Akwa

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1413 Fifth St
Santa Monica, CA 90401

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(310) 656-9688
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Reviews
( 13 )
( 8 )
( 4 )
( 5 )
( 2 )

Best

I had sushi in most places in Santa Monica, and this was far better than all of them...The Akwa roll, and the green spicy roll were awesome, the server recommended the yellow tail...

Worst

While this is a trendy venue with beautiful decor, it's ashame that the service was horrible. I went to Akwa on a week night with a group of friends, we were a party of 8. We sat ...

Great for post-work happy hour with friends! 4/1/2008

My friend and I meet at Akwa after work all the time. The food is terrific! The staff are friendly and helpful. Amanda is the best bartender!!! The happy hour specials are fantastic. Give it a shot on a weeknight to help perk up the work week :> more
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Great California Cuisine 10/25/2007

I recently stumbled upon this restaurant in Santa Monica. I was amazed at their great outside courtyard on the second floor. I have to admit it was a little slow, but it was a Wednesday night. It really did not matter because the ambiance was great. My boyfriend and I ordered a great bottle of wine and started off with roasted peppers and burrata and calamari ceviche, both very good. We then had Lamb Chops and Chilean Sea Bass. Our server was very kind and professional and to my delight the Chef and manager came out to say hello. I would definitely go back the next time I am in Santa Monica. Pros: Great ambiance, service and food Cons: a bit slow more
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Disappointing 6/2/2007

Akwa lacked flare, great decor but the night was missing a hostess to greet you and a scene. The kitchen was very slow (took an hour and a half to get any food on the table). Food was decent but nothing amazing. The service was not good, waitress and manager tried once they knew our party wasn't getting attention but overall just not a good experience. For a saturday night with a group of friends it was a dud. more
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Best sushi in Santa Monica 5/8/2007

I had sushi in most places in Santa Monica, and this was far better than all of them...The Akwa roll, and the green spicy roll were awesome, the server recommended the yellow tail carpaccio with jalape?o on top. My girlfriend is a sake connoisseur and was impressed with the sake selection. Service was friendly but not intrusive. We highly recommend this place. Pros: Food, ambiance, service. Cons: Outside patio was a bit cold, music choice needs to be improved. more
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Pleasant Night 5/4/2007

I had dinner at Akwa Restaurant over the weekend. We arrived without reservations on Saturday night at 9pm. They seated us on the patio after a 15 minute wait. The patio was a wonderful place to dine. My guest (date) shared a crab cake and a Scallop appetizer. I had Halibut and my date had a Lamb Chops, both were excellent. We finished with Dessert and a glass of Port. I thought the service was excellent. Our waiter had the kitchen split the courses, was attentive throughout the evening, even after we payed the bill. A very nice experience. more
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Great food, great service 5/4/2007

My wife and I had dinner here last night and had the best time. The food was wonderful, outstanding taste with beautiful presentation. The service staff is delightful and knowledgeable. Pros: Food, Ambiance more
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Worst Service Ever..... 4/3/2007

While this is a trendy venue with beautiful decor, it's ashame that the service was horrible. I went to Akwa on a week night with a group of friends, we were a party of 8. We sat upstairs in the lounge area. We had the worst service imaginable. Our waitress refused to take our order and had issues with simply getting a piece of paper to write it down. She would take the order for 2 people at a time and come back. We waited for over 30 minutes to get our drinks. While the food is good, the service made the whole experience horrible. She forgot my friend's order and brought it out once the rest of us were all finished eating. There was no utensils, condiments for our sushi, and our tables were dirty even before we sat down. Pros: Beautiful venue, trendy decor. Cons: Terrible Service. more
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Great After Valentine's Day 2/20/2007

Akwa. Pros: Food, Ambiance, Service Cons: Patio can be cold at times. more
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Great! 2/20/2007

My boyfriend and I ate at Akwa for the first time on a Saturday night. The food was delicious, the service was excellent, the wine list reasonably priced and the atmosphere amazing. I have no complaints about this restaurant. I highly reccommend the Lamb Chops. They were about as good as food gets. Will definitely go back. Great place to impress a date. Pros: Atmosphere, Food, Service more
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AKWA is short for disaster! 2/19/2007

My boyfriend and I recently visited Akwa for Valentines Day. Out of the gate, each person was $65.00 including tip. They had a special three coarse menu for Valentines Day giving you up to three options for each coarse. We waited over an HOUR for our appetizer alone. After complaining to our waiter, the manager came over and apologized, offering to buy a round of drinks. A half hour later, our dinner came...only to find my boyfriend's pork loin was raw...not even cooked. Disappointed, we gave back his meal and requested a newly cooked meal. Meanwhile, we chatted up with our ""neighbor table"" and found out that they had a similar experience. In fact, we looked around and everyone was complaining. Our waiter came back to our table and said, ""Hey, I am so sorry. I don't even work here. A handful of cooks walked out today and they offered me cash to work tonight."" One upset after another, here. We spoke to the manager again and said, ""How do you expect us to pay $65.00 a plate when we've been here for over 2 and a half hours and my meal was undercooked?' We were very disappointed. Pros: Ambience Cons: Service, management more
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Great Food, Great Service 11/28/2006

I recently went to Akwa for my birthday. I was very impressed by the atmosphere, as well as the food. My server Jenny, a cute young oriental woman, was simply delightful. She was so friendly and made excellent recommendations, including the scrumptious lamb chops. The garlic shrimp appetizer was also wonderful. The desserts could have been better, but they were fine. Overall, I had a wonderful evening. I will definitely go back, hopefully before my next birthday. Pros: Ambience, Service Cons: A little loud more
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Great food, great service 11/21/2006

Recently moved to LA and been trying to find some places to hangout. Found Akwa by accident and this place blew me away. The upstairs patio is amazing, theirs nothing like it in Santa Monica. Went with a few friends on Friday, place was packed, had a really great crowd and atmosphere. Some of my friends are non sushi guys so its great that we can order both. Our server Alexis was great, really friendly and made some excellent recommendations. We went family stlye and shared apps and 4 entrees with some sushi. Everything was really tasty and presented beautifully. The desserts were ok but Alexis told us that they have a new pastry chef so can't wait to go back and try them out. After dinner it becomes a more of a lounge, they had a private party in the back but the space is so big that you can have 2 or 3 large groups and it still keeps that chilled out atmosphere. They have a great selection of cocktails and wine wasn't overpriced which meant we didn't leave until they closed. Love it, can't wait to try the new dessert menu. Pros: Atmosphere, service, food more
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Mediocre food 11/18/2006

I was really excited to try this place - it's a beautiful space, and the menu was promising. But unfortunately the food we ordered tasted very amateurish - we can cook far better at home. Also the wait staff was disorganized and kept pressuring us to order more drinks. That's so lame. When we left we were annoyed to pay what turned out to be a very high bill. Don't go. more
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Food was disappointing. 10/17/2006

Wife and I live in walking distance. We were hoping to add Akwa to our list of good neighborhood restaurants. We very much like the decor (especially the 2nd floor.) Unfortunately, because of the food, it didn't make the cut. Wife ordered the seared tuna. Tuna turned out fine but it was paired with a huge dollop of mash potatoes. I ordered the Kobe burger. It was served in a huge cut of french bread that hide the taste of the beef. The side was a large portion of ordinary fries. We were starched out by the end of the meal. Bill came out to be $110 (w/1 drink only). Were we wrong to expect more sophisticated ingredients from Akwa? Food seem more fitting to the ""bridge and tunnel"" crowd. Pros: Decor, service. Cons: Food more
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Nice Decor 9/21/2006

Overall, I enjoyed the layout and decor of this place. Nice place to have dinner on a Saturday night for a small group of four or under. It can get pricey if you are with a bigger group, especially for birthday celebrations (not recommended). Don't even think of bringing your own birthday cake because they charge a cake cutting fee (in addition to tips and taxes) on the cake. It came out to about $3.50-4.00 per slice for us. My party tried to dispute the charges because we were not aware of the fees and sort of wished our waitresses had brought this to our attention before cutting the cake. They apologized but did not waive the fees. It was not a happy celebration. What a bummer! more
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Great service and Rolls 9/7/2006

Nicely located at the heart of Santa Monica, it's a short walk way from the 3rd St Promenade. It was our first time there and we aren't very knowledgeble in sushi or asian food. However our server Alex was very attentive and informative, which made the experience much more pleasurable and less intimidating. more
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Beautiful Patio. Great Kobe Burger! 8/10/2006

Went to meet a friend after work for drinks and ended up staying here all night. I can't believe this place has been here so long and I've never heard about it. It has the best patio on the westside, and it was really happening for a tuesday night. The place was packed, and our server Jessica was awesome. Love the Zen Martini, and the Kobe Burger. I'll definitely be back! This place is such a world away from anywhere else in Santa Monica. Pros: Kobe Burger, Patio, Cocktails more
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Mediocre 8/2/2006

Bad service more
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Not much service 7/25/2006

My friend took me to Akwa for the first time and we sat in the upstairs patio section off the bar. We sat there for about 15-20min before we got up and went to the bar for a drink, even though there were servers meandering about the patio area. They all just looked at us and didn't even approach to say ""go to the bar to get a drink"" or ""would you like something"". The bartender also made my friend's peachy martini out of the wrong ingredients which made it not so tasty...the only redeaming quality was our ability to sit outside during these hot summer nights. Pros: Outdoor seating Cons: Service, bar menu more
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Great Ambience. Great Server. Average Sushi. 5/29/2006

Went here with mixed expectations but walked away very pleased. Our server Lindsey was quite possibly one of the most attentive servers I have had in years. For that reason alone I will go back again. The ambience on a clear night is great.. the patio doesn't get too cold and the bar is adjoined to the outside pation which is nice. The food was so so. I think with some more innovative sushi, this place would have all of the ingredients for a top destination. You can't have average sushi in this town with all of the other options. Kudo's again to Lindsey... thank you for a great level of service!! Pros: Outdoor Patio Seating, Lindsey, Cool Lounge Areas Cons: Food could be better more
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Menu for Akwa


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Editorial

  • In Short
    Guests choose from three scenes inside this upscale restaurant and lounge. Three large waterfalls create a soothing ambience in the downstairs red- and black-toned sushi bar. The...

  • 12/28/2006 Provided by Citysearch
Additional information
  • Payments: American Express, Master Card, Visa, Discover
  • Neighborhoods: West LA, Downtown
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