Sakura Garden Japanese Steakhouse — Restaurant in Glastonbury

Sakura was once one of my favorite restaurants, but my experience last night was deeply disappointing. My friend and I had planned a girls’ night out, excited for what we thought would be a wonderful evening. Our troubles began immediately upon arrival. We were seated directly in front of the kitchen door, creating constant disruption from staff traffic. When we politely requested to move to a quieter table, we were told it wasn’t possible. The service issues continued when our waitress informed us there would be a wait before the hibachi chef arrived. We said that was fine and asked to order some appetizers while we waited. However, we were then pressured to place our entire order immediately, being told we had to “order everything right now quickly, otherwise you’ll have to wait.” This rushed approach felt unwelcoming and stressed us unnecessarily. When the chef finally arrived, I ordered my usual favorite: the Sakura Land of the Sea hibachi, featuring filet mignon, lobster, shrimp, and scallops, with an extra side of noodles. Unfortunately, another party was seated at our table shortly after, and our chef clearly expedited our cooking to accommodate the new guests. The result was a meal that fell far short of expectations. The lobster was rubbery and overcooked, and everything was excessively salty. I could only manage two bites before giving up. The chef hurriedly cleaned up and was ready to serve the new party within minutes of finishing our food. When our waitress returned to check on us, I mentioned that the food was very salty. Her reaction was startling – she actually backed away as if I had said something offensive. I clarified that I wasn’t seeking a discount or complimentary meal, just providing honest feedback. She said she would inform the manager. The manager’s response was the final disappointment. Despite walking past our table multiple times, he never came over to speak with us directly. Instead, the waitress returned with his message: “Next time, tell the chef not to make your food so salty.” This dismissive response to legitimate concerns about food quality was unacceptable. A restaurant that was once a favorite has now become a place I’ll never return to. The combination of poor seating, rushed service, subpar food quality, and dismissive management created an experience that was the complete opposite of the enjoyable evening we...

Ahh.. Sakura Garden, how I love this place. Sakura is my traditional birthday dinner place to eat. I've been to this one and the Windsor one; they're both fantastic. If you don't leave this place without a grin on your face, I'd be shocked.

Service: We've done hibachi every time so I can't comment on sit-down. Hibachi servers are just fantastic. Fun, entertaining, and excellent chefs. If there's a birthday, they make sure you have a great time and even the other guests/customers are good company. They ask how you want your meat cooked and actually cook it to that which is probably one of the rarer things to see in restaurants.

Food: Food is fantastic. Superb. Honestly never had a single bad thing to say about the food they cook, it's all done in front of you so what you see is literally what you get. Hibachi includes rice of choice, meat, salad, and a soup. I've tried the steak, chicken, and salmon before and it was never a bad move, you can't go wrong with what you pick. If you like noodles, YOU MUST add the noodles to the hibachi dinner ($3 extra); I don't think I've ever had as good noodles as the hibachi freshly cooked ones in front of you. You also get a TON, TRUST ME GET THE NOODLES! Use the YUM YUM sauce, it's almost liquid gold. Quantity is in no despair, you will probably go home with leftovers. Quality is also not lacking, did I mention the food is amazing? At about $24-30 per Hibachi dinner, it may seem steep, but it is money very well spent.

Drinks: The volcano bowl is only at the Glastonbury Sakura, $40 and not worth it at all; stick to the scorpion bowl. I prefer the Windsor one, drinks are cheaper and the same. Every time I've went we get a scorpion bowl for 2; at $20, you're gonna get drunk, you might need to catch an Uber home. If you wanna get plastered, drink it alone! With all that said, yeah... the drinks are good.

Other: Bathrooms are elegant and clean as a whistle. Styling and appearance of the place is upscale, almost fine dining level. Got a free birthday desert that was fried ice cream, it was honestly pretty good; thought I wasn't going...

Went to dinner, 4 adults, for my 40th birthday (we go every year for my birthday and multiple times a year so we know what to expect at the hibachi table). The chef was Amazing but as he started cooking, he apologized that the vent was broken. We could not even his cooking (the reason we sit at the hibachi table) and couldn’t enjoy each other’s company because we were overwhelmed with smoke. Everything was coming straight at us and the chef kept apologizing saying that the vent was broken. As he was cleaning after cooking, he apologized and then the smoke was unbearable as he poured water on the grill, that’s when my husband went to grab a manager to complain. Our drinking glasses and cell phones and table top were covered with a film from cooking. The manager came over and said she would comp my meal for my birthday, as we had a horrible experience. When we received the check, my meal was still on it so we talked to our server and she was going to go back and talk to the manager to explain the situation. The manager then came back to us and said she never told us she would comp my meal, but would give us a free dessert. (Meanwhile there were birthdays in front of us and behind us, and both of them received a free dessert. We knew because we were chatting with them at the end of our experience). I explained to the manager that she has said my meal would be free and all 4 of us heard this and she decided to argue with us, on my birthday. How embarrassing! This was a horrible experience for my...