04/01/08

Great for post-work happy hour with friends!

by happybunny77

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 :>

10/25/07

Great California Cuisine

by vischer

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

06/03/07

Disappointing

by topsail

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.

05/08/07

Best sushi in Santa Monica

by naughtyeater

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.

05/04/07

Pleasant Night

by haleywinston

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.

05/04/07

Great food, great service

by 86d

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

04/03/07

Worst Service Ever.....

by naynasu

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.

02/20/07

Great After Valentine's Day

by brielarson

Akwa.

We were welcomed by a very friendly hostess that escorted us to the second level, in the patio. We have ordered sushi for apps. That was the freshest we ever had, my boyfriend ordered me a very nice cocktail, with a fresh orchid on top, (never seen that before) was excellent. For dinner, I had the sea bass and my boyfriend, the lamb chops; were wonderful. The wine list fairly priced, with an extensive worldwide selection. The service was friendly and attentive but not intrusive. On the way out, the manager asked us how was everything and also told us to come for Wednesday Happy Hour, and if we seat downstairs, we can get half off the sushi menu. We can't wait to go back

• Pros: Food, Ambiance, Service
• Cons: Patio can be cold at times.

02/20/07

Great!

by verons

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

02/19/07

AKWA is short for disaster!

by mselsa

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