Sakura — Restaurant in Shawnee

A hard pressed 3

First off after all the raving and cooing over this restaurant I've heard from friends sadly not that impressed. Our start out during ordering was the first red flag when two of the things I wanted they were out of including a lime slice. We ordered the calamari which consisted 7 medium size rings as a man who can prepair and serve almost Any dish I know that was less than half a medium squid for 8 dollers which was sad. The sushi easily fell apart so their main dish was a dud. The everyday iceberg lettece salad which I asked to exchange for a sea weed salad instead which was rudely denied was swimming in water about a half cup of water to be exact. The pork over cooked, the sushima basic at best with absolutely no sauces no Wasabi nor ginger, the pot stickers hard , the fried rice ok but lacking in any type of meat or veggie and thank goodness atleast the only slightly part of the meal that was enjoyable was the shrimp tempora and even that was greasy. Everything was on a bed of lettuce to make the potions look large but weren't... so my experience was barely two star and way more expensive than the food was worth. Management was kind enough to take off one part of the meal after being shown how gross it was. Really didn't excuse the rest of the meal but cant win them all. The total ended up being 68.02 with tip and after the removal of one course. I would say that this restaurant needs to get it...

I’ve been a long-time patron of Sakura, but lately I feel like it’s a waste of money when there are so many delicious sushi restaurants in OKC (with cheaper prices). Supporting local businesses is important to me though, and I recognize that not everyone wants to leave Shawnee for food. When compared to only what’s available in Shawnee they’re easily one of the better choices! Service is usually great but can sometimes be lacking, and the menus or menu prices change quite frequently — along with portions for things like the Seaweed Salad.

The Seaweed Salad has been one of my ways of noting changes in price or staff, because sometimes it’s just seaweed and other times it’s served on a bed of lettuce or with cucumber. The portion was very large, with cucumber around 3-5 years ago but they’ve bounced around with how it’s made every few months lately. GREAT dish if you want the seaweed itself, otherwise it randomly leaves something to be desired.

Their hand rolls are FANTASTIC! I wish there were more options or a lobster hand roll but their shrimp tempura hand roll and futo maki hand roll are easily the best. The proportions of the hand rolls do change based on who’s in the kitchen as well, but the futo maki typically has better proportions as a hand roll than a traditional roll.

Hibachi is always a good option, even with how pricey it can be. Their scallops are top tier tasty! But everything offered for hibachi...

This is the worse Sakura I have ever been to...the server began with everything they are out of...not to mention the hostess did not ask if we wanted to sit at the hibachi table or regular. I assumed they were not doing hibachi, since all of the lights were off in that area. Ordered the summer rolls, they were half wrapped and did not come with the sauce as mentioned on the menu. We also ordered a spider roll, which we were never brought. It sat on the counter and was put on the check. The manager gave them to us for free...it was burnt! How can you burn sushi? I had the combo yaki udon, it was more ramen noodle style, which is fine but the steak was not seasoned at all. My husband ordered the steak and shrimp hibachi with a side of scallops. The scallops looked raw, the manager said it was a different kind. That is something you let patrons know when they order, so they will know to not have the same expectations. Either way, they were cold and nasty. He did not eat them and the manager said that he could not take them off the check because they were an expensive item. So we paid and found out there is a better restaurant across from them in the mall. Just all around, a bad experience. Don't waste your time and money. Oh, and there were people at the hibachi table when we left out, so I guess...