Zakura Izakaya - Upper Baggot St — Restaurant in Dublin

We went to Zakura on Upper Baggot Street as a group of five. Thankfully, we had made a reservation in advance — the place was absolutely packed when we arrived.

The restaurant has two floors: the main level and a lower-level balcony.

The menu is diverse, offering a great range of options for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

We ordered:

Food Salmon Yoridori Sushi Selection Special Sushi Combination Ramen Chicken Donburi Noodles

Drink Lychee Soda Drink Non-Alcoholic Beer

Dessert: -Mochi -Homemade Matcha Cheesecake

All the food was fresh, flavorful, and beautifully presented. The portions were fair, and everything smelled and tasted delicious — especially the sushi and ramen.

The desserts were okay. The matcha cheesecake, while homemade, came in a very narrow slice and wasn’t particularly memorable in taste — not bad, but nothing special.

The staff were polite, respectful, and friendly, which really added to the experience.

The toilets were clean, though one of the flushes wasn’t working properly, so a bit of maintenance is needed in that area.

All in all, it was a great night out — great food and...

Enjoyed a great meal here with the family. Staff were very attentive, service was quick, and the ambience was good. Edamame was perfectly cooked, so simple and tasty. Tempura was top-notch and very generous with the seafood. The prawns were sweet, tender, and amazing. I would have been tempted to order more but there was so many things to try. We got the chicken & spring onion yakitori skewers which were so delicious they disappeared a minute later. We had a main of sashimi, nigiri, and lots of rolls. Ingredients screamed fresh, perfectly prepared, and delicious. The tuna sashimi was particularly buttery and delicious. We like our unagi a bit more saucy but couldn't fault it. There was a good variety of maki rolls all very well priced. Our favorite was the Ebi Tempura Masago roll. Again great tempura and such sweet, tender prawns. We also got kid friendly classics like the california, spicy tuna, and cucumber rolls. They also had fried noodles for €3 which the kids gobbled up! I wish a place like this existed in Galway. I would surely...

The extensive menu should have warned me that I should have been careful with my choice. It's usually not a good sign.

I ordered a Cha han rice and some skewers.

Unfortunately the rice barely tasted of anything despite it was full of chicken and prawns. I tried to add soya sauce but I only managed to make it saltier and not tastier, sign that the basis was just not good.

I also didn't like at all that when I ordered I stressed three times that I wanted the skewers as a starter and the rice later. Still when the food got served I was given the rice first.

At that point I asked to invert the order but by the time I had finished my rice I also wasn't hungry anymore.

Over the years I have eaten here before and have enjoyed their food. Not the last 2 times though.

I will give it a third and last chance next time I want to stop in that area.

EDIT: I gave the place a third chance and was highly disappointed. I ordered a bento box with meat expecting an actual piece of cooked meat and was instead brought a highly...