Sakura Elite

Skip it and go to Panda Express — beef teriyaki was not good and fried rice was soggy — all for 11.00. Won’t be back.

So this is in the mall but as far as mall sushi goes it does a pretty good job. I live like 3 blocks from it and there are some days where I just will walk over, grab it, and head home. There are a few pluses and minuses.
+ The Sashimi is great. Big slices, really delicious.
+ Always incredibly friendly staff
— Takes forever. They make everything right then and there (which is wonderful!) but it means if you order the sushi roll you’re waiting for them to make it and sometimes it can take a bit.
— The rice. It’s made in a rice maker in the back you can see and is always extremely overlooked. Sometimes I actually peel it off my sushi rolls because I think it’s better without it here.
One last thing– make sure they charge you correctly. They have numbers for meals, but if you do something like getting a meal and changing it from a tuna roll to a salmon roll– they’ll suddenly charge you a lot because that’s just how the register works. But if you calmly point out the number and price on the wall they’ll fix it happily

Mall Japanese food. It’s something that I get a hankering for every now and again. It is what it is, essentially the fast food version of the type of meal you’d get at Teppanyaki style Japanese Steakhouse. Sakura Elite is this type of place, not unlike many that exist in malls all over the world, and they do a solid job of delivering a consistent level of quality. At the MacArthur Mall food court (where Sakura Elite resides) it’s one of my go to spots for a quick and decent meal.
Like most Mall Japanese (and often other Mall style Asian restaurants in general) this is one of those places that will go out of their way to grab the attention of all who may happen to walk by for the express purpose of giving out a free sample of their Chicken Teriyaki on a a toothpick. This must be an effective strategy for two reasons. Number one, these places have been doing this for probably over 30 years now, and number two, the chicken teriyaki sample on the toothpick is usually pretty darn tasty.
Chicken Teriyaki is the main draw here. However, beef and shrimp are available as well, not to mention combinations of any two out of the three (although I’m sure they’d sell you a container with all three at once for additional cost if you really wanted it). The quality of the meat is not all that high. The beef for example is basically like really good quality steak-​ums. All meals come with your choice of fried rice, white rice, or for about $ 1 extra lo mein (not exactly Japanese, but whatever). You also get a scoop of steamed veggies (usually a combination of cabbage, carrots, and brocoli) as well. That’s the basic meal, and they give you a pretty large portion of the things I noted above. They also have vegetable tempura, harumaki, and shumai if you want a little something extra. There’s also a Bento Box meal that comes with some of the things mentioned above plus a fully deep fried Volcano roll. Overall the food is pretty tasty, but then again in my experience the whole «Mall Japanese food» thing is very difficult to screw up. Sakura Elite isn’t really any better or worse than any other similar food court Japanese places I’ve been. If you like this kind of stuff, you’ll be just fine here.
One thing to note is the price. Sakura Elite, and other establishments of it’s ilk, can be slightly pricier than say other mall fast food. It’s certainly much cheaper than say a «true» Japanese restaurant, but it’s not all that inexpensive. Again though, the portions are pretty large, so you get your money’s worth IMO.
The bottom line is that if you like Mall Japanese food, then you won’t be disappointed at Sakura Elite. If you’ve never had Mall Japanese food, and you like it’s pricier cousin Hibachi, you should also like Sakura Elite, as long your expectations aren’t too high.

The food was very dry like it was cooked earlier today and served hours later. There was also vet little if any sauce for the rice. I would not recommend eating here. Even for mall food this was bad!

I love this place I get my order to go every time and it’s always good. The cashier knows my order now without me saying a word. I always get two chicken teriyaki double meat one with white rice the other fried rice for my husband. they are really inexpensive for what you get I am never hungry after eating here and the service is really quick.

I’ve been to this place 3 – 4 times over the last few month and Overall I’m pleasantly surprised. the speed is always fast, the savings are larger than I’d expected, the food/​taste is pretty good for a quick & cheap bite while in the mall, the chicken veggies and rice are fresh & flavorful. Thumbs up from me.

Sakura Elite is my favourite spot for a quick and unexpensive lunch. They’re fast and efficient.
This particular place is located at the food court of MacArthur Shopping Center.
I do love coming here because the food is served fresh and hot. Its live cooking in the teriyaki style, a technique used in Japanese cuisine in which foods are grilled with a glaze of soy sauce, mirin, and sugar.
The best part of the experience is you get to interact with the chef and if you fancy to add more spices they will do it for you according to your pallette.
I can’t complain for a less than 10 dollars meal. Its totally worth to try and I assured you that you’ll like it as much I love it. Indeed, it’s greasy and oily however it has so many elevated flavor that you can taste every of it.
I truly enjoy myself every time I visit and my favourite combo meal is the TERIYAKI SHRIMP & BEEF served with rice or noodles and mixed green vegetables. I thought the food is perfectly seasoned. The teriyaki sauce is magnificently divine, the saltiness and sweetness is well balanced. An additional sauce of siracha added a different texture and elevate the flavor. The rice and vegetables is the best sides to compliment the main dish.
I don’t see anything wrong with the customer service but exemplary superb.

I mean it is mall food, that being said–
The food I purchased was the samples the people give out as you walk by, which was the chicken. I got mine with lo mein and cabbage. Also, I asked, after I paid for extra sauce which they gave me.
The chicken was greasy and the cabbage was kind of cold. I have been to this food place at Lynnhaven mall a few times and I feel like they know how to cook it better. The lady at the register was rude too, she kept trying to move us out of the way for passersbys, I guess for just on case they stopped to get some food. No one else did by the way.
The spring rolls were delicious though! The portions of the food was good because we shared one plate All in all, I had a good time because I ate with my husband.

Average teriyaki chicken. It was very oily and just average. Customer service of course was fair but that is typical for this type of establishment. Pretty sad to expect to be rushed as if your on a free food line but that is they way they treat people.

I was super surprised to find take out sushi in the mall that was great. I got the special which was 2 rolls for under $ 15.00. They were special rolls and they were just excellent. I’m sorry I don’t remember the names of them! But the service was fast, friendly and the sushi was way better than store bought — it was made fresh and fast! Pleasantly surprised and I will be back.

It’s great for food court food– fast and semi cheap! Though my problem is the one in lynnhaven has shrimp sauce and this one doesn’t!!! Booooo!!! Though if you want to have healthier Japanese (no shrimp sauce) this is the place :)

I work downtown and eat at Sakura Elite every couple of weeks. I like the chicken teryaki with rice and veggies. Very good food, served fast and always hot off the grill. Friendly staff.

Okay, I should have known better than to get sushi at the mall… but I needed boots and sushi and only have one lunch hour!
I got 2 pretty bad rolls and a Sprite for $ 14. I could go one block away to my beloved Domo and get 2 rolls, salad, soup and gyoza for $ 10.
The rolls were badly rolled, do NOT try to and pick them up to dunk them in the soy. They fell apart instantly. Also the wasabi was the consistency of 3 year old gum. It did not want to dissolve into the soy, but instead pretty much maintained its shape and consistency.
The taste was pretty bad, especially for $ 14.

Sakura Elite is just like Sarku or Sakkio-​Japan. It’s a quick hibachi style terryaki goodness! It’s my favorite «mall» food. They pack your plate with rice and veggies before topping it with a mountain of your choice meat on top. Ask for extra sauce! This place rocks! Pretty affordable too! Sakura also has a sushi stand near the escalators.

It’s mall food, not bad…
Probably the best choice considering the choices…

Not bad for mall sushi. It was the strangest looking roll, too. I forget what it was called though but I was pleasantly surprised.
I’m not saying you should compare all your sushi experiences with this place. Far from that. but if you happen to be in the mall and you happen to be in an eenie meenie miney mo situation, give them a try.
As far as pricing goes, I thought it was a little high but rents in malls is typically pretty high, even for a sushi kiosk.