Sakura Japanese Restaurant

Hands down the best Japanese food we have had in town. We travelled broadly and have had some of the best sushi in the world. The sashimi we had was so fresh and the tempura was light and crunchy with the perfect amount of batter. The house-​made dipping sauce was the right balance of spiciness and flavor. The décor was traditional Japanese with an intimate feel, and the service was personal and attentive. We just can’t say enough good things about Sakura! The best part is the price was very reasonable. We have found our new favorite restaurant!

It’s really good — first hibachi on this side of town and it’s still in business. I do think their décor needs to be spruced up a little. There is Christmas garland that’s hanging year round in the waiting area and most of the lights are out. That needs to be taken down. Order your sushi as soon as you sit down as it can sometimes take a long time to come out. Service is always good.

Didn’t even get to eat. They did not staff enough cooks. We waited an hour and had still not had any food so we left.

Waited for 1 hour before cook came to start cooking hibachi. The rice was cold. My steak was undercooked.
I was really hoping my dinner would be worth the wait, but unfortunately it wasn’t. Paying for an entrée that took forever to get and was partially cold is never awesome.
Likely won’t be back.

First off the chef was great and my 2 daughters loved him. He shot the flames off the grill 4 times for my daughters which no one has done anywhere else. The food was also delicious and the wait staff was friendly and stayed on top of our table very well. The only reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 was because the bathrooms smelt terrible and the cleanliness of the room we ate in could have been much better! I attached a picture of the underneath of the grill and table in front of us.

So let’s talk about this place… The people are so incredibly nice, Yoyo the chef rocks! So why 2 stars? This place has been here for a very long time in hermitage Tn. and I am always shock when I I hear «OMG this is the best place EVER» it was when it open well over 10 – 15 years ago, but mind you my first experience with Hibachi was the Nashville’s original Kolbes Steak House. Over the years as in most Asian restaurants it became sub par. The last I came Was about 6 – 7 years ago every time I left I got sick. It could of just been me. Who knows. So when my friends suggested it tonight I decided «who knows, let’s give it another shot!!!» I was hopeful. We were seated quickly. But then moved to another table. No big deal really! I ordered for dinner vegetables and fried rice and sushi roll that had crab, eel and vegetables all cooked because I was still Skeptical. We got our soup, I love the hibachi soups!!! When I mine got I was ready disappointed. It was sour! Like fermented… I was looking forward to it so bad! Then I moved to the salad. Sad face. The dressing was so watered down. My sushi came first. I had these fried things at both ends so I took a bite of one, I could not identify what it was. I picked the breaking off to further identify it, but it was completely unclear as to what it was. It was fishy and almost hairy… hairy? Yeah. It ruined the rest of my meal. I ate the over fried rice and picked at the flavorless veggies. But the smell of the grill as they cleaned it before me was very unappealing. After all these years apart. I thought it would be different… Better… Or had improved… Here I sit, on the toilet, because I believe in second and third chances! Try Oshisi in Mt. Juliet instead. Next time I hear «OMG, I love that place!» I will think twice about their food choices!

I had a great lunch here! I was greeted by the waitresses and chef who were super nice and accommodating. I was having a crappy morning and they made it better. One waitress recommended the Bento Box which was a good deal. Nearly everything was fresh and delicious. The only item I didn’t care to eat was the fried rice as it was very bland to me. I’m glad to know that this restaurant is a little gem in my backyard and I look forward to returning back here again!

5 stars because I can deal with sub par details if the food is great. This place seems to be in a transitional phase. They need more employees and a constant host or hostess. Thankfully, I work in the service industry so I am forgiving and beyond understanding of their situation. You may wait a few minutes to be seated. Your sushi will take 20 minutes sometimes. The waitress might not come around as much as you would like. BUT the sushi and other food is fantastic. The sushi chef puts heart and soul into what he does and you can sense the passion if you watch him work. The sashimi is always fresh and plentiful– the serving size is fair for what you pay. If you’re unsure of what rolls to order, ask the sushi chef! He is very helpful. The clear soup and ginger salads are perfect. The meats are always prepared properly. The vegetables are amazing. If you’re not a hard person to please in regards to speed, you will love this place. The ONLY complaint that I have is that my drinks are never strong enough. I always start with a Geisha (SO GOOD) but order Kirin after because the alcohol is undetectable. I’m a former bartender so that’s the one thing I am picky about. Other than that, perfect. I have never been disappointed with this place and it’s definitely worth the price.

Great sushi as always! Service is sometimes sketchy — but good is worth it! Their signature «Sakura roll» is my favorite — along with the «in and out»

Food is always good. YoYo is the best cook. Service not so good… They will make you wait until a table is filled up, we use to be regulars but now don’t enjoy being there for two hours from the time we are seated to the time we leave.

Used to be awesome, food is still good but the service is terrible. Last time I went we waited almost an hour for the chef to come to our table. Waitress spilt three drinks from her tray and did not mop it up our feet sat in iced cold tea for almost 2 hours. The hostess CRAMPED people around the grill had everyone get up and scoot down so they could add two extra chairs to the table. Horrible. If I go back I will sit in dinning, so I can actually enjoy the delicious food they make.

The food is always wonderful. And most of the staff is nice. I reccomend the filet it is exquisite every single time. If you can snag the groupon now I reccomend you do ($ 18 for $ 30 worth of dinner.

The food here is good but slightly on the expensive end, or at least slightly more expensive than some of the other places around town. It doesn’t usually take long to get seated but once you order it takes longer than it should for them to get your food out. The servers don’t return to your table too often so if you can manage to get a refill at all then it can take several minutes to do. This restaurant isn’t the cleanest in town either.

My husband and another couple we like to go to dinner with had dinner here the other night based upon our friends suggestions. We were seated right away at a table in the back room and shortly after another group was seated with us, which didn’t make a difference to us.
Our hostess gathered our drink order right and away and was quick to return with them, then to take our order.
We all ordered different items, I went with the filet mignon (price was a huge selling point for me $ 22, I’ve been to another place where it’s well over $ 30) and my husband had the shrimp, steak and chicken combo (huge hit for him, many other places haven’t offered this combination at a decent price).
Our chef came out with a great attitude what seemed like almost instantly. He put on a show, cooked and we all ate and were very happy with our choices.
I don’t know why this place has gotten bad reviews it was my first time and for the price I’d come back the food was tasty and the service was great! Maybe it was the fact it was a Sunday night.

My kids and I love to eat hibachi and decided to give Sakura a try. I believe the décor has been updated since I visited about four years ago. No one was at the hostess station when we arrived. But, no big deal. We were seated quickly enough. The waitress promptly took our drink orders, got our drinks, and took our food orders. She was quite pleasant. It took longer than expected to receive our soup and salad. As soon as you took a break from eating, someone swooped in to collect your bowls. This may have been intended to be good service, but I felt rushed. It took a little while for our chef to appear. I am used to watching the show as I finish my soup and salad. The California roll was great.
Once the chef arrived, things started moving along. The show was standard fare. The rice was great. I barely got any vegetables. My kids had more on their plates. The steak was cooked perfectly. Conpared to other hibachi places in town — not the best, but not the worst either.
Before we finished our meals, the check arrived. The guy who cleans up started cleaning the grill while we ate. I paid. We left. Did the end of the review seem rushed? So did my meal after we finally received our food. Based on price, service, and food, we probably won’t be back. There’s better hibachi available closer to home at comparable prices.

The sushi is fantastic and the kitsune udon is amazing but being harassed to pay the bill several times within 2 minutes of receiving my food after being in the restaurant for less than 30 minutes at 3pm is just unacceptable. I doubt I’ll be back based on the service received.

Great neighborhood hibachi and sushi!
Friendly staff and great food! Lunch hibachi
Bargains till 3pm EVERY Day so we are frequent
Customers Sunday after church ! Excellent sushi
As well highly recommend the Romantic roll!
Kid friendly — family environment ! I order sushi
To go sometimes and everything is always right
And chopsticks, soy etc is in the bag!

I have gone here for years, and here lately it has been a mess. The last time I went I had a fingernail in my rice. that I found by eating. The owner then told us it was ours THEN offered to discount just my meal (even though all of our rice was prepared together), when we refused to pay at all she then accepted to take it off.
I accepted that as a one time thing. Tonight I went back and had a terrible experience. I waited 10 mins to be greeted before I got up and got someone to help us, we then waited another 7 mins for a drink and 10 to give our order. The server was clearly busy but never even said hello. Part of our food never came out. she then dropped off the wrong check (we weren’t even done. We wanted dessert and another drink) then when I pointed it out she took it off our correct check. I then informed her I still wanted it. she then charged us for it. Nobody seemed to care.
All of this happened while management sat and watched. It was just a crap-​show.
I won’t go back. I’ll find someone else to give my money to.

This is one I wish negative stars could be utilized. Many moons ago, when Sakura first opened, I was a regular. Sushi was top notch and the service was outstanding.
What happened?
Rude staff, and paranoid management have run this place deep in the dirt. First, we waited 30 minutes before being acknowledged. Maybe due to our table being tucked away in the abyss of the farthest corner? Food took forever, I ordered two rolls and my other half had a chicken bento box. Box came first, in which I was shocked considering most of the items are tempura (fried) an my rolls were simple (califonia & boston). Another 30 minutes later, my rolls came. Mind you, the bento box had been devoured way before mine ever arrived. Needless to say, I was quite angry & hungry. I asked for a go container because visions of the prom scene in Carrie danced through my head. Finally the waitress brought my bill and dumped my go box. I took my dinner in a go box up to the cashier to pay, and to my surprise, the cashier just happened to be the manager. When asked «how was everything»…I explained, I also added I was charged a $ 0.10 specialty charge that mysteriously appeared. I saw posted near the counter a number to call for complaints, I scribbled said number on the back of my receipt. Out of nowhere, he then reached across the counter and physically snatched my bill. When I went to grab it back, he screamed like a toddler «you try and hit me». I laughed at him while calling him crazy and vowed to never be back.

Back in the dark days when we lived further out of town we were glad that this place opened. It was radical for the area. Sushi was always more than satisfactory — never did the teppanyaki but love the squeals from the diners as the volcano goes off. Between $ 16.95 for your basic set all the way up to $ 31 for lobster.
Tons of sushi rolls, and they always make my soy hand rolls. Agadashi tofu $ 8.95 a bit pricey but very good. Now open all day. Service is a bit poor they tend to forget the sushi eaters in the back but just as well or the bill would be double.