Sakura 7 — Restaurant in New York

4pm on a friday, maybe 2/3rds of the tables were seated, which is a pretty good sign before the dinner rush.

The sushi menu looked questionable, mostly spicy tuna and variations on a california roll with imitation crab, the two ingredients that keep longest. Hungry, didn't care, adventurous steel stomach.

The servers were really trying to rush me and turn the table, which was annoying.

The salmon in the roll showed up mushy, cut poorly with a huge bone in it. The rice was fine. Didn't come with soup or salad, but I didn't feel like having a side anyway, so it worked out. The roll itself was the worst I've ever had, and I don't have high standards.

I've eaten bad sushi before and wouldn't have cared, but the servers rushing me out was annoying enough that I decided not to tip, which I haven't done in years. I'll tip the deli guy who makes a sandwich, tip the cashier at the grocery store, tip the homeless person who opens a door for me, tip the person who hands me a pickup order (the food doesn't pack itself). Even when the food is bad, a neutral serving experience gets 20% out of me, I'm an easy table. But the rushing was so rude, I didn't tip this time. I couldn't have sat for more than 20 minutes, menu to check. If that's not a fast enough turn for a party of one, I hope the next table gets good enough service to tip well.

A server calls me back to write and sign on the restaurant receipt instead of the guest one (whatever), and also reminds me of the suggested gratuity. She sees me write in the amount without tip and lets me know again about the suggested gratuity. "I have to leave a tip?" "Yes" "No, I don't have to leave a tip today", then I've got to admit to her I didn't want to tip because of the bad service. "Then the next time you come in, order takeout". "It's ok," I said, "I won't have to because I won't eat here again, the food was bad too". Felt like I'd fallen into an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

I feel bad, the servers must be hurting badly if they chase down stiffing on an 18.25 check. When I worked serving, stiffing under $30 didn't get under my skin, especially if the table turned fast and didn't need excessive attention. It definitely sucks to get stiffed even on little checks, and it can't happen on every table in a shift, but the good thing about serving is how variations in tipping can balance things out.

I hope the next owner that tries to make this place work does better by these servers, and by the quality of the food. A guest experience like that speaks to really messed up stuff going on behind the scenes.

The funny thing is, if she hadn't said the takeout thing and had taken a different angle in chasing down a non tipper, I would've tipped really well just for the gumption. It's hard out there in service, especially when the food itself doesn't carry its own weight, but it doesn't help to make...

I’ve eaten at this restaurant on many occasions. I absolutely love the food. However, customer service is NOT GOOD and when waitresses are attempting to be pleasant it is inauthentic. The woman at the register, near the door has an ATTITUDE consistently. I don’t expect her to do anything exceptional but she can at least be decent. After over a year of going to this restaurant I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt but I’ve gotten discouraged. As good as the food is, I know what it takes to earn my money and to put it in a restaurant that doesn’t value service is not worth it to me. Service makes a great deal of difference. Most recently, I ordered food, stepped out while it’s being prepared, then returned to pick it up. When I got there, holding my hand out as the worker at the front desk got my bag, she reached to put the bag on the table diagonal from her instead of placing it in my hand. I’ve made the tough decision to no longer spend my money at Sakura.

Sakura owner, your response to my review (“sorry for the inconvenience”) is an inadequate copy and paste and is very shy...

Updated: Sakura 7 is a thriving busy Japanese Restaurant in a cozy, pleasant space. Most diners are from the area and it has an easy going atmosphere suitable for every one and that's what you find here a good mix of people enjoying their dinner and then linger over a beer. The menu is varied and there is surely a Japanese dish for everyone. I have always enjoyed my sushi/sashimi dinners here but unfortunately, I was disappointed recently when I was presented with unappetizing and inedible tuna sashimi. I was shocked that the chef would unload such poor quality tuna on me. I should have complained to the staff about what I was served but I didn't wish to get into an argument with the Chefs - an argument that would upset me. There is plenty of competition within a mile of this location for Sushi diners and I will not...