Sakura Restaurant & Bar

I read the reviews and was super excited to try this place. The food was mediocre and the portion size for $18 was absolutely absurd. That was barely a single small chicken thigh. Absolute disappointment. Needless to say I will never be back here again. If You want overpriced mediocre food and terrible portions this is your place.

Would love some more roasted eel right now! That might have been the best sushi roll I've had, and it was simply about the grilled eel for me. Cali roll was simple and fresh and delicious. Good Goyoza. Making me hungry again...would love to go back tomorrow! Would only recommend to update the table surfaces.

Sakura is by far my favorite Japanese restaurant in the Twin Cities. Every time my out-of-state family visits, I have to bring them here. The food is amazing - standouts are the Yakitori and Negimaki skewers (which we get every time!). The sauce on the Yakitori is sooo good. You can tell they care about each dish they serve. Service is also incredible! I had my birthday here last year and they even brought out a balloon to help celebrate. Very inviting and comfortable atmosphere. I also have to mention the story of the founder, Miyoko Omori. So resilient and filled with love for her community. Congratulations on 35 years of Sakura! ❤️

The food was incredible, the sake was wonderful, the service was great. It was calm and restful there, a nice environment. Taka was so friendly and gave great parking advice. Absolute 10/10!

One of the better sushi places in MN. Some rarer items available like Uni and Fatty Salmon. Call ahead if you plan on ordering these as they only had one order of Uni left. The staff is friendly and the service was great. They also have a full bar, so don't be afraid to make requests. I rather enjoyed my Whiskey Sour (with an egg white by request). We will be coming back again and again.

Sakura has been a beloved favorite of mine and my husband’s since we first started dating—over 16 years ago! It’s more than just a restaurant to us; it holds so many special memories. The sushi is always fresh, beautifully prepared, and consistently delicious. We especially love the Brother Bill Roll—it’s our go-to and never disappoints. That’s how much we adore Sakura—I even had their sushi delivered to my hospital room after the births of both of our children! It was the perfect comfort food and a sweet reminder of all the years of tradition we’ve built around this place. The atmosphere is warm and welcoming, and the staff is always kind and attentive. Sakura continues to hold a spark of nostalgia for us while still delivering incredible food every single time. We’re so grateful for the memories and look forward to many more visits.

Excellent food & service. There was parking right out front but there’s also free parking in the Wabasha ramp after 4 & go through the skyways to get there. We had gyozo & a seaweed salad to start, a bento box with fried fish & rice & chicken teriyaki & salad with ginger dressing, kids had kids bento boxes, and two sushi rolls. We loved the food. Excellent experience!

I left a great review before. Well things change. Cold reused rice is the main thing. Sat. Nite. Miscut Sashimi. Goofy pickled ginger. No come back. Netta case display all covered in crinkled plastic wrap. Gross. To the cheap owner: don't you know the Chef is the most important player? I didn't hear any Japanese being used here. No longer authentic. sad.

This is a place my sister and I have returned to time and time again. The service is good and the food is so fast! The rice is always fresh on the sushi we've had there, never crunchy and has such a great flavor to it as well! The fish is fresh and yummy and you get bigger pieces than I've seen at other sushi bars around the twin cities. We got the Tony's special roll and some scallop and yellowtail sashimi and all of the above were great. I'm usually not a shrimp tempura fan because it's often too oily or greasy from being fried but it was great inside the Tony's roll, good size shrimp and no grease after taste at all! We also had the gyoza which were played beautifully and tastes delicious. Additionally, the prices are so reasonable here compared to other places especially with how beautiful this location is. They have table seating, bar and sushi bar seating all available with a hostess that helps you to find your spot right away. We went before a play at the ordway and explained our time crunch and our server was so fast and got us out of there with an extra ten minutes to spare, we really appreciate her answering our menu questions and checking back on us as well. The place was only about half full which was surprising, they definitely deserve more business. We also enjoyed a couple cocktails, none of their signatures although they looked great and were proofed reasonably. Both of our cocktails were poured well and came out fast, with fruit garnishes which I always appreciate! They also have great options for beer, wine, and sake both hot and cold. Definitely recommend this place for any sushi enjoyers!

One of our fav sushi spots in the twin cities. I've been ordering the Bento Box here for over 20 years. The quality has never wavered. My favorites are the Makinouchi and Shogun Bento Boxes. My 12 year old daughter says that they have the BEST California rolls in all the lands. Service has always been great each time we eat here. Ambiance is super cute with painted cherry blossoms on the walls. Fitting, since Sakura means cherry blossoms in Japanese. My then-boyfriend and I used to come here for anniversary dates. Now, my husband and I take our teenaged kids here too. Cheers to you, Sakura!!!

Great Japanese food, love the clam miso soup and the sashimi tesihoku. Jessie was very helpful and ambiance is great! Will be back here when I'm I'm back in St. Paul!

A solid dining experience. Good food and great service. Prices were reasonable too. The soft shell crab, though frozen, was well prepared, just a tad too breaded. Sushi rolls were tasty, and Kama yellowtail collar was cooked perfectly. Hot sake to complement the meal, helped make it all go down so easy. I'd come back.

Really nice interior. The drinks are good as well as the food. The price tag does accumulate for the sushi but since it's sushi it's not a surprise.

A great sushi joint right in the heart of St. Paul! They offer a great variety of sushi and traditional Japanese food. The staff were very attentive and it was a great experience . Parking was rough but the food was worth it.

I wouldn't avoid this place, but it's nothing special. Especially when you consider that it's downtown St. Paul and you'll likely have to pay for parking. This isn't a bad option if you're already down there, but I wouldn't go out of my way. The sushi was good, but nothing special, and slightly expensive IMO compared to the quality. They have good offerings for fish; and I also enjoyed the sake flight.

I had a salad and coconut soup with shrimp. The salad was tasty but it was served in a little 2tablespoon cup alongside mountain of greens and I was expected to distribute the dressing myself. Ugh what a mess. Idk why they serve it that way, leaves flying everywhere because there's too much food to move. If people want me to be healthy they need to make salads easier to eat. I will not be ordering salad here again, although it was delicious. Also the Unagi nigiri was PERFECT. The hamachi was good too like wonderful. I want to eat it every day as long as I live. The dumplings were disappointing, we expected spicy flavor, but they were not very flavorful. Yea was perfect on a rainy day. We will return for sushi

My family really enjoys the sushi here. We usually go prior to the Wild Hockey games. Particularly enjoy the Tony special and the Leipold roll.

The service here is VERY good! The atmosphere is welcoming and the staff are very kind. The ambiance is relaxed (on a Wednesday evening). I wish I could do 4 or 5 stars, but the food just isn't very good. I tried a roll and it wasn't great, a salad and the ginger dressing was a bit odd, and the fried egg rolls and they were the best of the three. Maybe it was an off night... but if you're looking for really sushi, this didn't do it for me. The other cooked foods might be better!

As my first time dining in, I will definitely be coming back and I would 100% recommend anyone else to dine at Sakura. Our service was great and the food was reasonably priced compared to other sushi restaurants. None of the dishes disappointed and the sushi was so good, we had to order another sushi roll. If you dine in at Sakura you need to get the Leipold Wild Roll for a full experience, it was by far one the best sushi roll I have had. The amount of different textures and flavors in one roll: meaty shrimp, crunchy asparagus, soft rice, crunchy tempera, masago, creamy sauce, and smokiness, makes for a delicious and savoring dish. My only critique of the evening was my drink. I got the High West Old Fashioned, and for a special drink that cost $14, there was little to no taste of bourbon in the drink and I could only taste syrup and muddled cherries. I would recommend a different drink for any old fashioned lovers.

Came here to eat before a show at Xcel Center. Food was good, service was polite and prompt. The iced tea was odd as it was from the bar gun and it was replaced by diet coke even though we asked for regular. We were impressed that they were able to keep up with so many customers.

Sakura is a delicious (but pricey) sushi option in downtown St. Paul. It's a short walk from the Xcel Energy Center and has fun, Wild-themed rolls. My partner and I recently visited Sakura on a quiet Wednesday evening, so we enjoyed easy street parking and a mostly empty restaurant. I can imagine it'd be challenging to park and get a table on the weekends though! We started with gyoza, then tried the #33, Lawson, Dr. Nick, and Mexican rolls. Everything was so flavorful and fresh! The Wild rolls are really expensive for the amount of food, though... Next time, I'd probably opt for the more basic rolls, which looked just as good at a fraction of the cost. Staff were very friendly, attentive, and willing to offer us advice on what to order (so many great options!)

Amazing food Great drinks Awesome staff Loved this restaurant Prices - middle to low **** great house wine

My husband and I had dinner at Sakura Restaurant in St. Paul MN. It was 1/2 block from our hotel. The food was excellent...just as I was craving Japanese food. I actually did a sushi "take out" on a second night there. The owner came up to talk with us, knowing that we were also Asian. Friendly, clean restaurant.

Our server was very nice and the restaurant was clean. Although, our food experience was not the best. We ordered the egg rolls and the octopus balls which were both a 5/10. We ordered 3 rolls and they were okay. We ordered the soft shell crab roll and the batter tasted almost dusty, that one was just not very good. For a meal over $70 it was hard to justify.

Good sushi for great sushi prices. It has easy street parking and skyway access. The pace is large and clean, and with an upscale ambiance. If you come during prime hours you can expect a decent wait. Nobody at my table was disappointed with their rolls, we all quite enjoyed them! The Leipold roll was my favorite out of them all, though none had the same taste of "freshness" as my top sushi places (mostly around the Midwest) and it costs more than a few too. I will say if you can stomach the cost your taste buds will no doubt be very satisfied. Still it is probably the best (only?) sushi place in Downtown St. Paul. My go to place is the sushi bar at Lund's & Byerlys!

Tried the sushi here for the first time. The service here is amazing. Nick is so friendly and a very good bartender. The owner came over and introduced herself and let us know we are welcome. For an app we had the fried scallops. So delicious. Could easily have been over cooked but these were perfect!!! For sushi we had a tuna and special roll. Both were sooo good and fresh. I will definitely be eating here again.

I'm visiting a friend here in St. Paul and we decided to get sushi before the Pitbull trilogy concert and we walked over to Sakura. First off the vibe and decor was great, immediately sat and the staff was very attentive. I order gyozas and a shogun bento box. They were fantastic! I was so happy with the quality of the sashimi and the teriyaki beef was sweet and tender. Best bang for the buck! Anytime I come back here I'd wanna eat here again!

I decided to stop in on a Sunday afternoon for a snack. First, I will get the not so positive comment out of the way. I could not get in There is a revolving door next to a regular door. I use a mobility scooter that won't go through a revolving door. Another customer opened the door from the inside for me. The server was very nice, but told me she didn't have a key for the door, and the manager who did, wasn't there. The great part about this place is the service, the food, cleanliness, how pretty and bright the restaurant is. Once I was in, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit. I highly recommend it. And when the regular door becomes accessible, I will add the fifth star to this review.

Prices are high, food is not very good. Service is absent. Came here for lunch with a couple of friends and due to a lack of sushi restaurants in the area, this was our only choice. I got the Sakura lunch special with nigiri and miso soup. As well as the #33 roll with spicy salmon inside. The rice was cold and hard in everything, rolls, sushi. The quality of fish is of a lower grade cut, definitely not high quality sushi grade cut. The fish was a bit tough, slightly chewy and some pieces were stringy. The portion size is mediocre and the prices are noticeably higher than other comparable sushi restaurants. Service was absent, we saw our server twice, once when we placed our order, and then when she brought us our food. Drinks not refilled. Bathrooms are ok, restaurant looks tired and dated, not super clean.

Food and sake delicious, fresh sashimi, wonderful soft shell crab, great selection.Highly recommend!

I haven't had sushi in months, so I was sooo excited to get takeout from Sakura. It was our first time, but I saw they had good reviews so decided to give them a try. Service is 5/5. The menu didn't list any gluten free options, so I called to ask if they had anything they could offer that wasn't on the menu. They said they can make almost anything on the menu gluten free and worked with me to make me what I wanted and could eat safely! Including FRIED chicken Katsu and shrimp tempura. Two delicious delicacies I haven't had in years because #GlutenProbs. The staff were so helpful and kind! Food is 4.5/5. All the food was and absolutely delicious. The sushi was fresh, the fried stuff was crispy and not greasy, and the rice was just perfectly sticky. The edamame and miso were both pretty standard, but tasty none the less. In these COVID times, they were taking all the right precautions and offered takeout, curbside pick up, in person socially distanced dining, and delivery. Definitely satisfied my sushi craving!

We came here for dinner before the hockey game as it was close (less than a mile) from the hotel. Service was fast, and friendly and the sushi were well-made and delicious. They were also made in such timely fashion! They had 2 or 3 sushi chefs that evening. This restaurant also have some special rolls named after the Minnesota Wild players which I thought was a neat concept being only a mile or two from Xcel Energy Center or so. We did not try any of them and opted to stick with rolls more familiar to us such as the rainbow, spicy tuna, and another roll that sounded more like a roll we have had in the past at other sushi restaurants. The restaurant is clean and roomy. We did not make any reservations on a Saturday afternoon but we were seated immediately and was out of there in 30-45 minutes. They run some happy hour specials but we weren't too keen on trying out anything since we were in a little bit of a rush to head out. This is definitely a spot to check out if you are in the area and are craving some sushi.

A very dissappointing day after Christmas experience. We were the second tabke seated and somewhere along the line our order got lost or failed to be turned in. It took about an hour to get appetizers and our sushi basically simemeltaneously. Littlevthings were missed like no dipping sauce for the bland pot stickers. The sushi was also bland (post Christmas). Just was not a good experience for $250.00 and no one seemed to care that it was so miserable. The entire room got served before us after being seated after us. Just not good.

Four stars for food, three for service. This is a go to spot when we go downtown for date night for a concert at the Xcel center. Walking distance to Xcel is always a bonus. Love the Aspen roll and the Tony's special roll. If they offer Toro or Blue Fin tuna sushi for their board special .. Get it! Fish tastes fresh and the rolls have a good fish to rice ratio. Believe me this is important. We always get the same server. She gets the job done but not very attentive (read: doesn't bring utensils or soy trays until asked, doesn't notice water needs refills etc). Luckily the food makes up for lackluster service.

Delicious meal Saturday evening before a play at the Ordway. The service was attentive and knowledgeable, and each dish - whether appetizer, sushi roll or entree - was great - freshly made and served at perfect temperature. We arrived for our 5:30 pm reservation and could have easily made a 7:00 PM performance, so we had time to kill before the 7:30 pm performance.

Spent the Sunday exploring and ended up here for lunch! Beautiful restaurant. According to their website they just recently remodeled and it's gorgeous. The upstairs overlooking a long sectioned tables area buttressed by large open windows one one side and the sushi bar downstairs. The host and server were also attentive and polite. Funny thing was I mistakenly thought the host was also our server and she was nice enough to get the green tea I ordered for us. lol. As appetizers we ordered the Tonkatsu and Soft-shelled crab (fried). I thought the crab was well-fried but pretty tasteless. It did come with a large side sauce (soy-sauce based?) with various veggies and herbs, but unfortunately I didn't find it to be that great of a complement to the fried crab. The tonkatsu was decent though. Crispy, not overcooked, but not extremely flavorful. For sushi we had the "Ecolab" which is Chicken Tempura and a spicy mayo roll topped with spicy cooked salmon and tempura crumbs, drizzled with sweet Eel sauce. I actually really liked this roll without any sauce. The texture and flavor were pretty good. Crunchy crispiness, but also softness in the center. I liked the salmon with chicken texture and flavor combination. The restaurant is semi-hockey themed so there was a Jared Spurgeon roll we ordered which was Shrimp Tempura and Avocado topped with Salmon and Masago, drizzled with mango sauce. And I also got a dragon roll (Spicy Crab and Asparagus wrapped with Freshwater Eel and Avocado). The presentation was great for these. The dragon roll had sprouts and it looked visually appealing. Taste-wise the fish and meats tasted pretty clean and the rice was good (not great). Overall average-above average in flavor and texture. I feel the Jared Spurgeon could have definitely had more burst in it since it had additional sauce topped. Nice place!!! Their specialty rolls and the accompanying menu were also great and varied. It's a place I would definitely try again for the different combinations of ingredients they have in their specialty rolls. And the venue is quaint, casual, but sophisticated and gorgeous all at once. !!

The ambiance was decent, the server was pleasant. There were issues with the food. There was a bone in the salmon my nieces sushi roll and sinew in the tuna in my sister's sushi roll. very surprising from any sushi chef. additionally my son's gyoza was garnished with the tiniest of insects. one of these things might be a one off, but three is a trend. we will not be back.

Stopped by for a quick bite. The negimaki with scallions was excellent- a little crispy from the scallion, char on the ribeye, and a flavorful sauce. The gyoza was firm on the outside, yet soft on the inside. The flavors didn't stand out too much for the gyoza. There were several servers working. I could see that the other servers were more attentive and prompt than mine, but such is life sometimes. I write this as part of my review because it took longer than expected to get my meal and leave. The atmosphere is inviting and conducive to people watching in downtown Saint Paul. I'll be back.

Fairly budget friendly, wonderful tasting food, friendly waiter, modern decor, what's not to love? They default to giving your Chopsticks so you know it's authentic.

I have been eating here regularly the past year and find the quality of the fish to be excellent, the service friendly, and the variety of sashimi available most impressive. Ivan, behind the counter making sushi and cutting sashimi, is very knowledgeable, creative, and aware of my special preferences and never disappoints. The wait staff are also friendly and efficient and recognize that my experience in Japan has contributed to my love of Japanese food.

I really like this place, partly because of nostalgia and partly because it's damn good. This is the first place I ever tried sushi at. Today was no different for the quality of the food, excellent. But the service was weird. It wasn't necessarily bad, but it wasn't totally friendly. A waiter took my drink order, then I never saw him again. My waitress took my drink order and my food order. She kind of cut me off after I ordered the first thing. I thought "do you not want me to order more?" Her whole tone with me was very abrupt. Like I said, it wasn't bad, just weird. It could have just been me, she seemed friendly with other tables. I'll just chalk it up to, I must have looked like someone that ran over her dog and she took it out on me. I'll be back, no questions asked.

Freshest sushi you can find in town. Relaxed atmosphere and chill vibe.

This is my favorite sushi place in the twin cities. The food is always good and always good portions. The staff is awesome. It gets crazy busy with all the events around the corner and can lead to longer waits. So plan ahead.

Great sushi place for all you sushi lovers. Great customer service and also very spacious.

Love love this place. We placed our trust in that they would order for us .... the owner took care of us and brought nothing less than Fabulous food. We for sure will be back. Time and time again!

Sakura has been around in downtown Saint Paul for quite some time. According to their website, they have been at their current location since February 12, 1997; and seven years prior, at two other locations close by. Over the last ten years, I've frequent this restaurant every now and then, either at lunch or after work. Usually I would get the bento box or the shrimp don. On this day, I stopped for dinner with my daughter right before the Jingle Ball concert. We ordered off of the happy hours menu since she really wanted the California Rolls. In addition to the California Rolls, we also added 2 orders of chicken wings, 1 shake make, 1 egg roll (vegetable), gyoza (pork), and a sake bomb. You must order a minimum of one drink to order food item off the happy hour menu. Items I would order again: California Rolls (came with no caviar), pork gyoza, chicken wings (fried, lightly breaded), and of course, the sake bomb. For those who don't know what a sake bomb is, it's a warm sake in a Japanese shot cup, dropped into a glass of Sapporo beer. Once you drop the shot cup into the glass cup, you get a bomb effective with the fizzles. I ate most of the wings, since my daughter was full. The wings should have came with a dipping sauce since it was just fried and lightly breaded. It felt like a lot of work just trying to get through them. The crumbs were everywhere on the table. Wasabi was really strong and brought tears to my eyes and nose when I used more than a dab of the green horseradish. That's when I can tell if a place has quality sushi or not. Wasabi matters. I scaled back on the wasabi and was able to eat the rest without the burn. The pickled ginger was okay, and not enough by my ratio of ginger to sushi roll. Items I would not order again: vegetable egg rolls. There were some type of sour vegetable in the wraps. My daughter and I didn't like the taste. I'm not sure if I feel one way or another about the sake make rolls. The rolls contained raw fish, wrapped in rice and seaweed wrap. There wasn't any wow factor or memorable taste to that roll. Customer Service: The waitress greeted us when we came through the side door. The hostess sat us by the window soon after. I asked the waitress if there were happy hours happening and she gave me the menu. My back was to the waitress so if I needed something, I would have to flag her down. She did cane by occasionally to pick up the plates and refill my water. Only issue I have was the price for the sake bomb was off by $1. Either the menu or the computer system has the wrong price. I didn't address it with them this time. If I go there again, I will wait to see if it happens again. I can never get it when they only bring out warm wash clothes for customers to wipe their hands before eating. We didn't get it this time. Overall, food and services were so-so on this day.

I haven't been here in awhile. I will say the food is good but they were out of a lot of fish. I wanted to have a feast of sushi but was discouraged by the waitress who told us it would a long wait and we might miss our show. She was very busy. We couldn't even get drinks or water refilled. I would have ordered more but could not get anyone to stop and see if we needed more.

We have been going to Sakura for over 20 years snd the restaurant and staff are just wonderful. To take that first sip of miso soup- sublime

Good food. The environment is relaxing. It's not hard to find street parking but they also valid parking if you park in the parking building. Nice service.

This was amazing! Service was great. The wait staff was friendly and knowledgeable. It smelled kind of fishy when I first walked in, and it was not crowded. That was for my benefit! I ordered the Mexican and Spider rolls. I think the Mexican was my favorite, but it's hard to choose. I only had water to drink, but she kept filling my glass. They brought out a hot towel before I started eating. If you want sushi, this is the place to come!

The owner, Miyoko, knows all her patrons personally. The food is consistently fantastic and the staff are tremendous. Would recommend every one visit once and guarantee you will be back.

I enjoy Sakura. I've eaten there solo and also with the Mr. mi have only eaten in the bar area, I like sitting in a booth in the window and it's been lovely. I like the huge menu. Fave appetizers have included the short ribs, scallops and I love the little oshinko plate. I like simple maki and nigiri, not the big rolls covered in mayo. Faves include for maki: yellowtail and for nigiri, the ebi, crab and shrimp. If you are going to have cold sushi, you must have the plum wine!!! It's delish! I'm going to a concert in St. Paul soon and I'm going back to Sakura.

Sushi is Ok, ramen are more tasty~ Came a year before still remember the ramen that we ordered

This is a chill place to eat and drink on the weekdays in St. Paul; it can get busy at times. I enjoyed the variety of food offerings on the menu (vegetable dumplings, score!) and the friendly environment. I will be back to have a Sapporo and some gyoza!

Ok, so for all you Happy Hour Lovers: Here's the deal, At Sakura Monday -Friday 4-6 pm. It's pretty chill here , the bartender -Kenton- is super awesome . Hot appetizer -$3 Edemame Yakatori-2 piece charbroiled chicken & scallions Beef kushi yaki-2 piece charbroiled beef & scallions gyoza pork or veggie- 6 pieces Egg rolls Croquette -fried potato cakes Chicken wings -Japanese style Sushi 4.75 cali roll- 8 piece 3.25 teaks roll-tuna- 6 piece 3.25 shake maki-salmon -6 piece 3.00 kappa roll-cucumber-6 piece

I did a take-out lunch here a few days ago. Their lunch menu is very ambitious, with all types of hot entrees, Bento boxes, tempuras, noodles, and sushi. I went with a Sushi Combination ($14.95) that was advertised as including a Miso Soup, and "Maki sushi and 6 pieces of nigiri, chef's choice". The Miso Soup was very good, it had a ton of flavor and was excellent. The sushi chef gave me six pieces of nagiri and six pieces of cucumber maki. The fish was great, a nice mix of different types, all fresh and tasty. I was definitely disappointed to find that the maki rolls contained no fish, but I guess the menu said it was "Chef's Choice". That was kind of a rip-off in my opinion.

My husband and I love this place. Happy that they have take-out. Dinner date at home. (Pork gyoza, Soft shell crab, caterpillar roll, lobster roll, spider roll). Service is great as always!