Akiro has a location in Barcelona, Madrid, and now Chicago. When the restaurant hit the map here, I was eager to try it from the moment they opened. Akiro is a nikkei hand roll bar that combines Japanese and Peruvian flavors. The restaurant is much larger than I expected, with 4 different bars to sit at and watch the hand rolls being made. Although there's plenty of seating bar, I highly recommend making a reservation. This is a great date night spot or perfect for two since it's all bar seating!
Overall I thought the hand roll bar was really good. I think the key part of having a successful hand roll bar is the nori. The nori should be crispy and be paired with fresh fish, and Akiro definitely delivered on this. Here is everything we ordered:
Pisco Sour and Matcha Sour: starting off strong with the cocktails. I loved my Pisco Sour which is classic South American cocktail. It's bright, citrusy, and really refreshing. The Matcha Sour was very good too, but the Pisco Sour was my favorite.
Ushio-Miso Soup: it was freezing the night we went in, and anytime its cold I'm ordering the miso soup. I loved this spin on the miso soup with hamachi in it. This didn't have the classic miso broth flavor and had a bit of a citrus flavor to it, too. Overall, I really enjoyed this.
Katsu Sando: I loveee a katsu sandwich, and this small appetizer was packed with a lot of flavor. The creamy ocopa sauce sauce had a little bit of spice to it, and really elevated the crispy katsu sando. This is a small appetizer, but definitely pretty filling.
Salmon Truffle Nigiri: this was the only piece of nigiri I ordered of the nigiri menu, and it was delicious. The salmon was so buttery and fresh, and the truffle wasn't overpowering at all.
Hand Roll Set: Akiro offers different sets of hand rolls you can order. We ended up doing the 6 hand roll set for $39. Hand rolls are deceivingly filling, and 6 was plenty for me. My favorites were the Salmon and the Toro hand rolls below. The nori was excellent!
Tres Leches with Matcha: not great photography by me because this dessert was really pretty, but honestly lacked in taste. I probably wouldn't order this again.
