Akasaka Japanese Restaurant

Akasaka sits on 122 Avenue in an older character building in the Town Centre, the kind of low-rise structure with some age to it rather than a purpose-built restaurant box. Inside there is a fireplace, which makes the dining room feel more like a neighbourhood spot than a chain outlet, and in warmer months the restaurant opens up outdoor seating so diners can eat on 122 Avenue itself. The menu centres on sushi and sashimi, prepared to order, and that focus is what the restaurant is known for locally rather than a broad menu trying to cover every base.

The building predates most of the newer construction around it, which gives the space a bit more character than a strip-mall unit, with the fireplace giving the dining room a warm anchor point during the colder, wetter months typical of this part of the Fraser floodplain. The outdoor seating in summer takes advantage of the quieter pace of 122 Avenue, away from the busier highway corridor a few blocks over. For people who want their sushi at home, Akasaka also does takeout and delivery, so the same menu that works for a sit-down dinner with the fireplace going is available for a night in. The location in the Town Centre makes it an easy stop for residents living nearby, and the combination of a sushi and sashimi focused menu with a genuinely older building sets it apart from newer restaurant construction elsewhere in Pitt Meadows.