Sakura of Japan

Great steak and shrimp. Very tender and well seasoned. Lots of food for the price. A really fun place and we didn’t smell like kitchen for the rest of the day.

A hidden gem in hazel dell. Friendly staff, amazing food at an affordable price. Just a small hole in the wall. Never crowded. Seated immediately. You do leave smelling like a kitchen all day. Be prepared but well worth it.

Went last week. Always a great meal — steak, shrimp & lobster rock! Friendly, fun and lots left for another day…

The food is incredible and you won’t believe the portions. They cook in front of you. Great place!

My husband and I decided to go here for a date night. The other reviews weren’t kidding about the bad ambiance. But even tho I’ve seen Waffle houses that look better. But we decided to still give it a try. The salad was good, too much dressing, couldnt stir it with out the dressing splashing on you. The soup was horrible. I ordered the noodles and rice with steak and shrimp and it comes with mixed veggies. The noodle and rice were both burnt and crunchy, yes crunchy. The shrimp was large and lacking in flavor, the steak was chewy. Everything was seasoned with soy sauce overly so. And the mixed veggies… Cabbage and mushroom. Technically veggies but not what I expected or wanted. Paying $ 30 a plate I expected way way way better. When the cook was finished cooking and started cleaning the grill… She didn’t really «put her back into it» lol, the grills all were black and dirty looking. All the other hibachi I have eaten had have never ever been that dirty looking. I stopped eating immediately leaving most of my mela on the plate. Don’t eat here. It’s seriously horrible.

The place was hot. It was a 90 degree day, and the place was crowded. They had about 4 of their grills going, and I was sweating from the time I walked in. I am pretty sure they had the AC going, but their building is so old and dilapidated, that the HVAC could probably not keep the place cool.
The carpet was filthy, and wet. I am not sure why, but it the carpet was squishy and sticky underfoot. They had an industrial fan set up in the dining area, attempting to dry it out, it seems.
The food was «OK», considering the low prices, which are very reasonable.
I would not go back, but considering the lack of options in the immediate area I may be forced to.
Thumbs down, for sure.

Excellent teppan yaki place! The actual food is very high quality — great cuts of meat, grilled at your table. Lobster, shrimp, chicken. Ali wonderful. The calamari was amazing. Very nice chef, grilled everything to order perfectly. Portions were generous but the group ordered more steak because it was SO good people shared and then we all wanted a bit more.

This is by far the most inexpensive tempura place I’ve been. I was a bit dubious with the low lunch prices but the food was actually quite good! It’s a family run business with great service. I highly recommend!

Enjoyed my meal. Tasted great. Portions more than plenty for even a heavy eater. I brought a good portion home. Definitely worth trying!

We love the way they season the teppanyaki-​prepared food here… it’s better than anywhere else. The family that runs this place is very sweet. Always a joy to visit and they really encourage chit-​chatting among the different customers. A really friendly atmosphere.

The food and service was excellent. I got more than enough food. The teriyaki chicken was delicious, the jumbo shrimp are jumbo and the steak was cooked to perfection. All the sauces are made from scratch and taste great! You can order their sauces to take home. I hope to come back soon!

I wanted to love this after reading the reviews. First impressions, dirty and clearly outdated. I had the shrimp, lobster and steak, hibachi style. The chef completely dried out the food. Cooked way too long, very disappointed. The staff was very friendly though.

This family run business is very nice
The lunch portion is oversized and delicious
We take large groups of people here for dinner, special events including Birthday Party’s. We are always treated very excellent

Great food. Great service, the owner is awesome, very friendly. Large portions. Try it out!

I have been going here since I was like 7 years old. Its my favorite Restaurant. Its kinda a little hole and the wall place nothing fancy but they have the best food of any place like it that I’ve been to. I almost always get the teriyaki chicken. Its soo good. The soup is yummy and the salad is bomb, the dressing is so freaken good. You can even by some in a bottle if you want. They do cook in front of you so if your looking for more of a show then you better go to a place like benihanas instead. But the food is way better then that place.

We have had the pleasure of dining at this restaurant several times now over the past 7 months. It has become one of our favorite places to go for a great dinner. We are never disappointed. The staff is super friendly and the cook that we have gotten most often always greets us warmly.
The food: excellent. We have had just about all of the items on the menu at some point: chicken, steak, lobster, shrimp, scallops. Yakisoba noodles are my favorite. The fried rice is great too. I have noticed that although they ask how you know would like your steak cooked, it usually comes out a bit more done than I prefer, but it is good steak and still delicious!
Although not upscale in location or décor, this is a great restaurant to go to for some great food! Prices range from around $ 13 for chicken to about $ 26 for steak, shrimp and lobster.
So glad we found this place!

I could easily give this place 2-​stars and it might also be worthy of 4-​stars. It is such a mixed bag.
First, the food was very good. I went vegetarian with tofu so my meal was a salad (Iceberg lettuce swimming in some tasty dressing. If they actually tossed it before serving, it would be a big improvement.), a cup of miso (rather boring with 2 mushroom slices floating in it), fried rice (very tasty), vegetables (also very tasty), and grilled onions (good, though a bit odd).
If I was just rating the food, I’d give it 3 or 4 stars. The ambiance brings it way down.
The place is run down and smells of old grease. The furniture looks somewhat sketchy. There is an audible alarm on the door which makes you feel like you are going out a door designed to stop someone from dining and dashing.
It would be a fun place to go with a group because of the social nature of the dining experience.

Been going here for years. Great service and food. Prices are comparable with cuisine served and service.
Having your food prepared in front of you, hot, fresh and delicious!

Bottom line: the food IS good, and not too overpriced, but meal selection is extremely small, the tables are very sticky, and the name «Sakura of Japan» is pretty much false advertising. It is worth trying (provided you can deal with the sticky tables and a thick accent), but it won’t be a frequent visit since there’s basically no variety.
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Had seen Sakura driving by a couple of times, and thought we’d check it out when my sister was over from Utah.
First off, if you’re looking for authentic Japanese food, this is definitely not it. There’s nothing «of Japan» about Sakura. No one Japanese was working here when we came (sounds like Vietnamese accent, maybe?), and the food has little relation to anything Japanese. However, the food, authentic or not, is tasty, and we all enjoyed our meals, which ranged from $ 12 – 18 a piece for entrees.
The server had a thick, but decipherable, accent (she had a charming habit of adding «my dear» to everything she said :)). The chef did not appear to speak English. He sprayed the grill with oil and held a lighter to it, paused and looked at us long enough to softly say, «hot…», and then the grill exploded in our faces. I don’t think any of us felt that single word really prepared us for the size of the eruption, but we didn’t feel unsafe or threatened, so it was more a fun surprise than anything.
The table was unpleasantly sticky; I wouldn’t recommend touching it. Obviously, cooking your meal before your eyes, and lighting little grease eruptions, is liable to get oil everywhere so that’s understandable, but they ought to make an effort at wiping down tables between customers. I only saw one chef and one server, but it’s not as if they were busy — there was only one other table occupied when we walked in.
The menu is sparse. Basically, they have what amounts to a single meal option, which they vary by choice of meat (or veggies), and whether you’re having noodles, or steamed or fried rice (or some combination). There are no other entrée choices. They offer some side dishes, but nothing that caught my eye. Drink options are similarly sparse, but they did have wine, sake and beer.

Love this place! Really good service! The portions are HUGE! I get the sho gun and you get rice or noodles, steak, shrimp and chicken! Plus soup and salad! Yum!!! Always tip your cook!