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Sakura Japanese Restaurant
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
12 reviews for Sakura Japanese Restaurant
This sushi is not going to blow your mind. Stick to the fancy rolls on the train and you will be alright. Maguro is more decent here than at most places in Kansas City.
What sets this place apart is the train, of course. I also like that the chefs will make you whatever you want if whatever you want is not on the train. Random items like crab rangoon and skewers also make an appearance. I have no idea why.
Beware of the folks that will grab four plates at a time. I find this to be the most frustrating part of the sushi train experience. There should be a rule or something.
Great service. Nice people. Have never eaten in the actual restaurant. Yay Sakura.
First trip to Sakura, and they missed the boat - ah, train - where we were concerned.
We entered at 8:15, and the closing time was posted as 9 p.m. I expected the train service to be winding down, but I didn't know that meant we could get NO service. We probably had 5 items to choose from on the train, yet I had to ask - twice - to get a menu. Then I got a sushi menu. I asked a third time for a kitchen menu, and later ordered 2 items from the menu and 2 from the sushi menu. The sushi chef even confirmed the sushi order - then promptly cleaned up the sushi bar and prepared nothing for us. Whaa...?
I get very disgusted when asking repeatedly for basic service, so I gave up, ate what was provided, paid the check and left, never to return. The quality of the food was ok - period.
Sakura - here's a suggestion. When patrons enter 45 minutes prior to close, and you don't want to put a bunch of stuff on the train that they might not eat, why don't you give them MENUS to order from? Why don't you ask them if there is sushi you could prepare for them? Why don't you not let the staff run over and grab things from the train as long as paying patrons have not been served? Why don't you actually prepare and serve what is ordered?
I'll give a restaurant a second chance after a lot of slip-ups. But obviously ignoring and not caring if two diners get a thing 45 minutes before close is not excusable. So Sorry Sakura - I'll never grace that station again.
I went there and had lunch today. I went for the sushi train as I have yet to see one in KC. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen one in my whole life. Anyways, the food was ok, some good, some are ok. One thing I wish it would be different is cut down on the sauce. It seems the chef adds Teriyaki sauce on almost everything he puts on the train. Some of them do taste better with the sauce but I think most of them shouldn't have the sauce so we get to taste the original flavor. I like my sushi with soy sauce + wasabi and ginger after each different ones. I also ordered miso soup and it was just right, but it didn't have any tofu, that was kind of a disappointment.
The service was great, we had about 20-25 people there when I was there.
Definitely needs to bring a friend with you to share plates, otherwise you wouldn't be able to try lots of different kinds of sushi before you get full. The price is fair compare with most of the other places I've been to in KC. The best is the sushi train, it's a fun and nice experience.
Needed a break from work, my co-worker and I came here and had a choo- choo train sushi, I mean there was a scale model of an Amtrak choo choo train with cars of sushi. It was pretty busy still at 1:00pm, but the selection wasn't very good, I think the chefs read it in our faces. Then came some fancy sushi, fried salmon and shrimp tempura sushi with teriyaki sauce. Fried Calamari, shrimp rolls. We ordered a sashimi platter, it would have been nice to have a cold beer too, but we had to go back to work. Very reasonable, newly remodeled.
wow - what did I just eat? I don't really care though - good food is good food, and on a train at that. It's creative, different, and CHEAP for how much you can eat. I swear I stacked up 12 trays of sample sushi.
Do I think it's as fresh as Jun's or Domo or Nara - no. But it was different, it was a sampling show and that's the fun of it right?
For those who don't know - Sakura serves tons of sushi on a rotating platform on the sushi bar. They make it fresh and plate them for diners to grab off the cuff. This way, you taste TONS of different items, some you'll love, others who'll wish you hadn't grabbed. That's the fun of it.
Can't believe I have yet to review this place. At the same time, I have blown countless amounts of cash splurging here.
The train may be a wonderful idea to some, but if you love sushi, it is very easy to get carried away. So many choices . . . .
The fish here is consistently good, but not anything I would say is stupendous. Many many rolls offered. The nigiri in consequence is often neglected. If you can catch it fresh after the sushi chef made it, b all means go for it.
As one of the reviewers mentioned, this is a great place to bring a novice and introduce them to the sushi craze without spending too much cash or unnecessarily wasting food.
Pretty good. Like others have said, it is Midwestern sushi, but all told it has been good. The sushi train is fun, but be prepared to wait for a seat. The staff is sometimes really scattered, but they are all working hard. At times we really didn't seem to have one server, rather 5 different people who ran by to grab a plate or we flagged them down.
I give them props for always have a line and being in business for years. They must be doing something right.
La, la, la, Love the Train! Only other cool set-up was once in Japan it was in boats. Not the absolute freshest but, hey we're in the Midwest.
And I really enjoyed the teriyaki chicken.
Best of all... It's FUN!
Sakura is the only sushi bar in town that has a sushi train. The train method of sushi distribution is ideal for those who love sushi and for those who are novices. The newcomers can sample several different varieties of rolls and nigiri without feeling as if they must finish something that isn't to their taste. The pros get the pleasure of seeing plate after plate of delicious sushi goodness roll past, each plate tempting, but not required eating. Sushi porn, if you will.
My favorite selections are the salmon salad roll, the salmon pieces (it's always fresh and just the perfect temperature - not too cold, but not warm, either), the flower shrimp (cooked shrimp on rice with a garlic mayo and eel sauce), the Las Vegas roll (smoked salmon, cream cheese and jalapeo rolled and tempura fried) and just about anything else that rides past my reaching hand.
Sakura is open 7 days a week. They have a steakhouse section that is open all day (I've never tried it). For the train, lunch runs from 11:45am until 2 or so, and dinner runs from 5:30pm until 8 or so. I recommend arriving at the start of lunch or dinner, or risk having to wait until someone leaves the bar (sometimes up to an hour).
There is full bar service and kids are welcome (but keep their grubby paws off the train, thankyouverymuch).
The grill is good, but similar to just about every other Japanese stakehouse grill i've been to. Habatchi workers are fun.
Sushi train is fantastic and the sushi menu is great. yum! Very fast service and good prices for the amount of food.
I said No No No to the Sakura's sushi train...
I guess I'm just a spoil brat from Pacific Northwest, so when I ate Sakura's sushi about few years ago in Kansas City, I just think it's not as fresh as sushi in Portland.
I love the tatami room tho and the other food were pretty good too. :)
I am a giant fan of Sakura's sushi train. The odd mishmash of Asian and Hispanic sushi chefs behind the bar start the train bearing plates of sushi goodness rolling around 11:30 daily. But get there at 11:10 or 11:15 if you need more than one or two seats. It's always crowded on Fridays especially.
The assortment of rolls here is a wondrous thing. Ranging from delicate salmon-covered and panko-sprinkled things to butterfly-cut shrimp swimming in yellow mango sauce. There are also assorted nigiri, octopus and seaweed salads, yakitori, and dumplings on board.
The sushi here is not of the highest quality, but it does just fine for rolls and other non-sashimi applications. (I fondly call it lunch grade sushi. The kind you have with a Coke instead of green tea.) I have never bothered with the teppanyaki Sakura offers for dinner, since the sushi train also rolls at dinner time.
I agree with Lynn M's assessment of this place offering sushi porn. It's a good place to take sushi newcomers, who can see what they're getting and can choose things for themselves. Instead of trying to order from a menu, which can be intimidating for the non-sushi inititated.
