Sakura Japanese Restaurant

WOW! This is Elsmere, Delaware. Repeat! Elsmere, Delaware. Let that sink in and realize we have found a great Japanese restaurant worthy of being In Philly or Baltimore.
A recent 5 star reviewer wrote this is a «hole in the wall» but I disagree. Yes, it is in what appears to be a former home or garage but inside it is cozy, warm, homey and the owners are awesome. And, What is better than family run where there is real, direct accountability?
Decent wine list with prices being about 15% below city prices. Beers were cheap at $ 3.95 including Sapporo.
We had :
— Sakura Special: Tuna, Salmon, Yellow Tail and Red Snapper artfully wrapped in cucumber with Ponzu sauce accompanied by miso soup and a salad– It was incredible!
–Sakura Dinner Box, Chicken which included many side items, salad and Miso soup. So delicious I snuck pieces from my honey’s meal.
The sushi was beautifully presented and super fresh. Prices were more than reasonable. My dining companion and I agree for great service and family attentiveness we will return often !

Fresh fish and a very nice atmosphere!

Went on a Monday night with a reservation but it turned out I didn’t need one. Had the entire restaurant for mostly the entire time. The service was speedy and pleasant and the sushi was some of the best I’ve had in the area. Cheap too, comparatively to other surrounding sushi restaurants. Best bang for buck sushi in Wilmington, hands down. I’m hesitant to go anywhere else.

Love this Sushi place. Really fresh, yummy and great prices!
My favorite roll is the rainbow!

Half a dozen trips in and yeah, it’s consistently amazing. The sashimi is buttery and fabulous. The lunchtime bento boxes are affordable and plentiful. And, if you go on Saturday or Sunday afternoons the special rolls are 20% off!

Great sushi good prices. Picked up a to go platter and it was nicely done for a party.

I found this hidden gem thanks to Unilocal,I’m in Wilmington just for the day and needed a good lunch. I am bookmarking Sakura so that I can come back. the staff is so friendly and the beef with noodles lunch hit the spot!!!

The lunch box used to be an awesome deal… now they have jacked up the price only to have the actual sushi rolls to include fake crab, the absolute cheapest option to include. I think I would rather get my sushi lunch box at the grocery store. There is less fried «filler» and some real sushi.
I hope the $ they saved was worth it

Best sushi around, staff is so friendly! Prices are cheap its a cute little spot!

Well the reviews live up to exactly what they say my new favorite sushi joint !!! Excellent service friendly staff amazing Sushi!
The sashimi app and dragonfly roll are my fave !!!

This family run restaurant is the best service I have had in all of Delaware.
The sushi was very fresh. Excellent preparation. We had 3 regular maki rolls and 2 specialty rolls (no rice) all with salmon, tuna, avocado, cucumber as the main ingredient. All of the rolls had a very healthy portion of each ingredient. It was accompanied with a small house salad and miso soup.
The presentation was beautiful as well.
We got so full, I ended up eating just the fish and veggie parts of the remaining pieces because it was too good to let it go to waste.
A lot of pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce came with the sushi — which I love.
Can’t wait to go again!
Parking was very easy on a Saturday night.

Fantastic! Definitely the best sushi I’ve had by far. Small, quaint, and off the beaten path but well worth the visit. Everything is fresh, well prepared, and served with attentive staff. Will return very soon!

I went here with my Mom and SIL after seeing all the positive reviews; and after eating here, I can see why. The food and service were excellent! You get great portions for the price you pay and everything tastes so fresh. Between all of us, we grabbed the Wilmington Roll, Shrimp and Vegetable Teriyaki (I believe), Spicy Crab Roll, Yakitori, Sakura (Chicken, Shrimp and Beef) Fried Rice, Miso Soup, Seaweed Soup and Shumai Soup.
I’ll definitely be coming back to try some of the other items! Yumm!

This is one of the best sushi places I have tried in the area, and I have tried a lot. We ordered the lovers boat, which held a decent amount of sashimi and sushi, along with four rolls. The staff was very friendly and the atmosphere was intimate, perfect for a date night. We were offered complimentary ice cream at the end, which I think is a great addition to an already great meal! Would HIGHLY recommend to any fellow sushi lover!

Apparently the $ 9.95 lunch special was a limited time promotion. Considering they’ve had it since opening day, they really should tell people their total bill when calling in. If I’d known, I would have ordered a couple of rolls instead.

Now that we’ve been there a dozen times or so, it was time to share our thoughts and some photos of the great Sushi that the chefs are creating at Sakura.
It may seem like a hole in the wall, and quite out of place in Elsmere, but Sakura lived up to it’s Unilocal reviews the first time we came for lunch. We sat at the Sushi bar, and chatted with both Chefs. They were very friendly, warm and outgoing. They told us the specials and had a few recommendations as well. Everything was fresh, generously sized and filled with flavor.
I don’t really order Maki, so I can’t comment on the special rolls (of which there are plenty). I stick with Nigiri and Sashimi, and try any special fish they have that day. My picks– the Salmon belly nigiri is served torched, with just a hint of ponzu– it is excellent. The Scallops are large with a bright, clean flavor. The eel is always done just right– and not over sauced. Salmon and Tuna are fresh and full of flavor. The Green shell mussels are served baked with a bit of mayo and crab on them, I’m not big on mayo, but if you like the spicy mayo rolls, you’ll love the mussels. Sashimi is well portioned, as is the nigiri, and the prices are the best in Delaware.
The salads have a wonderful dressing, and they include salad and Miso soup with lunch at no charge. And if you do go for lunch– try their bentos. They are $ 9.95 and HUGE. (and they also come with soup and salad). The staff is great, very helpful and the overall value of the meals really stands out in Delaware. You will get your money’s worth here– don’t trust me, have a look at the photos of our meals I posted.
If you like Sushi with friendly chefs and a great price, this place deserves a visit.

Came here on recommendation from a friend. Plenty of parking and easy to find. The sushi and food quality is very high. The prices aren’t bad at all. You can even get japanese and domestic beers for $ 4. I’ve been checking out all the sushi places in this area and Sakura is definitely one of the best sushi places around.
Their sashimi and sushi platters are really great. The sashimi pieces are also quite large. Even the spicy tuna roll was pretty special. I could even taste the seaweed. The texture and taste was great.
One cool thing about Sakura is that they always give free dishes. The few times I have gone I have gotten different appetizers free of charge.
Some cons are the size and location. The ceiling is very low and sound travels very easily. I don’t want to hear other people’s conversations and don’t want them to hear mine either. I suggest dividers and a better sound system. The location isn’t bad but not exactly a hot spot.
In Summary, high quality sushi and kitchen items at a very reasonable price. I’d say it’s better for friends and family than dates due to the sound issue.
P. S. It’s funny that the only 3 star review is by a «sushi enthusiast» and they don’t know of proper sushi. If you can’t use chopsticks well enough to pick up sushi then use your fingers. The rolls fell apart because they were too warm? That is not a real thing.

It’s a hole in the wall place but the sushi is super fresh and delicious!!!
I ordered the avocado salad, salmon sashimi appetizer, salmon skin hand roll, sashimi deluxe, white tail nigiri… in my defense I was really hungry. Once we ordered the waitress brought out a free app!!!
I also got a beer (3.95).
The avocado salad came with a decent amount of avocado and a side of sesame dressing– I LOVED the dressing. Not your typical orange sauce they they usually give at sushi places. My sashimi deluxe also came with a miso soup.
The salmon sashimi app came with 6 big pieces– my salmon craving was satisfied.
They have a white slip of paper where you can order nigiri (aka sushi), maki, and hand rolls. I got the white tail nigiri (I think the nigiris are about 4.95 for two pieces). My friend got the salmon avocado maki basically salmon avocado roll (6 pieces). I also got the salmon skin handroll (4.50~). Delicious!!! I was super happy with everything and presentation was fantastic.
The sushi chef brought out a free plate of sushi, we were so excited!!! Everything was fresh and there’s plenty of room to sit! I will def be back!

As a sushi enthusiast I’m always eager to try new places. After seeing all the 5 star reviews of this place I finally checked it out for tonight for dinner. It’s in-​between the fire house and Serpes bakery in Elsmere. Although they have a small parking lot, I had no problem finding a spot.
Inside the place feels a little cramped; dinning area to the right and sushi bar to the left. There weren’t too many patrons at the time. We sat at the sushi bar. The staff were all friendly and readily available.
I ordered their salmon sashimi sampler, a yammy yammy, oishi and a poseidon roll. First, I have to say, the fish was almost room temperature. And as I picked my rolls up with my chopsticks, the rolls fell apart, because they were too warm.
After having this place in my bookmarks for a couple weeks, I was very disappointed with my rolls.

I must say I was really surprised by the quality here and I am happy to report those who choose to stop in are in for a great experience. The restaurant has around 10 tables 3 6 seaters, 5 4 seaters and 3 2 seaters, so be mindful of your party size. With that out the way, I haven’t had really excellent Sushi assortments in a long time and this place delivered! They have an excellent Al a Carte menu along with a regular menu. My kids both 14 & 15yr old really enjoy their Nigri and Maki assortments and that says a lot! For Eel lovers you must try The Dragon!
I will most definitely be returning here more frequently and don’t let the location fool you. If you want good Sushi they will not disappoint!