Noms!: Akemi offers seriously good sushi

Columns November 27, 2013

Akemi Sushi serves a plethora of great authentic Japanese foods, including dozens of sushi, sashimi, and more. Located in what is now called the Goldstream Village, next to the Station House, it has an open design and plenty of space for big and small groups.

I have been to Akemi numerous times, and it’s always great, so it really is about time I did a review on them (spoiler: I like this place).

Akemi Sushi has several delicious dishes (photo by Patrick Hallihan/Nexus).

The staff members are always courteous and friendly and seldom leave you waiting. Upon arriving this time, we were quickly seated by the host, followed shortly by our waitress, who took our drink orders.

While waiting for our food, I took in my surroundings more than I normally would (I had a review to write, after all). Akemi has a very simple design, focusing on open space and an overarching feel of cleanliness. No real knick-knacks to speak of, with tables unadorned and spaced neatly apart. It has an almost formal feel to it. It’s a nice atmosphere and would make a great date restaurant for this reason.

We started with a bowl of edamame beans and tempura vegetables. The tempura was fresh and delicious, and the edamame beans were… edamame beans. I never quite got the fascination with these things, to be honest, and apparently it’s weird that I eat the shell and all (and, yes, I’d rather eat the shell than not). They’re basically peas in a pod!

For our mains, my friend had a chicken teriyaki box, while I had the beef teriyaki box and a Rock ‘n’ Roll sushi roll.

Both boxes came with a simple salad and dressing, rice, and the teriyaki. Both the beef and chicken were well cooked with a superbly delicious teriyaki sauce. The rice was perfect, and who doesn’t love sticky Japanese rice, anyways? I would highly recommend both teriyaki dishes.

The Rock ‘n’ Roll sushi is also one of my favourites: deep-fried California rolls with spicy mayonnaise. They are amazing, and you should go get some. Seriously.

In terms of price, I would put Akemi somewhere in the middle bracket. We each paid about $20 before tipping. The teriyaki boxes ran about $10 and my sushi roll came in at about $9.

If you’re looking to eat a lot of different types of sushi I recommend getting a group together and sharing numerous orders around the table. It’s more cost effective, and you get a great selection.