I lived in Pasadena for years and went to Maison Akira a few times since its opening. The food was good for Pasadena standards but as good as the sublime Derek's Bistro on Glenarm. The service at both places was below average even for LA standards. The sea bass at Derek's (when they had it) was superior to Maison's. The lst time I was at Maison Akira, the Mexican head-waiter and the French Maitre D', Christine, were completely rude to us. I mentioned to Christine that there was no need chilling our wine right before serving it and that they could have served it directly. The bottle was about $40 on the menu which admittedly was not a high-roller one. Christine turned around and called our wine a ""cheap wine."" Good thing I was not there with a date that i was trying to impress. This restaurant has had a major marketing campaign and despite my emails requests, they have not removed me from their email list. They obviously hired a marketing manager who in the past six years has tried to do a lot in pushing the place. I highly suspect a lot of the reviews here are posted by the business affiliates. I have notices that trend with a lot businesses on citysearch that have messages from the merchant before the review. The place was not well-known for years after its opening, even though the service was a lot better. To recap, the food is good but it is silly for anyone living on the west side with access to so many superior restaurants to even talk about Maison Akira.
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