Sakura Sushi & Kitchen — Restaurant in Williston

Fantastic authentic Japanese quick food and small grocery!

I'm so glad I found Sakura - my roommates and I come at least once a month. They make everything to order, so it can take a bit for food to arrive, but it's worth the wait. They have a TV playing Japanese news and shows in the dining room which we love! The seating section is a touch small, but they've filled it with as many seats as they can - if you want to dine in during the dinner rush, be prepared to wait a little bit! But you can also take your order to go. I've done it three times now, and our food was packed well, didn't leak or spill, and was still warm by the time we got home (15 mins away).

The sushi is fresh, well proportioned and an affordable price! The tempura fried veggies and shrimp are delicious too. We also like the chicken cutlet with curry and the inari don - honestly, I don't think there's anything we've ordered here that we haven't liked! Try the takoyaki they have on special right now, it's authentic as can be!

If you do decide to dine in, there's two things to know - one, you order & pay at the counter, and the staff will deliver your food, but that's the extent of the table service. If you want a refill or to order more plates, you'll have to wait in line at the counter again. But they're speedy, so you won't have to wait long to order usually. Two, when you're done, they ask you to put your dirty dishes and trash in a wash bin in the right corner designated with a sign. Don't worry about sorting it, they'll take care of it in the back.

The grocery section is small but a blessing!! It's two roughly 6ft shelving units on the right wall when you walk in. I'm from Michigan and regularly bought from Japanese markets and missed it. Finding Vermont Curry blocks, Japanese mayo, bonito flakes, seaweed snacks, ramune, milk tea, and matcha (and more, of course) was such a sweet surprise!

They also sell some wares from the counter like sake cups and Japanese made bowls and cups, and I believe they have natto and some salads for sale kept in a refrigerated case in the corner.

The last thing I'll say is that the staff are all excellent here - friendly, quick, attentive, and informed. We've only had an issue once in the year we've been going when their order system crashed during a storm and two of our items were lost on our ticket. They apologized profusely and replaced our items as soon as we mentioned it. The chefs are great and consistent.

I really can't recommend this...

Called to order 30 rolls for a party. The person who answered the phone first said didn't think they could take my order and sounded annoyed... that I wanted to buy so much food from him.

After he left me on hold for a minute, came back and said he could take my order and asked if I could hold, I agreed. Then he left me on hold for 3-4 minutes, while taking his time to chat with people casually in the restaurant.  When he finally got around to taking my order, he was still annoyed and sounded like he couldn't care less about the order. Fine, whatever, I provided my order.

He took my card and asked if I wanted to leave a tip.  When I said I didn't, he said "Really". I said, "It's just a to-go order... and I am surprised you're confronting me about it." He said, "We don't have to take this order." I said, "That is up to you." He said, "Fine I'm cancelling the order, and then hung up on me."

Wow, I was blown away by the experience. It makes sense though when you visit the shabby place. The sushi isn't amazing, it's just the only place to get sushi around here. Regardless, we will never be back.

This is the perfect opportunity for "The Scale Poke Bowl" just 30-seconds down the road. They could easily blow these chumps out...

I go here regularly, and always have a great experience. They are always polite and inform me about the wait time because they get backed up, (for good reason).

Unlike the majority of Japanese restaurants in the United States, this one is own and run by a Japanese family. I can taste little differences in the way the food is prepared and served, being part Japanese myself.

I order a lot of food and tip a lot because the tip isn't about the wait service here, it is about the food prep and quality. Even so, my tips get me excellent service. Their food rivals most of the places I grew up eating at around SF Bay Area, and it is refreshing to support a family owned business dedicated to sharing their family's approach to making Japanese food.

This restaurant reminds me of many of smaller sit down places I've visited in Japan, and even have appreciated watching someone come in and pickup a special order of Natto from them that they were holding out back for her.

If you are visiting Northern Vermont, do yourself a favor and carve out a couple of hours to sit down and have some authentic...