Sakura Xpress

Unfortunately, Sakura has CLOSED. I heard a Thai restaurant will be moving into its space.

Horrible portions. Lots of rice, very little chicken and veggies. Only reason I ate it all was because I was starving and already paid for it. Overall, very disappointed. Never coming back

Two stars is a stretch — we ordered two spicy tuna rolls and they ran out of tuna half way through. That plus sushi hot rice in the roll amounts to less than great food. Avoid the fried rice as well, it’s basically rice and teriyaki sauce mixed with five individual peas and carrot pieces.

Great food. Staff is very accommodating and adjusts menu options to create healthier alternatives. Kanki style food without having to pay extra for the table side show.

This place specializes in teriyaki plates and sushi. The teriyaki was not bad. The rice that came with it, however, was rather gross. We also got a side of spicy tuna roll, which I found to be much worse in quality than Kurama, which is the sushi restaurant across the street, and which is not that great either…
The teriyaki plates are worth the money, since they are so cheap. However, I would skip the sushi for a different place: perhaps somewhere in Durham, further away from campus. But I could see myself picking up a cheap plate of teriyaki on the run or for a quick bite if I were REALLY craving it. However, since I rarely do crave teriyaki, I would probably try a different place on Franklin.
Also, parking is horrible, like everywhere else on Franklin Street.
David’s VPP (Value per price): ⁸⁄₁₀

You certainly get what you pay for. This place has pretty standard hibachi, and their portions are just big enough to satisfy you. I’ve had better hibachi for sure, but you really can’t argue with the low price. For a college student, this place is awesome.

For the money, the food is quite tasty and it is a good value. Personally, I plan to start working Sakura more frequently into to my quick-​service Franklin Street dining rotation.

TL;DR: Cheap, good portion sizes, decent taste
If you go in expecting authentic Japanese food– well, just don’t. However, if you go in expecting Sakura Xpress food, it’s actually not half bad!
My favorite dish is the teriyaki chicken with broccoli. It’s nothing fancy– rice, broccoli, carrots, and some chicken pieces. However, with the white sauce on top, it’s actually pretty enjoyable! I wouldn’t recommend going every day, but maybe once a month when you’re on a budget crunch is good!
In terms of atmosphere, it’s very clean, but a little bit dated interior.
Also, right near a pretty popular bus stop if you want to grab something, but keep an eye out for a bus!

Straight up, I only buy something from here on M, W, or F when I can get a hibachi chicken and mushroom tray (also comes with some carrots) for only $ 5. It’s extremely cheap but still tastes okay. If I’m starving, then it’s delicious. Make sure you get the «white sauce» with it!
My problem with this place is that the food here is no longer as worthwhile as it used to be. About 2 years ago their $ 5 special was actually a really decent sized amount of food with lots of meat and carrots. Today I opened my little styrofoam box and noticed the amount of food has drastically decreased and I had very few carrots in there.
Big bummer.

what kind of food is it? it’s neither chinese nor japanese. and it’s just so oily

Dont waste your money for this low quality food.
I bought teriaki chicken with mashroom. There eere literally very few chicken and mashroom pieces. Rice is also not hood. Spending your money here is not worth it.. This is yhe worst restaurant thst I have been in USA in last 3 years of my stay. I will never come back. No stars from me. Sorry.

The worst Japanese I’ve ever had. The only reason this place gets customers is because freshmen can walk there – it’s right on Franklin street by campus. Although, I would prefer dining hall fare compared to this.
I had the hibachi chicken. The entire meal tasted like it came out of the microwave, and the sauces (which usually make a hibachi meal worthwhile) almost made it worse. It was very disappointing as Japanese food is my favorite. I’ll stick to my guns and frequent Japan Express.

One of the reasons I chose to try Sakura Xpress, despite the fact that it looks like any other fast food joint on Franklin Street, was the number of positive reviews it has received. That, and I was really craving decent (not great, just decent would have sufficed) Asian food and just happened to be on Franklin Street. I am here to help you avoid the same mistake. This place is darn cheap, as several reviewers have pointed out, but the old saying «you get what you pay for» definitely applies here. I ordered the vegetarian entrée, which turned out to be a bunch of overcooked vegetables and mushy rice in a bland sauce. I also got a veggie spring roll, one of the greasiest items of food I have ever eaten, no doubt. The best part of my meal was the Vitamin Water. On a positive note, the cashier was very kind.

I’m not really an Asian food aficionado, and I don’t really get it that often, so maybe this just isn’t the type of place for me.
Sakura was good, don’t get me wrong. Food was cheap, came out fast and I didn’t really have any complaints with it. It just didn’t really blow me away.
I got the steak dish with a vegetable roll.
I guess my main wish is that they have more veggies on the plate in general. The carrots and broccoli were OK, but I was left wanting some more foliage to go along with my pieces of steak.
Maybe if I got something else this place would rate higher with me, but to be honest I don’t see myself going back to even give it another try.

Definitely one of my favorite restaurants on Franklin. Cheap fast Hibachi style «Japanese» food (come on we know it’s very Americanized). If you go on the right nights of the week you can get full for $ 5 and still have leftovers to take home for tomorrow.
I’m kind of a creature of habit so I can only rate my favorite dish that I always get, Teriyaki Chicken with broccoli and remove the carrots. They give you a good amount of bite size chicken for the price and it is marinated in a teriyaki sauce without getting completely coated in it. The broccoli is also well cooked and compliments the other flavors well. I don’t care for the sweet carrots myself because I don’t like cooked carrots but there’s nothing wrong with them fundamentally. The fried rice is also great lightly flavored rice, it’s a tad greasy but I’m not going to try and convince anyone that it’s health food. I also like to dose my food in some shrimp sauce (even though I know it’s essentially just mayo, but again this is not health food people haha)
The staff is also extremely friendly, one of the selling points to the restaurant for me. Especially the older gentleman who is almost always in the restaurant, be it behind the cash register or even cooking in the back. During my freshman and sophomore years of college at UNC my roommate and I would go at least twice a month and we’d order the same thing. It got to the point that we’d go in and he’d know exactly what we were going to order and would talk to us while we waited.
If you like cheap «Asian» food without getting caught up in issues of authenticity you should check Sakura out if you were on the fence before.

He tried Chicken Kabobs last night and he thought they were great, so today we went for sushi… not so great. We tried the salmon and tuna roll; we both ate one roll and made yucky faces.
The sushi wasn’t chilled, it was lukewarm as if it had been sitting out for a while. He finished his sushi because they gave us a good amount of wasabi and ginger, mine sat on the plate. I attempted to eat my side of rice but it was meh.

This was one of those places where, as an undergrad, if I walked by but didn’t stop in I would feel cravings until I eventually made it back for the chicken & shrimp combo drenched in white sauce. The sauce is mayo-​based and has that magical quality of making everything you put it on taste like manna from heaven. And the sweet tea… Good sweet tea in the South is a prerequisite for any 5 star rating as far as I’m concerned.
The veggies you get here as a side with your meal don’t come out swimming in grease or oil from the flattop grill. Rather, the carrots are lightly steamed medallions of sweet goodness. They do have the standard zucchini & onions, but even these are delightful.
Any time I’m back in the area, I feel guilty if I don’t stop by… And if I’m gonna feel guilty, it may as well be because I drowned myself in calorie-​laden white sauce.

Another of my Chapel Hill staples, Sakura is great for quick Japanese hibachi-​style food. I prefer the hibachi steak and chicken, which comes with rice, broccoli and carrots. Sakura’s food is always appropriately cooked, and the meats are of good quality. They don’t load the entrees down with sauces or seasonings, but you can add the delicious white sauce or Sriracha. I’ve been told Sakura is great if you have a sensitive stomach.
I also love the Sakura employees. They are incredibly friendly and will greet you like a friend after your first couple of visits. They even memorize your standard order.
Sakura is now open until 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and serves as a great post-​bar meal. They also serve sushi (which I’ve never had) and a few beers. They’ll either have the Carolina game or a police procedural showing on their big TV. The restaurant is also exceptionally clean and neat. Highly recommended!

I have been here a few times and I always order their weekend special: homemade, authentic phở.
You heard right, PHO. At a «Japanese» restaurant.
Sakura Xpress is run by a Vietnamese family (I think) and they sure do know how to make some darn delicious phở. For under $ 8 you get an enormous bowl of hot, flavorful broth filled with meat toppings and noodles. They serve it with a neat basket of fresh bean sprouts, lime wedges, sriracha and hoisin sauces.
Fake Japanese food is tempting, but the huge steaming bowl of noodles always wins.

Man, this place is like crack for college kids. It’ll never go out of business. I discovered it as an undergrad at UNC and it remains in my personal top ten favorite restaurants.
Now, it’s not like the food is mind-​blowing-​orgasmic, but it somehow always manages to hit the spot. It’s all in that delicious, mayonnaise-​based shrimp sauce they have. That’s their secret. They probably put drugs in there. There were times when I thought about stealing their bottle of shrimp sauce and just running the hell out of there. You get your little plate of chicken/​shrimp/​steak, etc. with rice and these savory cut-​up carrots and douse it with as much sauce as you like. Before you know it, you’ve inhaled your food and have no memory of even eating it.
The people there were always very friendly, too– that’s a good thing because I would have been distraught had my relationship with that shrimp sauce been compromised.

Good ol’ Sakura. What bargain basement terrible «Japanese» food that manages to somehow be delicious.
Sakura is mainly a hibachi grill, although you can get very credible foods of other types (eg tempura), if you like. Expect to get a standard plate of food for about $ 7, plus whatever drink you want, and it’s enough to fill up even my intense appetite. It’s typically not very spicy, but quite flavorful, especially if you’re addicted to the shrimp sauce like everyone else. If you’re not familiar, the shrimp sauce (called white sauce by some), is a creamy, indefinable sauce that goes well on or with just about anything. You’ll end up using gobs, I swear.
This is fast food, so walk in expecting fast food and you won’t be disappointed. That being said, it’s really pretty excellent for what it is.