Akiba

It has taken me 4 days to really sit down and contemplate on how to write this review. Birthday weekend with the girls and was pressured to find a really great spot for a good feed and ambiance and let me tell you... Akiba did NOT disappoint! Olivia was so lovely, made sure the birthday girl was well celebrated and we were well fed and hydrated. Highly highly recommend the balmain bug bun and the miso magnum! You MUST try.... please. The only complaint I had was that we had to vacate our table for the next crew but I am sure they would have had the same amazing experience we had! Thank you Akiba for setting the standards high and for making the start of our trip so damn memorable!

My husband and I had an AMAZING dinner at Akiba. Highly recommend booking a table in advance because the restaurant was completely packed. The food was incredibly tasty, and the service was flawless. Emerald took great care of us. We've never met a more charismatic and joyful person than she is💫 It was our first time at Akiba, and we asked Emerald for recommendations, and her suggestion just hit the spot! Wonderful place with wonderful and welcoming people. Definitely will come back here! ❤️‍🔥

I dined in alone tonight and was seated at the bar. The service from every single wait person was absolutely exceptional, I couldn’t fault it. The food was absolutely something special. The agedashi tofu had the most delicious and tender batter and the broth was perfectly seasoned. The pulled beef had an amazing depth of flavour and the peanut was an excellent addition. The Balmain bug was perfectly cooked and the edamame bean seasoning was delicious. I can’t wait to return to this restaurant with my family ❤️ it was so yummy!

Had such a great experience. Cate, my server, was absolutely fantastic. She was incredibly friendly, attentive and helpful when I couldn't decide what to order. I went with the Feed Me set menu $69 and it was an amazing value. The portions were very generous and it was such a great way to try a range of dishes from the menu. The atmosphere was casual, cosy and welcoming. I would definitely return and highly recommend this place to anyone visiting Canberra.

Super cool place! Nice tapas selection! Great food quality and perfect location just off the tram line. Everything we had was really good and we were able to get a table even though we didn’t have reservations (Saturday evening). Reservations would be highly recommended. Molly & Ella give amazing service as well. It was hard to decide what items to select and they were patient with our many follow-up request. The large plate naked chicken was the best item but everything was actually amazing. The sweet & sour squid was next best then all the dumplings and buns…hard to really rank in order because everything was so good. Lastly, we loved the outside dinning area on a nice day. Drinks were not that good but I like the attempt at the cute names.

Great food! Everything we got was delicious! Molly, our server, was great! She was very friendly and attentive which made the dining experience even better. Did the course meal and it was amazing! Definitely a diverse menu and so glad for it because we got so many different things to try. There were more pics but got so hungry, didn’t end up taking the others, we just gobbled them up. So yummy!

Amazing restaurant … completely different as aspected, but an amazing experience! OLIVIA was a perfect host and sooo lovely! The guys made everything happen … also normal milk for a cappuccino! Great wine and great food! Have look to our bill! Amazing and soo different tastes! We loved it. Keep in mind: They are fast in delivering what you ordered!!!

We were recommended to come to Akiba, and WOW. It definitely exceeded our expectations! From the team, to the food and the drinks- stunning. We had the Feed Me, trying all their signature dishes, everything was so well curated and the flavours all worked so beautifully. Thank you Duane and team for looking after us! Akiba is a must go if you’re in Canberra! 😍

Had a great experience here. My friend and I came in on a busy Friday night without a booking, but the super helpful and friendly staff managed to fit us in. We ordered the 8 course meal for $49 each, because we were hungry and couldn't decide what we each wanted. For the price, that is a great amount of food! Left stuffed. We also let the waitress know we were time-pressed and she sped our orders through so that all our dishes arrived in quick succession, which we ate as fast as they came out. They were absolutely gorgeous dishes, my favourite being the short ribs - tender, melt in your mouth, with a sweet and savoury marinade that blended the whole thing together excellently. Thank you for a great meal, Akiba!

It cool I like how it's been served and it taste good The wind is amazing and cool F

Loved this place. The price fix menu was a perfect sampling and cocktails were delicious. Would definitely recommend!

This was an excellent choice while walking up and down the street in Canberra for something to eat. So glad we chose this place. Food was amazing and service was great.

I have there late nite SO I can't get chance to try there food but we got beer from tap I am really looking forward too try there delicious food. It's quite busy restaurant I wil come back to try yummy food .

The $49 feed me special is the way to go. Each plate was uniquely amazing. The flavors were a perfect blend. Each plate is put together with attention to detail and served professionally explaining each individual serving. The staff is friendly. I especially enjoyed the conversation with Parash. He was very professional and easy to talk to. Can't wait to go back!

I have two words for you. Money shot. Come here, ask for it, be amazed. Now that that's out of the way, walking in the door you get great energy. The decor is Japanese countryside meets Shibuya. Lots of wood and natural elements with neon signs, shots of Tokyo on the walls, lightning bolts, cartoon characters, thumping music, etc. Right when you walk in you're looking at the bar and you'll notice they have about 40 sake's to choose from and I've heard they have the second largest Japanese whiskey selection in all of Australia. That's a pretty big feat. I love Japanese whiskey so this was very reassuring. I've been here a couple of times and I had the pork belly buns (which I remarked are the best I've ever had. Perfectly crisped and not too much fat), the beef bun (also fantastic) and the kingfish sashimi with coconut, coriander and ginger (say what?!? gimme more!). The menu is so varied it can be hard to digest, but they have an option to pick 8 items of their favorites so sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. I'll definitely have to be back for the raw bar and to sip on some new whiskies. This place is almost always busy so be prepared, the ticket times don't really suffer for it though. You'll be busy drinking, getting lost in the atmosphere or digesting the menu thinking about what to order next to notice anyways.

Best meal I have had so far in Canberra! I came here for lunch with coworkers, and was really impressed. Good food, fast service. The group of us shared the squid (amazing!) and then ordered individual meals. I chose the pork ramen- lots of pork belly in this dish. I would highly recommend you stop in.

Akiba is probably the best food that I tried in Canberra. If you have a big enough group, you can order many several Asian tapas. Almost everything was very good except the Korean Chicken which had too much sauce.

The best restaurant in Canberra. The vibe is great and the food is incredible. A win win! When you walk into this beautiful restaurant and bar you are quickly seated. The menu is fairly simple with a lot of unique dishes. Each dish we ate was just mind blowing delicious. The fried chicken was delicious. The teriyaki Kobe steak was amazing. The tuna tartare used the insane shrimp chips for wonderful texture. And the buns were extra soft for the soft shell and pork belly. Sparkling apple soda was a hit at our table Recommendation: order everything!

A bit expensive for what you get, but really nice dumplings and buns, they'll whip up quite nice drinks and the staff have always been incredibly helpful. It's also in the perfect location in the middle of town - they're very accommodating to drop-ins. Worth a try!

Nice lunch in a casual and modern restaurant. Yum-cha style lunch as well as a lunch menu you can order from - asian fusion food. Food was quite nice.

Casual, and urban-funky, this place is an easy one to just drop into and sample some of the dumplings over good drinks. Note that the full menu is only available at set times (if you want to try the whole list of offerings). We enjoyed a couple of Japanese beers and the snacks/dumplings just after regular lunchtime, and were happy with our choices.

Great Asian fusion joint. We drove up from Melbourne and this was recommended, and it delivered. Good cocktails, nice staff, great food. My only issue is that I said in my booking that this was my first time in Canberra so could I get a table with a decent view of the place/city. They stuck us in a corner facing an alley lol. I couldn't tell if it was tongue in cheek but wtv, overall all good. I'd return.

The menu has enough choices for us to come back to explore more. The ambience is nice too. Everything I had ordered was made with care and was pretty tasty. I tried the Australian Mango beer for the first time here. I will go back for more.

Amazing venue and food. Highly recommend the Just Feed Me banquet style. The 8 dishes were amazing! The staff were very friendly and it looked like they had fun at work too which makes for a welcoming vibe. Food arrived quickly and staff checked regularly on the meal and drinks. Perfect! And delicious!

Great place in Canberra central business area. Really good staff made us feel comfortable and welcomed as soon as we turned up. Great selection of tapas style dishes with an Asian influence. Good wine selection, beers & gin as well, which was not too complicated yet interesting.

Freaking genius! After a mediocre evening at Jamie's Italian the night before my defences were up. From the moment I stepped into this cool place I was greeted with genuine customer service and seated promptly. I can't fault vibe , mood, customer service or food here at all. As I was dining solo I got to sit right up close to one of the cooking stations where they prepare some raw dishes and chicken satay skewers. The young dude was quite incredible to watch and yet again his customer service was awesome. Stand outs are definitely the soft shell crab bun and chocolate coffee tart dessert. They were to die for! I ended up having 3 dishes. It isn't the usual entree mains service here. There's loads of dishes available at reasonable prices so don't be afraid to experiment. Best dining experience on this work trip so far. Let's see where tomorrow takes me.

We are foodies - a chef and an ex chef in our party. We made a special trip here based on a designation that claimed it was 'the best restaurant in Australia ' I understand that is a lot to live up to so we tried to manage our expectations. We went for the tasting menu. The oyster fritter was inedible because the dough inside was raw. The fried rice tasted as though it was cooked in a wok that previously had burnt food in it and was not thoroughly cleaned. The rest was mediocre at best. Service was good/mediocre as well. Maybe just a bad night for this establishment, who knows.

Went to Akiba last night in a group of 7, and I was honestly amazed at the variety and complexity of flavors in the dishes we ordered and shared. - the Sole was exquisitely flavored with a sweet ctirus sauce. Light and flaky, but tons of little bones. Not an easy fish to eat, but still excellently prepared - the Salt & pepper squid was excellent. Not too salty, and with a tangy dressing - the braised short ribs were OUTSTANDING. Melt-in-your-mouth tender and the savory sauce was excellent spooned over rice - octopus was excellent - the fried chicken and the fried rice dishes were the least impressive to me - but still delicious, don't get me wrong - the rice bowls are $7 each, but can easily feed 2 people, maybe 3 light eaters. So they're a decent value. We had 3 between 7 diners, and couldn't finish all the rice In addition to our mains we also tried a couple of appetizers -- - scallop sashimi, which was offered to us by a server pushing them around on a cart. These were pricey, but DELICIOUS. Really just outstanding with a delicate texture contrasted against a very bold, surprising flavor - soup dumplings, which weren't actually all that soupy inside, but had a really delicious broth I made the mistake of ordering a sake at first, without checking the serving size. I was surprised that my $14 sake wasn't one of those small decanters, but was a single shot glass (60mL). That's just obscene for a few sips. My second drink order was a 400mL Asahi Black for $11. Much more reasonable (though still pricey). Bottom line, Akiba is expensive (with a drink and shared appetizer, be prepared to shell out ~$45+) but I have to admit the food here is just exquisite. Very bold and adventurous flavors make each dish an experience on its own, something you can try and discuss with your date / friends. Just be careful about the outrageous sake prices.

In a convenient part of the city you will find this popular restaurant. The menu reads well with its catchy categories.... we started with the 'snacks and street food'. The pork belly bun and the soft shell crab bun were first to come; the latter was delicious however the pork was only ok...quite chewy, and both buns were a little doughy. Then came the dumplings and both the prawn and chicken were good. The shiitake and water chestnut dumplings were alright however one side of the dumpling was hardened. We loved the sweet corn pancake. The big disappointment was when we got to the 'share plates'.....the josper octopus, potato and mayo dish just fell short. It was 'drowned' in mayo and all the flavours we were expecting had been overwhelmed. We ended our night on this dish. A glass of wine and a Japanese beer, and that was dinner. In and out within the hour. A couple of other observations. The fit out is underwhelming, reminding us of a mid western US steakhouse of the 80's and the service is friendly, yet haphazard. In the end there was nothing great about this experience.....a solid eating house and an OK experience.

Good but can get really loud in the evening. The seats are high off the ground so might not be family friendly. Food is pretty great but can be expensive. Drinks seem to be good and they offer still or sparkling water. Great Asian fusion dishes and some interesting dumplings

This is a vibrant and busy restaurant in the heart of the city! A must go for any age. Myself and my partner had the 'just feed me menu' and really enjoyed the dishes we were served. The bar has a good beer selection and a whisky option for the most particular drinker. I particularly liked the pork belly rolls and the edamame beans! The staff by in large are capable and able to handle groups and couples. There is occasionally confusion when it comes to what party is due for what dish, but it is not enough to detract from the experience. Good all around

Have one of everything! The food is delicious and the service is always consistent. Laksa dumplings are the bomb!

As a self acknowledged hard-to-please good food fanatic, I have to say I would travel to Canberra again just to eat here again. 'Nuff said ;)

Horrible! We booked inside then when we arrived we were told they "don't garantee inside" and put us outside. Not just that but the way they said it was so "I don't give a f***". The first drink we ordered they didn't have the main ingredient so I ordered a beer, they didn't have it, and just brought me some other bet without asking if I wanted it. Two of the dishes we ordered didn't come. The staff were rude and arrogant except one guy who was awesome and had an uncanny knowledge of whiskey. There were so many other fails I won't bother to mention but just don't go here...ever! We booked here because Yelp rated it in the top 5 in Canberra. If this is the best Canberra has, I feel sorry for Canberra.

Had a great experience dining at Akiba - the menu was exciting, the space had a funky atmosphere, and the service was friendly. We went on a sunday night, which meant if you bought a drink, you could get the left over lunch time yumcha dumplings for $1 each. We got the chicken yuzu deep fried dumpling. It was creative and delicious. Our favourite dish of the night was the miso lemon sole which had my tastebuds singing - miso, lemon butter, sweet pickled green chilli and shimeji, salty fried capers. It was genius. The shirt rib was quite fatty, but the flavours and meat were very tasty. The spicy and gingery salmon firecaker was our next favourite, followed by peking duck soup dumpling. We finished the night off by tucking into the impressive Japanese whiskey collection. If I lived in Canberra, this would be my weekly hotspot. Highly recommended!

Stopped by for dinner here. Was seated pretty quickly. The menu had a decent variety of drinks and cocktails. The menu is mostly "tapas" style where you have small sharing plates. The food was for the most part good. There were somethings I wasn't a fan of, but overall a decent place. It does get crowded and loud

Even though we're seated in what we think is the geriatric section we're still managing to have a great time. We're corrected on our incorrect pronunciation of the word 'bun' and that cuts deep. It's pronounced bun like hot dog bun, not bun as in Kim Jong Un (thanks Clare Kelly). First up is the soft shell crab bun. Delicious. Although hard to say after 2x gin cocktails and 2x glasses of Pinot Grigio. Next is the wood fired bream, a tad over powered by the soy sauce dressing, it's still great. The Chinese broccoli is also very tasty. DJ spinning tunes (even if not to our liking, play some Blur!) and some pretty great food washed down with an asahi. Life is great. X

One word. Verdita. And the food is amazing too. Loving the kingfish, and the pork buns are awesome!

Really good food, great atmosphere and really good service from down to earth, friendly staff. Would definitely go back.

What an amazing dining experience! We had the 'Just Feed Me' option, which was incredibly good value for the variety of food that we got. Each dish was delicious, although my favourite by far was the beef short rib (the beef just melted in your mouth). The service was absolutely amazing as well- massive credit to the lady who remembered our deadline to leave for the airport and paced all of our dishes accordingly. Top Canberra restaurant experience by far!

What a nice surprise that my steps led me there. On my own on a Saturday at lunch time, I decided to step in to have a rapid lunch before going to work. I enjoyed everything: place was perfect, food delicious (especially the duck dumplings) and staff really dynamic and nice. I think I will be back before leaving Canberra later this week!

It was a busy Saturday night but the staff still had enough time to take care of all their tables. Reservations are a must on weekends as a couple tried to do a walk-in after us and were told it was a 90min wait. Did the 'feed me' menu for $49 and had a bottle of the house Pinot Noir, which did not taste like house wine at all. Went with my girlfriend who is Coeliac, they were incredibly accommodating, which takes a lot of stress out of eating out for both of us. The eggplant was the best dish of the night. Would 100% come back to check it out again.

This seems to be a bar rather than an eating establishment, so it was a bit strange that there were full table settings everywhere. High top tables, and hard to know what crowd they're targeting. The food is good quality, but the pork bun barely covered my palm at $8. Tasted good, though. Maybe the shared platters are better value for money. Music is quite loud, so this is definitely not a place for a quiet meal. I imagine it's good fun if you feel like drinks with the food being secondary. Good range of spirits and cocktails, but alas the cocktail I selected was vile. Friendly, professional service. Somehow, though, it didn't add up to a win. I don't want to drink cocktails at high top tables, and the food is really up-market bar food. Maybe the beer is good.

Got the "Just feed me" 8 favourites, all excellent!, best Canberra restaurant I have been to yet.

I love this place, great food, excellent friendly service. Suggest first timers try the 'just feed me' option and then try navigating the other options on the menu. I enjoy the beef buns, fried rice, Kobe steak, sashimi options, duck dumplings.......

The $18pp lunch special was flavorful and amazing. Though you do need to ask for the lunch special menu as they do not give it to you and keep it hidden as they also don't talk about it either.

Excellent food fast service great upbeat atmosphere they have it Down and really know what they are doing. All the meat dishes were delicious, the calamari incredible and wine well priced

The food is amazing, I cannot fault it! The dumplings really should win more awards and the saute options are an amazing go-to. It can however get quite loud and boisterous later at night from about 7.30pm. I find it isn't the place to have an intimate dinner with a loved-one, but a place for friends to share good food. There were times where we had trouble getting service to our table (and that was just on a Wednesday night). But the staff are really friendly and willing to help you with you choices.

Good place, good vibe, not bad prices. The duck, and the Japanese fried chicken are two great meals. Same as the chicken wings.

Have never been disappointed !! Love the food. Great customer service. Great vibe. They also have a vegan menu so that's a missive plus.

Akiba is and excellent place to eat with really interesting meal options. It's good a great buzz atmosphere and take pride in their eccentric dishes and cocktails. It's reasonably priced. With a group order many dishes to share. Maybe their wine list could be a tad better. (Guys you need at least one Cabernet or Malbec). Only tip is it can be noisy (they often have a DJ) so it's not the place for Granma. Other than that we have worked our way through every dish on their menu and can't say much bad about any.

Looks great but the execution just wasn't there. Food and service was pretty average under the pressure of a busy night.

One of the strangest taste fusion food I have ever had. The staff are super nice and helpful. But the food...

I went to Akiba this week with high expectations (having heard lots of good things about it), which were totally met! From start to finish it was a great experience. Staff were exceptional - assisting greatly with the menu and making appropriate recommendations for the size of our group and taste preferences. Best described as Asian fusion, the menu (both food and beverage) was fresh and interesting. Food quality was excellent and prices on par for Canberra. Possibly not the place for a quiet dinner, or on your own, but an ideal place to catch up with a few friends over a tapas style meal, or even just for drinks. Loved it, will definitely come back!

Other than suffering the disappointment of being seated at the bar, my friend and I had a beautiful evening here. Great to see some Canberra local wines on the list, which complimented all of our food perfectly. Dessert was to die for, and Morgie, our waitress was absolutely divine; very friendly, attentive, and enthusiastic about serving us. Highly recommended booking your next girls night here.

Tasty menu and very fresh,loved everything about the place,professional service,great ambience.

Fun a buzzing place, service is great. Cocktails are yummy and the food is like fine dining