Sango Kura

This is a nice little greasy spoon sake and japanese grub spot/dive bar. Were the prices lower, I wouldve easily given this place 5 stars as it fits the vibe. However, the food and service did not fit the increased pricing, so keep that in mind. The pricing is upscale so I will be judging it as upscale. FOOD The takoyaki was pretty good as an app. $10 for 5 balls is upscale bar pricing, which this place is not. The ramen was decent as a quick eat for a dive bar, but for $17 what I would nitpick for $13-14 becomes more insulting. I expect a nice, flavorful, jellied egg in the ramen, not a hard boiled egg. The yakisoba was decent but not for $16. The amount of pork in the yakisoba was very little. The sake flight was reasonable and very tasty. However, when it was served to us, most of them had spilled on the trays by the time they reached our tables. SERVICE No real complaints on service. Food was delivered timely and we were checked on. ATMOSPHERE The atmosphere is dive bar/barcade. If you don't like that, you won't like this place. The decor is eccentric and cramped. Pinups are on everything. You will see wires everywhere, and water is self serve from a glass jug. Display Pachinko machines are on the wall (they dont work) and there are Arcade machines scattered around. The place can feel a little dirty which is fine for a dive bar but I was being charged for upscale. Cell service around the restaurant appears to be disrupted too, so keep that in mind. I would come back if the prices were reduced 20%, or the place was cleaned up and the food quality tightened. It is currently a divebar that sells divebar food at yuppie prices.

First, Paddington the dog is the star of the show. Hes such a good boy! The some like it hot is very tasty and the drinks are excellent. I’ll definitely be back!

Awesome experience! Fantastic food & friendly staff :) We got the tantan ramen, pork yoki soba, and their soju cider. The ramen was very yummy, big portion that is definitely worth the price! The pork yoki soba was delicious too. Soju cider was very refreshing and crisp. Was a bit sad that they were out of kimchi when we got there but it gives us something to look forward to trying next time. Highly recommend! I grew up in NYC and had lots of access to similar ramen and other japanese spots so its really cool finding a place out here that is on par with the quality I am used to.

Super cool vibe, excellent food, delicious drinks (I'm not usually one for sake but theirs was pretty good and their cocktails are yummy), and great service. The Friday night special deal is incredible. You buy a drink and get a sample appetizer free! Great place for date night.

WOW!! One of my favorite stops of my poconos trip! The ramen was yummy & authentic. Very unique concept. I’m an avid brewery visitor and this was my first sake one ever! Wish I lived closer to so could come all the time

we went here last night, this was mine and my boyfriends first date alone since we had our son 7 months ago. appetizers and ramen were good. apps were reasonably priced, but ramen was a little overpriced for the amount of food you get in it. looked like a lot of pork in the bowls but it wasn't, the presentation of the ramen was nice but it wasn’t as much in the bowls as we’d have liked. mushrooms in the ramen were very delicious and the pork was so buttery soft it was amazing! apps were served in little disposable dishes but the waitress didn’t give us any plates to eat the apps over so we ate the apps over napkins. we ordered a sake flight and the waitress just put it on the table and turned around to walk away so i had to stop her to ask what was what in the flight. the restaurant is decorated very pretty and interesting, but the service of our waitress overall didn’t match the showiness of the restaurant. she wasn’t very enthusiastic. if the service was better the experience would of probably been rated a 5 star from us even though the ramen was a few dollars overpriced in my opinion. my boyfriend and i both wish the service matched the feel of the atmosphere here. we still had fun and loved the decor! would try again just to see if it’s a little better next time.

Nice select We ordered the sale flight and the veer flight Beers were delicious I am not a sake gal myself but my friends liked it The food was fresh and tasty,my favorite was the chicken karage. I highly recommend it for small groups, it's a great spot to have a nice drink and snacks. The staff are super nice and service is quick Also the place is next to a great bakery for dessert after a great meal and drink:)

We went there for a tasting and some ramen. Broth was very light, very tasteful. It is such a cool place.The cucumber salad is really good. The owner is really nice and quite knowledgeable. I didn't expect a place like this around there. I recommend it

We were so excited to see A sake brewery in the area. This place really lived up to the hype. We were able to try so many different types of sake and get amazing food. There's also an ample amount of games and the location has such an awesome vibe and some really cool decor. Service was also amazing- our waitress was so helpful. One tip I would probably give the restaurant is that there is a side door that people seem to get confused by. Since it doesn't open, they think it's closed as we saw a few people try to open it thinking it was closed and leave before we could catch them (tip- go to the door all the way at the end to enter). We didn't try the Ramen, but it looked really good. This would be a great place for a birthday party or some kind of event.

Owner is extremely rude and there js something going on with the food. Was going to buy a bottle but the sake needs to be refrigerated which is quite confusing as we know alcohol, like sake should not need refrigeration especially prior to opening. This makes me believe what they are selling is old or not good. Beware and skip.

This is one of those places which requires a separate food and service rating. Service = a lackluster 2.5 at best. Our waitress was overwhelmed by the 3 total tables which happened to be seated nearly at the same time. Also, the only 3 tables which required service in the entire restaurant. We were in no rush, however we were looking forward to a nice sake-tail on a Saturday afternoon, sooner rather than later. The food and cocktails were quite tasty. The decor is a bit of mismatched chaos. If you are in the area and in the mood for sake and noodles, give it a try.

My husband and I visited this place on a Saturday afternoon. Our server/bartender did an excellent job and the food came out hot and fresh. We tried the tuna special as well as the chicken and potato salad combo. We also had all of the saki varieties as a sampler and she explained everything very well. This place is super cool on the inside and the outside. We will be back again soon hopefully.

We've been wanting try this place for a while, but we always opted to visit some of the other restaurants for some unknown reason. A friend had highly suggested that we try this place out the next time we visit... and we were not disappointed. We loved their specials, and everything was fresh and tasty, and it was all at a great price point as well. Sango Kura is Pennsylvania's first and only sake brewery, offering handcrafted noodle dishes, appetizers, rice dishes, and of course, their own craft sake. They're also now offering their own in-house brewed craft beer! Their food menu consists of classic izakaya pub dishes from Japan. This means savory, carby, simple, but full of umami. They currently offer 8 house sake varieties, including their smooth and refreshing Junmai Gingo, their earthy Taruzaki Cedar, and their fruity and floral Dry-Hopped sake. Sango Kura 39 Broad St, Delaware Water Gap, PA 18327 (570) 476-0132

I gave Sango Kura a 4-star review in 2019. Now, however, it's definitely a 5-star experience. The service and food quality are excellent. The flavors in every dish are bold and phenomenal. Better still their own brand of sake is outrageous. Try the Taru for rice wine with the equivalent of muddled cedar. Such a unique flavor that I cannot resist! The ambience inside and out is eclectic and only adds to the dining experience. I love this place!

Food was just ok. Had a ramen dish underwhelming , service was good , sake really good

Pour yourself water by the front door right on the counter. Limited menu options since they mostly serve beer as an only brewery around Delaware Water Gap. Ordered Tonkotsu and Tan Tan

Sango Kura is a PA gem! GF and I stopped in for a post-hike happy hour snack of sake flights and chicken karaage. The home-brewed sakes were tasty and interesting -- so much so that we brought home three bottles -- and the cooked-to-order chicken pieces were hot and fresh. Service was friendly and prompt. When wintertime rolls around, I'll hope to return to sample the ramen. Highly recommended!

Great service ! What an amazing eclectic spot. Sake flights are the way to go .. with some curry dip and ramen. Don't forget the potato salad. So good.

We discovered this restaurant on a weekend trip to the Poconos area and we felt like we stumbled upon an absolute gem. I wish it were closer to home, because I'd eat here very often. The atmosphere was perfect--very cool, retro feel, with old school arcade games and decor. The servers were lovely and the food was delicious. We went shortly after they opened for lunch. There were only a few other customers, so there was no wait and the food came out quickly. Everyone enjoyed their meals and shared appetizers. I am a vegetarian and there were plenty of options. My friends loved the meat options, as well--from the fried chicken appetizer to the pork bone marrow homemade ramen. We got a couple of bottles of Sake to go and enjoyed those later that night, as well. This meal was a highlight of our trip and I am genuinely looking forward to returning one day.

A hidden gem! I was in the area for a hike when I saw the sign for first and only sake brewery in PA! I knew I had to come back after my hike to check it out. I didn't stay long but it has a quirky vibe and decor inside. I had a small tasting with the bartender who explained the different varieties they offered and grabbed a bottle of their bourbon sake to go. It was a bit pricey for the bottle at $36 but for something unique like this I'll definitely be back to try more!

Felt like a hidden gem. Everything we ate was excellent and the sake flight was a lot of fun

If you told me 15 years ago that the Water Gap Diner would be serving Ramen and brewing their own sake in the future, I'd have laughed. I'm glad I didn't know what was coming, it would have taken away from the shock of it all. Sango Kura is something I needed, without knowing how badly I wanted it. Traveling 2 hours for Ramen is a thing of the past. Getting a plate of hot, delicious noodles locally is a reality now. Did I mention they brew their own Sake?! My buddy Jake accompanied me for this trip as he was a seasoned veteran of the Water Gap Japanese delights and I needed some guidance...and a night hanging out with a great friend. He is also a Sake drinker, which helped as well. I typically am not much of a sake guy myself, but I was intrigued looking at this menu. They had a sake that was aged in Bourbon barrels. Bourbon...is something I do. A lot. This tasted nothing like any Sake I've ever had before, in a very good way. I ended up having 3 glasses. I nearly bought a bottle to take home, and will definitely be doing so in the near future. For an appetizer (on Jake's suggestion) I went with the "Tako Yaki". These were basically just a ball of octopus that had been battered and had some sauces and some bonito flakes on it. I am always weary when ordering octopus dishes out...any duration too long and you've got yourself a goodyear appetizer. These were excellent. Soft and the octopus was a bit firm with great flavor. The sauces played well off of this and the bonito flakes were a fun dancing addition to the dish. Would absolutely order these again. For the entrée, now that I've talked about ramen 15 times...I didn't get ramen. The "Yaki Meshi" just caught too much of my attention for me to ignore my urges. This fried rice dish (enough rice to feed 3 people honestly) had cabbage, mushrooms, pork, and a fried egg. I ordered it extra spicy and it was just spicy enough to make me happy, but nothing overbearing at all. Another dish I'd certainly re-visit, but I do believe next time in I must try the ramen. Of course the time after that I'll need to try the Yaki Soba. Seems as though I have a lot of trips planned out. Sango Kura, zero doubt about it, Delaware Water Gap, PA - Didn't Suck!

This place is a unicorn! Amazing sake and drinks, traditional Japanese dishes that are some of the best I've ever had! The sake selection is wonderful, so creative and the owner is so happy to share his love of the craft! Go here!

This sake brewery and restaurant was recommended to us by Silverback Distillery as they are featuring a sake that is aged in their bourbon barrels. And now we are hooked! It was a perfect fall day that was just asking for an excuse to have a big bowl of noodles and broth -- Tonkontsu. Hubby got the double sake flight so we could try everything. We also had an octopus appetizer -- Tako Yaki. The spicy Yaki Soba was delicious with just the right amount of heat. The restaurant is cute with a cool vibe and the staff is friendly and will answer all your questions. Service was fast and everything we had was delicious. We will be back!

We didn't stop for food but, grabbed a few drinks. Had Plum sake and it was tasty. Very sweet but I love plum sake and that was what I expected. The atmosphere is cool and laid back, decor is top notch, so much to look at while you chill out! Service was friendly and pretty quick considering there was only one that I saw. Would definitely go back to give the food a try!

Honestly, I should have listened to the other reviews on this page when they said that the ramen was subpar. I thought it was weird that a "Japanese" restaurant had sriracha on the table. Let me be clear that after eating here with my friends and having ordered all of their ramens, this is NOT a Japanese restaurant - it's a poor imitation of one. The tonkatsu ramen did not taste anything like it should have. The broth was bland, the noodles were too chewy, and the chashu was flavorless. The Tan Tan ramen was the same as Tonkatsu except they add gochujang which honestly made it more edible because the gochujang covered up the weird flavor of the tonkatsu broth. Not to mention, the $1.5 additional pork topping actually equated to one slice of extra chashu which is pretty disappointing. If you've ever had ramen in the past, you'll know that this doesn't taste like proper ramen. Please order something else on the menu if you find yourself here (the yakisoba was okay) but do not order any of the ramens. Hope future travelers don't make the same mistake as us!

Went for lunch on a cool day. The sake flight was ok. Had better and had worse. The server was great but service was awful. How is that! She was by herself, Bartender/server/bussing tables She did great but needed some help. The place has crap everywhere and could use some cleaning. As for the food, just ok. There were 7 of us and all the ramen came out cold. The flavors ok. Shrimp tempura was nothing special at all. Same for the Karaage chicken. Still I like the idea of a sake Brewery and I hope they get it together. Improve the food and get organized!

This place looked good on my way to Shawnee Village, it was a quick stop, and it looked like the reviews were good. I called in a phone order and went to pick it up. The person on the phone said 15 mins. I drove there in 10mins and it was done. I ordered Yakisoba with tofu. The place looked beautiful, and they had a nice outdoor dining area as well. The cashier was really nice. After I got order, my car smelled AMAZING with the noodles in the car, I couldn't wait to dig in. When I finally got to try the food the noodles were hot, smokey, salty, and a bit tangy. The pickled ginger was a nice touch and the vegetables were crisp and fresh. For $11 their proportions were extremely generous. I ate it so fast but I wished I would have slowed down to savor it. I definitely recommend this place! I also saw they had sake slushies good for a summer day. :)

Amazing Ramen as well as saki and beer. We did the beer flight and the Saki flight. Everything was delicious, people were wonderful, and games were so much fun!

We went here when it was a sushi restaurant about 4 or 5 years ago and we liked it. But then it switched over to a ramen place and I don't really like salty things so we never tried it. Well we went back finally the other day and it was absolutely delicious. The inside of the restaurant is really cool. It's one of the only hipster looking places I've ever seen in our area. There were a lot of young people eating there, and there are not a lot of young people in the Poconos. So they must have been a lot of tourists going there. My husband had one of the ramens and it was very good. I took a taste. I had the noodles with chicken thighs and vegetables, and it was awesome. Our son absolutely loved my dish too. He's two years old. The outside is really nice for kids, especially toddlers because they can run around and there were even toy trucks on the ground for them to play with. It's just a really cool place.

Great sake, cool inside and outdoor area! The appetizers are great too - very unique and a perfect spot for a date or hang with a friend

Awesome food, very cool atmosphere, excellent service!!! Really cool experience thank you!!!

What a quaint fun little place. We stopped by while hiking this summer and tried the tonkatsu ramen as well as the salmon soba. Both were quite delicious and it was very takeout friendly. My one gripe is that the portions felt extremely small, especially the salmon soba (we were able to finish both our our entrees no problem which is something we usually struggle with). Otherwise, very tasty and worth a try!

This place provides an incentive to leave a review, but honestly they don't need it. The freshest sushi I've ever had and a locally crafted sake flight? C'mon. Sold sold sold. Great food and great atmosphere, 100% coming back! Update: came back for a second time, everything was just as good if not better. Tried more food, more drinks. Enjoyed it by a toasty fire pylon in the evening. Excellent all around.

Read any of the other negative reviews and you'll get the idea of why you shouldn't come here. I came once and the food was awful. We kindly sent our food back. No one came back to the table after we sent our food back, hinting at the attitude of the owner/management. I had yakisoba which was overly greasy and tasted off, with "chicken" that was as tough as cheap steak. The Takoyaki is soggy and contains rubbery octopus. The rice was dry, as if microwaved. The restaurant itself is in a general state of disrepair. Cracks in the walls, moulding is missing, paint is chipping, the doorhandles have been replaced with boards. The decor is a mix of Japanese bar, hunting cabin, and cheap lounge. When reviewed on Google, the owner responded by attacking the appearance of my significant other and myself, who drove out of our way to visit this establishment. Please, go anywhere else. You'll thank me later.

This was a surprise for us. Initially when we were searching on yelp, we thought it was a sushi restaurant (exclusively), but turns out they have a smaller selection and skewed more noodles, WHICH I AM DOWN FOR. My partner in the other hand was confused and a little sad but ended up enjoying his food selection. We did a dry noodle dish, noodles on the bottom, topped with meat, veggies and etc. very generous with their toppings and noodles. I ordered the tonkatsu ramen and it was banging. I am very particular with the broth, that is the game changer and oh man, it was good. Not bad at all! There was also live music when we arrived and it was soothing. I am also not used to the spacious seating areas (like NYC is so damn limited), but this was very lax and great service. They're all so nice and welcoming. Definitely would recommend to locals and travelers! Also dishes were affordable $$

Slow service. Quirky decor. Nothing special about food. Limited menu. Dirty bathroom.

Absolutely disgusting place, tables are sticky as it's owner. Ramen is terrible! If you are trying to make a horrible ramen and want to kill the taste, just add ginger. If this owner reads it, and he does, google why people use ginger in between different sushi rolls, because it kills precious taste! This is what happened when you tell mechanic to cook soup. Soup from the can would be way better than your disgusting water with uncooked noodles and ginger. Look people, this is how nowadays those Hilli Billies treat customers. P.S. Go back to kitchen, open You Tube and search how to cook Ramen instead of bullying people for their opinion.

Hip and funky, one of a kind place with good food and unique distilled spirits with Baywatch and Hasselhoff vibes emanating alongside arcade games and music.

Friendly people, great vibes, and tons of options! Plus a free sticker with this review.

Received very aggressive response from the owner or manager, calling me a "jerk" and messing up with my name on purpose. Very "professional ", thumbs up! Not very surprising. Just trying to help people to avoid a bad experience and posting my personal my own feelings about the place. And hoping to save people's time and money.

I think the picture below and the response from the owner speaks volumes. I realize we are still in a pandemic but I can go to Perkins and they are very me on glass. I mean we spend over $100 for 2 people so please keep that in mind. The plastic containers we got our $16/ $8 Kimchi in were 3/4 full , the plastic cups we were served our Sake in could have been more full as they We're also 3/4 full .....writing to them in a private message initially because I saw the aggressive responses from the owner to poor reviews. My photo below shows how that went. Decide for yourself.

The first turn-off was the way we were greeted upon entering. Then we were told to scan the barcode and come back up to the counter to place our order. (If I wanted to do that, I'd go for fast food.) Since we took the time to drive there, we decided to go along with it. Sake came right away, and it's good. The food took 45 minutes or so. We saw others come in, get their food and leave while we were still waiting. The sushi wasn't great; have had much better. The Ramen was just okay- broth was better than the contents, especially the noodles (which seemed undercooked). Then we had to stand in line in order to pay and leave, so ended up spending almost 2 hours there and just wasn't happy with the entire experience. (We go out to eat every weekend, so know the way we should feel after a 3 figure 2 hour meal. That was the other issue - it's overpriced. At least the "server" could've been friendly..,

The outside definitely needs some work done but its not bad. Inside looks a bit empty but the wood tables are really authentic and nice. Unfortunately there was this horrible smell when we walked in. Cat piss and b.o. very bad. We decided to stay, since were total ramen/japanese junkies. XD The woman at the front counter was extremely friendly. The food smells very good. and looks delicious. Chicken is very soft and not chewy at all which is 10 points in my book xD Wow okay this is place is amazing. Brought food back to the house and brother reheated and it kind of smelt the same as when I walked in. Maybe it's the cabbage or the food they make. But to be completely honest, that doesn't really matter to me anymore. The service was great, and the food was great. If they see this post and fix the smell, then great! But I'm not putting down any stars because of that. Thankyou very much for the food guys, this will be a staple establishment when ever we come back this way.

Sango Kura is delight:) Turns out yelp wants eighty five characters to posta review, I give yelp negative twelve stars, but this place is awesome! Did I get to my eighty five characters yet?

I am so happy this place exists. The people are awesome. The owner is amazing person. The ramen is off the chain. This means it's really great. This place is a must stop. So if you like great ramen and created by great people - this is the spot. Oh, I forgot- the owner makes his own ramen noodles.

The ramen was good but they had very limited options. Would've loved to have some sushi!

Enjoyed a Saki flight and some traditional Japanese cuisine. I've never been to a sake brewery before so that was cool. Food was tasty and the sake too. A little birdie told me a brewery is coming soon...

Food: 2/5 Service: 5/5 Atmosphere: 3.5/5 Would I go back: No Came here on a Saturday for lunch. The place was essentially empty except for one other group. The place can easily seat over 50 people and you have the choice of sitting inside or out. You order up front at the desk and they will bring the food to you. There is also a self service water station located inside. We ordered the gyoza to start which was quite greasy but good. Honestly, it was the only dish from the meal that I ended up finishing. For the mains I got the shoyu ramen, which was very bland. The soup itself had a starchy taste to it and the noodles themselves were a bit plain with the consistency of spaghetti. There was no bite to it. The egg was also pretty much fully cooked through and the pork was very thinly sliced and mostly fat. My partner got the Yaki Meshi which was quite large. It could easily fill two people. It was overpowering in terms of the ginger and she ended up not finishing it. We packed it to go. The rice did taste a lot better later on in the day when we were drinking and needed some snack food. Overall, I would not recommend stopping by. If you're in a need for a quick ramen fix this is not your place. There is a barbeque spot right next door with much better food.

Neat tree trunk decor. The food was delicious. Actually, phenomenally good. We had the tan tan ramen, the yaki soba, a bowl of miso. Tan tan noodles were incredibly flavorful and had good healthy spice level. The mushrooms were such a surprising but complementary flavor to the spice, I think they were marinated in a sweet soy sauce. Also, don't miss the SPICY SESAME oil from the bottle on the table. YUM. My yaki soba was pretty good. Hot and so savory... I'll admit, I'm sick and tired of hearing the word "umami" and I'll just say that the flavors were a knock your socks off savory profile. The miso was full of stuff like seaweed and tofu. Probably not authentic if it's chock full, but the 6 year old likes it. Great food, but only 4 stars because even though the sign says sake brewery they don't have any sake until October 1st, hopefully. This place is worth a stop.

Absolutely authentic Asian cuisine in an accessible atmosphere. The food is plated and served beautifully. The noodles are as good as anyone in the world could ever expect to have. I hear they're even planning on making their own sake to serve on site. It's really exciting to see places like this coming into the area - when I lived here this area was almost nothing but 2 gas stations and a mediocre pizza place. Now there are TWO awesome, hip restaurants right next to each other on the same block. This is the time to be living in or visiting the Poconos.

What a surprise to see a sake brewery in the heart of Poconos! Accustomed to seeing fast food joints or generic chains in places like these, it was a welcome surprise to find a contemporary Japanese restaurant. Although we were not allowed to see the brewing process owing to new covid restrictions, we were still able to sample and savor several sake options. Not all of them may click with your palette, but they definitely offer an interesting introductory experience to the world of sake. The food here deserves a special mention. It may not feature in the realm of famed, big city Japanese restaurants but I was more than content with what it had to offer.

This is a hidden gem in the Poconos!! Finally got around to giving it a try after reading the reviews and this place does not disappoint! Ramen noodles bowl was amazing! Fresh, authentic ingredients. Staff and owner/ chef all very nice! They are in the process of transforming an old diner into a Japanese style spot, so keep in mind that work is still being done but don't let that stop you. They are looking to add sushi and in-house Sake brewery!! Can't wait! This is my new favorite spot! Highly recommend

Food was delicious. Sake flight was very good. Liked most of them. My order was wrong but delicious any way now I know I can order something else Brittany was a joy! So was the other person helping her. However...... felt the manager rude and condescending. We lived here for a long time and had three experiences there. Help, food and sake great. Manager rude all times. She has no customer service skills. Would give 5 stars but had to give 4.

The only sake brewer in Pennsylvania. A quirky and unique restaurant with great food and drink. Located a cute town near the Appalachian Trail. Go for a hike, and then recover here.

Best Sake in Deleware Water Gap. Really cute, unique spot. Highly recommend the ramen.

A new restaurant in town. Very good, worth trying. We order a rice bowl and pancake, and it tastes special.