Sakura Express

Sushi is dynamite. Best I’ve had in Princeton. However, the young lady with the glasses taking people’s order was so rude and condescending to the person in front of me. She lost her temper when he asked a simple question about sushi and it really turned me off.

Sushi chef didn’t wash hands after playing on his iPad. Actually he never stopped playing clash of clans of his iPad as he made the sushi. Threw the food away. Hygiene very suspect.

I have never been to a more racist establishment than this one. First, the chef and the woman working at the register told us it would take 20 minutes for our order. Then, we said «Ok, that’s fine.» Then, the chef looked us and said «No, it will take 30 – 45 minutes more.» Then literally, he took his hand and waved us off — not once, not twice, but at least 5 times. I’ve never been to a restaurant that actively tried to push away customers.
We looked at the woman and she looked at us back with disgust and barked at us and asked us what we wanted to do. We decided to wait there and it only took less than 15 minutes to get our food. In fact, the chef threw our food on the table as if we were animals and turned his attention towards the other white customers.
With the other non-​ethnic people, the chef and the woman were SO SO SO friendly, and I was so surprised that there was an establishment in Princeton that treated white people so much better than non-​white people.
At the end of the dining experience, which was truly terrible, I went up to the register and I told her I didn’t like the way she treated us and told her that she should treat all customers equally. She started screaming at us and verbatim said, «This isn’t my problem.» And ran behind the kitchen until we left — she couldn’t bear to consider the truth with other customers behind us.
I seriously can’t believe this happened to me. Was it because we were an interracial couple? What is this — the 1950s? I would highly encourage you not to visit this place, and I promise to make it my goal to let everyone know about my experiences so my own family and friends (who have long been in the Princeton area) will not visit this establishment ever again.

HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE BOTH TIMES I’VE GONE. miserable service. terrible cashier. the chef is actually really nice and the sushi is decent, albeit overpriced. however, they’re total cheapskates. my four friends and i tried to order 4 rolls, which should come with two salads, but were refused the two salads because «you only get salad if each person orders two rolls.» the young woman taking our order wanted to charge us over $ 5 per salad instead. when we left, she only gave us two pairs of chopsticks and wouldn’t give us two more pairs «because we’d insisted that two of us were eating the four rolls in an attempt to get free salad.» poorly run business. the nice chef/​owner needs to hire new employees. not worth the trek for average sushi and a dingy space with no room to sit.

Sakura Express is the best sushi I have had in my entire life. This place is an anomaly to the phrase «you get what you pay for». The value is through the roof. The sushi is reasonably priced, the size of the rolls are enormous, the quality of the fish is incredible and the flavor is perfect. Just look at some o the pictures. The chefs pile on extra ingredients. If I worked closer to Sakura I would be here at least 3 days a week for lunch.
If you like sushi and are in the area go.

Absolutely delicious Sushi. Some of the best I have tasted. My wife is happy with her tempura vegetables. Try it you will not be disappointed!!!

Sakura Express is a staple in Princeton. I love their spicy salmon with their signature style of lumping the extra salmon on right top. They do this for spicy tuna as well. The New York roll with real apples is another favorite of mine — a nice mix of savory and sweet. You also can’t go wrong with the spider roll with soft shell crab. If you order two sushi rolls, you can help yourself to the salad bar (pickled radish and carrot, tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce, but their sesame dressing makes me want to eat salad)! The two owners are also very friendly and welcoming and like to joke with you, often remembering your faces. Just a note– their ramen is regular Chinese noodles, not real ramen (which disappointed my ramen loving nephew). I always enjoy going here.

Sakura express has generally been my go-​to sushi place in Princeton. While you usually won’t get anything fancy presentation-​wise, they do give you a ton of food for the amount you pay (compared to other sushi places here that I’ve been to, at least). I really enjoy their spicy salmon roll especially; there’s actual discernible chunks of salmon in it instead of a mass of mashed salmon/​paste, which is what I usually find at other places (which isn’t objectively bad, just not what I want). Their sweet potato rolls are also delicious!
Also, the other Unilocalers weren’t joking about the chirashi. I came in hungry and still only managed to finish half of it.
I would generally advise against getting their noodle (udon, etc.) options though. The soup tastes a bit flavorless and bland to me, and all of my friends who’ve also ordered udon or ramen from here seem to agree.

Stopped by on Labor Day and got the lunch special: tuna roll and salmon roll with a salad for about $ 10. The tuna was a dark brown color instead of bright red. The salmon was ok. Disappointing experience. Threw it out without finishing.

Sakura express is a local, family owned business located in downtown Princeton! Coming here for the first time recently, I was surprised and intrigued by their signature sushi dishes because each roll is topped with a bunch of stuffings that are wrapped in the rolls. Essentially, one roll equates to two rolls! My friend and i shared three rolls, and there was so much food that we had to pack some home! On top of the enormous portions of sushi they give you, they offer free salads!
Even though the price for the portion is great, the service can a little slow if there are a few customers because there’s only one sushi chef and they roll them fresh.
They have some interesting rolls such as the New York Roll with fresh apples, but I think the quality and taste are average.
3.5 Stars

Great Sushi & Sashimi, Great Atmosphere. Casual seating. Definitely will return. Very friendly staff.

I visit Princeton once a year during July to take a week long class at Westminster Choir College. I tried this restaurant last year, and was impressed by it. I went there for lunch again today, and it is as good as last time. It is very reasonable with pricing, and the portions are large. Owners are Chinese… they speak Mandarin. Very nice little place for Japanese food.

Great value for the price. Everytime you order a roll, they top it with extra ingredients on the side!
I usually get the chirashi. For $ 21 you get a salad, a large serving of rice, and a lot of sashimi, egg omelette and spicy tuna or salmon depending on what they use for the day! There is so much seafood packed in that bowl and it’s always quite fresh too!
Of course since this is a relatively cheaper place, the quality of their sashimi is not comparable to high-​end sushi restaurants. However this is still a good place for dining under a budget, or for splurging on lots and lots of sushi and sashimi once in a while.

The quality: price ratio is pretty high and the quantity: price ratio is off-​scale. Sakura Express caters to students with the munchies and those who have just done huge workouts or have otherwise maneuvered themselves into caloric deficits.
I ordered a chirashi to go and was amazed by the large amount of food in my bowl. Although I belong to the clean plate club, I was unable to finish all the rice that remained at the bottom after I had eaten all the fish. The salad looked really attractive when I approached the salad bar with my styrofoam container. I scooped out for myself a substantial portion of carrots and ginger, adding a few pieces of tomato and cucumber. Here again, there was simply too much for me to eat: the salad looked good, but it wasn’t all *that* good.
Sakura Express has a good vibe. The two people working out front (one at the cashier and one preparing food) were super-​busy but still had a smile and a kind word for everyone. The customers seemed like a decent enough group.
Sakura Express is not the sushi house of my dreams, but I’m glad that I tried it and might well come again.

Being half japanese I suppose I’m rather picky with the authenticity when it comes to japanese cuisine. I suppose this is why this place gets four stars and not five.
It’s a small place– definitely casual and neat.
My boyfriend ordered a beef ramen and I got the vegetable gyoza and chicken udon.
We both loved the gyoza– my boyfriend was adamant on not trying it but after half a bite, he ate three more and considered buying another plate of it!
We both ate all of our udon and ramen but personally, I didn’t love my dish and neither did my boyfriend. The flavor was definitely Americanized and not quite the dashi japanese flavor. But it wasn’t not delicious!

Many a late night craving for sushi has been satisfied by Sakura. Their sushi is tasty, well-​portioned, and inexpensive, which makes it almost perfect for a college student. I could probably eat my body weight in fish for less than the price of a meal at Agricola. It’s very much a hole in the wall kind of place. I mean, you have to know what to expect. It obviously won’t be Sushi of Gari (this is Central Jersey after all), but it certainly fills the niche in the market for delicious sushi on a budget. It’s kind of the same way I feel about a place like Hunan. It probably isn’t entirely authentic Japanese food, but it’s still tasty and plentiful, so I don’t really mind too much.
Ajihei narrowly edges Sakura out in terms of taste and service, but they’re also more expensive.

I really like this place. I usually order the chicken teriyaki, which is always yummy. I’ve also tried their sushi and tempura which was also pretty tasty. Salad bar with iceberg lettuce and dressings is refreshing and an interesting blend of flavors. Overall, good food for the price. The place is really small but I like how cozy it is inside!

Sakura Express is a decent option if you’re craving cheap, but not too crappy Japanese food.
They give a generous amount of filling for their rolls, which is nice! I like the salmon avocado roll, they give you a bunch of avocado on top of the roll too. The new york roll is good, it’s an interesting but pretty refreshing crab/​apple salad type thing. Pretty good.
Their miso soup isn’t worth it. I don’t like the look of their salad bar either. All in all, a decent place.

I graduated from Princeton over 3 years ago and I still miss this place.
The sushi isn’t served on a stone plate with fancy soy sauce saucers.
But come here not only for amazing sushi with great value but for the entertaining banter with Andrew and Arthur. Arthur, who I believe teaches tae kwon do on the side was quite helpful in telling me which exercises I needed to do to recover from my shoulder surgery. Where else can go to get delicious cuts of sushi and physical therapy advice?
What I usually get and love:
— Unagi don with spicy salmon and avocdao (expensive but worth it)
— Spicy salmon /​tuna rolls
— Salmon /​tuna avocado rolls
— Futomaki
— Massive amounts of salad from the salad bar with the delicious ginger dressing

Princeton’s not exactly a haven for good Japanese food, and this isn’t really an exception. Sakura Express works off the ‘Japanese Fast Food’ model, with all of the quality of quickly prepared sushi, but without the correspondingly low prices.
On the bright side — you get to make your own salad, which means you can put as much of their delicious sesame dressing on your lettuce as you want. Seating is sparse, but if they run out — go and sit in the square outside; it’s far less depressing, and when the weather’s nice, a good place for people watching.

Gut besucht, immer frisch, immer gut aufgelegter (chinesischer) Sushi-​Meister. Alle paar Wochen gönne ich mir hier ein Sashimi Deluxe: 21 Stück Fisch, 7 verschiedene Sorten, dazu ein Salat von der Salatbar und Reis. Leichte Qualitätsschwankungen vor allem beim Thunfisch bleiben nicht aus, aber trotzdem ist der Genuss ungetrübt. Die Sesamsauce an der Salatbar ist köstlich.
Hier habe ich 2004 das erste Mal überhaupt Sushi gegessen. Vielleicht hat das auch zu einer besonderen Bindung geführt.
Mit zum Erlebnis gehört die unglaubliche junge Dame an der Kasse. Wir nennen sie the bitchy girl… Sie lächelt niemals. Ich habe sie schon einmal einen Kunden anschnautzen hören, nachdem sie seine Bestellung falsch aufgenommen hatte.