Sakura — Restaurant in North Brunswick Township

I used to love this buffet, but over the past few months the quality of this restaurant has been downgrading. A lot of good selections of sushis and dessert are not there anymore. What ever happened to the takoyakis and cheesecake? There are less selections of sushi now, and the ones they serve are mediocre. Dinner menu is better but food is rarely stocked and most of of the time the non-sushi foods came out cold. We paid to eat regardless of how empty or crowded the restaurant is so this should not be an issue. With that price i don't think it's worth it anymore

EDIT: have to downgrade after receiving such a terrible service at 12/17/2022. The waitress was beyond RUDE. She threw the straws and chopsticks at our table. Yelled when I asked what kind of hot tea they have (she said hot tea and green tea. Duh!!! I KNOW I wanted hot tea but what kind of tea do you have is not a hard question to answer). She yelled at us everytime we ask her for something. While we were eating she didn't even attend to our table. Dirty plates stacked up and it took her forever to take them away. I waited almost half an hour just for her to refill my tea. When we gave the bills she just snatch it from my aunt's hands and didn't even say THANK YOU. Once we paid our bills only then she started walking around our table expecting us to be out as soon as possible :) I wouldn't tip her a single dollar to be honest.

Also, the star of this buffet is the lobster - and despite the line people will literally hoard them and left the next people in line with crumbs. Why can't someone just attend for the lobster and hand them over to people in line so everyone gets some piece?

The overall quality has been downgrading since they first opened. The sushis are ok. Coconut shrimp used to be my favorite as well but I'm getting more batter than the shrimp lately. I was a fan of this place then, but after the rude waitress and lobster situation I don't think it's worth it anymore and won't be visiting regularly. Just go to hibachi or a sushi restaurant if you want something better and better service. I'm sure they won't read my review and that lady will stay in the restaurant and remain rude :) just wanted to warn other people...

Please see edit below!

My original review: My review is both good and horrific. I ate there the Sunday night before labor day at around 9pm, and got food poisoning 😭💔🤮 I called them to let them know, so I'm hoping they did a thorough disinfection. A few hours after I ate, I didn't feel right. I forced myself to go to bed, and ended up running to the toilet early in the morning. I spent DAYS with horrific pain and a terrible fever, spending half my days and nights on the toilet. I've never felt so much pain, and I've broken bones and gave birth to four children. That was excruciating. Anyway, the overall experience while I was at the restaurant was a good one and the food was delicious while I was eating it.

EDIT: Okay, I have since been to this place over 25 times (yes, I waited a LONG TIME and tried this place A LOT before writing this edit!) and have NOT gotten sick again. Unfortunately it seems like when I went there for the first time, it was the ONE night there was something spoiled 🥺. If you go there before 3pm on any weekday, this place is BY FAR the cheapest way to have an incredible meal without paying a lot of money. I go here probably once a week, on average, whenever I skip breakfast and find myself ravenously hungry. But I have to say... going there in the evening or on the weekend does have an advantage if you really like crab legs or whole crabs or eel sashimi! Or that coconut tapioca soup (my FAVORITE). During the day when the price is cheaper they don't offer the 'special' stuff. There's still enough variety to satisfy you - especially when you're just so hungry you could eat a cow and you're also indecisive/picky. Instead of going to another place and driving the waiter/waitress insane with substitutions and modifications - and then feeling ripped off when I get the bill - it is much easier to just come to Sakura and get exactly what I want, and as much as I want, for $15. I also bring my kids (they are all discounted based on their heights) and I don't have to listen to them complain about not liking what I got them to eat. I do get annoyed when they pick plates full of Jello and...

This is your typical Fujianese buffet style restaurant with a bit of "Japanese" flair. I would know, because when I was younger, my family owned a bunch of these and I worked in them as a waiter and server. I used to come here often because they offer good value all around budget sushi and Chinese take out style food at a decent price. I say used to because after my last experience here, I will no longer patronize this business.

I usually never ask for any accommodations when I go because I just dine with my wife and daughter. But this time, it was for Chinese New Year, and I was celebrating with my family whom consisted of my 80+ year old grandparents. I wanted them to enjoy their meal, but they seated us directly by the kitchen/service entrance, so there was constant in and out from the staff disrupting our meal. I noticed that my grandparents were uncomfortable and immediately I asked to just move down one table to the next open table, but the waitress refused, because based on the Fujianese restaurant seating system, she would lose the tips from that particular section. She didn't even approach the person who sat us down because she knew that it would be detrimental for her. But when we approached management about it, they were also very lackluster and did not seem to care. When we had restaurants like this, the customer came first no matter what. I want to support them because I grew up living their exact lifestyle, but these are not good FJ people. I would not go here again.

TL;DR = very disrespectful staff and management that will not accommodate or...