Sakura Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar

The most amazing rainbow roll I have ever had. This was my favorite place to eat in Santa Rosa. I was so heartbroken to see they were evicted. I have yet to find a sushi restaurant that serves a delicious salad on the side of a specialty roll. Please open a new one!

one of the best in my opinion knew the owners real well, great people and great sushi and Japanese food. I loved it and will be missed hope they come back. codding town what a joke…

If they don’t open somewhere else im going to kill myself!!! I kinda want to find whoever is responsible and put my foot up their ass… Like we need more fat fucks stumbling out of cheesecake factories. WTF…

CLOSED, GONE AS OF 9.30.2011
what a bummer as I was going to treat myself as I had to drive to Santa Rosa and back today. I went to ToYo instead which was very average in my opinion.

Heartbroken. We were just in for the last night of Sakura. Simon Properties evicted them after so many years to make room for a Cheesecake Factory. The kids were crying, the wife was crying, the owners were crying, hugs all around… Sakura, we will miss you. I’m just glad I don’t have to be there when the «Time For Sushi» clock comes down. That surely would bring me to tears too. We hope to see you somewhere else.

A more accurate rating would be 4.5 stars.
My fiancé and I love this place… its always one of our first choices for date night.
Easy location, friendly staff, prompt service and the sushi is some of the best we’ve ever had, especially for their affordable price points and serving size is generous. We enjoy their large menu, we try to try something new each time and after several visits we’ve kinda found out favorite meal, philly roll, rock n roll, pink cadillac, beef & chicken meal. We’ve also really like the 49ner roll and the tootsie roll.
Additionally we have several friends that have since moved out of the area and when the are in town we always have to go to Sakura.

3.5 stars.
I was very surprised at how good this place was, especially for the area. I’ve been here twice and each time was impressed with their selection of sushi and the quality of the food here. I ordered the shrimp tempura which was good and the vegetable tempura was good as well, not too heavy a light flaky tempura. They have a great tempura dipping sauce and good miso soup as well. Overall I think this is a quality place for japanese cuisine with a unique décor, its a bit pricey but worth it in my opinion.

Not fond of this Chinese-​own restaurant. Too much avo and mayo and too greasy. Not clean and service too slow. Don’t like to be served with plastic dishes. Good for people who like to eat in quantities, but not good for people who value qualities.

I stopped in here for lunch while having the tire shop across the street fix their mistake (oops, forgot to balance the tires!). It was as hot as fire outside and I was already in something of a mood, so maybe it tainted the whole experience, but I’m not inclined to make it back, (really to either place).
It was pretty much noon on the dot on a Monday and there were a few other diners there, but hardly a crowd. I was dining by myself so I was somewhat expecting to find a seat at the bar, but I guess they don’t do that for lunch. The menu looked like a DIY webpage where someone put photos everywhere and used as many colors and font sizes as they could. The food looked good in the pictures, and came out looking just as good on the plate, but it went downhill from there.
I had a roll and a cup of miso, which came to $ 17 before the tip (no drink either). Rather pricey, and just not that good for what they’re charging. The miso came out unbearably hot, and was served with a spoon, which usually throws a red flag for me. It tasted good after I let it cool for a bit. The roll came out as pretty as the picture, but it just didn’t have that ‘wow this is fresh’ taste that I really like in sushi. The pieces were cut too large to fit in your mouth, which really irks me when I’m eating with chopsticks. Perhaps I am being too picky, but for what they’re charging, they really set the bar for themselves.
The check got delivered after my first bite into the entrée, which kind of cheapens the experience. It also came with a fortune cookie, which I thought was odd as well, but really they’re not so much Chinese as they are American, so it really isn’t out of place I suppose. The waitress was inattentive, and I had to ask to have my water refilled after it sat empty on the table for about ten minutes, and left me wondering why I tip as well as I do.
Well, mediocre tire shop and mediocre sushi, you have seen the last of me!

This is another place I’ve gone to dozens of times as I grew up here in Santa Rosa, and overall it’s pretty darn good. Sushi roll variations are plentiful, having both the supersize 4 – 10 ingredient type as well as the simpler 2 – 3 ingredient kind, and a nice selection of nigiri and even hand rolls, something I rarely see in sushi restaurants nowadays. Only problem here is that the last time I went prices on specialty rolls had I think jumped on average $ 3 – 6, and that sucks.
Cooked food is generally pretty tasty — I’ve had teriyaki, butteryaki, udon, donburi, tempura, chirashi (not cooked I know, but an entrée), and all are nothing to complain about. Perhaps not the best Japanese food I’ve ever had but decent.
Maybe it’s just me but I have always kind of liked the atmosphere. Sure it’s kitschy — a huge collection of windsocks and a couple of neon clocks? It’s unique. Very friendly service always, and a bonus for having a selection of Asian treats to purchase at the front counter.
Four tasty rolls today = $ 28 (tip included). Sweet.

I guess I have been spoiled by places that serve sushi in petaluma such as hero’s, kabuki, and gohan. The workers were all kind and pleasant but that just does’nt do it for me. I couldn’t believe that my total bill was 28 dollars and I had one beer, an echigo and it was not very good, tasted kind of rotten actually. For food items I had an albacore tuna hand roll ah not so tasty. A scallop hand roll and grill hamchi maki roll. Also both very bland I even requested the scallop be spicy and it was a joke.
Well people give it a try but I guess since they are in the front of the codding town mall they must have a rip off for rent because these prices for this quality is not so great.
Good luck to you sushi hunter’s.

I eat here. I like it. Funny atmosphere with all the kitschy toys and random clutter of stuff, the monster tvs, and the wall size mirror. No looming smells. Clean.
The service and staff are friendly, attentive and accommodating.
The food can be variable, from yeah-​yeah to yow. There’s a standout beef teriyaki, the miso soup is good, the nigiri are beached on a rice pillow a bit too large but the fish is fresh and clean in taste and smell. For roll lovers, the rolls look good and fresh, and, besides the mayo, I’ve heard no real complaints.
Sushi snobs stay away. Yes, yes, you’ve lived in San Francisco, like the rest of us, and yes you went to Japan that time in college, and yes, for god’s sake, yes, you roomed with that chick whose partner was «into» sushi. So what. American food in Japan (or China) usually is some degree of simulation and so is Japanese (or Chinese) food in the US. Now you know. Go to Japan and complain that their patty melt isnt sufficiently authentic for you.

Stopped in here for lunch with a friend about a month or so ago. Sonoma County doesn’t really boast much in the way of decent sushi, it seems. Sakura is a prime example of what people up there seem to think is «good»… if you’re into jive-​ass rolls, I suppose you’d be pleased, but those of us who like things a little more clean and simple are sorely disappointed.
The tempura is greasy, the rice is not seasoned correctly, and the fish is kinda «meh». In short, I’m sticking with the mall food court next time I come up here, I’ll probably be less disappointed.
I will give them an extra star, for having daifuku available to purchase, though.

*** Sushi lovers: Don’t do it.***
When you walk in and there is nary an Asian in sight in a sushi place, you start to worry.
Then you look at the décor and are a bit confused as to what is going on. Flat screen TV broadcasting football next to cabinets full of Japanese paraphernalia? Vinyl and retro colored décor in a sushi joint? This should signal that the place has someone’s interpretation of «fusion» sushi. Except the fusion is – at best — confused.
A look at the menu shows large pictures full of… interesting rolls. Things with cream cheese, deep fried rolls, etc. Some odd and questionable food groupings in several «specialty» rolls.
All of the above should set off alarm bells and warn one to back away — quickly — from the «sushi restaurant.» Except… when you’re with a bunch of starving peeps, you try to convince yourself that any place will do.
*******
Sushi rolls were… big and not very good. Not quite as bad as the ones from Costco, but pretty bad for a sushi place. Cooked food was equally lackluster.
Highlight of the meal was the salad that came with the rolls and a bowl of white rice that came with the cooked food.
The only reason this place is even 2 stars is because the wait staff was pleasant and the food came fast.
******
Lesson?
1) Probably not a good idea to look for sushi in Santa Rosa
2) Don’t let hunger sway your gut reaction to a place…

I ran across this restaurant while shopping at the Coddingtown mall. I was very happy to see that their lunch hours extended to 4 p.m. The resturant is bright and comfortable. It’s a very low key setting and comfortable if you are by yourself. The food is plentiful and cost effective for japanese cuisine. The food is tasty and fresh. Great japanese food for this side of town. This is not fine dining but good.

The sushi is okay. This is the first place I had the balls to try unagi yrs ago, and I must say they opened a huge door for me. Yun the owner is a friend of a friend, he seems nice. Very biz savvy… His place is nicely decorated, its what I’d imagine downtown tokyo to be like. Its hello kitty meets timesquare/​vegas. Very bright. I usually get take out for lunch, and its good. My friend raves about it. He says darkside of the moon is excelent. I guess for the price, its not bad!

The atmosphere was bright and warm with fun and eye catching decorations. Sushi was good and served very fast! Great price! I thought the food was fresh, (I don’t agree with the other reviews)! The shrimp tempura was AWESOME.

By far this is not the best sushi I have ever had, but it is good and worthy of repeat visits when in a sushi mood. It satisfies the palette, and doesn’t break the bank. My biggest complaint is that the rolls are so huge. I guess things could be worse but I hate biting into a roll or picking it up with my sticks only for it to fall apart. So get over the dainty factor here and get down into the rolls. Don’t come for a first date if you want to put on a reserved and proper show ladies, it won’t happen here. :)
Other than that factor, don’t expect the world, just a simple meal that may or may not be accurate to the region it is supposed to represent but the food is good and the service is friendly.

No. Just. .. no.
I went here because my boss told me it was his favorite sushi place in Santa Rosa. I will never trust his opinion on restaurants again.
Most importantly: the food. It wasn’t good. The fish wasn’t super fresh, and my sushi roll had super thin slices of lemon, peel and all, stuck to the fish on top. This wouldn’t be so bad, except that the way the lemon was glued on I could tell it had been sitting for a long time. Ew. We also ordered the carburetor roll, which is basically mayonnaise and tempura. The table next to us ordered tempura vegetables, and the smell was so strong and so bad I could tell that the oil had obviously not been changed in a while. Gross. I really never want to eat anything tempura again.
Secondly, the service: not good. Quite slow. At one point the waitress was having a really long conversation with another customer that she apparently knew while we were waiting for our check. We were there for way too long considering that we only ordered three rolls and soup. This only gave me more time to contemplate how bad the whole experience was.
Finally, the atmosphere. I don’t get it at all. Everywhere you look, this place is full of crazy trinkets and windsocks (!) and weird juice bottles and it’s just all totally crazy.
To really just make it even worse, it’s not cheap at all. I would be completely willing to spend this much money on good sushi, but not this place. Way overpriced.
All together, this place is just bad.

I’ve reviewed Sakura since I moved from the area and now I’m back. The day I went, only Japanese folk running the restaurant. Great food, as usual. Good service. Friendly staff. Beautiful food. I can’t wait to go back.