Sakura Yakitori and Sushi — Restaurant in Happy Valley

Ever since moving out of the bay area, my wife and I have been trying to find a nice Japanese restaurant, and I think we have found it!

Food: the menu has a good amount of specialty, such as yakitori, that you can't really get at many other Japanese restaurants near us. The seafood is really fresh and tasty. Some rolls are fresh and have a pacific northwest flair to them!

Service: honestly there are way too many employees lol... There is a lot of people in the kitchen, which ensures food is always served quickly! Lots of waitstaff to ensure you are always taken care of.

Atmosphere: interior decor is super chic and modern, a nice big cherry is beautiful, the interior is all black which brings a nice modernness to the look. Sitting outside when the weather is nice, where there is a nice summer breeze and the sun is setting, There is a nice water feature nearby that adds to the atmosphere. Biggest downside is the car noises are sometimes a little loud...

This is our new Japanese spot, and my wife and I will go often! It's a little pricey though, but I understand why, ingredients are fresh, location is nice, service is great (but i actually think they have too many...

I live in the area and have been waiting for this place to open. Well the day has finally arrived and I was able to eat here for dinner. My wife and I dined here the 2nd day of their soft opening so I understand not to have high expectations. The decor is the first thing that stands out as you enter the restaurant as it reminds me exactly of Japan during Sakura season. The staff was super friendly and attentive! Now the review of the food. We ordered appetizers, yakatori, nigiri and some rolls. The chicken gyoza came out cold and some of the pieces were undercooked. We also had a similar experience with the chicken gizzard and chicken breast yakatori. The yakatori was cooked but it could have been on the grill a bit longer. The nigiris we ordered was probably the best dish of the night. We enjoyed the quality of fish they had to offer. The rolls tasted amazing minus a few of them that had shrimp tails in them even though there is no shrimp in the roll. Overall I felt it was a decent experience given the fact it was a soft opening. I feel this place has a lot of potential and I will come back in a few months after their iron...

Sakura is a great Japanese restaurant if you hate Japanese food!

I was really excited about a new Japanese restaurant opening in my neighborhood, my wife and I both have lived in Japan and we were hoping for something at least semi authentic.

Upon entering, the ambience was really nice, unfortunately it was down hill from there. We were seated fairly quickly but the host sat us right next to another couple like 1 foot away when the entire restaurant was open. We order a few rolls, gyoza and some tempura. The tempura came out with a ridiculous amount of breading, similar to a soggy beer batter breading you would find on fish and chips. The rolls were pretty typical western style “steak roll” kind of stuff but was fairly non-offensive if a bit overpriced. Our Gyoza never arrived but we were charged anyway.

This is not an area with a high Japanese/Asian population so I understand the menu is geared towards western pallets, but I would like to at least see some traditional japanese menu items.

It’s a new spot so I’m hopeful the food and service will improve over time. We will give it another shot in a year or so. (If it’s...