Sakura Japanese Restaurant

[BogeyBoy]

Sakura in Colony Plaza opened today. A widely varied menu, salads, soups, appetizers, sushi, sashimi, rolls, box dinners, tumpura, katsu, cha han, hibachi, japanese noodles, donburi, naruto, and more.

I'll try to get down there to eat this evening and give you my humble evaluation of the food.

[MSNPA]

I cannot wait to try this restaurant. I have been anxiously waiting for it to open. My kind of food!

[redwitch]

Sure hope it's better than the one in LSL. Stopped there to have sushi one day and the fish smelled!!!!! My guess is they purchased frozen fish (semi forgiveable given this area), defrosted and kept it refrigerated for at least three days (probably more). Completely unforgiveable when it comes to sushi, so I'm hoping this place is better.

[Yoda]

Good sushi at Publix, believe it or not. Little selection unless you know what you like. They will make whatever you ask for if they have the fish.

Yoda

[redwitch]

Totally agree, Yoda -- Publix really does have the best sushi around here. I just want a little more variety and it is nice to actually sit down and eat it right after it's made once in awhile.

[BogeyBoy]

Went to Sakura last night. Sat at the sushi bar and ordered a variety of items. They gave us a complimentary appetizer which was very tasty. The sushi and rolls we ordered were very good, and when we asked for them to alter a "standard" roll they did so with no problem and got it right.

They had quite a few customers - which indicates to me a lot of people have been monitoring them for an opening date. I overheard others say "we'll be back" and we voiced the same opinion.

My expectations were a little low for service, etc. because they had just opened. I was pleasantly surprised, they did a great job. The sushi chefs seemed to be showing each other various ways of presentation, kind of sharing experience.

We didn't order anything from the kitchen, just the sushi bar. The menu looks interesting but sushi bars seem like a magnet for us.

[Tweety Bird]

My husband and I ate at Sakura this evening (Friday). What a great little place! Everything is so clean looking. The decor has dark colors which make it very intimate and warm. Their wood work is beautifully varnished. Three TV's in there with sub titles. Not good if you want your male date to pay full attention to you. haha! We ordered lots of sushi and sashimi and the salmon, urchin, bass, tuna and scallops were FRESH as FRESH can be. All the smaller dishes (appetizers) were garnished with lovely color. Yellow lemon, parsley and a cherry. I loved the yellow, green and red. We shared a tofu vegetable soup and had chicken on a skewer. We finished up with desert. A green tea ice cream surrounded with a deep fried tempura batter with whipped cream and a cherry. The shrimp dumplings were SO delicious and hot. The mostly female, Japanese wait staff dressed in black were very attentive, pleasant and attractive. One couple near us ordered a Bento Box (which was not in a box) and she rather preferred it that way. Her shrimp was slightly cold and they immediately took care of it and returned it piping hot. The dishes are white and square and I appreciated the chop stix which were a better quality than your average chop stix which seem to splinter. Once again, very attentive. The owner came around and I heard people complimenting him and wishing him good luck. We will definitely return! :thumbup:

[jazzy48]

We just returned from dinner there tonight. Other than the fact that we are miserably full, everything was outstanding. Between us, we enjoyed the Bento Box, vegetable tempura, gyoza, California Roll sushi (no shashimi for us), soups, and salads. They were quite busy, and all of the servers were delightful. The manager stopped by to check on things, and I assured him that I now have a new favorite restaurant. Such a clean, attractive, delicious place to eat.

[uujudy]

Do they have Japanese beers or sake?

[Tweety Bird]

Do they have Japanese beers or sake?


Yes, Sake for sure. I had some

[uujudy]

Thanks, Tweety Bird!
:beer3:

[MSNPA]

Went to Sakura last evening - FANTASTIC. Nice atmosphere, great service and the freshest sushi I have had since moving to Florida.

[Bosoxfan]

Went to Sakura last evening - FANTASTIC. Nice atmosphere, great service and the freshest sushi I have had since moving to Florida.

:agree: If you go you won't be disappointed!! Excellent food,service and atmosphere.Location is convenient for us also seeing we live in Amelia..:clap2:

[BogeyBoy]

Went for the second time last night.

This place does not disappoint. Excellent presentation, fresh sushi melted in our mouths, staff very attentive.

Last time we were there they gave us a free appetizer. This time we got a free desert. Both were different than anything we have had before, fresh fruit mixed with fresh fish.

We have stuck to rolls and sushi on both visits but they have quite an interesting menu. I guess the sushi bar is like a magnet for us.

Does anyone know if this is the rebirth of the Sakura that was in Lady Lake?

[Skip]

Does anyone know if this is the rebirth of the Sakura that was in Lady Lake?

No. Different owners! Sakura is a common Japanese word - it means "Japanese Cherry Blossom".

Skip

[BogeyBoy]

No. Different owners! Sakura is a common Japanese word - it means "Japanese Cherry Blossom".

Skip

Thanks Skip, I know it's common but also an interesting coincidence.

[Grill Meister]

Took a party of 10 over the other night and the service and food was outstanding. Nuf said.:blahblahblah:
Just a note to our "happy hour" enthusiasts......"happy hour" is 11am 'til 6PM

[zcaveman]

Is this a Japanese hibachi type restaurant where they sit you with strangers or can you just get a table for two and order off of a menu?

[MSNPA]

No it is not like a Japanese Steak House (i.e. Benihanna (sp?) in PA). At Sakura you sit at your own table and order off the menu.

[zcaveman]

Thanks. Now it is worth the trip.

[JAV0108]

Because of comments on TOTV, my hubby and I decided to try Sakura tonight. We are not big sushi eaters but love good Japanese food. We were not disappointed and we even tried a veggie sushi which was very good. I would definitely recommend to anyone asking about this type of restaurant. The service was great, and the food delcious. I will definitely be going back and ordering more sushi.

[redwitch]

Finally got to check it out today. There were three of us sitting at the sushi bar at lunch time. The funny thing is we were all from California (San Diego, Monterey, San Francisco). The vote was unanimous.

Jing was the sushi chef. The fish had no fishy smell, the selection was excellent, the plating was beautiful! Oh, did I mention the sushi was good? One thing I truly appreciated was that I had ordered ikura (salmon roe) with raw quail egg. Jing refused to serve it, saying the eggs weren't fresh. The hand roll of salmon skin was perfect -- a little spicy and wonderfully crunchy. The spicy tuna sushi was probably a little too spicy but still good. The octopus needed to be cooked a tad more but was still good.

My neighbor had shrimp heads compliments of the chef. He said they were excellent and offered one to me. Sadly, allergies prevented me from munching on one but they certainly looked yummy.

I also found out the best days to go for sushi were Wednesdays and Thursdays -- the fish, etc. comes in on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

I'll definitely be back. So will the other Californians I ate with.

[Grill Meister]

Ate there last week....had a party of 12 and they seated us in a room to ourselves. Everybody....everybody and that don't happen often....raved about the food and the service. Only questions was if they thought us to be alcholohics????? Happy hour is 3pm to 6pm.....ya gotta get started drinking real early.:22yikes:

Try it....you'll like it :loco:

[dfn8tly]

Going to take some really good friends to Sakura tonight. These are sophisticated people who have traveled worldwide and enjoy Japanese cuisine. Would those of you who have been there please give me some suggestions on items you especially liked. I'm looking forward to a very pleasant evening. Thanks for your input.

[rjsjr]

And they do have Japanese beer, too.

[dfn8tly]

My friends and I had an excellent dinner here last evening. Very impressive menu and excellent service. This is dfn8tly a keeper!

[spk7951]

While my wife has been a fan of Japanese cuisine for a long time I basically had no interest in trying it. After hearing positive feedback from our friends and reading the comments on TOTV I thought that maybe I should give it a try. Now my wife is shocked that I tried it and even more shocked that I want to go back. We went last night and found the decor to be nice and the staff is be very attentive. I have to admit that I very much enjoyed our dinner. Soup, salad and dinner were excellent and they won me over. We/I will definitely be back!