SAKURA SUSHI COBOURG — Restaurant in Cobourg

Jesus Christ where to begin? Too Long; Didn't Read: 10/10 would recommend a billion times over!! I love sushi, I cant say I'm an avid consumer, but man do I ever get a hankering for a bowl of miso. My date and I first walked in to a nice short little Japanese woman who seemed so ecstatic to serve us it boosted my mood and put a big grin on my face. The walls are covered in beautiful traditional Japanese art, the Chef prepares food in front of you so you know what you're consuming is 100% fresh. The music that plays isn't some Top 40 bull*t, Its an actual pan-flute and harp soundtrack. The restaurant has a beautiful vibe to it I just cant explain. We sit down, we are given options to drink with a waitress standing right next to a table (Boy are the employee tasks coordinated) and we are given our menus. the options are so vast, literally any roll you can think of is on there. we are given our drinks and tell the waitress we know what we want to order and she takes out a tiny little notepad and jots our order down with a smile. we wait about 15 minutes for our food to arrive, and every single dish is on a separate plate, with the food looking straight out of a TV show! The waitresses walk around but don't disrupt you eating unless you make eye contact when they slowly pace around, which is great which means your conversations can remain uninterrupted! We finish our food and the complimentary dishes that were given for free (Yes, this place gives out free dishes with moderately to large sized orders) and we pay. As we walk out, the woman smiles and bows as the chef and her both let out a "thank you, please come again!" with an energetic wave as we step out the door. 10/10 environment 10/10 tasting food 9.5/10 service 9/10 wait time Would 100% recommend for anyone who's looking to eat sushi in Cobourg, this place...

Unfortunately it is not real sushi or Japanese cuisine. It says Japanese on the window, menu and advertising but is run by and the chef is Korean, so that makes this gimbap not sushi. That is a deceitful practice, as far as to name their restaraunt Sakura the Japanese word for cherry blossoms. It's the equivalent of someone in California using shredded mozzarella on fries and calling it Quebec poutine, or calling Taco Bell tex-mex style as authentic Mexican cuisine. If they advertised it as Korean then my review might be different. But as it stands this place is deceitful and overpriced. Cobourg used to have a real Japanese restaraunt on William St. ran by a lovely couple from Tokyo but(sadly for the town's culinary scene) they moved onto bigger and better things in Toronto. They offered much more delicious and authentic Japanese dishes for a fraction of the price of Zainichi Sakura, insensitively masquerading as another culture like this place and the other "sushi" restaraunt in town is, and had incredibly fair prices unlike the gouging scammers running this place who are letting the people of Northumberland believe they are getting authentic Japanese food when really it borders on cultural appropriation. Open a Korean restaurant! Or at least be honest with people that this is NOT a...

I was excited to try this food after reading the reviews and seeing the high ratings. Due to lockdown restrictions they offered only take out. There was a 45 minute prep time after placing my order which I felt was too long. Upon pick up all the staff was suuuper friendly. Full points for them there. I enjoyed everything I ordered except the sushi and sashimi, which of course was meant to be the main attraction. The gyoza dumplings, green salad and wakame were all tasty but as far as the sushi was concerned: the fish was not fresh. Overall it tasted very much like something one would get in a gas station convenience store. Disappointing, but having said that I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that sales are slower during lock down resulting in lack of freshness of the product. I will try them again when things return to normal. Wishing all small businesses the best during this...