AK Restaurant--CLOSED

06/30/09

are you kinding me!!!!

by wilsonfoodie at Citysearch

Went there on saturday nite with a gift certificate so the meal was free. Still left very annoyed. It was very unprofessional. I guess it was the last nite for the old crew of chef while the new crew chef were in the back so i guess there was anger between the staff. Why the staff are telling guest this i have no idea. Why they have the old kitchen staff in while the other staff there is unbelievable. Maybe to save money. I do not know. But maybe guest should told that they going a crappy service because the owner is trying to save money. Does any know the number for the business bureau? I felt that i felt i got rib off. Ran out certain item. Long wait. Angry staff. Some staff look like they soak in water from the back. I blame this on the owner. Seriously does any know how i can get my money back. Thanks. Just choking. Not Really

• Pros: nothing
• Cons: everything

03/25/09

Great comfortable hangout with good food!

by mdjani82 at Citysearch

My friends and I always have a great time here. We've been going back almost every week for their delicious food and their friendly service. It's a wonderful Venice hangout, not pretentious and comfortable.

Their fish selection changes often but love the yellowtail and we are addicted to their mac and cheese.

The service team is fun and welcoming. They always remember us and makes us feel at home. Friendly yet professional.

• Pros: Food and Service
• Cons: What are the drawbacks?

02/25/09

AK keep walking or even cross the street...

by richardstein at Citysearch

As if gangs werent enough of a reason to keep moving in Venice the latest reason to run for it is AK a pretentious high priced, poorly realized excuse for a culinary expericnce as ive had to sit through in years. After waiitng forever for an appetizer ,what comes out of the kitchen should have stayed there. A chef should probably be involved here somewhere. You cant find your waitress with a geiiger counter after an interminable wait and it goes down hill from there....the prices are exactly what youd expect so put your credit card in your other pocket and keep walking there are plenty of actual pleasant dining experiences elsewhere in Venice.

• Pros: nice street
• Cons: name it- the food the prices the wait the wait the wait

01/30/09

Wonderful neighborhood restaurant.

by mata123 at Citysearch

We've been here for brunch and dinner. For brunch, we had a nice relaxing afternoon, sipping on mimosas with the hash and croque madame. All were wonderful and we felt like we were sitting at home on the patio. At night it's a different vibe with lots of energy and a really fun place to dine. They don't have their liquor license yet but we had some really good wines. The food was exceptional. It was modern with a nice twist. The sardines to start was simply divine, my friend had the frisee salad which was delicious. And for our entree, we had skate (my favorite) and steak. Everything was fresh and delightful. Service was friendly and professional. We'll be making regular visits.

• Pros: atmosphere, food, and service

01/21/09

cool vibe!

by beford at Citysearch

Had dinner on saturday and had a great time. It was a little noisy when the restaurant gets filled up but we enjoyed it. I can see how some might not enjoy the noise. We order a cocktail but was inform that they will receive the liquor license in a couple of weeks so we order wine which they have a big selection by the glass to pick from so we were able to try different wines without committing to a bottle which was nice. The sardines on the menu was unique and tasty. The lamb was cooked perfect and delicious. Our server was attentive and very friendly. She made us comfortable throughout the dinner. Portion can be a little bigger. Beside that it was a fab experience.

• Pros: Service and big selection of wine the glass!!!
• Cons: little porttion.

01/17/09

Ridiculous waste of time and money

by turkeydan at Citysearch

It's a fancy place with good decor, a nice bar and some decent enough waiting staff.

However, the term 'style over content' was probably coined with this restaurant in mind.

An international bistro menu with a Scandinavian twist........ More like a collection of over-developed, badly conceived and mostly horrible dishes. Sad looking sides were served luke warm in little metal pans, alongside meat that was both dry and greasy at the same time. This chef can probably cook very well but has obviously got far too carried away with designing dishes that sound fancy but have too much going on. The result sounds as ridiculous on the menu as it looks on the plate. Awful.

01/13/09

is this place serious????!!!!!!

by winey1 at Citysearch

went there for brunch on Sunday because we wanted to try something new. I like the decor, great outdoor space but anything positive I have to say ends there. I think the guy that came up to our table first was the manager or something but whoever he was he had NO clue about the menu. I asked him a question about the wine list and he was completely making stuff up. What he said made no sense and then he walked away. Next guy I think was our waiter and he had no idea about anything either. His excuse, "we just started serving brunch"...THIS WAS A QUESTION ABOUT THE WINE LIST!!!!!! We ordered and you have a choice of one side with the eggs benedict...he never asked us, we had to tell him and then he didn't know what the choices were. Our side of grilled tomatoes came with a nice long hair on the plate....there was a nice young waitress that ended up helping us and the busboys were great but everything else was a joke. And the prices!!!!! Are you kidding me???? It was $60 for eggs benedict, 3 pancakes and 2 bellinis. I wouldn't mind paying that if it's worth it but it sorely WAS NOT!!! This place is never going to last in this economy. Oh and the wine list prices are WAY out of hand.

• Pros: nice front patio
• Cons: ridiculous prices, bad food, clueless waitstaff

01/07/09

great time!!!!

by levelhead at Citysearch

We were there last night. We were not sure after reading the last two reviews but we gave it a try. We had a great meal. The food was perfect. We had the frisee with the fried poach egg. Killer. The meatballs was to die for. There could have of been a couple more. The short ribs was tasty. It was a beautiful space with all the glass. The service was great. Very friendly and attentive service. People seem to care if we had a great time.

• Pros: Service oriented
• Cons: more meatballs. they were delicious.

01/05/09

surprised how good our food was!

by stacyjanecobb at Citysearch

had the fixed menu on new years eve for 125 per person with no wine pairing, very odd. the atmosphere was good, nothing extraordinary - ugly wall art and chairs that leaned too far back for eating. that said, based on other reviews we were blown away by how good our food was. I operate 7 restaurants and bars in LA and I'm pretty picky about food.

the service on the otherhand was awful - the waiter seemed to be totally overwhelmed and never offered us a cocktail or glass of wine and it was NEW YEARS EVE - we were drinking! a guest in my party had to walk down stairs 3 seperate times to order drinks from the bar. the waiter lost out on a bigger tip bc he was unavailable. the manager was ok, offered us a glass of champagne when we were over-charged by 100.00. at that point i was in a bad mood and wasnt very receptive, but she did try. All that said i would go back for the food it was really good...that night.

• Pros: food
• Cons: service

12/13/08

Rubbish food, great service

by cliorouge at Citysearch

Our fourth wedding anniversary was marred by a visit to AK where the hype and decor out match anything that we ate. The food was utterly flavorless; as starters the rillettes of duck might as well have been rillettes of hamster as it tasted of nothing, the artichokes were watery. The main course cod was tepid on arrival but not bad however the schnitzel was huge and as dry and tasteless as the apocryphal Ghandi?s flip flop, served with miserably dull mac and cheese. I have tasted better chicken fried steak disguised as schnitzel at Auggie?s Diner on Redwood Rd in Salt Lake City for $4.99. We send it back for a burger which came with cold fries. The chocolate ganache for desert had a strange aftertaste and we sent back our expressos as they were bitter and watery. The service was splendid. AK has only been open for 3 weeks but is is hard to believe that such an experienced kitchen would allow food to be served without the slightest of seasonings. We?ll give it another go in a month but for now, while they are teething, avoid at all costs.

• Pros: Near our house, great service
• Cons: Bad, tasteless food