Sakura Japanese Cuisine — Restaurant in San Ramon

We really wanted to love this restaurant. Based on the reviews, we thought we would and have a new favorite sushi restaurant to add to our others. Sadly, it didn't work out that way. The entrance to the building is awkward. The actual front door is for take out orders only. You need to enter through the side. Maybe if you called ahead, that would have been explained. We didn't know that to eat in the restaurant that we needed a reservation, the women explained from the sliver in the door she opened. She yelled out to someone inside and then allowed us in. The restaurant was empty, she sat us at a table and took our order. Our food came out quickly, and we began to eat. The crab in the roll I ordered was fishy. I had to use a napkin to put it in after I tasted it. We called her over to explain what happened, and she argued that they only use the best crab and it wasn't fishy at all. In the middle of that conversation, the man making the rolls yelled out to her to let the party at the door in. She quickly ran to the door, leaving us without resolving the issue of the fishy crab, never to return to our table (right next to the other party) she ignored us the rest of the time. It seemed the party next to us had been a long-time patron of the restaurant from their previous location. The man making the rolls was summoned to the table by the gentleman, and they reminisced about how long they had known each other. It is amazing to have that relationship. A young gentleman, very professional asked how our dinner was, we explained to him the crab was fishy and we wanted that roll removed from our bill, he apologized, left and returned with the bill removing the bad roll. We will not go back to this restaurant and, if asked, won't recommend it either. Maybe it was a combination of circumstances, we didn't call ahead, explaining that the crab was bad and the long time customer, I'm not sure, but I am sure we will...

The food here is WAY OVERPRICED considering the quality. For 3 people. I walked out of there paying $151 for the food and nearly a $30 tip.

Portion sizes are small as well. I was shocked to receive a fruit salad as the house salad. It was good but not very Japanese in my opinion.

Here's what my table ordered:

Spicy edamame House salad Cucumber salad Coke Diet coke Teriyaki chicken combo with tempura California roll Rainbow roll

Spicy edamame was good but small portion and really oily House salad was a fruit salad with a sweet creamy dressing Cucumber salad was cut thick and bland Teriyaki chicken and tempura were good but small portion size California roll made with fresh crab which was nice but the rice - on it was mushy Rainbow roll was decent with fresh fish

What struck me is that the teriyaki chicken combo was so expensive. I think it was somewhere between $37 and $42 for a dinner portion that wasn't that big. There's a Japanese place that's smaller and more quaint within in walking distance that's 3x cheaper and much better in my opinion.

Inside was clean and nice but it was hard to understand the waitress because she spoke really fast. Also the man behind the sushi bar was super loud.

Will I be back? Nope. The cost is for the service and food quality just...

Ok... so I've wanted to try this place for a while now, years actually. But, it always seemed empty... I finally went there... and now I know why! The food kinda sucks and the service (Owner operated and staffed) is even worse! The menu items are overpriced and the value is as defined as the food... it sucks too! Also, they try to make the place seem exclusive in defining their requirements for reservations. There wasn't a single patron in the restaurant. And, they make it almost impossible to get into the dining room, the restaurant was open but, there wasn't an open door... just weird! We ordered (4) different rolls, the Dragon Roll (with the special 'Red Crab') tasted fishy. I asked the host, server, and owner if she could offer something else and she argued with me telling me their food was the very best quality. Ummm... ok... it still doesn't taste good. It tastes rotten... will you fix it? She then turned her back on us to open the door for another group, who obviously had reservations, She seated them and completely disregarded us, our needs and requests. Anyway, long story short, save yourself... if this place is new to you... your other place is probably better. Don't risk the disappointment and avoid Sakura Japanese...