Review Sakura Japanese Restaurant - Brisbane

We visited this restaurant at lunch time. The lunch set was okay, but for the price you would have expected better quality food and presentation. The stir fry seafood udon looked okay, but it was way too oily - with oil dripping off each strand of noodle. After managing to finish the dish (so we don't waste it), the leftover oil on the plate can be used to make 2 more dishes of stir fry at home... 🤷‍♀️ Maybe other foods at the restaurant will be of better quality...

Always sensational! One of the best south side Japanese restaurant. Love their fresh Japanese sashimi and sushi. Parents love their hot pot style food eg sukiyaki and shabu shabu. Menu choices are quite extensive. Service is average. Though if you come as a big group, very limited seating indoor so most likely you will be placed outside of the restaurant in the walkway area.

The small indoor dining area is a tad squeezy. I recommend the very fresh Sashimi here and one can decide on the Sashimi Boat or a selection of Nigiri. I avoid the Sushi Rolls here after disappointing orders.

The food does not taste good, especially the wagyu steak. Cold and tasteless. The sushi platter was also a big disapointment. Nothing worth the money. So much room for improvement. Rice was the only thing that they have done well. Sayonara.

Good food but sashimi was not super fresh. Nice and great quality for a place that is hidden and super small.

The costumer service is absolutely disgusting. As I am an Uni lover, I ordered $18 sea urchin (Uni). The quality of Uni was terrible. I could not even swallow it because of strong ammonia odour. I immediately spitted it out and did not eat the rest of Uni. The other one colour was dark and it was not tempting at all. That Uni was the worst I’ve ever had. I told one of the waitresses to inform that the urchin is not fresh and politely asked her to take the plate back. And then an old lady waitress (she is a boss I guess) came with that plate straight afterwards told us “This is normal.” Oh well, how do you know without tasting it. I know you guys have a pride of fresh sashimi/food and I understand the supplying fresh seafood is not that easy. I wouldn’t be so offended if one of them apologised or delivered something better costumer service. I tasted, I smelled it and I have no doubt that it was completely off. I paid ORIGINAL price with 1% surcharge. Again, no apologies... One thing also got me mad was other table got fresh Uni. I could tell it was fresh because their Uni colour was bright and yellow meanwhile, ours was greyish. Even they also agreed that our Uni colour is not great. Why do I have to pay the same price if the seafood is not fresh?? So unfair and so random… Other food was good but Uni + the lady attitude ruined everything.

It tastes very good and the sashimi was absolutely fresh. I recommend here for sure.

Without doubt, one of the best Japanese restaurant's in Brisbane. The sashimi and sushi rolls are superb in every way! The seafood and ingredients are so fresh. The service and food is first class. If you love Japanese food this is an absolute must. Very highly recommended.

One of my go-to Japanese restaurants in Brisbane's southside. It's definitely one of those alleyway restaurants that you wouldn't think to go in, but the food is amazing! Sashimi is so fresh, and their sushi rolls are devine. Definitely recommend their sunset roll and ebi tem roll 😍

Have not been back nearly one year so revisited this izakaya on Last Friday night. We arrived slightly earlier than our reserved time at 7:00pm and had to wait for a while because it was full house. Turn-over very quick that they arranged a table for us within five minutes. <br/>Perused the menu and we decided just to have a sashimi patter and there special promotion of the combination of Wagyu Short Ribs and the A5 Kagoshima Kuro Ushi with rice. Sashimi platter came the first, which looked spectacular. There were totally ten types of fresh seafood. Thick cut fish fillet reminded me the time to have sashimi in Hosokawa. In fact, the head chef here is friend of Akio Hosokawa and the way that they prepared sashimi is very similar. <br/>Next came the hero of the night. On the plate, there were two types of beef; one was the local Wagyu Short Ribs and the other was the imported A5 black cow beef from Kagoshima. They both are very impressive on the external marble appearance. We enjoyed to do the cooking by ourselves so we could have them either medium or med-rare. Both type of beef are very tenderized and tasteful.<br/>A very impressive dinner this time👍<br/><br/>Previous visits: Dec 2018 Rating 4/5; Sep 2016 Rating 5/5

We only visit Sakura for their excellent Sashimi and perhaps a few side dishes. From previous visits their Sushi and Large Rolls are disappointing so we avoid ordering them here. <br/><br/>As expected, the Assorted Sashimi is fresh and delicious. Our sides of Agedashi Tofu and Char Grilled Octopus are good. Interestingly, when I enquire about why I was only served a half bowl of rice, I was told that is the amount of rice served here. 😳

We walked in a table for 3 persons tonight.<br/>After recommended by friends we thought we give it a go.<br/>To our biggest surprise, the food was a total disappointment<br/>with a Michelin Star price.<br/>thanks for $80.00 worth of food and still left very hungry.<br/>Even with Sushi Edo, they will beat you on PRICE & TASTE<br/>ANY GIVEN DAY.<br/>We definitely wont be returning any time soon and will not<br/>be recommended to our friends.

Re-visited this izakaya last night. Obviously, business has been grown with more wait-staff instead of just one last time. Ordered the sashimi (main), Wagyu sashimi (my favourite), Geso Yaki, cream croquette, Unagi & cucumber roll, ebi tem roll. <br/>Honestly, we were disappointed this time. Portions of dishes have been reduced; particularly the wagyu sashimi. Sushi rolls were not as tasteful as before. Geso Yaki only served in squid legs. At the end, we have to add the Pork loin in order to fill up our half-filled stomach. Although the sashimi plate is fresh, we can have the same freshness in Hana Sushi @ Sunnypark.  <br/>Wish the management can think about it :( <br/>Rating 3.5/5<br/><br/>Sep 15, 2016  Rating 5/5 <br/>Read so many positive reviews of this Izakaya and eventually managed to have dinner at this place last night. Arrived at 5:45pm. When I first stepped in the dining area, I felt that I have made the right choice. There are four to five Japanese staff working in this little restaurant with seating capacity of 35. Just looked at the two chefs working at the sushi bar, I could judge that they must be very busy. The observation on their take-away orders from so many Japanese customers proved it to be true. They have menu with nice pictures and spectacular varieties. Particularly some of them are not offered by other Japanese restaurants in Brisbane, such as Wagyu Sashimi and Ama Ebi Sashimi. Needless to say, these two dishes were the first lot of order that I aimed. Then I order the Grilled Octopus, Sunset Sushi Roll, Scampi Hand Roll, Eel Nigiri and Tamago Nigiri and we placed an extra order of small combination Sashimi at the end. If I write my appreciation on each dishes, it will definitely take a few pages. Just cut the long story short, then it will be fresh, fresh, fresh, quality quality, quality, tasty, tasty, tasty. Most importantly, the price delivers high CP ratio. Overall it's performance is over Hosokawa at Racecourse Road. What a local gem! Thumb up! Like,like, like!

Tried the lunch box special today. The miso soup was lukewarm and lacked flavour. The lunch box itself was okay. Sashimi was fresh but some pieces were extremely small and again even the hot food wasn’t served hot. Wasabi was nearly the star of the meal! A real shame as my prev experiences admittedly all dinners were all good.

I’m going to keep this short and sweet. Among a huge number of restaurants in Brisbane trying to do Japanese cuisine, Sakura is among the best of the best. The fit out is very very modest, the location is hardly a destination and yet the quality of food speaks volumes. I can only think of 1 other Japanese restaurant that’s as good as this place in Brisbane and it’s located all the way over the other side of town. So, what makes this place so good? The seafood is just so fresh and has obviously been picked out by a very keen eye. The knife work is excellent and gets the best textures out of every slice. The flavors within the dishes outside of the sushi/sashimi were also all very authentic in their subtlety. Japanese food when done well isn’t overly flavorful, just balanced. Not much more to say other than it’s a very solid 5 and I believe you will seldom receive a bad meal here.

Rated as one of the “seriously good sushi” we thought to give it a try. Very disappointed! Very expensive and totally not worth the price, for this kind of price you can have excellent quality sushi in big Japanese restaurants. My husband and I spent over $60 for just the two of us finished our meal still hungry. The tea has little to no tea taste and the tempura udon was a huge disappointment for almost $19 tempura udon with two prawns and a small bowl average tasted soup. Would not comeback or recommend to our friends.

Friendly staff, really nice sushi. Fresh seafood.<br/><br/><br/>Also tried the Wagyu sashimi which was so tender, shame probably less than 50g per thinly served slices serving.<br/><br/>Bit exy, but worth it IMO

Well, Japanese is my favourite cuisine. The decor of this place is average and they are a bit pricy, but I am still giving them a 4⭐️ because when you look past those 2, the food and service are amazing! I think they have one of the best sushi 🍣, tobiko roll is my absolute favourite, but others are great too.. their sushi came out at the right temperatures, and if you eat sushi at the sushi trains you will know what I mean (those sushi are usually cold). They also have one of the best sashimi (extremely fresh). I love to eat wagyu steak and shabu shabu.

I lived in Japan for few years and I think they serve authentic Japanese food. The customer service is actually good even when the while restaurant is busy. Also, their food is fresh and tasty, especially their sashimi. The sashimi moriawase has many kind of fish and other seafood. I looked at the comments below and I was disappointed as I think some of the comments are fake and is trying to promote for other restaurants, they should've show some evidence if that is true not just comment and give 1 star

I used to like this place, but I tried to order Sukiyaki today and the wagyu beef was not fresh and very dark looking. I asked the waitress to change to the fresher beef. She said her boss said that was fresh. I was concerned that I would have a stomachache after eating it and it certainly wasn’t worth of $72 for the beef that was close to go off! I’m disappointed about their customer service. <br/><br/>Don’t come here. Go to other better Japanese restaurants in Brisbane like Sono or Hosakawa at Hamilton where they have fresher food and better customer service.

Fresh, melt in your mouth tasty. We shared salmon sushi, curry Udon and ginger pork. Don't be put off by the looks of this place. It's what is inside that counts. We will be back!

First time coming here after the reviews. Food didn't disappoint and at a reasonable price<br/><br/>Had the lunch special bento quite filling. Friend had the aburi don which I tasted great and the sashimi was fresh and a reasonable price as well.<br/><br/>Restaurant was full when we arrived and waitress seemed very busy so not as friendly. <br/><br/>Decor is simple.

With my wife being a big sushi fan, and with some recommendations from friends, we simply had to try this place.<br/>It is a bit hidden away inside what is a very small shopping centre on Beenleigh Rd. <br/>The sunset sushi roll and rainbow rolls we ordered were quite nice, but nothing spectacular. Will have to try out the menu more extensively in the future.

Very good food, perfect for my Japanese cravings and good sized portions. The staff was very friendly! Quick service and reasonable price. Can't wait to go back!

Love the food. Absolutely delicious and fresh. Had sashimi, Beef Aburi and Unagi & Cucumber roll. The Aburi is the best I ever had in Brisbane and I'm a jap food lover. Highly recommended with the food but I'm giving 4.5 due to the hygiene I noticed on the Japanese chefs at the bar. Maybe because I compared them with other jap restaurants where the chefs have proper uniform and always looking clean especially they can be seen by customers.

Very genuine food, walking its talk. The restaurant is a hidden gem on Beenleigh Road. They take pride in every plate they serve, making each plate a pleasure to the taste-buds. Would strongly recommend this restaurant. Please be warned that this is not your typical fancy Japanese restaurant. But once you've tried this, I'm pretty sure you will want to go back for more.

So tasty! Sashimi is so fresh, wagyu sashimi is super good!! Do not miss their hotate salmon roll and spider roll! We're already planning our next visit! Make sure you bring a nice bottle of sparkling to go with your sashimi or sushi!!

After going to Mizu, the next place on my Japanese Food of Brisbane bucket list was Sakura at Runcorn. Having gone to it previously to find it closed, we made sure to check its opening times and head there when we were sure it was open. Being situated in quite a hidden corner in a little shopping complex in Runcorn meant that only people who were really looking for it could find it.

Walked in on a quiet Monday evening with a friend and was welcomed by very polite servers and sushi chefs. On display were fresh and large cuts of seafood like tuna and salmon meats which was encouraging to see. Agedashi Tofu in Tempura sauce - friend ordered this one and we thought it was a great vegetarian option. Tofu was slightly crisp and the sauce was flavoursome and complemented the tofu well. The wagyu aburi I felt was slightly overpriced for $7.50 for two pieces but I could understand due to it being a wagyu meat. Nevertheless it was very delicious and well seared on the outside. Hotate Tobikko roll which was fresh scallops on fish roe. Scallops were definitely very fresh and delicious. Also tried the spider roll (soft shell crab) which is a must try at this place. They cook it right with it being very crispy on the outside while it being soft and full of flavour on the inside. To end the dinner we shared two scoops of black sesame and green tea ice cream which was not too bad. I just hoped they would have been more creative with it instead of just having two scoops sitting in a bowl. Overall, a lovely sushi spot and I'm eager to try other dishes as it was so difficult to decide between all the dishes on my first visit.

Followed The Invisible Food Critic here for our Tuesday night sushi fix and this place didn't disappoint. While Sakura serves similar style sushi to Oishii Sushi in Sunnybank Hills, Sakura has a better menu. The place was surprisingly full at 9pm Tuesday. They are a clear local's favourite. Here's our humble explanation why.<br/><br/>While they aren't cheap, they serve very good quality food. The best example tonight was the Wagyu Beef Sashimi which was just thinly sliced raw wagyu beef with mince garlic, ginger and soy based sauce. The beef literally melted in your mouth. In a dish like this, there's no where to hide. Another pick tonight was Sunset roll, Scallop, Aburi Salmon and Spicy Mayo. Again it was delicious. Deep fried Soft Shell Crab in Spider roll was done so well. The batter was crisp, crab was still juicy, which makes their Spider Rolls tasted better than most. Agedashi Tofu, while I felt lacked dashi flavour, the batter was great. Overall, the food was really tasty.<br/><br/>Another great little sushi joint added to our book of awesomeness. Say Repeat!

We came on a Thursday night and it was quite busy but service was prompt. The sashimi plate ($24) was fresh and authentic and the wasabi tasted home made and delicious. We ordered the salmon and scallop sushi, both quite nice but lacking in flavour and were not really to my liking ($14 each). Overall, the sushi is authentic Japanese so if you're used to sushi that's fried, has mayonnaise/avocado go elsewhere as this stuff is very RAW and very 'sushi'.

FIRST TIME AT SAKURA.WHAT A PLEASUREABLE DINING EXPERIENCE.(DONT WORRY ABOUT THE LOW PROFILE DECOR)THE FOOD MAKES UP FOR IT.SERVICE WAS VERY GOOD.THE SASHIMI WAS FIRST CLASS,BEAUTIFULLY PRESENTED.EVERY DISH WAS EXCELLENT.WE WILL MAKE THIS RESTAURANT A REGULAR PLACE TO VISIT.

This place was quite small inside and restaurant location is quite scary. However once inside it was welcoming and inviting inside. This place was reasonably priced. The salmon sashimi I ordered were cut in thick slices which I was happy about. However when I came home I started to feel funny in my stomach and my friend got a stomach pain. However overall it was ok experience.

Had the loveliest time here! Greeted by the owner's wife and the owner himself Yoshi.<br/><br/>this sashimi set is to die for, then I ordered two more sushi rolls: the salmon and avocado with mayo and the sunset roll with consisted of scallop in the middle and seared salmon with a coat of spicy mayo on top of the roll. Then I had to try their greentea ice cream for the love of greentea, the greentea ice cream unfortunately isn't as good as Just Soy's having a more cream texture that masks the greentea flavour, however it was still nice and refreshing. Basically I have a 10/10 experience and was in a sushi/sashimi coma for days. <br/>Although the place is relatively small I like how you are able to see all the fresh variety of fish on display and watch the chef work his magic. Definitely would recommend if you know what fresh sashimi is all about!!!

Fresh and deliciously good. I had lunch there today. The service was quick and efficient. The happy sushi chef had a big grin on his face and the food was fantastic. Ive never had sushi or sashimi this good in my life. Truly Brisbane's best japanese restaurant.

Surcharge imposed whilst NOT a public holiday - rip off. Please beware of this shop. They charge extra 10% whilst not even a public holiday.

For a few years, this place was great...we often frequented this restaurant, often once a week. Unfortunately, the quality is no long there. The portions became smaller & the presentations were hideous. It's sad.<br/>We haven't returned in over 12 months now.

Sashimi. So fresh !!!! impressive quality worth paying for.

Beat Japanese food around the area. Been there couple of times cause I love it! Staff are friendly and the food came out quick. It is one of the best sushi in Brisbane in my opinion. I've tried their teriyaki rice and many sushi and they never disappoint me. The fried dumplings (Gyoza) are excellent! My family enjoyed the seafood platter very much. There are a great variety of food to choose from the menu no matter you are a sashimi lover or not.

Great food. I've been going to this restaurant for a long time. It's been there for nearly 20 years now and still has not changed. Great fresh sashimi I always enjoy it. Service can improve a bit, but it's hard when you're the owner chef.

Not worth the money. Won't come back. Maybe the sashimi is good. Definitely don't try sushi. It's the worst I have ever had in a Japanese restaurant.

I've come home!!! Missed you since leaving Highgate Hill. I have to say I much prefer the ambience at Runcorn to hip Highgate Hill. I know most will disagree. It's become more about the food and less about the location. The food is on par if not better than HH. Went with spouse and Misse's 8 and 10. We had gyoza, seafood salad, tempura vegetable, rainbow roll, taki yaki, karage, teriyaki roll and edamame. Food was amazing and service above and beyond. Super helpful. Worth the drive. Place was full of people of Japanese origin. That's got to be a good sign.

Genuine Japanese. I really recommend everyone to go to Sakura Runcorn. Lots of similar restaurants including name (Sakurayama, Sakura sushi whatever etc), but this Sakura Runcorn is genuine. I am Japanese, trust me.

Had the worse tenzaru udon ever, the udon noodle wasnt cook properly

Very rude.. I go there oftern because It is around my house.<br/>yesterday. the girl works there was so rude and unfriendly.<br/>I was severly offended by her.<br/>I asked how I put stickers on the card. then she was very annoyed with my question. <br/>I just can not understand. if she doesn't want to work there. she can just quit her hob. I think there will be plenty of people want to have a job. <br/>why she stands there make people feel bed?<br/>I really want to make strong complain to the boss there.

Best sashimi in south Brisbane. We love it here! The service is warm and friendly, the restaurant cosy and welcoming. We always get the sashimi platter which is delicious and so fresh. The other meals are delicious as well. Much better value than nearby sushi train and oishi sushi

Over priced sashimi. Maybe a good restaurant for those who only eat sushi rolls, but absolutely not for the real Japanese diner who love raw fish and seafood.<br/><br/>sashimi is overpriced considering the taste, look, and the dining envoirment. It is too much for a family style restaurant with no atmosphere at all

Good food, when there about a month ago. Everything is just fresh and yummy.

SUSHI!. I love sushi. However, I dislike sushi when it's being sold cold. Which is pretty much a lot of places these days. To me sushi isn't just some piece of cheap nori wrapped with cooked rice stuffed with a bit of meat and a slither of cucumber, sold for 2.50. It's a work of art. The slowly cooked rice tossed lightly with vinegar, the shaping, placing of the ingredients and the delicate shape it holds. This place is truly one of the most authentic Japanese sushi places left that adheres to these practices! The service is friendly, quality - it's delectable! and price - well it's fantastic, so it's of course worth it! I recommend this place for anyone - people with a love of sushi and to those who've never had sushi before. It's the place to go to! The only little downside is when the place is packed and the chairs are hard to move. But the food is amazing!

Cosy Place for Japanese. I find this place a nice cosy place. Always had fresh seafood there and never had any issues. Place is not high end, but price is expected to be high just like most japanese restaurants. Worth it or not, this one is on the borderline of personal preference. For me, I'll come here if I don't want to drive far for good japanese food. I rate it 7.5/10

Worst Japanese restaurant I been to. The sashimi was overly priced and the slices were so thin that you could almost see through them. Just had dinner, the food was average, the restaurant itself was uncomfortable and the price was way above market. $65 for a small sashimi (10 pieces), 6 pieces of grilled cuttlefish tentacles, one chawamushi and a sushi roll...could've got the same for $40 at most other restaurants. Highly not recommended, unless you feel like being robbed, or too cashed up and got nowhere else to spend it.

Good sushi place. We were a bit hesitant to go to another Japanese place on the southside of town as we have been long time fans of Oiishi sushi. We decided to finally give Sakura a try for dinner tonight. We ordered the shasimi, sunset sushi roll and the rainbow roll. The shasimi was ok but not great. My first piece of tuna was sinewy which was not a good start to the meal but the salmon was thickly cut and was nice and fatty. The two sushi rolls were very delicious. But one piece of the sunset roll did not have a piece of scallop in it and was merely rice with a thin slice of salmon on top. For dessert, we tried a scoop of black sesame and a scoop of green tea ice cream. Yum and creamy. <br/>We were also very pleasantly surprised by the service (particularly given previous reviews) as the girls were very friendly and made sure my cup of green tea was always filled. We will be returning to try the other sushi rolls.

One nice Japanese Restaurant for Sushi. It is a very nice and bargain place for sushi and sashimi. Decent quality comparing to the price. It is a very busy place, if you want to visit during weekend, it is recommended to book first. We go there now and then and always order the sunset roll, deep fried salmon roll and spider roll, sometimes karaage roll. We have tried the dish menu, but would not recommend them.

This restaurant may be a little hard to find but when you do it is worth it. The food is fresh and.presented nicely. The food is delicious, the staff are great and the prices are excellent.

Good Sushi. Price-9<br/>Service-10<br/>Food-9<br/>Atmosphere-6<br/><br/>Great fresh sushi

Decent. I like this place. i've been here probably about 10 times over the last few years. the food is usually pretty quick and tasty, and i think reasonably priced. the same restaurant in highgate hill or coorparoo is brilliant, but you pay $$ for that.

Excellent and affordable. Sakura is my favourite Japanese restaurant on the south-side. Super-fresh sashimi and the best sushi rolls. The tempura is really good and the wagyu steak melts in your mouth. Price is reasonable too! The service is generally great, but if you want your food fast, then I would suggest going on a week-night.

Love sushi - this is the place!. A great range of sushi rolls I tell you. I used to go to the Oiishi sushi bar which is another japanese place in the area, but since I have started eating here, I have not gone back. I pretty much eat or order take-away once every week! The owner is really lovely people, and they make the best sunset salmon roll.

Worst experience ever. We waited for 1 and a half hours because they lost our order. We checked with them after half an hour of waiting, they lied and said "the kitchen is busy". They even came and checked what we ordered and went to the kitchen. After an hour, we checked again and they made the same excuse, that the kitchen was "busy". Finally, after one and half hour, they still came to us and said the kitchen is "busy". The table next to us who came after us even got their food (same order as us) before us. It started to not make sense, so I started a little bit of raging and I said "it is not reasonable that we wait for one and half hours and the people who came after who ordered the same thing got their food BEFORE us. I can tell you guys lost our order." Then they said "Actually we lost your order." I asked them for compensation and all they offered was an apology and to cancel the order. No discount or anything. One of our friends left with an empty stomach. Seriously, they've got good food but their service is poor. -

Very nice. I've been to Sakura 3 times now and always good food, the deep fried salmon sushi roll is the best and also the pork katsu, I love the crab croquettes and the green tea ice cream is good also, I'd recommend this place to anyone.

Mixed experience. I've been to Sakura several times. The first time I was there, it was some of the best Japanese food I've had outside Tokyo. The 2nd visit was quite different. The chefs were the same, but the quality just wasn't there, and I was very disappointed. On subsequent visits, the standard has been moderately high, sometimes it is excellent, other times so-so. It can be really good, but it lacks consistency.

Fresh and tasty. Fish and seafood was definitely fresh. the fish was sliced differently from what we were used to seeing (thick instead of thin), but hey, why not. tasted good anyway. <br/><br/>we ordered the salad and the beef sushi as well, and that came out pretty well. one of the better value and better tasting japanese we've had, in melbourne, sydney or brisbane.

March. The sashimi was very good. Very fresh. Other types of Japanese food like tempuras and katsudons were average. It is a place to go for the sashimi. Comparable to more expensive restaurant like Sono in the city.

Cannot compare with the good old Sakura of Highgate Hill. Dined at the Runcorn location for the 1st time since their open, was fairly disappointed of course. <br/><br/>Ordered a large sushi moriawase (close to $40) and only a few moments later it arrived on the table. Around 10 pieces of nigiri sushi were oddly 'crammed' onto a ship that would normally be used to serve sashimi only. Needless to say I had a bit of trouble taking out the nigiri without making the rice crumble into little bits as they were so tightly squashed. <br/>Knife skills of the sushi chef was poor and careless, bits of skin and tough chewy bits remain on the fish and shape of the fish slices were cut into rectangular chunks, instead of a nice wrap around sort of integrated shape for nigiri. (The boss chef wasn't around at the time, so maybe that's why).<br/>The sushi rice weren't even properly cooled to room temp before being used as it was still fairly warm and it's not the best tasting if you can imagine trying to eat that with raw slices of fish.<br/><br/>Have been to the Highgate Hill location well over a dozen times before, and have been a fan ever since, but this Runcorn Sakura is definately not up to the standard.<br/>The takeaway-like furnishing and deco is just horrible, put on top of that poorly trained staff , which then makes you wonder if the management are being too arrogant and disrespectful to their customers for the prices they're even asking on the menus?<br/><br/>btw. they accept cash only, even though there's a visa card sign out the front window.

The sashimi platter came out pretty quick, and it was cool to see them prepare it behind the fridge counter that displays their sashimi. The array included salmon, large chunks of tuna, thin slathers of squid, two scallops, kingfish, and mackerel. It was a relief to find that the mackerel did not have a pungent smell, as I have experienced before, and was more of a pleasant experience this time around. Everything was sweet and plump, and was thawed adequately as to not leave water residue on the plate. The seafood salad contained a leaf mix, and had chunks of sashimi such as salmon, tuna, scallops, kingfis

I've been to Sakura a few times before and I was always happy with my meal. The first time was when we thought it was still a Korean restaurant but turned out it was already changed owner and turned to a Japanese restaurant. We ordered the standard Katsu and Teriyaki, I think, only to realise later on that it was actually a sushi bar. One occassion, we tried the sushi rolls and we were pleased to find this place. On my birthday last year, we ordered a sashimi boat and the whole family enjoyed that too. Tonight, I had a hankering for sashimi so I ordered the small size plate along with a sushi roll and our favourite Japanese entree, Agedashi Tofu. First the Agedashi Tofu. I just love the batter they have on their tofu. It was nice and crisp when dry, but gooey when combined with the sauce. The tofu was soft and

The food at Sakura was simple yet done well. I love how fast everything was served. It's not the most glamarous restaurant but if you're after a quality Japanese feed, featuring sushi or sashimi, I'd recommed this place.

Sakura Japanese is named after the Japanese Cherry Blossom - the symbolic flower of Japan. The new Runcorn restaurant is located at a small shopping centre and it is quite tricky to locate the restaurant because it has no signs outside.