Sakura

Awesome sushi, fun place for a quick casual bite to eat

It seems that every shopping centre features at least 5 sushi stands these days, each with its own fan club, the irony being that many, if not most, use sushi pre-​made off-​site, usually the same site (ever wondered why they all kind of taste and look the same? It’s not the fault of sushi, believe me). While there’s nothing exactly wrong with this, it does make one forget that sushi is, really, delicious art, not just another fast food, food-​court option.
Sakura reminds one of this fact. Positioned in a somewhat awkward set of corner shops, one may be surprised that the shop itself is shut almost until it opens at 11. But, even if the train is empty when it first starts its circuit, it takes almost no time to fill up with all manner of delicious, and beautiful, goodies.
Despite the awkward location, it seems to do very good trade, and not long after we sat down, pretty much every spot around the track was taken. There were a number of items that came around that were vegan, but we did request some items from the menu, including a vegetarian chicken and avocado roll (hold the omelet), and inari.
Quite aside from the food (all of which was delicious), I honestly think I could sit there for hours and just watch them make the various items: they grab some rice, mould it, turn it out, add some fillings and then, before you know it, it’s coming around the bend on the train. How can it be so quick?!
There’s a carpark out the back (and downstairs), and there’s also quite a bit of on-​street parking. Just a note: if coming outbound on Lutwytche Road, there’s no dedicated right-​turning lane, so if it’s busy, it may be easier to go around the block (turn onto Newmarket Road, then take the first right, first right, and then go straight ahead onto Le Geyt St), but if the traffic is quite, you shouldn’t have any problems. Otherwise, it’s right opposite a busstop that services almost all of the buses that go down Lutwytche Road, and about a 2 minute walk from Windsor train station.
Whether you’re in the area, or just a lover of sushi trains, Sakura offers a consistently high-​quality and delicious experience. Highly recommended.

A lot of people seem to avoid, or miss Sakura. From the outside — the whole complex looks rather terrible. Old, a bit delapidated, and a constant rotation of shops, and «for lease» signs along the front. And often, Sakura put out a hand-​written sign listing their hours. It doesn’t look great.
It’s also difficult to get to and find. It’s opposite the Chemist Warehouse & Freedom on Lutwyche road, and if you’re coming from the City direction, you might have to stop a whole lane of traffic and wait for two lanes coming the opposite direction to clear so you can turn into the street. There’s parking both on street, in the car park, and even a small under-​cover car park, so once you’re there — you’re set.
But it’s totally worth a visit. It won’t appeal to Japanese-​cuisine purists, but the sushi is prepared fresh, right in front of where you sit. You can make your selections directly from the train which passes in front of you, or order something from the menu. There are also takeaway containers ready for you to grab a quick takeaway.
The presentation may not always be top notch, but it’s still pretty good. The staff are reserved, but helpful. And, there are some cool and quirky sushi picks — umeboshi plum paste, pickled radish, and vegan soybean and mushroom chicken make an appearance, making you forget for a little while that you’re in the suburbs, and lots of families come here!
My favourite pieces are the «vegetarian chicken and avocado» sushi, made vegan by swapping the omelette skin for nori wraps, and leaving off the mayo. Succulent vegan chicken and avocado, rolled inside out with toasted black sesame seeds — heaven. The shiitake mushroom ships also are highly recommended, with juicy, rich, marinated mushrooms tossed with chilli and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds, on a bed of rice, wrapped in nori. If you’re looking for fried — you can ask for a vegetable tempura (yum!) and vegetarian spring rolls.
They also play sad american country music that totally dings my bell.
Overall, it’s a great, cheap experience, and I do like to visit often. The only shameful part is stacking up the plates for counting (and paying) at the end. It’s like «OMG WE’RE VEGETARIAN SO WE HAD TO EAT TWICE AS MUCH OKAY?!».

Sakura is the perfect example of the old saying ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’. When it opened a few years back, I didn’t have high hopes for this little sushi train restaurant off Lutwyche Rd. It’s not that it looked bad — the restaurant is clean, neat, and well-​maintained — it’s just not a very likely spot for a decent sushi place. Crammed between a Newsagent and Indian takeaway in a ratty little complex on the corner of a six-​lane road, Sakura is an oasis of calm, air-​conditioned quiet.
The cute little steam train chugs around on its track as staff welcome you and usher you to a seat at the bench. The sushi is very fresh and tasty, and if your desired sushi isn’t already on one of the carriages the chefs will happily whip it up for you immediately. Sakura has an a la carte menu of hot food and rice dishes as well and you can help yourself to a big keg of fragrant jasmine tea as many times as you like. Despite it’s odd-​ball location, Sakura is never empty and has obviously gained a loyal following.
It’s cheap, fresh, and no-​fuss and the staff are very accommodating. As you pay your bill at the end, grab a japanese lolly from the bowl on the counter — I love trying to guess what flavour I’ll get since all the wrappers are written in Japanese. My best pick to date was a salted plum inside a delicious hard-​candy ball. Sakura is my favourite sushi place in Brisbane and it’s definitely worth braving a right turn at the insane intersection out the front just for a plate of their freshly-​made sushi.

When I pass through the northside, this easily one the places I frequent the most. It’s quite popular among my friends and I as we have trialled and tested quite a lot of sushi in Brisbane and this sushi train is one of the tastiest dining experiences we’ve ever had.
When you drive or walk by, it does not do much to entice you to come in, the store front can easily go unnoticed. But when you do give this place a go, you’d be thrilled at the discovery of a fantastic sushi bar. There is ample parking at the back, so it’s a great place to go for a quick lunch or snack. Compared to others, this sushi bar fills the sushi with plenty of filling, so you are guaranteed to receive one of the thickest and yummiest sushi’s in Brissy.
Round and round the sushi train goes, and it almost becomes competitive amongst the diners to get the sushi on that train. Not because they lack variety of quantity, just because you want everything that is on that train. After eating here the first time, this quickly became the new favourite sushi spot. You can tell the diners also feel the same way. Plenty are local and I even hear some travelled just because they heard great things about the place.
Sakura is a simple sushi train, but no matter how simple the restaurant is, the food is far from simple. Easily up with the best!