The most amazing, meticulous, and talented nail artists I’ve ever experienced. They don’t skip a beat when it comes to the latest trends and perfect manicure. Manicures last 3+ weeks easily. Worth the money.

This was my first time getting nail art. My artist was Yumi and she was so attentive and detail oriented. I brought in a picture, we discussed some color changes and she took the vision from there! Everyone was so kind and the space was lovely.

Absolutely perfect! My nail artist Sakie listened to exactly what I wanted and created this adorable spring look. I 100% recommend if you’re in the mood for something specific, it’s a high end place but worth the price. They are also very conscious of taking appropriate health and safety precautions. 💜💅💛

Yang was my nail tech and she was such a sweetheart. I got an Apres Gel extension set in an earth tone color, and the turned out just as I imagined it.

Great atmosphere, peaceful energy throughout the salon. I am very very very very grateful that I finally found a nail salon in NYC that delivers my expectations. The work by artist @mynameismikinail is exquisite!!! Not only do I have a design that I thought would be difficult to do but the nail artist also took care of my nails first before applying the design. I usually get my nails done at the expense of myself and damage my natural nails. Im happy to find a place that can take care of my natural nails and add some fun, unique, edgy enhancements!!!

Mimi is literally the best nail tech EVER! She is always the sweetest to chat with and I absolutely love collaborating with her on fun nail designs. She makes every experience I’ve had at Akiko fun and relaxing!

The staff was pleasant and the customer service was on point, but it was the worst gel manicure I ever had. It chipped a day after I had it done and my nails starter splitting underneath. For what I paid for it, definitely overpriced and was not worth it.

You decide if this manicure was worth $90+!!! I got the soft gel tip extensions. Cuticles are in so much pain and the nails look incredibly bulky and cheap! I thought the nail artist was very unhelpful in reaching what designs I wanted after I had shown pictures with detailed explanations. I showed this terrible work to the salon manager and explained the issues with my visit. They was unable to offer any discount except to remove them for free and 20% off my next visit— yeah right, like I will be coming back in the future. The nails look so cheap and tacky I will be removing them as soon as my cuticles heal from all the “filing” aka making my cuticles BLEED. They are bulbous and I am unsure what nail artist could say this nail shape looks nice. A nail is glued on completely crooked. I can’t wait to remove them! What a waste of time and money!

I LOVE AKIKO nails!!!! Mickey is the most amazing artist on this earth. I’m the one to save many designs on my phone, and there has never been a design I wanted that AKIKO couldn’t achieve!!!!

This place gives zero respect for your time as a customer. I was asked to come early and then sat and waited 45 min for my appointment. Terrible communication and very disorganized. Will not be coming again. If you value your time don’t waste any of it on this establishment. Front desk very unaccommodating.

Well. I liked the place, they are nice and talented... but i paid 130 + tip for... what? It’s been no more than 2 weeks and two of my nails came off already. The cancellation fee was $90, and they charged think it was $10 of a late fee. So much of a waste of money, I’d rather do the nails myself honestly.

I was really happy with her overall job done, I just think the price was high at $96 (before tip).

I’ve been coming here for two years now and will not go anywhere else. I tried that and regretted it. The service is really good and appointment is always on time. I go to my girl Miki and she is the best. Takes good care of my nails and I’m always satisfied with the simple nail art she does for me.

This is the best nail spot in NY. They are professional, creative, and perfect at their craft. The quality of their gel manicures is insane. It last so long without a single chip. Well worth the price.

This place does great manis, professional staff and consistently good job

MIKI is the best! She will forever have my heart. Best nail salon ever. You leave feeling happy and satisfied every single time. Everyone is friendly. AKIKO nails is amazing 🤎✨

Akiko is incredible! The artists are all so talented, it’s clean and comfortable inside, and I am overjoyed with my nails! Definitely coming here from now on and recommending to friends.

Has become my go to place for my nails really enjoy getting my nails done by Eli any design I show her she’s able to do it. It is pricey but it’s worth it because my manicures last a month and if I really wanted more than that. And it’s due to the apres nails I get done worth the quality and price highly recommend this place

I absolutely love coming here!! It’s so worth the price and the trip (I live over an hour away) — Yumi always does my nails and they are ALWAYS so beautifully done. I took my sister here with me today — it was her first time here and she said it was the best manicure she’d ever gotten

I never leave disappointed. Reiko is amazing, she will make magic happen & your dream nails come to life. The staff is always super sweet!

It was worst nail that i received recently:(over +110 and tip, did not worth it at all....looks cheap and was not the picture that i showed them .... so disappointed...

I have been going to Natalia for years. She’s incredibly talented and I highly recommend her. The Akiko space is so cool and the music is always on point.

Absolutely love this place. They do amazing quality work and I’ve loved my nails every single time I’ve gone. I initially came here for Aprés and really liked how they came out. I then switched over to regular gel as I wanted to work on my overall nail health and length. My natural nails have never looked better and stronger without the help of acrylic of apres than they do now.

The best place for a gel manicure downtown. I love this place, the vibe, and everyone there is polite and friendly. Yumi does EXCELLENT work!

Best manicure I’ve ever had.

Love my nails! Came out exactly the way I wanted them too. They’re all so talented! Will be returning!

Always an amazing experience! They are clean and very safe and the artists are exceptional!

Definitely not worth the money. They don’t even manicure your nails the right way and my nail tech was very rough. My cuticles are sensitive and it was such a pain getting manicure done. My nails are super sensitive and it looks like i just took acrylic nails off and i never worn acrylics. My nails have dents on them. This is ridiculous. Also, when I was paying they asked for a higher tip. Which I believe is super rude!

A bright and chic space full of talented artists. Ive had the pleasure of having my nails done by Yayo and Yukaco. Pleasant service, wonderful art and lasting manicure (healthy natural nails).

I love coming to AKIKO, I have an amazing experience every time I get my nails done here. Everyone is so nice and professional and I leave fully satisfied.

Love Akiko, the space is really cute and very clean. Sakie is amazing!!!

I love this place! Everyone is friendly and Miki does an awesome job everytime I go. Love them!

Disgustingly, horribly overpriced. I spent very close to $250 on my set of acrylics with art, and I honestly think I could have done a better job myself. My appointment was more than 2 hours long, which is the most time I have every spent getting my nails done, and I have been getting acrylics for almost 10 years. Despite taking such a long time, that duration is not reflected in the quality of my nails as they really dont look that good with them being much shorter than I asked, as well as uneven and different lengths. Art was also sloppy even though there was SO much time spent doing it. Extremely disappointed.

Loved my nailist mimi. She was precise and perfected my nails

Been coming here for years, wonderful staff who can do any and all designs.

Beaut nails + great vibe = A+ Sunday activity. The artists are all very talented and definitely cooler than I’ll ever be. Aspiration, though.

Vanessa hooked my nails up! I would totally go back. They also offer you coffee, tea, or water. Very professional business.

Lovely nail salon. Definitely feels classy inside. Expensive but worth it. My nails have never looked as good. Also, Michelle is the best!

Love this place. Its my go-to for artistic, high quality nails. Ive never had a bad experience.

Got a full set of acrylics + gel here for a special occasion. While in the salon, the atmosphere was relaxing and the artists were friendly. However, I think the work (at least for an acrylic set) is way overpriced for the quality. Its only a week and a day past when I got my nails done, and 4 of the acrylics have lifted and peeled completely off!! In years and years of getting acrylics, Ive never had this happen to me. I dont think they were applied properly, given that the artist did not buff my natural nails before applying the acrylic. Therefore, my natural nails still had oil on them, causing the acrylic to lift off from the base of my nail. I contacted the salon today, and they said Id have to pay to get them fixed because its one day past their week threshold... Honestly Im just really disappointed, given the rave reviews Ive heard about Akiko and the price I paid to have my nails done (well over $100). Would have been better off going to a cheaper salon and I probably would still have all 10 nails on for $50. Wont be back here again.

My nails are nice, but this place is definitely on the more expensive side.

I’ve been going to Akiko for about 8 months now and I keep coming back for the artists and how friendly and talented they are. I just went to the salon to get my one nail fixed, after breaking in half, about 10 days after getting them done. I go to the register, completely unaware of any sort of policy, only to find out that it costs $10.42 to get a nail fixed, in addition to the $55 (without tax and tip) I already paid a week and a half ago. When I say I haven’t been charged before for this same sort of thing happening, I am curtly told this is “policy” and am past the 7 day mark. Ultimately, as someone that has been going here for as long as I have, referring the amount of friends and colleagues I have over that time, I feel that there should be a little more accountability and customer service on the salon’s part.

I came here twice already. Both times for gel removal and nail design. Both times was amazing. They start on time, studio is cute, clean and spacious. They play awesome music. My nail artist was SO talented!!I’m addicted and will be returning. If you need amazing nails for special occasion, this is the place to come. Make sure you have a picture of what you want to do. Awesome place and prices are great too.

Update: Akiko Nails reached out and apologized for my first experience. They offered me to come back for a complimentary gel manicure with one of their better nail technicians. The design was cute & got lots of compliments and better yet, it stayed on for 3-4 weeks as opposed to my first mani with them. Monique has been super helpful with making sure I got to experience the Akiko experience, its just too bad that their nail technicians arent all great across the board. If you dont want to go through the hassle of figuring out which person you should book with the person that did my 2nd gel set was Maiko and she was great!---This place seemed good in theory: closest gel nail studio to my apartment and a minimalist chic vibe going on. I had a design in mind and rating what was actually executed from a scale from 1 through 5, Ill say it was a 3.. questionable but i could make it work. 5 days after receiving my gels, brown stuff started to appear under the gels of two of my fingers. I thought it was under the nails so I washed my hand a few times and came to understand the brown dirt was trapped under my gel! After all the years of getting gel from another studio (shout out to Marie Nails! Highly recommend them!) and I had never had this issue.Two days later, now making it a week since I got my gel manicure they start lifting.1 week and 5 days later I opt to have them removed by Akiko in an effort to avoid ripping them all off. The dirt trapped in my nail was between the gel and color (picture attached!). I mentioned these problems to the receptionist and she blamed my cuticles being oily for the gels lifting only a week into getting them. She concluded that the nail technician who did my nails left cracks so it was just dirt getting trapped. But even after all that trouble they managed to still charge me $10 for removing the 7 gels that were clinging on for dear life.Really unfortunate this place is horrible. Not ever coming back.

Its the best salon Ive been to. Great ambiance. I had the spa pedicure and it was amazing!The ladies are so friendly! Awesome customer service.

Beautiful space. Great customer service. I didnt quite like my first nail design. I called them and they let me come back in to get a new design. Totally in love now. Ive already set up my next 2 appointments.

Manicurist cut my cuticles so badly on multiple fingers. Still in pain the next day. When I called to complain they offered a 15% discount on my next service - as though someone would want to go back after such a poor experience.

Amazing experience. My nail technician Natalia was amazing. She was very detailed oriented with my cuticles & listened to exactly what I wanted. The salon is so clean & the interiors are to die for. I love how spacious the new space is. Its a bit on the pricier side but it was so worth every penny!

Today is my first time having manicures done by Michelle (I used to get it done by Asumi). Michelle was super fast and efficient. I got everything done within an hour, including gel removal and a new set). I told her I wanted the colour nude, and she just chose and pulled off the colours from the bins for me to choose. Nicely done!PS- $10 off for writing a review! What a great deal!

Love love love! I’ve been searching NYC salons for a natural looking hard gel manicure and I am beyond impressed with Akiko. I saw Jay. She was so nice and really educated me about hard gel and other manicure techniques. My nails were extremely damaged due recent really bad hard gel manicures but Jay fixed! The filing and shaping are perfect. My nails look natural and healthy. The salon is super chic. Can’t wait to go back.

Best set of acrylics I’ve ever gotten. Not cheap but worth it.

Communication needs improvement. I called in advance to see if there was an open slot. I was promised 4:15pm. I arrive at 3:30pm to check-in. When I noticed it was 4:30pm, I followed-up with the front desk. Come to find out none of the nail technicians were near ready. The earliest they were ready was at 5pm. So if I had not asked, I would had waited over an hour for my turn?Walking out with nice nails is expected, but communication is imperative. That’s not how you do business.

All of the artists are incredible here! You can take photos of exactly what you want or have some inspo photos and they can create a unique masterpiece!One thing that unfortunately does happen sometimes is not even a week after getting them done and paying $90-$200 they will start to left up around the edges and slowly loosen. I’ve tried a variety of different options—hard gel extensions, hard gel overlay, etc and continue to have this problem, which considering how much a person pays for them, they should last at minimum 2 weeks without issues. And this occurs without be washing dishes, swimming, etc.

Amazing

If you want incredible nails, with the best nail art and most detailed shaping... look no further than Yayo! she is the most amazing nail artist that I have had the pleasure of working with. I’ve gone to her 3 times now and each time is even better than the last😊 Yayo is not only incredibly talented, but she is kind, easy to talk to, and incredibly professional. I will never go to another person for my nails. So thankful I found you Yayo❤️

They ask for tips in here, but there is no table service, so I dont really get it. Anyway... good place. The idea of ice-cream and donuts is great! And the design of the place is a gem of China Town.

The place is filthy and the work/service/attitude by my tech is nowhere comparable to the prices I paid for it. paid for the time and left, definitely won’t be back.

This place is really cool, technicians are nice and my nail design is lit. I’m reading the reviews and seeing quite similar experiences. I got my nails done on Friday by Sunday they started lifting. That’s a no no. When I arrived at the location for this service when they opened (for the day) so I sat before approaching anyone, thinking they’d (receptionist) approach me when they were ready. She did not so I saw another girl go straight to the desk when she arrived so I just got up and approached the receptionist and she says “ oh? Shes ready for you” I’m thinking what if I didn’t come up to this desk? When it comes to customer service if your product is phenomenal and lasts I can bypass a costumer service issue but otherwise you have to be on point especially when you have a reputation to uphold. Nails can not be lifting after a week or less for the rates your customer is paying. As an artist I respect paying for art but it should last like any other nail service popular or not.

Go to their website to check out their seasonal lookbooks! They come up with really chic designs. I love that they offer coffee and tea too. So nice and welcoming.

The place is nice and clean. Friendly service. Really cool unique designs. However, I’m giving it such a low rating because after 3 days my gel manicure started peeling. For such an expensive manicure I would expect it to last much longer. Very disappointed.

Lovely little studio in LES. Love my nails! Will definitely come back again. Make sure you confirm your appointments and be on time.

Best Apres nail extensions Ive had so far. Also very friendly and lovely interior.

Tahsiyn (@thenailphilosophy) is a dope nail artist and she did such an amazing job on my nails! My appointment started on time, everyone was super nice and the studio is adorable! Cant wait to go back, Im hooked!

I had a confusing experience here. My nail technician was late for our appointment, and just generally acted annoyed that she was there. She filed my perfectly healthy nails down so far that the gel burned intensely upon curing. It felt like someone was holding a flame to the tops of my fingers. Literally the worst pain I’ve felt in my life, and I’m covered in tattoos. I thought this was normal until I had some folks tell me it was not. My fingers hurt for about a week after my service but are fine now about two weeks out. I told akiko about my experience but they offered to have me come in and remove the extensions. Why would I want them removed after enduring that? Overall my nails look pretty nice, some bubbling and chipping, but it seems common.

My hardgel nail is starting to peel off at the edge after 1.5 week! I had done gel nail for a long time and it never happened to me. It can usually be kept in perfect condition for 3 weeks. Staff are quite friendly though.

I was so disappointed with this place. I did a simple sheer nude nothing crazy, the color came out uneven and had bubbles inside....My nail artist said that she is new to the place and had no Japanese gel application training, the only training that she have got, “she gave to herself”無理だ！ 日本人が来ないでほうがいいですよ.....

Very clean place and good nail work but the woman doing my nails was kinda rude and had attitude. When I asked her to redo a part of my nail that she had missed she seemed annoyed and hesitant to do something that I’m paying a lot of money for. I had also shown her a picture of the nail design I wanted, she said she didn’t need to look at the photo but then messed up the design and when I pointed it out she got annoyed and hesitated to redo it until I kept suggesting ways for her to fix it. Everyone else seemed to be friendly though. I also wasnt offered any coffee or tea which apparently they have and offer.

I really wanted to like this place, but its truly subpar service especially for the price youre paying. A basic full set of gel extensions is $100. They refuse to set a solid price point in nail art so you dont know how much it is until youre paying. They charged me $10 PER nail for the art, it was complex but thats still ridiculous. Yukaco really did an amazing job on my nail art- however one of my nails broke the next day. So I came in, got a complimentary repair, no problem. Two days later the same nail snaps AGAIN, in the same place. I make a point of being careful with my hands and dont engage in any strenuous activities that would near justify two breaks in the span of four days. Day 10 of my manicure now, my gel extension is lifting/peeling off on another nail. Really disappointed and frustrated, wont be coming back here.

Overpriced nail salon. They charged $130 just to put some stickers on my nails. STICKERS. My 2 year old cousin could’ve done that! You’re honestly better off going to a nail salon in Brooklyn if you want your moneys worth

I’ve been here twice, once over a year ago and once two weeks ago. Last year, I had a great experience. I got a beautiful ombré manicure that lasted for a month. I went back just before going on an international trip so I could get a manicure that would last. However, after spending $45 on a plain manicure, the sides started peeling within days. There were major sections peeling off within a week, so much so that my nails were getting caught in my hair. I had to remove them all within a week and a half. Very disappointing for the price.

First Timer ReviewThe location: cool spot, really good music (I sang the entire time), they offer you beverages, Nothing over the top. The service: I love my nails. Asumi did a really good job. She is very skilled. She moves with speed and precision and if there was anything I wanted to change or add, she was very accommodating. The job she did makes me want to return. Being in a salon where I can get creative, makes me think of all the things I want to try. Now, why the 3-stars? The salon is pricier than most, not the issue. I was prepared. I went online and saw the pricing list. I was also referred by a friend who frequents this location. When booking my appointment, I was asked if I needed removal or a design. I said yes to both, I was then instructed to go online and make and account. Online, I was then prompted to select what I needed done. One could assume that they would charge for painting your nails and extra, if the client desires designs. My issue: I went to pay, the total was more than I expected. I inquired about the charges and was told there was a $30 removal fee. I stated that wasn’t expressed when I made the appointment. The receptionist offered me a $10 credit, if I wrote a review. Ok here it is. On the website, under gel services, which is what I got, if your nails are done somewhere else it say $10 not $30. If you get them done there, when you return, it’s $5 for removal. If you’re going to charge $30 for removal that is something that should be highlighted or said over the phone, or Asumí could’ve told me before she started. I was supremely irritated. Still a little irritated. And for the price of the nail service, which is more than the average, almost double the average, removal could be included. If I had known it was $30, I would’ve just soaked them off at home for $4.99 (the cost of a bottle of acetone), saved Asumi the time, and myself the money. I think the receptionist or even the online system could be a bit more transparent about that. Other than that the place is cool.

Great attention to detail and fantastic design. I got a gel mani here and I really liked it.

So I walk in with 1 (ONE) broken nail. And ask if they can fix it. It’s 8:15And they close at 9.Question, it’s probably takes more than 45 minutes to file and polish one nail?Gotcha.Not coming back

Nice place to get your nails done. The price was right and the place was clean.

The work was good but its overpriced even for location and niche

Not just nails! Did not go in, but I will consider next time

Great nail place!

Great service

Nails