Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St #121
San Diego, CA 92184 (858) 569-6151
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
42 Reviews for Izakaya Sakura
Let's NOT go crazy here folks. The service was three stars alone, great attitudes, beautiful servers...but the food? Second rate, man the hype is ridiculous. I spent a lot of time in Tokyo, this place is par with a lot of the cheap, reasonably priced places I used to haunt and will probably haunt next month when I go out there again.
Boring, bland, spicy Tuna Don was "not sooo much".
I was truly impressed with the staff and the cleanliness of this place. Not worthy of five stars or even four for that matter, give me a break...
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Letting the sushi chef choose what you will eat is a really good concept in my book. I've learned to just trust them to give you what they think is reflective of the restaurant.
Since an izakaya isn't known for sushi, I was glad that the chef gave us samples of other dishes from the menu. The sushi was very fresh, the salmon was the best I've ever had, it just melted in my mouth.
I also enjoyed the seabass and the uni pasta. The oyster shooter I got had 2 oysters in it, maybe because my wife doesn't eat oysters so I got double. Who knows, but it was awesome!
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I've tried several things here: omurice, udon, okonomiyaki, hamburg steak. Sadly, the only thing that was good was probably the omurice. The udon was very plain and small, the okonomiyaki lacked flavor, and the hamburg steak was overcooked, in fact it tasted as if it's been heated once then reheated again in a microwave. Well, at least this place has better omurice than Curry House.
After the close to sickening meal we had at lunch time I had a splitting headache and my stomach felt so unwell that I had to take a nap so I could even muster the thought of dinner. I ended up looking on yelp for a Japanese restaurant and then calling Sakura to make a reservation for a late dinner.
I told hubby we should go earlier in case we couldn't find parking, but it wasn't parking that got us, it was the lack of signage. Stupid me! I had read about this on the reviews but forgot as we were searching. The GPS kept telling us "you have reached your destination" but we couldn't see it. In fact, we had driven through the strip mall twice and failed to locate it. I kept calling Sakura and the woman who answered just didn't quite understand what I was saying. Finally, she told us they were located in the same complex as Tsuruhashi so we tried for a 3rd time to find it. Of course it was right next to the Armed Forces Recruiting Center without a sign.
We sat at the sushi bar and I was glad we did. The lighting was pretty good and I didn't have to break out the flashlight to take some pretty decent photos.
Kazu-san was behind the counter. We asked him if he did omakase and he said 'what if yes'.... I replied 'if yes then that's what we'll have'. He immediately informed me "we don't make rolls" to which I replied "I don't want rolls". Hubby said it was because of him that Kazu-san said that -- LOL!!!
Hubby and I ended up having omakase and lil guy got some edamame, agedashi tofu and zaru soba (surprise surprise). We started with a variety of sushi interspersed with some cooked dishes.
Kazu-san was not stingy with his cuts of fish that's for sure. Well, I don't know if that's usually the case or whether it was because hubby offered him a drink of his choice and he chose sake. Hubby had Asahi. Turned out the sake the chef chose was $18!!! I later said to hubby it's kinda like going to a strip club and buying the stripper a drink so the house can make some money and they pick the most expensive drink they have. OH WELL!
I liked almost all of the sushi: hamachi, kampachi, mirugai, maguro, aji, albacore, salmon, uni, cod roe hand roll -- although, the maguro wasn't all that exciting. Hubby also got an oyster shooter which he proclaims was really great.
Cooked dishes included: fried seabass, meatball soup, uni pasta. I probably would've liked the seabass had I not had the sushi. The meatball soup was light and flavorful. It came with shiitake mushrooms, tofu and napa cabbage. The uni pasta tasted like it was under seasoned. The uni just didn't work well in the pasta because after heat was applied to it, the texture of the uni was hard and lost its creaminess. Maybe if the uni was mixed in AFTER the dish has finished cooking it would retain its flavor and creaminess. There was also ikura which was a great enhancer to the flavor and was the star of the pasta in my book. The addition of shiso leaves kicked it up a notch. Otherwise it didn't knock my socks off.
Lil guy's zaru soba was definitely very overcooked. It was too mushy and lil guy didn't even want to finish it. Agedashi tofu was outstanding though.
Our food cost came to $126 total which included the omakase for 2 and lil guy's food. I thought the food cost was reasonable because generally, omakase is around $60/person. Quality was good too -- not perfect, but still, very good!
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This inconspicuous izakaya style restaurant has no advertising outside so don't give up hope if you don't see it right away. Once you've found it, you will probably notice the waiters are all Japanese. There is one sushi bar that is usually not very busy but the main dining room usually packed with Japanese customers . . . encouraging signs.
The menu has many izakaya dishes. Compared to Tajima #2 the food is as good if not better. The ambiance, however, is not. But even though it feels like the back room of a warehouse, people don't go there for candle lit romance. They go for the food, which is fresh and usually well prepared.
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I went there only for lunch so i can't review their dinner.
This place is very busy for lunch and the dinning room all the time filled with Japanese customers...
The servers are all Japanese and so nice.
I ordered pork kutsu curry.. Can you believed ,I was waiting for my food about 45 mins.. (made me a little bit mad) but after I started eating, it was so delicious.. the curry and also salad. Everything are so fresh and Yummi :)
If I have time and I am not hurry or not too hungry . I think I will be back again..
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Best Japanese food in San Diego. Very authentic and has a feeling of a real home cooked Japanese meal. Nothing Americanized about this place and they have the best Katsu Curry rice (Japanese currry with Fried Pork or Fried Chicken). Their Omuraisu (Omlet with rice inside) is delicious as well. I think they have a better deal for Lunch, the dinner portion might be small in American standard. Oishii!!!!
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great for lunch, dinners, late night eats.
their lunch menus are well balanced, yummy, and great deal!! I love their boiled hamburg meal with some demigras sauce, side of salad, miso soup and rice..
but since it is an IZAKAYA, my friends and I go there to drink and try out some appetizers. It's some menu for people who are looking for unusual food: eggplant gratin, crab cream croquettes, chopped mountain potato salads, hamachi-kama, moro-Q.... give a little chance for some non-americanized stuff.
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Izakaya Sakura is my No. 1 favorite Japanese lunch spot in SD!! Random art decorate the walls and it is rather dark inside during the day, but the food is full of heart and love.. Like Yo Mama!
My suggestion, at least for the first time Sakura visitor is to resist the temptation of ordering the usual california roll, soba, or udon noodles. At Sakura, these all good but imo not exactly dishes to see how Sakura shines above the rest. I highly recommend trying one of these instead:
The Chicken Katsu. Why should I order "fried chicken"? Cause it's heavenly crispy tender, and the Special Sakura's Demi Glace leagues beyond your ordinary tonkatsu sauce from a squeeze bottle.
If you like Beef, try the Sukiyaki-don. It's great if you can get it. Usually the number of servings per day is limited.
The Uni-Ikura (sea urchin, salmon roe) Zousui is wonderful if you're in the mood for a hot rice porridge type meal. Great for cold or rainy days. In SD, that's rare, so it means I don't get it often but when I do, I never regret it.
The Katsu Curry is sinful. It always makes me want to take a nap after. Sweet dreams.
The Omu-rice is huge and I can never finish it.
The Chirashi-don is mad. (see uploaded photo) The ocean god's gift to mankind beautifully arranged in a bowl for your convenient consumption.
If you're an Ikura lover like me, you can order the Ikura-don. It's not on
the menu but the chef will gladly make it for you. It'd be priced the same as an Uni-don. Uni-don are for hardcore Uni lovers.
The Soba and Udon noodles are good. I'm not a big soba/udon eater so a place needs to really go as far as making it from scratch to make me want to order it. But if you're really into these Japanese noodles, don't hesitate to order them cause I'm sure you'd come out happy.
The appetizers might be a bit pricy but I enjoy them so much I don't think twice if I'm craving any particular. The croquettes are perfectly made. The Karage Chicken, Agedashi-dofu, and Hiyayakko, all my repeating favorites.
Dinner can get expensive here cause it turns into an Izakaya where you nibble on small plates and drink large quantities of beer. But lunch is a bargain for what you get.
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Original post: 10/20/07
I only come here for lunch so I can't comment on the night Izakaya aspect. I hear that could get a bit expensive but most Izakaya's are.
For a person like myself who's lived in Japan for a length of time (I was born and raised there until 18), the food is calming and somewhat nostalgic.
As many reviewers already mention, it is Very Authentic and great, but I want to add that it is in a milder and kinder way, as opposed to another very authentic and great Japanese place, Tajima, whose flavors are stronger with a youthful vibe.
Because of Sakura's more gentle flavors, I wouldn't mind eating here everyday. I think this is also usually why at least half of the clientele are older Japanese.
If this place were ever to be magically transplanted onto Japanese soil, it would instantly be a local favorite for sure.
Lunch portions are surprisingly large and I always leave feeling very full. There is nothing on the menu I wouldn't recommend. If you ever wondered what good Katsu tastes like, try it here. Panko bread piercing the roof of your mouth crispy! The curry is unique to Sakura with ground meat, to me a retro flavor but good nevertheless.
I must say one down side is it tends to take time for the food to come out and so I would try to come as early as possible.
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place has no sign, you wouldn't even know it's really a restaurant. is it owned by the yakuza or something??
anyway, the chirashi sashimi bowl is to die for. the izakaya part is pretty good too. beef tataki, eggplant, croquettes, the sakes are delicious, the plate lunch food is delicious... LOVE IT
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I like the Izakaya style of food which is why i like Masa and is what brought me here to Sakura. It's kind of a hard place to find because of no signage. i heard the owner took it down because he was getting tired of too many uneducated sushi eating people frequenting this place. (thank goodness japanese people always think i look japanese...)
I have no complaints about anything on the menu. it's all been good up to this point. so check it out!
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Battle of the izakaya part 1:
I first learned about Sakura in late 2006 as part of a class I took with Mineko Moreno from Great News Cooking school. The class ended with a banquet style lunch that sold me on this unadvertised restaurant. According to Moreno Sensai, Sakura once had a sign, but they became tired of customers ordering overly Americanized sushi rolls, like crunchy caterpillar rolls and the like. The Chef/ owner Kazu San wanted to preserve the traditional foods served in an authentic izakaya so he had the sign removed, relying on word of mouth to bring in new customers. (then Yelp came along..)
Many reviews document the offerings, and there are many great photos to document the presentations. This is a place for traditional ryori, not a fusion/ molecular gastronomy experiment gone bad. In a sentence: Kazu San eschews ostentatious presentations letting the inherent beauty of the food speak for itself. The voluminous menu has some interesting offerings. My last visit I had the grilled eel liver (although I didn't care for the texture of it). This is a good place for a late night cold beer, overflowing glass of chilled sake, and some small plates. The real star of the show is the sushi and sashimi prepared by Kazu himself. Watch his hands while he forms a piece of nigiri sushi and try to follow his ninja-like movements.
Most of the times I have been, I was the only Caucasian present. Ni hon go seems to be the preferred language. I am always welcomed and treated courteously, aside from some subdued chuckling coming from the kitchen when I order things like nagaimo or natto. (I'll bet they have stories of customers ordering these and sending it back because there is "something slimy in the food").
This is my favorite izakaya for FOOD. Please do go, but try something interesting and new. If you have the appetite and funds, try the omakase, or chef's choice. Whatever you do, don't order a Bruce Lee red dragon kung fu roll!
For battle of the izakaya part 2, see my review for Izakaya Masa.
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I went there with Japanese buddy of mine. yes food was good. there was young guy behind the sushi bar when I went there at the time. apparently older guy is the man. but he (older guy)wasn't there. maybe that's why the sushi sucked. other than that was okay.
sushi case was broken with ice on the bottom, how does health department allow that. servers are really friendly, its like buy me drinky bar. they come and flirt with you. you just have to buy them drinks. and they drink like fish. decent selection of sake.
Wow what a nice surprise. Food was really excellent. Definitely catering to the Japanese crowd. Specials on the wall are only in Japanese. Most patrons were Japanese. We went for dinner. The food was really really top rate. I was very surprised.
Miso soup - perfect. It was very hot which is often not the case and is annoying.
Mussels - Right on the mark, and the soup leftover was yummy.
Sea Bass marinated in miso - This was the best sea bass I have had in a long long time. It was the best dish of the night for both of us. An incredibly flavorful dish cooked perfectly.
Oysters on the half shelf - wonderful. Really right on.
Sauted squid - I never had squid so tender before. Really a wonderful dish.
Hiyayako (cold tofu) - Really perfect. Great tofu, great flavor.
The only thing is this place is a bit pricey. The portions were all on the small side, and the above meal with one soda cost $45 which includes tax and tip. This is a bit expensive for the size of the dishes. We will return however since the food was really exceptionally good.
One other bit of a downside is the wait for the food and for the check was pretty long. They do not have enough servers for this place, so things go slowly.
I struggle between a 4.0 and 5.0 because of the price and service. I will give a 4 for now because of that, but if it improves on future visits I'll up the score. This place is really better than any of my other 4 star recommendations, so it is really a difficult one.
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I swear this is like a Japanese top-secret operation, except in the form of a restaurant. You will not be able to find this place unless a friend has taken you there or you know a lot of Japanese folks. Located in the same plaza as the Original Pancake House and tucked away from public view, I was introduced to this place through word of mouth. When I arrived, I was stunned to see that It had no signs on the outside and that the windows were covered with bamboo blinds, making the place even more seclusive. As I stepped in, I was drawn to the intimate climate and the laid-back feel of this tapas/bar restaurant.
1. Food: Great. By far, this place has the most unique dishes of all the Japanese places I have been to. Many of the items from the menu were completely foreign to me, which made it difficult to decide on what to get. I ended up choosing my favorite okonomiyaki (Japanese-styled pancakes) while others in my company chose selections such as barbequed eel liver, croquette, monk fish liver, and sashimi. What I did not realize at the time is that all their plates are served as tapas, and so I was a tad disappointed to see how small the portions were. In the end I still ate enough by feeding off of others' plates.
2. Service: Ok. I have heard that the waitresses could give you attitude but thankfully I was fine with both of my waitresses. They definitely could be a lot more attentive such as taking the initiative to offer more tea or water, since their cups are rather small for tea. What I did not like was that they seemed to be in a bit of hurry to take our orders--knowingly that it always takes a while to figure out what everyone wants in a big group. Otherwise I have no complaints about their service.
3. Price: Overpriced. For the portion that they serve, it is a little ridiculous to be paying $6 or 7 for something that was not fulfilling. Their food is delicious however so I will overlook their price issue.
Izakaya Sakura is probably not the best to have dinner at but great for random bites or food runs. Their selection is varied with many dishes not offered at any other local Japanese restaurants. Be sure to muster up enough of courage and try out all the things you never got to try. But be forewarned, it is easy to spend more than you intend to at these places.
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Place rocks. To me this place can do no wrong. I absolutely love it and I constantly recommend it to friends. Predominantly Japanese clientele and indigenous Japanese food made by ( gasp ! ) Japanese people ! Be prepared to point at what you want on the menu because english is a second language to the waitstaff.
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After reading several reviews on how good this izakaya is I was very excited to give it a try. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed. If you aren't aware of what an izakaya is here's the definition...it's like a Japanese version of a bar/tapas bar. They serve alcohol & food in small portions.
Of course, as many others mentioned, its a little hard to find since the owners have elected to not label the place. That was a bit irritating but no big deal. What did bother me was the quality of the food. I ordered the beef tataki and it was not as flavorful as I had hoped. The pieces of beef also seemed very small in comparison to other izakayas I have been to. The fried squid legs we ordered were tough and, again, not very flavorful. We also ordered fried oysters which weren't bad but just ok.
We ordered the mixed sashimi and when the sushi chef placed the order in front of us he kindly split the order onto 2 plates. Or so we thought. We thought nothing of it when we got the sashimi because there were roughly 5 pieces on each plate. We just thought, "Awww what a nice guy, he split the order for us." The waitress actually put in an order for 2 when we only ordered 1. So when we got our bill and it was close to $80, we were quite surprised. FYI - 1 order of mixed sashimi is $18. There was obviously some sort of miscommunication there. So for 5 small dishes & a beer our total was close to $80.
I'm giving them 2 stars because 1) the fried oysters we ordered were ok & 2) they were very nice there although service was slow.
All that and somebody threw a glass across the room and it shattered right by us! What the heck was that all about???
Overall, not even close to the best izakaya I've ever been to. The food isn't that great, the service is suspect, and be on the lookout for flying glasses. I'd much rather go to Tajima and get better food & service.
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I only go there for lunch. Dinner is good, but portion is small and a bit over priced (for the portion). Lunch is home style Japanese cooking. I love love their eggplant curry. It is so so good. The hayashiraisu omelet rice is also another one of my favorite. Another Honorable mention is the Japanese hamburger with Japanese style sauce. (served with rice instead of buns) It's yummy but sometimes I still feel abit hungry after eating the hamburger. Portion is not big.
I love their salad dressing too, it's creamy and yolky!
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I went here for lunch today after reading all the hype that is Izakaya Sakura.
Had it not been for other reviewers and bloggers who described where this place is located, I swear, I would have never found it. First, I looked for the Original Pancake House. After parking, I looked for the Army Reserve and bingo! I found it!
I took my parents and we feasted on the bento, Oyako-don, and Hiyashi Chuka. A breakdown of the food....
Bento - For $12 you get rice and an assortment of little goodies. It comes with miso soup, salad and pickled cabbage. I'm not going to explain in detail everything included in the bento b/c its been done already but the croquette and salmon were my favorite. For $12, it's a bit spendy and now that I've had it once, I'll probably not get it again but it was a lot of fun to eat since I love variety.
Oyako-don - This is my dad's signature dish and this version did not disappoint. He said he loved how "clean" it tasted. This came with miso soup, salad, pickled cabbage, and another dish that looked like little clear flavored noodles.
Hiyashi Chuka - This was perfect for a hot day. It is ramen noodles with veggies and chicken is a cold somewhat creamy sauce/broth. My mum enjoyed this as did all of us who decided on her behalf that she should share.
The ambiance is somewhat lacking with plain beat up tables and black chairs, however, the authenticity and friendliness makes up for it completely. Now that their lunch has peaked my interest, I plan on visiting for dinner in the near future.
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This is a great place to drink and eat sushi and have various small dishes. I really don't go there as much as I should. Their food is always quality and perfectly prepared, although it usually takes a while for them to make it so you better order drinks and get smashed while waiting?
There's also no signage, but not too hard to find.
Now, I know most of you wouldn't go there to eat just rice, but just so you know, in case you feel like plain rice, they have the best plain rice in the world.
It's been a while since I've been there, but a few items I like:
- chicken wings
- squid
- that egg custard? thing with mushrooms and shrimp in it
- the fish with sesame sauce -- so good!!
- plain rice!!
- sashimi and sushi -- quality stuff!!
Most of their items are pretty great. The only thing I didn't like was their udon, which is too plain for my taste.
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I've been meaning to write a review of this place for ages, since I went a month or so ago with Nadine N. I even wrote down a list of all the crazy things we ate so I could comment on them later! Of course, I lost the list and forgot to write this, but I'll try to do my best from memory.
Basically, the food is spot-on izakaya style, meaning small portions of food combinations you will never find in a 'regular' Japanese restaurant in the US. Raw squid balls, rice balls with unagi, and sometimes if you're lucky beef balls (though I've never seen them here, I'm just talking about izakaya fare in general). I didn't think there could possibly be an izakaya in San Diego, just because it hasn't really caught on yet in larger cities, with only one in New York (my all-time favorite, Kenka). They've also got sushi and more 'standard' fare, so don't be scared of bringing your less-adventurous friends here (though why miss out on the fun of picking something totally random off the menu?!)
For the foodie that cares only about the accuracy in taste but not in atmosphere, this would be pure heaven. And on food alone, this place deserves five stars. But folks... izakayas are originally Japanese drinking houses where office dudes get smashy trashy after work! They can be dank, crowded, and are definitely loud. Kenka, for example, is packed to the gills with shorter wooden tables, tiny uncomfortable chairs, blaring WWII-era propanda (see my review!), and lots and lots of folks drunk on sake. Izakaya Sakura is refined, quiet as a tomb, and completely devoid of personality. And the after-hours 'salarymen'? Stone cold sober. Sad, sad. Bring on the noise!
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To be honest, my first experience here was rather mediocre. Probably because back then I was still a sushi novice and my palate had not been challenged by choice cuts of nigiri.
I came here for lunch earlier this week, this time armed with a better grasp of sushi lore. It was lunch time, and most of the patrons were indulging in bentos and the like, but I was craving good sushi, and not even the sight of pretty good soba would prevent me from getting what I wanted.
I saddled up at the bar, ordered tea and the mixed sushi platter and within a couple of minutes, I was in sushi heaven. I was kinda sad when they told me that they were out of tuna - which was fine by me cause I'm not too fond of maguro.
The platter had sake, uni, ikura and ika and a couple of other fish I would've been able to figure out if the chef hadn't run off right after making my sushi (I found out as I was paying my check that he was rushing off to the fish market for the evening's fish).
8 pieces of sushi for 18 bucks + tax + constantly filled cup of tea = Tony ureshii ^_^
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Best sushi in San Diego! You must go with someone Japanese, as that is all that is in here at night and it will help to get the most out of it. Highly authentic, super fresh, caters to Japanese businessmen. It is pricey. This restaurant is the closest thing to a restaurant in Japan in food, quality and service in San Diego county. Good place to do business with Japanese, because they will love the authenticity if they are sabashii (lonely) and nazukashii (nostalgic) for Japan.
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Very tasty stuff, but I dock it a star because I can't afford to eat here every night. It used to be a more conventional sushi bar with karaoke that never carded for alcohol.
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I really love this place.About as authentic as it comes. I've heard rumors that they cater to Japanese tastes buds primarily and they couldnt care less if westerners dont like their food. I think thats awesome! This place doesnt even have a sign and they still get super busy, that tells you something about the place.My friends joke that you have to know the secret knock in order to get in. Great place !
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This secret little Japanese restarant ROCKs! It is a little hard to find because they don't have a sign. The sushi is really good but the little plates of stuff that I have no idea how to pronounce (let alone type) is what makes it worth the visit. The stuff written on the board by the door isn't on the english menu so you should ask the waitress about it if you want to try something unique. I love the Onigiri....
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For Japanese, this is the best lunch spot in San Diego. No contest. You get a main dish, a few authentic Japanese sides, salad, and soup -- a true Japanese set menu. I find the sides are the hardest to come by in most Japanese restaurants these days. And almost all of these sets are under $10.
For a few dollars more you can get the lunch special which has an assortment of special items. When went, I got, among other things, broiled salmon, a few croquettes (one stuffed with pickled radish... one stuffed with pork... I don't remember what the others were stuffed with), cod-roe spaghetti, a lobster sauce fritter, and mixed veggies Japanese style (shiitake, marinated radish, potato.)
Dinner -- it's quite a bit more expensive. They don't have the set menus, so you have to order each thing separately. It adds up. Granted, there are more interesting things than for lunch. Some of them are especially worth trying like okonomiyaki, eel hearts, and shishamo tempura.
Both lunch and dinner -- fresh, authentic, and friendly.
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After reading all the reviews, I was excited to try out this place. Unfortunately, I was highly disappointed in the food and service. We had made reservations for dinner but still had to wait a long time. You would think busy equates to great food but in fact the service was slow because the waitresses were too busy taking sake shots with the regular folks. Though, my server came over to apologize in advance for the slow "sushi service", the cooked orders also took a very looooong time.
We wanted to order the Mix Sushi= $18, but the server convinced us to order the Chef's Special (not on menu) and told us, "it only cost a little bit more in price". How little did I know when I got the check (which took 15 minutes to get) that the Chef's Special cost $32. To me, when something is a "little bit more money"-it not should = $14 more. For another $14, we could have order something else. Moreover, $32 for 6 pieces of sushi was just absolutely ridiculous. Don't get me wrong, I am in no way frugal. I am willing to pay for quality food and service but I did not receive either one here. Did I mention that the sushi was lukewarm and the loud, rowdy, and drunk-ass patrons at the bar?
Maybe, I should have drown in sake so that I could forget how lousy the food/service was and the pain I felt in my wallet when I had to fork over $108 for my bill. BTW, I was generous with the 15% tip. One star for the authenticity of a Japanese restaurant.
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Great Place
FYI: The food there is small portion. Most of the customers are Japanese and they don't have a good sign of the name of the restaurant. The chicken karage is great, the whole fried fish is good..... Good place to hang out for beer and sake.
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There's nothing else like it in San Diego.
Izakaya Sakura has been a weekly spot for over 7 years now and after trying every Japanese restaraunt I've encountered, there's just no matching the authentic taste at Sakura.
The staff are extremely friendly and there are definete regulars whom you'll see every week there. It's a great place for businessmen like myself to relieve the stress of work and enjoy some top notch sake or beer with fresh sashimi or sushi. The fried appetizers such as the Ika Gaso Kara Age and Yaki Kaki are a must and the staff are great. As far as drinks are concerned, the 3 big beer brands are present: Sapporo, Kirin and Asahi as well as a vast array of top-notch sake suck as Oni Koroshi, Otokoyama and Kurosawa. If you frequent the restaraunt, you can purchase a full bottle of sake and they will hold it for you.
The only downside is that on Friday/Saturday nights there is going to be a wait and the price is not for the faint of heart. The bills have never been under $20 for one person. Non-Japanese customers may feel a little uneasy since the staff is completely Japanese and their regulars are as well, which means there may be some miscommunication issues and I've witnessed some non-Japanese customers get angry that they don't serve American-style Japanese food such as California Rolls, etc.
Bottom Line: If you want some authentic Japanese food and drinks then look no further.
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Hidden away in the same shopping center as The Original Pancake House, it's located next to the Armed Reserves Recruiting office. Sakura doesn't have a sign on top of its store so its definately a hole in the wall. The menu varies greatly between lunch and dinner. The servers are friendly, although sometimes there is a language barrier.
The lunch menu is on a laminated sheet, containing plenty of goodies such as bentos, japanese hamburg patty, curry, and noodles. I highly recommend their hiyashi chuka (cold japanese noodles) on a hot day or their tempura udon. The hiyashi chuka is served with shredded chicken, ham, corn, shredded cucumber, and shredded egg pancake, served with a tangy soy dressing. YUM! The udon is great too, perfect al denty chewy noodles, it comes with a rice ball that has a spicy cod roe filling and some tskemono.
I came back with SO for dinner to a great shock. I didn't quite realize it was a Izakaya until the food I ordered came out. Nor did the many suit clad half drunken Japanese executives clue me in either. We had yakisoba, hamachi kama, ika, kaki fry, and some other dishes. Lunch was a great buy, but dinner is on the pricey side as the dishes were on the smaller side. Food was delicous and service was good. Definately recommend it for lunch, be prepared to shell out a bit more money during dinner since everything is a la carte and it serves little dishes that you can snack to wash down with a good dousing of beer.
Recommend: Lunch time stuff. Unagi don, Cold Tempura Udon, Hiyashi Chuka,
Stay away from: Kaki fry (I don't think they were at their best that night.)
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Sakura has no sign. I took me a million tries to find it. I kept searching the wrong complexes... but, I finally found the place with some help from Vicky L. Thank you.
My favorite thing about Sakura is their lunch menu. I like their Yoshoku items. Under the omelet rice section, they have omuraisu w/ ketchup, omuraisu w/ ketchup and tomato sauce, and hayashiraisu (w/ hashed beef sauce), priced at $8.50. Their rice with curry and crispy chicken is also $8.50. Their curry sauce is very flavorful and mildly spicy. I approve. All of the dishes mentioned so far come with miso soup and a side salad. Servings are generous. I've found each of these items to be amply filling.
At night, Sakura is an Izakaya. I've only tried the Chirashi Sushi during their evening hours. $22 for really amazing cuts of meat, and the rice is delicious. I downed the whole bowl in about ten minutes, but oh what a wonderful ten minutes those were. Originally, I was planning on sharing a bowl with my girlfriend, but as a result of a misunderstanding with the waitress who took our order (from the language barrier, I believe), we ended up with two bowls. I felt bad about sending back a pricey dish, so we kept both orders. I'm not going to knock any stars, but I think this needed to be said. Be clear about what you want to order because their staff doesn't speak English very well.
That aside, this is a fantastic place for authentic Japanese food. I can see myself coming back here again and again. Definitely five stars.
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im guessing this is what traditional japanese food is like. not the overflowing lists of rolls and pretty plates of shiny fish that we see in sushi restaurants.
or maybe its just a little different.
in any case, the many appetizers (read four pages worth) are very interesting and different - points for that. the newly 22 year old adorable waitress gains even more points. for not being just another sushi place, points, points, points.
the space is pretty large, decorated with an odd mixture of traditional art and portraits of hollywood stars. the staff is warm and good about keeping track of customers. fairly expensive stuff.
the food is alright, although proportions are tiny. and ultimately (pretty girls aside) im here to eat, and im just not satisfied with this place's fare.
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It's a San Diego secret. Hint: it's on Convoy. It has no signage. You're lucky if you find it. It has one of the most authentic Japanese menus in San Diego. It isn't just the standard sushi restaurant as they serve a lot of different types of "bar food". You're also lucky if you get one of the handful of English menus in the place. Try the Chirashi sushi. The rice is perfect, variety of fish is cold and fresh. Try the Agedashi tofu. It's amazing, topped with green onion and daikon with sauce made with dashi, mirin, and shō-yu.
The uni is also worth mentioning, though I've had it both when it was fantastic and when it wasn't so fresh, so give it a try. Ahh if only I still lived in San Diego.
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Excellent food and very fun for an American who wasn't familiar with much Japanese cooking outside of the standards available at most sushi places.
I really like how this place is still going fairly late. Great for times when you're just not available until later. I love to go here and have some beer, sake and split a few appetizers and the excellent sushi. I had my only experience (so far) with sea urchin here.
Wish they had cheaper bottles of unfiltered sake though.
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I am going to have to try Sakura for lunch, since I have read so many great reviews. I went there for dinner and was blown away by the ultra-fresh superdeliciousness. Because of the place being kind of incognito, and insider-oriented, I was a little nervous about asking questions about the menu; but we were not given the cold shoulder, quite to the contrary our nice waitress was very helpful. It seems like the attitude of place is, We're not going to try and convince you to come here; but once you're here, you're welcome. If that makes sense.
I don't even remember all of the little bites we had to eat; one thing stands out in my mind which was a spanish mackerel 2 course sushi/fried preparation. For the first course, the fish was brought out with luscious sweet slices of perhaps the tastiest sashimi I have ever had, along with an artfully arranged presentation of the carcass; once the sashimi was eaten (didn't take long), the waitress took the carcass back to the kitchen where the skinny bones are fried and brought out as a super-crunchy fried dish. And yes, I am quite sure I was meant to eat the bones.
The fish here tastes so good it makes me want to cry.
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honestly, i was so excited about this place after reading reviews on well, yelp.com, but was a little disappointed. the food was by far the best japanese i've had in san diego, but being 1/2 japanese myself, i have had much better. the salmon onigiri was what i had been craving, and there