Sakura Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar

Really enjoyed Sakura. Was not expecting much, but they had awesome sushi rice and beautiful cuts. The rice had great flavor could taste the vinegar/​sweet combo and it was well cooked and maintained, not gummy at all. So many places miss the mark on rice. On top of that, the cuts of fish were wonderful and the sauces and acoutrements used elevated the natural sweetness of the fish. The sake toro was killer as was the snapper, hamachi, and aji as well.
I didn’t eat any rolls so I cannot speak to that, but the sushi is excellent.

Thoroughly impressed! While in the area we swung by for a quick bite at 5pm right when they opened for dinner as a break from the horrible traffic. Based on the shopping center location I wasn’t expecting too too much but after getting my rolls I saw where the high reviews came from. I had the Dynamite, Princess Fiona, and 2 nigiri, all excellent. Actually I only initially ordered one nigiri but it was so excellent with perfect rice and generous portions that I ordered a second nigiri even though I was pretty full :).
The décor inside was nice and staff was friendly. Rolls were around $ 12 for the chef special rolls, $ 6 for nigiri. We also had the children’s menu order of chicken teriyaki and rice. My son also loved the rice. Their were a couple other tables of families with kids at 5:00 PM so this place definitely seems family friendly.
Maybe I’ve been eating too much mediocre grocery store sushi lately, but this was one of my best sushi experiences in Atlanta in a while!

Yum… I love sushi without all the sauces and «stuff» piled on. I think they have a few of those at Sakura, but I didnt gravitate towards them. My sushi was quality, delicious, and just plain old YUM.
We went early (like 5:30pm early) on a Wednesday afternoon. The restaurant was not busy, but again we went when most everyone else was headed home from work. Service was good. Attentive.
Food, again, was delicious.
This may be my new East Cobb sushi joint

The best sushi in town! Excellent service! The sushi is delicious! Staff is very friendly and the owner makes you feel at home! I love the tuna tartar appetizer! My husband and I travel a lot and we have visited many sushi restaurants, and this is the bets sushi ever.

Excellent selection of Sushi! The service is quick yet very polished. Definitely will be one of my go-to’s in East Cobb. I highly recommend the Princess Fiona and Dynamite Rolls! Yummy!

A new E. Cobb fave for my lovely lady and I. Fresh and delicious fish, good service and reasonably priced. I’m a nigiri guy and they get it right. We do rolls too and they have a very tasty selection.

This was our first and likely last visit to this place. Prices were high for what we received but the service was the main issue. Our waitress couldn’t tell us the vegetables served with an entrée and apparently could not ask someone else. Our food came out of order with an appetizer coming last after we had to remind our server. No one seemed to care, no follow up, just basic crappy service.

Very good sushi! We also enjoyed the fried rice. Nice service. We will definitely come back.

A decent sushi place, but certainly not the best I’ve had. Almost every single one of their rolls has cucumber, shrimp, eel sauce, or avacado in it, so if you don’t like those then you’re out of luck. The portions for salmon and yellow tail was very small as well
Their service is decent. The one waitress there seemed a bit unmotivated, though. The décor was very nice; it was cozy and clean.
Overall, a good place if you really need some sushi, but if you want something nicer or with a bit more variety, try someplace else.

As usual, Daniel B. was right about this place. The Atlanta area in general boasts a plethora of Sushi restaurants, however it is a bit challenging to find one that is casual AND good. Also keeping in mind Umi may set the standard here we are graded on a difficult curve.
I’ve visited six times prior to reviewing to ensure I was considering the consistency fish freshness, the brightness of veggies, and perfectly cooked rice. Ladies and gentlemen I think we have a winner in East Cobb.
Do ask your server what the special fish is because they get some fantastic varieties in daily. While toro may not always be available, you’ll find many selections that are just not available in many other places.
The special maki is inventive but not pretentious, and certainly not overpriced. The sake menu is not extensive but offers the usual spectrum. And the staff is friendly enough to remember if you have food allergies! Always a plus :)

I’ve been a long time lover of Zest in Historic Roswell, but decided to give Sakura a chance because it’s close to my house. I’m really glad I did — it was outstanding! I always sit at the sushi bar and the waitress is always attentive and quick. I love spicy rolls and a couple that I’ve tried are the Princess Fiona, Papa, Perfect Storm, and Sunflower rolls. All were exceptional and if you go your have to try the baked clam app it’s divine. I will frequent here for now on.

The sushi is very good and the menu fairly creative. The bar has many offerings and the service is attentive.
What makes Sakura unique (at least for East Cobb) is that with it’s small size and strip mall location it feels like a real neighborhood sushi bar! While a lot of other nearby sushi dispensaries feel like a corporate projection of what a suburban Japanese restaurant should consist of Sakura feels more communal.

My boyfriend has long been telling me this is the «best sushi ever» and his tastes can be quite discerning so I was excited to try it out for his birthday dinner last night.
First– the owner is behind the sushi bar making Dailey specials a long with a myriad of specialty rolls and nigiri. My boyfriend and his family were clearly regulars and he treated them like family– i love when an owner is an active part of the restaurant.
Our server was attentive and sweet. We had everything we needed and plates were cleared as needed to provide ample room for the 90 sushi rolls we ordered.(joking– but only slightly)
Highlights– the crunchy tuna special was awesome! Also the trust me, yummy yummy and the princess Fiona were all exceptional. My favorite thing about the specialty rolls was the size– small enough that I could eat the each piece whole and really get every flavor together as it was intended. And the sauces– not only made in house some were made to order!
I can’t wait to return!

Popped in 30 minutes before closing and they were warm about our staying. Service was also warm but efficient.
A la carte sushi was a little more expensive than similar places, but rather outstanding quality, particularly unagi and uni (if you like it). I’d recommend the Sakura spring roll sushi roll was delicious and fun for texture: warm with flaky exterior rice paper.

Great sushi, but wow– the service was beyond terrible. We even got their early around 6. My parents got their dinner first, and after they had finished their dinner I finally got pissed and asked where the hell my dinner was, the waitress looked mortified because she KNOWS she forgot to put it in. A table next to is who arrived AFTER us got served before my plate came. We asked for water since we were all empty and she almost ran away before we could ask. She brought it, and completely spilled the entire glass on the table. The waitress was so unbelievably flustered at the crowded restaurant. She didn’t even come back to clean it up! Wtf?!? Dear god. Seriously embarrassing. When my meal came it was so incredibly hot I burned my mouth – what?! Volcano roll, btw. I saw 2 people who came in never got served so they got fed up left! Nothing was even taken off our bill for their massive fuck up. Only 2 servers on New Year’s Eve? What a disaster. LOOK ELSEWHERE!

The sushi was okay here but the service was slow and a bit inattentive. I don’t eat sushi too often but I can tell that this wasn’t the best.
It’s interesting because a lot of these review for this place is all over the place — some really have good experience and some pretty horrible.
I hope the managers read their reviews =)

Excellent sushi and pretty good prices. Best time to come is lunch during the week. The daily lunch specials run from $ 9 to $ 13 and come with a good serving size. They do close from like 3 – 5 everyday for some reason so be aware.

Just had a delicious business lunch at Sakura. So glad that we chose this place. The service was great and sushi was amazing. This will going forward be my go-​to sushi place.
Today we enjoyed a princess fiona roll, bang bang roll, hamachi, shake, maguro, and fatty salmon (wasn’t on the menu so I don’t know what it’s called). They were all absolutely delicious.
It’s not the cheapest sushi I’ve had. When I go back for a non business lunch I won’t be able to get the quantity as I did today (we all shared.) Regardless, it was tasty and I cannot wait to go back!

1. For people who are confused why there are multiple people serving one table is because their system is called the family system where everyone shares everything n helps out each other. No one has a specific table. Please stop being ignorant and don’t assume that the service is bad because of that. And this type of system is good for a small restaurants. The downfall is that they lack of solid coordination. Please also do know that the three of the servers have to pick up the phone, do take out orders and packing, seat people, take order, food run, run credit cards and clean up all tables. It’s easy to do all this when it’s not busy but when it is, it can cause chaos. When one person is taking tables and also taking some table they might be distracted by the phone orders and forgot what they had to do. Therefore I think they should get a host.
2. They are having a rough time trying to find a sushi chef atm that is why sushi have been slow. Their sushi is fully decorated unlike other places that literally puts carrots and leaf for décor and call it a décor. Sakura’s Chef Artistically Combine Colors And Flavor To Make A Better Tasting sushi.
3. Let’s talk about fresh. It cracks me up when they said the sushi or fish isn’t fresh.
A. They use highest grade of sushi rice (gold). And always make fresh daily once in the morning and twice at night when it’s busy.
B. They will never ever keep fish that are about to be old, ever. They actually know how to slice the right fish parts and how to store it so that it will last. They know how to handle the fish. They throw away ANYTHING that is about to be old.
C. They buy the highest grade fish. Yes, they buy whole fish and cut it themselfs. Some other restaurants buy a sealed frozen packed fish. And those taste fisher and nasty as hell.
D. Honestly, I’ve been to many sushi restaurants and this place is one of the best. Don’t get yourself sick because of bad fish! OH and, Even Their California Is Crispy Fresh And Light. Delish!
4. Don’t tell me that all you ordered was either rainbow, cali, or Philly rolls and u say that this place is not that good. Seriously… yay another California roll in another restaurant! No. Try what the waitress recommends, that’s what makes the restaurant special. Not some California rolls that all other sushi restaurants are there have.
Recommendations: — Aston Martin
— Yuzu madai
— papa roll
— perfect storm
— fresh Nigiri
— black cod
— spicy tuna tar2
— Twister roll
— but everything is so good!

Sakura Japanese Sushi Bar = outstanding sushi, but spotty service.
Sakura is located in the heart of East Cobb in a strip mall at the intersection of Lower Roswell and Johnson Ferry. The restaurant faces Lower Roswell and is next door to a Subway. The restaurant is small. It’s decorated in traditional Japanese fashion, with a sushi bar and two private rooms for parties of six or more. The private rooms have nicer furniture and décor including swords, scrolls, and sliding shoji screen doors and windows. In the big private dining room, you can even sit on the floor.
We had a party of six, so we sat in the smaller of the two private rooms. We showed up on a Saturday evening around 6:00pm without a reservation. The restaurant was mostly empty at this time and we were seated immediately. Around 7:00pm to 8:00pm, the restaurant was very busy. If you have a party of four or more, I recommend making a reservation.
Sakura’s menu features nearly 30 different sushi rolls and about two dozen types of nigiri sushi. There are many «Chef’s Specials,» which consist of various sushi or fresh seafood-​inspired creations. These specials are more Americanized or fusion-​type dishes.
The appetizers and entrees include more traditional Japanese cuisine such as Chicken Karaage (Japanese-​style fried chicken), Hamachi Kama (grilled yellowtail cheek), Kaiso Salad (seaweed salad), teriyaki meats, and udon and soba noodles. Expect to spend roughly $ 10 per roll, $ 12 – 13 per special, and $ 10 – 17 per appetizer/​entrée. Most nigiri is priced around $ 6 for two pieces.
Omakase (chef’s tasting selection) isn’t on the menu, but it’s available if you ask.
I ordered 10 different kinds of nigiri, but many of my original choices were out of stock. This was disappointing. The out-​of-​stock fish included anago (sea eel), hirame (fluke), and madai (Japanese red snapper). I was surprised, and a bit perturbed, that so many fish listed on the menu weren’t available that night, especially on a Saturday. The server steered me towards other types of nigiri, including some seasonal fish that weren’t on the menu.
Here’s what I ended up trying (all nigiri):
Masago — smelt roe
Tobiko — flying fish roe
Striped bass (seasonal)
Saba — mackerel
Escolar — white tuna
Sake toro — fatty salmon (topped with shiso leaf and large roe)
European Suzuki /​Mediterranean Seabass (Bronzini, seasonal)
Aji — horse mackerel
Hotate — sea scallop (wrapped with shiso leaf and seaweed)
Hokkigai — surf clam
The masago and tobiko consisted of tiny fish eggs (roe). At Sakura, there really seems to be no differentiation between the two except for color — one is red and the other is orange. Size and consistency were the same. They’re supposed to be from different types of fish. If that was truly the case or not, I’m not sure, but it was good. Masago/​tobiko is always one of my favorites.
The striped bass and European seabass were recommended to me by our server after some of my original choices weren’t available. These two fish aren’t on the menu and I was told they were seasonal specialties. The striped bass was topped with a pinch of garnish (scallion) for additional flavor. The striped bass seemed thick and hearty, while the European seabass seemed smoother and more rubbery, similar to hamachi (yellowtail). They were both tasty.
The saba and aji are both mackerel fish, but their consistencies are different. The saba was meatier/​heartier and had a pasty chew. The aji’s consistency was smoother. The escolar was light and mild. I suggest ordering saba, aji, or escolar if you enjoy nigiri, but would like to try something other than the typical maguro (tuna), sake (salmon), and hamachi.
The sake toro is essentially premium salmon nigiri. It’s a fatty, more valuable cut. It tastes better and has a greater «melt-​in-​your-​mouth» texture than regular sake. The sake toro was topped with a shiso leaf and some large fish roe. The shiso leaf was strong and aromatic and the large roe was expectedly salty. This added different flavors to the nigiri piece. I would’ve been happy with just the sake toro alone.
The hotate was nice and big and sufficiently fresh. All of the above nigiri was served on the same wooden plate. The presentation was well done. The hokkigai was served separately in its own dish. The hokkigai was served «wrapped» around the sushi rice with an additional dried seaweed wrap to secure the clam and rice.
Overall, the sushi was fresh and extremely delicious. I think the nigiri here can stand up to just about any sushi restaurant in Atlanta.
The service was memorable, but for the wrong reasons. Our group had three order mix-​ups: two dishes were delivered to the wrong people and one dish arrived which we didn’t order. The worst part was the timing. One person in our group waited nearly 45 minutes for her dish to arrive. By the time she received her food, everyone else had already finished eating.