Sakana Japanese Sushi & Steak House — Restaurant in Meridian

I don't give 1 star unless the food is unsafe to eat. So Sakanas earns two stars because it probably won't make you sick.

My wife and I ate here a few years ago and the food was just sad. I was excited to try some sukiyaki for the first time in years, and let's just say it didn't even resemble sukiyaki. It was basically broth with like 3 little pieces of beef, one mushroom and some broccoli floating in it. It was bland. My wife got sushi and gyoza and both tasted stale.

We came back with a group of people yesterday, thinking we would give it another shot. It was equally disappointing. Most of us got something on the don buri menu. I got the unajyu, and it was so salty it was nearly inedible. It seems like for flavor, they rely on dumping copious amounts of furikake on the rice. My wife got the "beef don" (gyudon), and what came was a gray, flavorless, overly salty dish, and she bit into a large eggshell. The beef was in big chunks, but gyudon should have thin slices of beef. My mom got the katsudon, and the pork cutlet was soggy and overcooked.

They use their teriyaki sauce on a number of dishes, apparently, including the yakitori from the appetizer menu. The polite way of describing it is "light". The yakitori was not barbecued. It seemed like it was boiled, then skewered and drizzled with teriyaki sauce. It was very disappointing.

We were also subjected to a strong scent of cigarettes periodically wafting in from the back door.

Not even judging this as Japanese cuisine, the dining experience was not good and full of regret. I lived in Japan for a couple of years and it is safe to say that this restaurant falls below the worst dive I ever ate at in Japan.

The "hibachi" may be better, but we didn't try it. For those wondering, it is not actually hibachi, but teppanyaki. I don't know why they are calling it by the wrong name, but it is probably an indication of how authentic the...

It's with a heavy heart for me to say that after being a loyal customer for four years, Sakana has degraded, and I'm not coming back.

While the fish is technically fresh and edible, the flavor is not there.

When you eat Nigiri (a traditional, purist approach of basic fish over rice – and how I assess quality) and soy sauce with wasabi doesn't improve the experience, the restaurant needs to change supplier or invest in higher quality fish. It's even more clear the fish is a poor grade if searing it (to give it more "oomph") simply makes it taste burnt.

With the increasing variety of sushi restaurants in Treasure Valley, it's not enough to just add spicy mayo sauces and make fancy rolls. That may have worked for years with people with little experience with Asian cuisine. But newer restaurants are becoming more creative and competitive. Sakana needs to innovate and make fundamental changes.

The "hibachi" (correct term: teppanyaki) where they cook in front of you, the chef is an awesome person, but the sauce tastes old and that impacts the cooking.

And I'm done with the flies at the front of the restaurant.

I will say this: the staff have a heart of gold and have always been wonderful. I'll miss them.

As a PSA for all who are interested in sushi: restaurants should never serve Escolar. It's mismarketed as "Hawaiian Butterfish" and “Super White Tuna.” Its fat is toxic to the human digestive system. It’s banned in Europe because of this. No sushi chef in...

Great place to go with the family on Friday night. We had immediate seating as a table of five(5) with no wait. There is a lot of room in this restaurant & a good amount of parking available as well. The tempura shrimp and vegetables were light and crispy. The sopa noodles w/ shrimp dish was filling & flavorful. The sushi & sashimi selection had a lot of variety, which was also awesome & the miso soup was tasty, too! We all had a terrific experience. You will probably be looking at about $15 to $50 per person depending on the foods & drinks selected. I don't know why, but the tip was automatically put onto our bill @ what looked like %20+. I didn't try to figure this part out because it fell in line with what I was thinking to tip anyway. But, this could be something to check before you get your final receipt where you go to sign and add a tip amount (again) if you didn't catch it the 1st time for some reason. Hahaha... nice...