Walking into Aker Restaurant & Lounge in Exchange Place on a recent Saturday night, I found myself completely disoriented. Was this really the same space that was formerly home to Maxwell’s? I could not recognize a single remnant of the former pizza joint among these fab new digs. Owner Brandon Hargett – who also operates Hoppers and Ruby River Steakhouses – spared no expense in turning the Exchange Place space into an eye-popping eatery; easily one of the most beautiful restaurants in the state.
My first thought was “How can the food at Aker possibly compete with the daunting decor?” The place looks like a few million bucks, but how would the cuisine compare? Well, Hargett did a wise thing by bringing in a duo of very talented and experienced chefs to operate the kitchen in Chef Pae Randall, formerly of Lake Effect, Cannella’s and Ichiban Sushi, and Chef de Cuisine Jhonny Lopez, who most recently cooked at Urban Hill in SLC and at Las Vegas’ renown Sushi Roku. In other words, Hargett staffed his kitchen with a couple of heavy hitters.
Hargett told us that he spent much of the COVID era traveling to places like Brazil, Mexico, Peru, and elsewhere and he wanted Aker to reflect some of the culinary highlights from those places. So while Aker features sushi, sashimi and yakitori, it’s not a traditional Japanese restaurant by any means, but fuses Japanese cuisine with Latin American flavors and techniques. At Aker they call what they do “modern Japanese izakaya with a Latin twist.” For example, the Salmon Aburi dish ($27) is torched salmon brushed with uni butter, cilantro-wasabi crema, and Peruvian-style aji amarillo sauce. And for the Sunomono Kimchee ($12), Persian cucumbers are marinated with namasu vinegar and homemade kimchee glaze, for a blend of spicy and sweet flavors.
Blossom & Bubbles
Aker Restaurant & Lounge is a 21 and over establishment, sporting a sprawling contemporary bar area that is simply gorgeous. Beer, wine, sake and cocktails are served, and we enjoyed a light, effervescent cocktail called Blossom & Bubbles, with Prosecco and Sake, garnished with a pretty flower blossom.
Hanabi
We began our Aker dinner with an item from the Shared Plates section of the menu called Hanabi ($16). This was a quintet of homemade rice cakes topped with spicy tuna and cooling avocado, plus a kick of spicy ponzu sauce and a garnish of microgreens. Additional shared plate options range from Edamame ($11) and Blistered Shishito Peppers ($13), to Tempura Vegetables ($14), Miso Shrimp tempura-style ($18), and decadent Wagyu Gyoza dumplings ($19), to name a few.
Chicken Yakitori
Next up was an order of Chicken Yakitori ($15), a pair of skewers with grilled chicken thigh meat and scallions, served with a trio of dipping sauces: ginger-plum, creamy roast garlic dressing, and a black peppercorn sauce. Other yakitori choices are shrimp with applewood bacon, grilled beef, or Kurobuta pork belly.
Nigiri
A unique offering at Aker is dry-aged nigiri and sashimi. You’ve no doubt heard of dry-aged beef. Well, the process for dry-aging fish is very similar and Brandon Hargett told us that at Aker they dry age some of their fish for anywhere from a few days to nearly a month. Dry-aging fish eliminates excessive moisture in the fish and intensifies the natural flavors – but no, it doesn’t taste fishy – lending a rich umami aspect to the fish and creating complex flavors and a rich, buttery mouthfeel. It’s an experience you don’t want to miss when dining at Aker. We splurged on a two-piece order of dry-aged Toro ($34), aka fatty tuna, along with Kanpachi and torched Ora King Salmon.
Green Tea with Hibiscus
Between courses we were offered a gratis palate cleanser of green tea with hibiscus, which was delightful and served in cute little ceramic teacups.
Outstanding Server, Alana
Also delightful was our server, Alana, who knows the extensive Aker menu inside-out and walked us through many of the complex dishes and drink pairings. We probably would not have ordered the delicious Ahi Zen roll – more about it below – if not for Alana’s persuasively tempting description, which was spot-on. Any restaurateur would be lucky to have Alana working for them.
Whiskey Barrel-Aged Soy Sauce
Another unique offering at Aker Restaurant & Lounge is tamari soy sauce which is aged in whiskey barrels. Since it’s soy sauce made from tamari it is naturally gluten-free, which my wife appreciated. The barrels impart a very faint hint of whiskey to the above average soy sauce.
Maguro Crudo
There are a couple of crudo dishes on the Aker menu and we loved the inspired Maguro Crudo ($28). It’s a beautiful arrangement of seven slices of crimson colored dry-aged bluefin tuna served sashimi-style with a tart and spicy blueberry-habanero jam and house yuzu kosho. This crudo is a remarkable and inventive way to serve top-notch, dry-aged bluefin.
Ahi Zen and Katsumi Rolls
In addition to a handful of more traditional maki rolls, Aker offers a trio of Premium Rolls, two of which we enjoyed. I loved the surf & turf-style Katsumi 512 roll ($37), which is grilled shrimp and blistered shishito peppers with creamy avocado, topped with heavenly torched A5 BMS 12 Wagyu and charred onion aioli. And then, thanks to friendly prodding from Alana, our server, we delighted in the Ahi Zen roll ($28), which is bluefin tuna marinated in agave soy and chili garlic oil marinade, with cucumber and mango, topped with avocado, black tobiko, crispy fried shallots, and micro greens. The texture and flavors of the Ahi Zen roll were truly memorable and we thank Alana for recommending it.
I think that Aker Restaurant & Lounge is one of the most important and unique dining destinations to open in Salt Lake City in the past few years. It is definitely not an inexpensive place to eat, but if you’re looking to kick off 2025 with a delicious bang, outstanding service, and drop-dead gorgeous decor, I highly recommend doing it at Aker.
Photos by Ted Scheffler
Culinary quote of the week:“Poetry is an act of peace. Peace goes into the making of a poet as flour goes into the making of bread.” – Pablo Neruda
