Akaihana

If I could rate just the Lambada Roll, that would be 5 stars. THAT is a 5 star roll, for sure! Also, I REALLY like that they have a kids meal.
My friend and her 10 year old and myself and my 5 year old came for dinner one night, with my 10 month old baby in tow. My friend said it’s their favorite sushi place.
It was dark and the interior was just ok. Bathrooms are up a kind of narrow, high stair case with a hand rail that is sticky all the way up. Not the easiest to wrangle a 5 year old, who suddenly has to potty, but they can’t help the bathroom. They can wipe down the hand rail, though.
Waitress was friendly. Took our orders. Got everything right. I can’t remember what roll my friend loves, but it was just ‘ok’ for me. They also ordered a Philadelphia Roll, which is supposed to come with smoked salmon, but they made it with fresh salmon and that wasn’t as good. We also got a Hawaii Roll-​not something on their menu, but they have an Alaska Roll (fresh salmon and avocado) and made the roll for me with Maguro, instead of the salmon. The Lambada Roll!!! Was AMAZING! I wish I could remember what was in there, but the baby was fussing and all I remember was that I loved that roll.
My 5 year old likes fish, so she got the kids meal with the salmon. Normally, they make it with teriyaki sauce, but we asked for no sauce and that’s how we got it. Lightly salted, grilled to perfection, a little piece perfect for a kid, with even enough to share with the baby. The kids meal was fantastic!
I heard they have a happy hour and hope the Lambada Roll is included. Even if it’s not, I’ve gotta go back and have that one, again!

First off, the other reviews of rats running are HILARIOUS! My mom ordered chicken teriyaki, but I got the feeling that it wasn’t chicken… hmm. My sushi was unappetizing and I think they used dried out jasmine rice for the sushi, and for die hard sushi fans –that just ain’t t right. It smelled like rotting flesh mixed with baby diapers. (Am I the only one who noticed that?!) Food was cold and the waitress was new… what an awful combination!

There were rats…
My boyfriend and I decided to try this place out since Buffalo Bills had a long wait. The food was really good, the waiters seemed nice and we were stoked until about half way through our meal i saw a huge rat run across the restaurant. I was grossed out but part of me was like eh one rat, maybe it came in through the open door. Nope.
about 5 minutes later another huge {really they were huge} rat ran by and up onto the counter where the sushi gets prepared. The sushi chef was trying to scare him off with a broom. Then either the same rat or another rat ran across and under our table, at which point I jumped out of chair and decided it was time to leave…
Needless to say we wont be back.

I’ve been to this restaurant only for lunch, because they have 50% off certain rolls until 2:30p (and I believe for happy hour as well). Restaurant size is on the smaller end, and I’ve only seen it half full at most. What struck me even from the first time coming here is their dim interior. like it’s seriously dank. Our party of 4 came in on a Saturday during a typical lunch hour and only the sushi bar side of the restaurant was lit. We had to request for the lights to be turned on for our half of the room.
We only ordered their rolls for the promotional price. The sushi chef and waitress were very friendly, but our order took quite a while to arrive– especially the baked ones. While their rolls are very filled with rice, it’s wonderful that they don’t skimp out on other ingredients either.
Alaska: a simple yet filling roll with salmon and avocado. With a promotional price of around $ 4, you def can’t go wrong with that
Dancing Queen: shrimp tempura roll topped with tuna, mayo, and tobiko. It’s a supposedly a spicy roll, but is actually pretty mild
Rainbow: typical California roll with an assortment of sashimi, nothing too extraordinary
Bay Scallop: a baked California roll with mayo, eel sauce, mini scallops, and tobiko. this is one of the better rolls we ordered, cause we ended up ordering another one
Lion King: another baked California roll topped with eel sauce, salmon and tobiko. I prefer the Bay Scallop for a baked roll though
The original prices are average $ 8 – 12 per roll, but for their quality I’d say they charge a few bucks higher than deserved. (that’s where the 50% kicks in and makes us happy campers) Overall the restaurant is quite average, and I would only come back for their promotional priced rolls for a quick sushi fix not too far from home. Oh and their tea is pretty good too.

With deep regret I will have to update my 4 star review and bump it down to a 1 star. I had an urge to nosh on some sushi on a Saturday night. We walked in around 730pm, it was completely empty and it looked like it was almost closed. We walk in and the sushi chef looks at me and saids. Oh, we are out of some items today… So then I just replied back… So are you closed? He then replies. Kinda…I guess that was our hint to leave. He did yell out to us as we were leaving, to come back Monday. Me thinks NOT! On a side note, I think the restaurant might have switched owners since my last 4 star review. Probably explains the rudeness!

This used to the place to go, but not anymore.
Come on, shredded iceberg lettuce, and you call it a salad. The Sukiyaki was a big blob of noodles. Have you heard of broth? I ordered Gyoza without the sauce, but guess what’s on the plate? That’s right sauce! My daughter wants to know what comes on a Philadelphia roll, so we order it, and it shows up with Tobiko that nobody mentioned. I like Tobiko, but not my daughter. But why is it there?
I guess the part that bothers me most is the blank look while smiling, nodding their heads, and using the «I don’t understand» card.
I guess when you go to a restaurant on a holiday, and there’s no one there, it’s a good clue that the place has gone down hill.
I work too hard for my money to blow it here.

This review is for their lunch.
The place is clean, not a large place, parking is on the street, and staffs was friendly. It’s located in downtown Hayward.
They are quick on making the sushi and dishes. =)
They’re having 50% off on certain sushi rolls!!! What a great deal! =)
*Salmon roll — The cooked salmon version. ^_​^ OMG, delicious! Well-​marinated, well-​cooked. The sushi rice tasted good too! Excellent. (⁵⁄₅)
*Asparagus Beef Maki — The asparagus is surrounded by sliced beef in teriyaki sauce. DELICIOUS! OMG, what a great combo of asparagus & beef together! Beef was well-​cooked, tender and good sauce. (⁵⁄₅)
*Tempura — Battered shrimp and veggies. I really liked the battered they use. it’s very light and not very oily. (⁴⁄₅)
*Salmon Teriyaki — The teriyaki sauce they pour on the salmon was just enough quantity. I hate it when there’s too much and then it tastes too salty! It was just right. The salmon was well-​cooked and delicious. No fishy taste! (⁵⁄₅)
*Chicken Teriyaki — This was tasteful. It’s decent. Nothing really stood out for me on this dish. (At least I didn’t find chicken feet in the dish!) (³⁄₅)

Will be following up with the restaurant, but they charged my credit card twice. Not cool. Their ginger also smelled like old water. Hayward roll is my favorite. Service was pretty bad, but only because there was one waitress during dinner time. Poor thing. She was running around the restaurant like a madwoman.

It took me a full day to write this because the food was just that bad. About the only thing that tasted fresh were the orange slices at the end of the meal.
Everything else, from the watered down tea to the leathery beef to the stale sushi to the bland miso soup to the powdery wasabi is to be avoided at all costs. Whatever was good about this place was utterly and completely gone by the time I arrived.

Wish I could give this place a negative five star. This is quite possibly the worst Japanese restaurant I’ve ever been to in my entire life. Here’s why.
Their ramen is the «instant» variety.
1) If you’re gonna make instant ramen and call it your own, don’t open the bag in front of me… please chef… please
2) Bell peppers and broccoli do not belong in Japanese ramen. Eat at other places.
3) Don’t charge people $ 13 for instant noodles.
Their rolls are bad and taste horrible. We had lion king, bay scallop, dragon roll, and another one that taste just like all the other ones.
1) They use California roll as a base for ALL rolls
2) The salmon looked orange and did not taste fresh
3) The lion king was mostly mayo
4) Did I already say they use California roll as a base for everything?
The chicken karage was embarrassingly made.
1)The chicken tasted like it lived in a jar of corn starch for a few hrs.
2) The whole thing was under cooked and under seasoned
3) value to portion ratio screams rip off ($ 5 for maybe 5 – 6 bite size pieces).
4) In retrospect, scratch 3. They were trying to help us out so we don’t have to eat as much of those pieces of crap they call chicken karages.
The server was nice, and I was pleased with her service.
All in all, the four of us ordered the 3 types of food above for over $ 50. Money not well spent at all. Stay the hell away from this scam of a place.
Recommendation to the restaurant: Learn how to cook or just shut it down.

So we walk in clueless and starving after trying to find a place in Hayward for sushi (after Ray’s closed and we wanted to try something new from Tomodachi). We were seated in a totally empty restaurant (lunch on a weekday).
The waitress tells us that they will be only serving rolls as some chef is not here to cook the rest of the menu.
The rolls come out and they are so TINY and each plate was around $ 10. It was a total ripoff. It is not even close to being worth $ 10 for TINY ass caterpillar rolls with the most thinly sliced avocado on the top that I’ve ever seen. Or maybe I am just spoiled from Ray’s generous portions.
Now I know though. Next time I will definitely play it safe and go to Tomodachi if I am really hungry for some sushi.

The sushi was delicious, but the girl who works as a server was spacey, unhelpful, and kept disappearing. The chef behind the counter was quite attentive, checking in with us and offering us more roles. But where was the waitress? We asked her for tea several times and maybe she went to go harvest the leaves herself– she was just gone after that.
If they fired that girl, I’d have given 4 or 5 stars. Haven’t seen this bad of service since LA!

First I should state that having a clean and safe environment is a priority with me. I’m not so much interested in looks and size of the restaurant as much as the service and the food itself.
On that note…
We have been enjoying Sushi from this establishment since 2000. It’s a delight. We had a favorite waitress who was an elderly Asian woman who’s English was minimal but was kind and very attentive. She has retired and we miss her dearly.
Before management changed the place was known as «Ichi Ban» Japanese for Number One. A loose translation depending on how it’s used.
With new management things are starting to get back to normal. Construction not been convinient but such are the things to improving the streets and roads. The way I see it — jobs are the upside and I just have to park one block further away. Let’s get real!
Now the food, well I just love it all but to be frank I am a Sashimi woman. And that’s what I order all the time. The fish portions are generous and it includes rice, Miso soup and salad. In fact I think all dinner meals include the above sides. I mention this because I’ve been to other Sushi restaurants where they didn’t include these sides as part of your order.
My husband will order several of their varieties of rolls or Benton box meals, which also comes with salad and Miso soup.
As for beers we love Saporo and Asahi, they are both quite delightful. In addition they have a great selection of Sakes.
The green tea is also wonderful and not bitter.
There is a large TV at the Sushi bar for sport and/​or current events.
And finally for desert you cannot pass the Fried Green Tea Ice Cream. If you’ve never had it and wonder how it’s possible, then I recommend you make your way to the Akaihana Sushi restaurant for a nice Japanese experience.

Nice Japanese restaurant. Good food, good service. Too bad a wall cuts the restaurant in half. Adequate décor.
My sashimi rice bowl was very yummy. The bowl it came in was kinda small, so it was a bit difficult to get after the sushi rice without spilling all the raw fish over the sides. It came with some seaweed salad in the corner which was a nice touch. No butterfish. Tasty green salad.
Street parking was screwed up by the construction on the street. Plenty of parking in the streets nearby.
I’d come back again.

A couple weeks prior I was at the bicycle spot on the same street. I felt really bad for all the businesses because stupid Hayward had totally ripped the sidewalk open and were taking forever to finish it. So fast-​forward to a lazy matinée day. I decided to check out this place.
The menu is fairly accommodating for different tastes. It’s your typical Japanese restaurant so if you’ve been to one you know what to expect. I had their unagi donburi. It comes with soup and salad. I scarfed those down really fast. I was quite hungry. My donburi came. I scarfed that down really fast too. I must note I was recovering from a bad cold so the food was a great relief. It was $ 13, a little bit steep but I was totally full. Yeah the quality isn’t going to blow your mind but the service was good and the atmosphere was chill. The unagi was a bit more slimey than other places I’ve had it.
The only thing that’s kinda odd is the owner who stands near the doorway. He seems nervous about his business and it feels like he’s going to hang up the «out of business» sign at any time. The interior is decent. I wouldn’t take a romantic date here but for a easy breezy lunch it’s fine.
When I left the sushi chef urged me to use the handicap button. I pressed it and it only open slightly. Funny stuff.

Good quality sushi for a very reasonable price. Uni was surprisingly very fresh and the oysters were delicious!!! Got the family boat consisting of salmon teriyaki, chicken teriyaki, 2 orders of sashimi, sushi and gyoza. Overall the food was amazing for the price. The boat + order of sake and beer + uni + dozen oysters + negihama roll = $ 70. VERY reasonable!!! I don’t live around the area but if I’m ever in town id definitely come back!!! enjoy!!!

Where’s the sushi chef here before? Eeeek, this is our regular sushi place but we may have to look for a new sushi place coz when we came back here yesterday, sushi weren’t as good as how it used to. We come here a lot but dunno if I still want to come back.

Loved, loved, loved it!
The edamame was cooked so that the beans popped right out of their salt-​coated shells. So tasty that we ordered a second helping. The Dynamite Roll was stuffed with spicy tuna and slathered with scallops drenched in a sweet and spicy sauce. The Spicy Tuna Roll was perfectly spiced and loaded with fresh tuna. My favorite roll (bad me for forgetting the name) had salmon and tuna with a delicious sauce that was soooooo good.
The service was great. Everything was fresh and delicious!
TIP: Parking can be a challenge, but park around the corner.

We visit this spot weekly. And I’m so happy this is a UPromise participating restaurant. Now I get a small percentage of my bill towards my UPromise account. AWESOME!!!
And be nice to Shawn the sushi chef and Sarah, one of the servers. They’re great!

Food — 3 stars
Dog Friendly — nope
Like Tisha K., we came here because Wakamatsu is closed on Mondays. The sign outside says «Ichiban» but my receipt says «Akaihana» so I’m not sure who they really are. Sushi was decent but not good enough to lure me away from Wakamatsu in the future.
We ordered four types of sushi rolls to share with the most interesting being the jalapeño roll. Quite good and very spicy. My one gripe is that the rolls all fell apart! They should have been made tighter and considering that there were only two tables occupied that night, they had no excuse for poor rolling.
The server kept disappearing into the back room to wash dishes (seriously) so we had to wave to get her attention for refills.
Prices are also higher than Wakamatsu by $ 2-​$ 4/roll.I can’t imagine that rent in that dumpy strip mall could justify such a difference.
I’d only come here again if I have a sushi urge again on Monday. otherwise, I’ll go down the street to Wakamatsu.