Sakura Southampton Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Southampton

Went for dinner with a friend. Sushi came out and within 5 minutes, there was a swarm of 5-10 flies that just kept coming and flying around and on the sushi.

I told the waitress who was serving us that there are flies around and she came and started shooing them away rather than making an effort to do something about this seriously concerning issue. I then requested to move tables and she hesitated before agreeing after I insisted a second time.

We moved to another table, they brought our food and the flies shortly followed thereafter. I felt sick and couldn’t eat anymore.

When she came back, I told her the flies all over our food is unacceptable and she said we’re the only table that had flies, no other table, and that we brought them with us. Taken aback by her response, I reiterated that it just isn’t acceptable and most of the sushi was untouched because of this. My friend took away her food (cooked food that the flies didn’t really approach) and she asked if we wanted to take the sushi and I said of course not.

She came back with our bill, with nothing reduced or removed and no amendments made to rectify this atrocious food safety risk. I reiterated again that this should not happen and she once again said that it was only us experiencing this and made a joke that we’re wearing perfume that smells sweet.

I said I’ve come here several times and this has never happened, and said I won’t be returning again. She took payment with no apology or acknowledgment of the issue, no rectification, and yes I will surely not be returning and am frankly concerned for the food hygiene in this place. I should’ve noticed the 4 star hygiene rating before entering (which I imagine should be lower…)

Otherwise, other wait staff seemed friendly and smiled, but still would never ever return at the risk of eating something bad.

I took a video near the end where you can see 1/4th of the flies around us flying on the table and food (having calmed down at this point in comparison to the entire 40 minutes we were there). Honestly regret not just getting up and leaving then and there.

Horrible experience, and a shame because this place used to be one of the better ones around.

(Added pics with flies circled in case the video...

Staff member was not knowledgeable about ingredients used in dishes, even telling us to ignore the allergen symbols next to dishes on the menu because they aren't accurate. We were using them to gauge if any dishes were or could be made vegan as we had 2 in our party who were vegan. However, if you actually have allergies, do NOT rely on those symbols. We ordered a rice bowl which did not have a fish symbol on the menu but it came with fish roe (mentaiko). Please be careful in the restaurant if you have allergies.

At the time of booking, their website said they have a veggie menu but there was no such menu. It is not vegan friendly at all. Of course, we don't expect every restaurant to cater for all dietary requirements but we came here because they seemed to offer a variety of vegan dishes (their website saying they can accommodate and even advertising vegan specials on their social media, but it didn't seem like any were available/advertised to us while dining in).

We were a family of 5, with only 1 being a man. The staff member was also quite involved in our dining for some reason, saying it's good to have a young man in the group to finish off food, while he was finishing the remaining part of a kewpie mayo mentaiko rice bowl which his sister did not enjoy at all. Note that he didn't particularly like it either but was just helping to not waste food. The staff member also commented on what the 2 vegans ordered, repeatedly saying it wasn't enough food and they must definitely still be hungry. I don't think it's a server's place to comment how much the customers are eating? The amount of money spent per person in the party was relatively equal so it's not like the vegans didn't eat anything at all... If there were sufficient vegan options then trying to find/make more dishes wouldn't have...

Absolutely wonderful experience, with great food at really affordable prices ☝️(Review from 4 years ago)

The above review was left with a 5 star rating. Unfortunately, I have had to drop the rating, but I'd like to explain why.

While the atmosphere, staff and food quality have remained consistently high (a testament to Sakura as a whole), there's been a fairly big change that for me, affects the overall experience: the prices/deals.

I am unsure if this establishment has come under new management (I was quite familiar with the previous staff, and few if any have remained when we last visited) or not, but cutting out the 20% off deal for lunch has been a pretty big change.

Without that deal, the prices can stack up much quicker, and unfortunately this has discouraged from eating/buying in the same quantity as previous years. My partner and I have been going since 2016, and while previously we used to go multiple times a year, without that deal we have had to cut back on our trips quite a bit.

It used to be a place we'd easily happily go and spend between £40-£55 and get our two mains, 3-4 sides, drinks and dessert to share, now that amount wouldn't get us anywhere near the same quantity of their amazing food.

We'll never stop going, but that change just cannot stay unaddressed. It's a shame, but that's just how life is, I suppose. It must've been a recent change, as even briefly after lockdown properly ended, they still had that offer, but when we visited earlier this year, that was no...