.
This wasn’t up to my expectations, it should have been a different better roll inside and more albacore throughout because it was an «explosion» of albacore
Popcorn lobster roll: this was also a disappointment because again, all they used was a California roll. it is a HUGE roll though, probably 10 pieces of California roll and 30 or so pieces of fried Langostine lobster. The lobster was fried to a golden brown crispy on the outside, soft on the inside
There were two sauces a creamy spicy and thin darker sauce I think eel sauce
Again, this roll would have been much better if the roll itself was up to par with the lobster
Ah well, maybe we will try it again maybe not

Been here like three times now and it has all been very very tasty!
The atmosphere is very chill and I’ve seen it busy with people out on a girls night or date night.
They offer an extensive menu with appetizers, salads, sashimi, hand rolls, specialty rolls, and baked rolls.
I’ve recently become bossed with salmon so the salmon hand roll totally hit the spot! Salmon, scallions, and rice rolled up in yummy seaweed.
So some items I’ve enjoyed are the edamame, spicy tuna over crispy rice, montrose roll, Tokyo sunset roll, and baked scallop California roll (BSCR)
Spicy tuna over crispy rice is true to it’s name and served with some sweet sauce.
Montrose roll has spicy tuna, salmon, avocado.
Tokyo sunset is a baked roll with baby langostino on top of the California rolls. The baby langostino is so freakin good and they pile it on.
BSCR is like the Tokyo sunset roll expect with baby scallops.
Like I said, everything has been really tasty and I shall be back.
You an park in the structure right behind the restaurant. It’s free for the first 90mins and then a dollar every 30mins
Sake to me!

Sashimi salad is to DIE for. So ridiculously good and fresh! I’ve been coming here since they opened a couple years ago, it’s convenient and their sushi rolls are always on par. Giving them 4 stars because their service is really inconsistent. One day I get a very attentive waiter/​waitress and the next day they’ll be totally awkward & oblivious… Luckily their food makes up for it.

Hi Akuma,
Just want to say thank You for great food and service.
I like to order food to go, but I really like you interior design inside. Need to fix it and come for a dinner one day.
You have very friendly staff.
Your nice and very friendly hostess Nur is very knowledgeable about your menu, She can answer to all of my questions about it. By the way: Hi Nur! :))
Thank You and keep your work up!

I got the fried calamari roll and the baked mussels. For the roll, there was fried calamari in the roll as well as rings of calamari placed on top. It was like having a roll and a mini appetizer in one. The baked mussels were delicious with a sweet sauce.

Sushi and rolls in Glendale, not bad at all. This is a place to order nigiri sushi and rolls, the combinations are sloppy and not that great. Some of the sashimi dishes were quite good, and some others could use some tightening up. The quality of the fish and portion sizes are good and priced pretty reasonably.
Boomy loud room with music blasting, kind of a turnoff, but the service is friendly and if you’re looking for sushi and/​or rolls in this part of town check ‘em out.

This place gives weight to the old adage: sushi + Glendale = no.
Service was bad, fish was not fresh and luke warm, pitcher of beer was flat, salad was mushy and drenched in thousand island slop, sake was cheep and sweet. We sent a dish back because it was covered in onions, and even though I’m allergic to onions, and they said they were going to charge us for it anyways. Hoping I don’t wake up in the night with food poisoning. Stay clear.

Been to Akuma three times now. This is one of the better sushi places in Glendale. Pretty big space with an expansive menu, especially a large variety of rolls. We’ve tried the popcorn lobster, the shocker (just ok), hogwarts special (the crunch on top puts this dish together), Hawaiian poke sashimi (very fresh), jalapeño salmon roll (wife’s favorite). Their tempura is some of the best I’ve ever had — the cook and crunch on everything is perfect.
Free parking in the structure at back of the restaurant. Will be coming back to try other items on their menu.

Overall, it was okay. This place is more like a roll house than a sushi restaurant.
The rice wasn’t cooked well and rolls were falling apart. Also it seemed there wasn’t enough communication between the kitchen and the hall because our waitress informed us that after awaiting for over 15 mins, one of the other waitresses took our food to some other table.
I’m a avid sushi lover and came here because of the high Unilocal review however I’d not recommend this place to friends for sushi! If you’re looking for a fast Americanized sushi rolls this place is for you. Giving 3 stars because they took out that dish from the bill.

Love this place!
Friendly service, great sushi, and free parking!
Elite Approved.

Have been to this place only twice.
First time I came with a larger group (around 8 people) and the food and the service was really good. Thats what made me come back the second time.
Second time came with one person because we were in the area. It was a weekday, so they weren’t busy.
The food was the same, it was good.
I really liked the green goblet ! It’s my favorite and a must try.
However this second time, the service was really poor.
I would have to look for our waiter for a long time to ask something. Not sure why that night our server «forgot» about our table.
They have decent sushi, the price is a little too high for the quality. I guess it has to do with having a nice ambiance at the restaurant.

This place is really just OK. In comparison to Sake in Montrose, who are the same owners, Sake beats Akuma hands down. I ordered pretty much the same dishes as I’ve ordered at Sake which were the Tofu steak and tender greens. The tofu steaks were sliced thicker and was bready. The tender greens were stuffed similar to Sake but tasted fishy.
The waiters/​waitresses were nice, but lacked umph in social skills. We had to call them out several times for things, rather than them coming around asking if we needed anything.
The place is kind of a drab. I may just stick with Sake!

I’m so glad I stopped in here for lunch today. I live around the corner and walk past here often, but I truly didn’t know it was a sushi restaurant. Thanks to a Unilocal search for ramen, this gem showed up in the list.
The staff is friendly. The music is upbeat. Backstreet Boys, Annie Lenox, 90’s Pop hits. The menu is extensive and they give you complimentary edamame with your lunch meal.
I ordered the Lobster Mania because it just sounded so good and I thought it would compliment the Hakitsuru Nigori Sake that I ordered. The roll was packed with langoustine lobster. They didn’t skimp. The sauce was sweet, like a watered down Teriyaki, but good. The roll arrived warm from the baked lobsters and the rice was fresh. I would definitely eat this again.
I will return and try Pebbles next. That looks yummy too.

Decent sushi. Decent lunch specials.
I dropped in for lunch and was able to order a pretty nice lunch special which included California Roll and a selection of 5 kinds of fish (nigiri). The lunch special came with miso soup and salad. Good value for the price.
The fish was pretty fresh. Also ordered a Spider Roll (soft-​shell crab). I had to take some of the food home as it was too much. Free parking in the back or metered parking in the front.

This sushi joint is definitely one of the better sushi joints out there. There portions are huge and the the fish quality isn’t terrible, but some of their rolls are either pre-​made or the rice was really old and crunchy…
–Montrose Roll– ⁴⁄₅: this one was delicious and light. The soy mustard sauce made it quite refreshing
–Omega 3 Roll– ⁴⁄₅: We had taken out the gobo as our group of friends aren’t the biggest fans of gobo. this has a similar taste to the montrose roll with the same soy mustard sauce, but the lemon juice sealed the deal.
–Popcorn Lobster Roll– ³⁄₅: The crunchy batter was too thick for my taste. I wish they had served it lighter, like a tempura batter instead. There were actually multiple lobster pieces, which I was quite impressed with.
–Blooming Onion Roll– ²⁄₅: Can we talk about how hard the rice was on the spicy tuna roll? It had to be definitely pre-​made or the rice was a couple days old… I don’t even know where to begin with this one.
–This is How «WE» Roll– 3.5÷5: I am usually not a huge fan of eel sauce, but I tried it out here and it wasn’t terrible. Apparently, they make their own eel sauce, so I was quite impressed with the sauce. The eel pieces were a little bit thin for my liking; this roll was simple.

With a nice and sleek exterior, Akuma has the makings of a good restaurant but the food is subpar.
To echo some of the comments of other reviewers, Akuma is overrated. Categorized as a sushi bar with a high Unilocal star rating, I was expecting some amazing sushi but instead was disappointed. While I could see the bar and the restaurant’s modern look being a cool, trendy get together spot, if you are a sushi aficionado, then Akuma is not the place for you.
Here is what I ordered:
Sashimi Salad: While the portions were big, the quality of the sashimi used was suspect. I have had my fair share of sashimi salads and I enjoy that even though the sashimi pieces are small, they were left unmarinated to allow the eater to enjoy the fish’s texture and taste. However, here they had smothered it in a sesame oil based sauce that was okay but left me wondering why? On top of that they included a dressing that was incredibly sweet that made me felt like these things were meant to mask something about the quality of the fish used.
OMG Roll: Unfortunately, a one note roll that was NOT OMG good. at all. The salmon and albacore tempura kind of blended together, but the meat tasted dry. There was small pieces of avocado which was probably meant to give a creaminess but was definitely lacking. Plus, the rice was a little mushy and bitter tasting. This hot mess was given with a mustard sauce that admittedly had an interesting kick to it, but sadly was not enough to save this lackluster roll.
In terms of service, I found it uneven. Although the host staff was attentive at cleaning and making sure we got our orders in, there was an incident where they actually forgot the OMG Roll order. They tried to rush it which could have explained the poor quality of what I had. After the whole mess and I was trying to pay the bill, it felt like they were avoiding coming around our table.
For parking, there is some on the street as well as a validated parking garage nearby. The place is also walking distance from the Glendale Galleria which offers free parking.
Overall, I would say that while not the worst sushi experience, Akuma is definitely not what it looks to be.

Don’t be fooled by its high rating! Despite the astounding number of 5-​star reviews, Akuma Restaurant is just another generic Japanese restaurant that happens to be located steps away from the Glendale Galleria and the Americana.
The restaurant features a club-​like vibe that definitely seems geared towards the younger, trendy crowd. Everything was rather dark due to the soft lighting, lack of windows, and the black and red walls/​ceilings. There’s an unremarkable bar that marks the halfway point between the front and back of the huge restaurant, which emphasizes the restaurant’s odd organization — booths along one wall, endless rows of tables, and a sushi bar at the farthest edge of the restaurant. Had the restaurant blaring music over its sound system, then I would have believed that I had mistakenly stumbled into a lounge.
The food here definitely doesn’t exude authenticity, as I would describe the majority of the items on the menu as Asian Fusion. While they do have «traditional» entrees (e.g. tempura, teriyaki, udon) found at most mainstream Japanese restaurants, many of these items reflect the blurring of Asian cuisines. You’ll find deep fried shumai with entrées and kalbi atop salads consisting of fried sweet potato strings. Although I wasn’t particularly thrilled by anything on the menu, I ended up ordering the following:
SALMON TERIYAKI
I normally avoid teriyaki-​based items at restaurants since the quality of meat/​seafood is usually hidden by the overpowering teriyaki sauce, but I wanted something more substantial than a salad that wasn’t overly fried. When I received my entrée, I was surprised by the size of the plate, but sadly, the majority of the plate was occupied with a salad with a sweet dressing. That, coupled with the sweetness of the teriyaki sauce, was overkill. There was one small scoop of rice that had shredded nori and sesame seeds, which gave the rice a nice twist. The fish itself was very thin and overcooked. Like most farmed Atlantic Salmon, the fish itself had an off-​putting taste that was masked by the sauce. The gyoza and shumai were lightly fried, but mostly forgettable. Not recommended.
OMG ROLL
Receiving this item was an ordeal, as our order was not fulfilled until we finished the rest of our entrees. Because the order wasn’t even started until after we finished our entrees, we asked the waitress to cancel it, but the restaurant scrambled to assemble it. Fortunately, the staff were kind enough to remove it from our bill and allowed us to try the hastily made /​poorly presented roll. I’m thankful that we didn’t have to pay for this, as the roll had two overpowering flavors — the fried coating of the salmon and albacore tempura and the weird mustard dressing that was drizzled over the roll. The fish were largely indistinguishable with the fried coating. The mustard dressing gave everything a bitter taste, including the normally sweet sushi rice. And, the measly piece of avocado wasn’t ripe. Not recommended.
As mentioned above, the service here was iffy. While I appreciated that the staff kindly removed the late item from our bill, I was nevertheless displeased with their inability to serve food in a timely manner, especially when the restaurant was mostly empty. That being said, our water glasses were always full.
The restaurant offers validation for parking in the back garage. There is pay-​by-​space parking on the street in front of the restaurant. Or, you can walk several blocks from Glendale Galleria, which has free parking.
Akuma is definitely overrated, and I would recommend looking for other sushi restaurants if you’re looking for quality food.