Sakura Japanese Steakhouse

93 reviews for “Sakura”

1. Used to be a really amazing place to dine.
   My past three orders have been dry and took forever.
   Also it would be nice of they stopped hiring girls with no customer service skills, I’ve was straight up ignored by the gal when I walked up and said I was here to pick up an order, she picked up the phone without answering me and answered a call on hold while the other girl just said ‘its not ready sooooo’.
   Pretty sad to see it go down hill as it was such a great place to dine.

2. I saw this place had great reviews and I had been recommended this place by a friend, so was excited to try it out. After having eaten there, I’m honestly shocked by everything that I’ve heard. My experience there was awful.

   The inside of the restaurant is very dark, not dim but actually dark. The second thing that immediately stood out to me was how dirty the place was. Their floor was sticky(?) and you could hear people walking as their shoes kept sticking and unsticking to the floor. The chairs had broken cushions and my chair was very wobbly with a bad leg. There were flies everywhere. It’s the middle of winter, so I know it’s not a seasonal problem. Literally, every five minutes I had to shoo a fly away my food. The waitress was nice, but my order was wrong and instead of telling me or asking if she could fix it, just have it to me anyways without saying anything. The food itself was bland. The sushi was good, but everything else I had was on the tasteless side.

   To be fair, I heard that the hibachi there is a better experience. Was still very disappointed and can’t believe that this place gets such good reviews.

3. we walked and waited,we saw empty tables,habachi side are not full either,crews standing infront of the register,some are wiping tables,but then we were told by one crew they can’t serve anymore coz only 2 server are working so they sent us out,but we saw more than 2 server tonight. so being confuse i message sakura thru their messenger and asked if they are still serving and responded yes til 830..how come???then suddenly we were told to make reservation,what?its a walk in restaurant and first time we ate there no reservation..oh well place isnt good anyway in many aspect,floor is sticky,something smelly inside and restroom not properly clean.

4. I’ve never been there before. They did not explain there was two sides to the restaurant. We sat on the sushi side. Was not the menu I expected but I thought maybe it was because of covid. After I ordered I realized we had sat on the wrong side. Ordered chicken teriyaki and seafood and vegetable tempura. Teriyaki was okay. Shrimp and vegetable tempura had no flavor it was not good at all. Restaurant was very dirty. Won’t be returning.

5. Always phenomenal. Prices are decent, especially for the massive amount of food in 1 order. 10/10.

6. I don’t know how this place could have any stars.
   Couldn’t even bite into the chicken teriyaki. It was rubbery.
   Fried rice and yakisoba tasted old.
   Left bad after taste in the mouth.

7. Great food and entertaining cooks. I had a great time and will certainly do again. The filet mignon with shrimp is sooo good

8. Fantasticly tasty food, large portions, great waitress, their sushi service train was really cool!

9. Yakizoba was gooey and tasted way too sweet, Udon soup smelled odd and tasted suspect. Sushy did not look or taste fresh. Long island ice tea was bomb though… still, won’t be back here.

10. Wonderful food! The soup that came with our dinner left much to be desired but the entrées were fantastic! So much flavor and came out incredibly quick. The drinks were wonderful as well. Staff was very friendly and efficient even during dinner rush. We will definitely be coming back again!

11. First off, the fish was very fresh. Top marks there. Escolar nigiri was excellent.

    Sampled 6 rolls, and the only standout was the New York roll – maki mono of tuna, salmon, hamachi, cuke, and avocado. Simple, straightforward, clear flavors, good balance.

    We like our spicy rolls _spicy_, and the spicy tuna.. wasn’t. Too-timid heat and odd dollops of mayo undercut/muddied rolls that should have worked better.

    Low points for soggy tempura and sad teriyaki chicken.

    Their website menu apparently needs a refresh. Apparently some items listed on the dinner are no longer offered.

    Overall, fine for the price point. Will stick to simpler rolls/sashimi the next time

12. Such a great experience, with a group or by yourself! The sushi belt is great with a variety of items. The hibachi chefs are very positive and interactive! My family all had a wonderful time!

13. Always on top of our list for special occasion dinners. Our sushi are always great and the staff is very friendly.

14. Don’t order the crab, everything else is primo. 👌👌

15. I absolutely love this place. The sushi is delicious and the hibachi grill is phenomenal! Prices are decent as well. All staff is friendly. Only thing that could be better is being able to make reservations outside of the Hibachi area.

16. Very dissatisfied we made reservations ana when they didn’t serve us at 7 the hosted was very rude Tamara and said it is first come first serve. We asked why do you have reservations then if that was the case we would of come early to get in line. she said if we didn’t like to go bad. Rude you let your employees talk like that

17. Sakura is an awesome place to get some quick sushi on the belt!

18. Great food but under staffed

19. Great food other than the wait wasn’t that bad at all

20. Whether Hibachi, sushi or any other food, always great food and the customer service to match it!

21. I got the ninja bento, grilled salmon was good, tempura was great the sushi and gyoza weren’t bad they just weren’t as good as the salmon and tempura. I’ll go back and get the ninja bento again.

22. Food is good, our wait staff was not a happy camper and we had to ask for refills like 3 times and it wasn’t busy at all

23. We had a fantastic waitress. The food was hot and tasty and served in a good time frame.

24. Very dirty conditions. Sushi is definitely subpar, too much rice, not much care and attention spent. Will not be back.

25. Very authentic cuisine, unique atmosphere and experience. Highly recommend

26. Service is great this is great place to eat everything is good I would recommend this place to a very one

27. Wow look at the size of this sashimi!
    Excellent service and food. Come early or make reservation, they fill up fast, even on a Sunday evening.

    Not the fanciest place but the food is amazing! We had sashimi and sushi. Octopus salad and strong miso soup are outstanding. They have hibachi grill tables and the folks eating there looked very happy, too.

28. Food is ok. Hibachi chefs are pretty good too.

29. Food was okay, experience was meh, place seemed dingy and not super clean…

30. All time favorite for sushi bar dining.

31. Great sushi… but being placed on hold for 13 minutes and then not being able to call back isn’t very good for the customer service.

32. Great service, tasty chicken, pork was a little chewy great portions, rice was perfect, I would recommend this place.

33. The hibachi is wonderful, but what they charge for food makes it SUPER expensive.

34. I’ve ordered a lot of Bento boxes from a lot of places in a lot different of locations.

    Sakura did a great job! It was yummy! I couldn’t eat it all and enjoyed leftovers later that night.

35. The sushi was stale and rubbery. Literally had to choke it down with sake just to get it down

36. We tried 5 different sushi rolls. I don’t think we could go wrong with anything we ordered. Fresh ingredients, beautiful presentation. Service was on top of it! We’ll be going back again.

37. We have eaten there many times over the years and they have been pretty consistent.

38. Had a delicious celebratory dinner here last night. The food was delicious and flavorful, I had scallops that were perfectly done, which is tricky to do. Our kids were nervous of the fire, so the chef adjusted his tricks for their comfort.

39. Service was decent and the food was ok. A little slow on both the service and food coming out.

40. Staff was so nice and attentive. Everything was amazing and tasted great. We went to celebrate a birthday and we had a good time.

41. Shouldn’t have eaten here after noticing the band of gnats in the lobby area. Literally rice-ten of them buzzing by hostess station.
    Full house and only one person serving on the floor, absolutely working her tail off to keep up. Took ten mins to get seated and another ten before got drink order in.

    Rolls were fine on the assembly line, but the sashimi platter we ordered was not fresh. Served ice cold with a hint of fishy after taste, was not a good experience.
    Our amazing waitress made us feel comfortable though.

    Bathrooms were gross and floors were literally sticky. Bathroom faucet loose and disconnected and dirty overall.

    Would not recommend. Never had ice cold sashimi before and never had it so bad. I know there aren’t many options for sushi in the area but, this place has to improve.

42. They have habachi grills and conveyor belt sushi. We enjoyed it and would be back

    Whatever you do, don’t get the escolar sushi. Do a Google search and you’ll understand why.

43. As soon as I came in I should have left, the floors were covered in grime, sign posts and the podium were also filthy. Does not look like restaurant level clean. All the air vents had dust flying out of them which you know is falling on the food. One spot on the roof is leaking. After we were seated I went to grab a soy sauce dish and had to look through them because they had bits of other peoples food still on them. I got the sushi belt and my brother got the chicken teriyaki. The teriyaki was eh and all the sushi I had was poorly made, not enough rice, weird ratios, and the one that made me almost throw up was the smoked salmon roll. The fish was hard like cartilage it was crunchy and all the raw fish tasted off. I learned my lesson and will never stray again from kuru kuru in Bellingham! Really hoped Sakura would be good since bellingham is a bit of a drive but now I know it’s worth it.

44. Food was not up to our expectations. Will try again.
    Seemed very noisy.

45. I’m not sure where previous good comments came from but this is mine. I felt sad inside this hollow, noisy room with concrete floors and tin roof; it’s essentially a warehouse turned restaurant with poor ambiance and even worse lighting.
    When I say I felt sad it’s because for a moment I saw what I thought may be the owner or head chef, it sort of broke my heart in the way I could only believe his heart and perhaps soul was broken by his poor decision to put this type of restaurant in this part of the world. He looked broken and that made me very sad. Be it his own fault and destiny.
    This is a place or maybe better, a person I wish restaurant rescue would revive. Poor decisions are made by great chefs all the time but the tried and true, location location location is always true.
    The food is good, the staff is really good, I just felt sad sitting there watching them in the horrible ambiance of a culture that should be more vibrant and lively.
    I really wish no ill will but only good critique, and turn wheel of fortune off the only television in the restaurant, in fact, get rid of the television and play some cool exotic music.

46. Good; not great … been a few times over the years. Service was the best aspect. Desert was poor. Sushi is the worst.
    The hibachi show and food was pretty good … and lots of it.

47. Liked the food and prep fun, venue so so, service was good. Just not quite at the top of Sukiaki restaurant experience.

48. This place is the most disgustingly dirty restaurant I have ever been to!!

    I love their food.. but I rarely come because I’m afraid I will get sick each time.

    Today on our visit there was a wash rag on the floor by our table that we saw when we were seated. About 10 people walked over to pick up (prefilled) waters and always ignored it. It was never picked up.

    There was so much grime on our wooden seats that I was grossed out to touch the chair with my bare hands. 🤮

    There was dried on crusty food on our menu because they obviously never wipe them down.

    The floor was disgusting with built up grime every where I looked.

    There were cobwebs on an old Sapporo dispenser that has been sitting there and is never used. 🤢

    There was a disgusting rolodex (who even uses these things anymore) on the bar counter.

    The stairs and railing leading up to storage (or employee break room) was practically black with dirt. 🤮

    And this is what I could just see from my table!

    And, it’s not a cleanliness thing, but there sushi never has a time stamp on it. So you honestly never know if that particular sushi plate has been circulating for 5 minutes or 3 hours.

    I know from prior visits that the hibachi area is super gross as well. There is grime and dirt all up the walls.

    This place must never get cleaned!!

    Now don’t get me, their food is great, but just understand that you are always taking a chance that you will get sick after eating there.

    Me personally… I have reached my breaking point with today’s visit. I will not be returning until it is cleaned. And I advise you not to either.

49. Hostess was kinda off-putting and blunt. Decor was sparse and unimpressive. But after we were seated we had an amazing dinner for a decent price. Will definitely be going again.

    Oh, and I recommend making reservations if you want to sit at the grills.

50. I love their hibachi and sushi bar, very good food. But lately whenever I get a to-go order they keep giving me the wrong sushi roll, despite me saying I specifically didn’t want the one that they gave me. Never had any other service issues besides that.

51. Greasy sticky floor, poorly wiped table, greasy, dirty and sticky menus. I watched a woman wearing kitten heeled shoes walk inside towards a table only to slide down onto the floor the moment her heel touched for a step. She ended up dropping everything she was carrying and she herself was on the floor because it was so greasy/grimy. Hosts response? “Oh yeah, sorry, the floor is kind of slick in here” and went back to whatever she was doing.
    Super gross inside and no apparent effort to remedy.

52. Great food. If you get on the teppanyahu side is the best steak within 20 mi

53. Don’t normally post reviews, but this experience garners a few moment to give my 2 cents. Service was awful. Couldn’t comprehend the concept of me being there to pick my take-out order. (It hadn’t been placed yet, 15-min after I’d called) I then waited for 10 more mins before I had to profe the lady at the front desk to go ask if my food was ready yet. It wasn’t. Another 5 minutes. They hand me an empty bag with no soy sauce, utensils or napkins for my sushi. No “thank you”, just a rude facial expression and them calling me by the wrong name. I called order in at 8:05, “your order will be ready in 4mins.” I walk in 6mins later. I walk out 20 mins later. TF?! Last time I go there. It’s dinghy, dirty, smells of old grease and just depressing. Plenty of much better Asian restaurants to go to in the area, skip this one!

54. “I absolutely love this place ! The food is always So yummy !! Service is friendly.” I recommend this place to everyone!

55. I read all the reviews and felt I needed to post this .Alot of the reviews comment on hibachi waits and table waits and sushi belt seating so I wanted to start here When you come in to eat here you can’t always get seating by the sushi belt it’s not possible unless you wanna wait for a table to become available and with the comments the waiting is part of the problem anyways all tables are only feet away from sushi belt which all customers are able to walk over to belt to bring sushi plates back.to table.belt seating for everybody isn’t always available .As for hibachi reservations and people saying people being seated before them.or they are late to be seated Sakura is a very busy for restraunt and people.with reservations sometimes are not sat right away due to table availability and how.long party’s sit at their tables before leaving then the time to Clean them and set up and when you see other people being seated before you alot is because they are at reg tables therefore they aren’t waiting for same as you so take things into consideration and those who. write more then one bad review if it’s so bad why do u keep.xoming back.so yeah for as busy as sakura is and fast paced they do a good job

56. place looked a bit dirty, food was pretty good, bento box sashimi wasn’t necessarily the best

57. Great place to come and just enjoy good food. The dishes are all great. Family friendly. The staff is open to all. I will be coming back

58. Mixed feelings about the place, it has a warehouse feel to it, it’s loud and has an empty feel. If you are there for the the hibachi experience it may be different,

    Sashimi was pretty good and the special rolls were great.

59. While nothing will quite measure up to a true Benihana experience for me, Sakura makes a good effort.

60. I came in here to have a bite. Just passing through and dropping a load and going about my business. I came in and the girl in the front was clueless. Didn’t know where to sit us. We asked about the hibachi and she stated she To get a reservation. This is a first for me at least. Georgia, Florida, NYC you do not need a reservation but here you do. OK then. Flies inside the establishment. What did it for me was how sticky everything was.

61. 3 star is being generous. Got the bento box. Sushi part was good. Rest of box was so bad could eat it. Rice was old and chicken tasted like plastic.

62. Decent overall experience. The Hibachi chef was a little lacking in flare but the food was decent.

63. Filet Mignon was delicious family had a great time

64. We celebrated our friend, Laura’s bday. The food was delicious!! They have a plum wine to die for!! Lol, The chef cooked right in front of us. He was very nice and gave Laura a little more. I had steak and shrimp,my daughter, Kayla and Laura(bday girl) had steak and scallops. The meal included salad and soup. The chef started to sing Happy Birthday, and we all joined in. We didn’t get dessert cos we had cupcakes waiting 😋 The meal was a little pricey but it was totally worth it!!

65. Hosts were very helpful with our takeout order, and I love that you can go to the bar and view the small portions of the sushi options they offer.

66. Dinner was ok. From the minute we checked in for our 6:30pm reservation we felt rushed. We were told that if not all of our party was there by 6:45 that we’d have to order for them. Well we didn’t even see a waitress at our table till 6:45. She showed up to take our order and to warn us of the 15 minute window, we said we haven’t even seen any menus and had been sitting with empty waters. Three filet mignon were cooked wrong (too well done), and one was forgotten. After dinner we had to help ourselves to the to go containers and wait forever for our check, all while there was three hibachi grills sitting empty, But hurry up sit down and order cuz we’re busy.

67. Fun evening for birthday dinner turned into disappointment today when we found out that we double tipped. My mom told me she would get the bill so I told her I would get the tip. I and my older brother dropped a total of 40 bucks for the tip at Sakura In Burlington. Today looking over her receipt she discovered that they added an automatic 20% tip ($40) to her card. She called them to have them make it right and they told her no because it said it on there receipt (I never saw it because my mom was paying) and on their menus (the menu I had was only a partial whatever reason). SO to note this is not against the chef that was cooking in front of us or the waitress that served us. But against the management that refuses to make right a mistake. Just putting out the warning to anyone else that goes there.

68. The food was good, the show was a little lackluster.

69. Like this place. Good food, BIG portions and great show if eating by one of the grills.

70. The chef made the steak, shrimp and the meats REALLLYYY SALTYYY!!!

71. We had to sit in the side off dining room had the chicken beef teriyaki Grant you went here we were dead tired so we didn’t want to wait for one of the tables where you could watch him cook that’s part of the experience going to these places all in all it was all right I’d go again

72. Food EXTREMELY GOOD. But the atmosphere and interior of the building is poorly maintained. I question the sanitation of the building. Food makes up for it tho?

73. Love their teryaki chicken and beef combo. The sushi is always good and the staff is typically pretty friendly. Overall a pretty good place to eat.

74. The staff was great. The cooks were fantastic. The restaurant in general seemed a little…less than Sakura standards. Sorry, I’m not sure how else to put it. It felt fancier in other Sakura restaurants.

75. Our cheff was not as fun as the others. The place could use and update and deep cleaning.

76. I was very disappointed there were flies surrounding our table the sushi was dry there was a piece of plastic left on the roll the teryaki was ok the rice was sponge like the salad was brown probably the worst service I have ever got in a restaurant and the total was 62 dollars which I don’t mind spending on good food but this was truly mediocre I have got better store bought sushi for less that was actually appetizing.

77. Chicken was dry, rice was hard and the sushi was nothing special

78. Chicken teriyaki and chicken katsu were so dry I couldn’t chew, rice on the side was so hard as well, as it if was sitting out for a long time.
    Service is whatever

79. Smells bad but food was great

80. Stopped in here for a feed after whale watching. 👌 Great food, service, atmosphere and big servings this is the place to go. Prices were most reasonable too. If you’re after a great tepenyaki meal give this place a go!

81. The food is always good. The sushi bar is the what my family enjoys the most. The atmosphere could be lighten up more as the sitting is very dark.

82. Great Sushi Bar! Has a wide range of Sushi choices.

83. We got the guy that makes lots of jokes so it was so much fun! Loved it

84. Went there for my birthday tonight, not only did the cook rush through cooking the meal and not interact with us, he flung sauce on my husbands face. Then the waitress accidentally dumped an entire cup of soup and sauce on my husband and I. I guess you could say it was not his night. We realize accidents happen but they did not even comp our meal. Food was great but we missed the “show” because we spent our time cleaning ourselves off to ensure our clothes were not ruined. Horrible experience. We work hard for our money and will not spend it here.

85. It’s very loud. If you have more than 8 people they automatically charge at 20% tip and tax is 10.4 % as of today. It’s a fun experience.

86. Sushi was ok but service was horrible. I was sat at the bar and ignored for over 30 minutes. Sushi chefs wouldn’t even look at me and waitresses would just walk by and not say a word. Finally one came and asked if anyone has helped me just when I was about to leave. When I was done, it was another wait to get my check. I definitely will not be going back.

87. Great food and service, the building inside looks dated and not appealing, .

88. I came here for my birthday. It was nice and the you get the amount of food for about 3 people. I can’t complain, that’s lunch for the next day. The Sushi bar has lots of options. It has a turn style belt with made sushi rolls and you grab what you want. I thought that was interesting.

89. Great food and staff. Pretty loud atmosphere, found it difficult to enjoy a meal and date night.

90. Cool place with good food but the service wasn’t that great.

91. Fantastic food! The atmosphere is not to the same standard as the food. The concrete floor and half walls, and full bus trays of dirty dishes in the main eating area feels less than (especially compared to beautifully prepared and served sushi).

92. Food and service were excellent. However, the ventilation near the cooking services was inadequate. The food smells were great for the nose but they get into your clothes and hair. You take those smells home with you.

93. Enjoyed the Hibachi experience for dinner. Friendly staff and delicious food, prices were reasonable too. We had leftovers for dinner the following night as well as breakfast!

    Edit 12/22- me and my wife and 20 month old son waited over a hour and a half as three groups came and gone. Waitress said they didn’t have a dishwasher yet three groups came and left full as we waited it lobby. I understand staffing shortages but my family wasted a hour and a half with a hungry infant and nobody updated us even though we kindly approached the host asking what the delay was but they refused to update us. My family and a dozen others waisted hours on a disorganized host and ended up leaving going elsewhere. Do not go here until The owners own up to this. Will update if changes are made.