I visit this branch of Sakura very frequently since it's close by, so I have experienced how much they have changed and how much they have stayed the same. The layout of the Restaurant in the Holiday Inn Salmiya's lobby has been untouched for nearly a decade as far as I can tell. Its bright and comfortable but the fact that it is literally right in front of the hotel's front desk makes you feel so exposed while you dine. The constant foot traffic may be slightly amusing on a first few visits but it takes away from your overall experience when you can't separate between the dining and the passers by.
I have to say their menu has grown recently. Some additions to their Ramen and hot plates seem very promising. And thw portions are pretty darn good. I can't say they have captured the proper essence of Ramen though and the sticky rice was not all that tasty.
But all in all you can't go wrong with Sakura. For Japanese cuisine lovers the visit will certainly serve your cravings, but it will also put a heavy dent in your wallet so be warned. This is one of the places where you will definitely appreciate having the Alshayeh privilege card because even a %25 percent discount will be...
Read moreI never expected to rate Sakura a 1 star after being a loyal privilege customer for more than 10 years.
Today I was heading to the Asian Tuesday night, and recieved the worst treatment ever.
First, for some weird reason, the restaurant manager / person in charge insisted that my kids MUST order from the kids menu (burger or chicken fingers).... I asked the waiter to confirm, and she repeated again that he said MUST!!
What kind of service is this? I am here for the asian night, and my kids love Japanese cuisine, and he is refusing.
This might have been avoided by simply having a clear policy for charging kids.
We requested to see the manager, and he did not show up. We saw him on our way out, but nothing happened.
I called when I left to raise a complain, and Mr. Simone called me back apologizing.
For me apologies without a corrective action is nothing. It would have been better not to call back than just apologizing.
I told him that we are going to eat sushi elsewhere and did not even consider correcting the mistake.
Unfortunately, this is an extreme...
Read moreWe went Sakura in Salmiya inside of the Holiday Inn Hotel at 6p.m. on a Saturday and it was only 1 waitress until 7 so it took forever to order our drinks and food. They brought everyone drinks at my table excepted for my drink so after 10 minutes of waiting I asked the waitress about my drink and that when she told me that they didn’t have any more lemonade, so I asked when she was going to let me know or why she didn’t ask me to pick another choice when she found about that it was no more lemonade. We start getting our sushi but for some reason they couldn’t remember who order what Sushi or the name of the Sushi they were bring out so we decide for the ones who ordered the buffet just to it in the middle and we just share to help out the mistake. They brought out our last tray of Sushi after we asked for the check at 7:40p.m. Most of the Sushi we didn’t eat because it...
Read more