Scene: The newly renovated Japanese fusion space, Akai Lounge, located at 47 Elm Street, Westfield, NJ.
First you have to go through the front door, push aside a gold-fringed curtain (this works great in the winter time), glance briefly at the hostess on your right and chin nod indicating you're going to the bar (no reservations required!) The best time to go to the bar on a Friday night, and especially if you wish to get a seat, is definitely before 6pm!
The chic U-shaped bar gives you an awesome view of the large scale TV (sports - baseball today, of course, although I wish they would play some tennis matches), as well as a view of the outside sidewalks, sushi bar, and numerous and vibrant chairs and tables sectioned off by brilliant gold wall rods. The ambiance of sitting at the bar always is always pleasing to me. I'm a people watcher and it was a great evening for observing patrons eating and drinking; it feels like a NYC lounge without the pretentiousness. Today we arrived at 5:15pm to get a place at the bar for the holiday weekend; by 7pm, the bar was fully packed and customers eagerly waiting in the doorway for their reserved tables
Unfortunately, our favorite bartender wasn't working - she is a hipster woman, slightly tatted, and has these creative and exotic 2 inch fingernails (we were there around Valentines day once and the nails were shades of red, pink, and white). Today's bartender chatted up my husband regarding the Mets Pitcher (Verlander who had pitched approximately 96 pitches in 7 innings!) In addition, it was a very hot day and we chose poorly and sat in the bar corner area where condensation from the a/c was dripping a bit - but no matter, food and drink aplenty to chase away the drips!
Game on for food! We started with the Lobster Pizza. The pizza is already cut into little wedges (thankfully), so it was extremely easy to pick up the wedges with chopsticks. It had a nice crunchy sushi rice which contrasted nicely to the lobster salad on top - almost like a tempura deep fried sushi rice on the outside was made into a patty. For those who wish for a spicier flavor (unfortunately spicy food doesn't sit well with my palate), you can add a little of the sauce that was plated with it (lovely plating with hearts!) Overall, I enjoyed the crunching contrast to the soft sushi rice and lobster salad. Definitely a keeper for a future appetizer!
Afterwards, we ordered the "Super Rainbow" - the fresh cucumber provided a nice crunch against the creaminess of the roll, as a well as a tempura crunch. We kept to the Mets theme and ordered a "Mets Roll" - spicy tuna creaminess exploding on your palate contrasting nicely with the topping of salmon that felt like butter in your mouth. Next up was the "Jersey Roll" - shrimp tempura topped with smoked salmon and avocado with a side of creaminess. The crunchiness of the tempura and the warmth of the smoked salmon with the slight butter texture of the eel sauce was quite yummy. Despite this description, the roll was a bit bland, but easy to taste and enjoy. By this time, I was almost at the end of the bottle of wine I had ordered (you didn't have to order by the glass!), so perhaps my taste buds don't accurately reflect this! But, I think I like crunch, though, what do you think?
Recommendation: if you're looking for a NYC lounge vibe and ambiance, friendly bartenders, ample amounts of sushi (the menu is quite extensive!), great liquor and wine bar, and not have to go into Manhattan, then Akai Lounge will check the boxes for you! And walking distance for many who live close to town, that's another plus!
Info:
Akai Lounge
47 Elm Street, Westfield, NJ
908-264-8660
Insta: akai_lounge
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