Sakura Sushi Bar & Japanese Cafe

Absolutely amazing. I recommend you sit at the sushi bar and ask the chief to surprise you. WOW! I am definitely going back.

Really great sushi at a very reasonable price. Sakura even stocks brown rice, which I appreciate and enjoy. There’s a fridge with prepared sushi in take-​out containers, so you can walk in and grab something in just a minute if you’re in a rush. If you want something made fresh or custom, you can order at the bar. Friendly staff and a no-​frills but comfortable seating environment. Recommended, and one of my favourite lunch places.

Authentic Japanese run and staffed place that is fast and friendly… What more could you ask for? It’s a great little place.

$ 60 for four people? What a great deal. The food was fresh and delicious. We tried various rolls and nigiri and all of it was great. The only problem with the whole meal, and Im not sure that it wasn’t just the language barrier, was the Yam Tempura. I ordered this and it came as a roll, which surprised me. I was expecting wedhes of Yam Tempura, I mean it was ok, just not what I expected. I will definitely be going back.
The Japanese market inside the store carries an excellent selection of items from inexpensive miso pastes ($ 7 for 2 pounds?) to several Furikake blends. I had such a difficult time finding Furikake in my last town that I started making my own, but now I dont have to!
16 Feb 2015 — Back for another round. Still delicious. The Tobiko is very fresh and the Eel is excellent as well. I haven’t eaten any rice in a few months so it was a guilt laden dinner… a delicious guilt laden dinner.

The quality is excellent! And we can buy some traditional Japanese food there too.
It is a busy place so you would have to let them know what you want to have since the all workers are busy. You can order what you want to eat also you are in the tight schedule, you could pick up the prepackaged sushi or lunch.
I would recommend to any one to this place!
Yummy!

I hate to leave negative reviews but this was just bad. Maybe I have been used to great sushi because I just moved here from southern California, but this was the worst sushi I’ve ever had. I had 6 pieces of salmon nigiri and the fish was still slightly frozen. At least if you are using frozen fish make sure the customer doesn’t find out. The color of the raw salmon was also way too dark, it’s supposed to be light pink. The service was good though, this is only a critique of the food. Anyway, I won’t be going back to this place.

For lunch, this is the best sushi fix for the value, takeout or eat-​in. .. .
I usually takeout sushi, or sunomono salad or seaweed salad, and all are trustworthy fresh and good quality for the price. The sushi here is fresher and at about half the price of what is shipped into the The Market on Yates next door, or Thrifty Foods nearby.
Save more coin by buying their day-​old sushi for half price. Never had a problem, it’s fine by me. Usually best to find in the morning.
For good nutrition get the brown rice sushi. For a lush day, get the real crab sushi, none of that fake crab. But I still think its canned crab, not fresh local Dungeness — that would be perfect.
Today I ate-​in for teriyaki chicken bento box for under nine dollars. Brown rice tea is free. Clean counters, interesting grocery atmosphere, ok for quick lunch, and free fast wi-​fi.
Chicken quantity adequate, teriyaki OK on the sweeter watery side, with fried cabbage on top. Rice sticky perfect with black sesame accent. Two California sushi pieces, nice touch. Green leaf and cucumber salad with what tastes like Kraft Italian dressing. Seaweed salad in the middle smallest section of the box. And orange slice with half a grape tomato in the middle, like a winter cherry. Not perfect, but totally satisfactory for the price. Pretty presentation.
I’ll be back. ..

The best sushi in town, and possibly even the best avocado rolls I’ve ever had. The veggie rolls are also superb — they have a generous helping of avocado, and the carrot is cooked for superior texture. The very reasonable prices are a bonus.
Disclaimer: I haven’t eaten any of their animal products, so I can’t speak to the quality of those items. But for vegetarian sushi, Sakura can’t be beat.

Hate to be the first negative review, but I’ll just stick to the facts. Visiting here from California, where I think we know what good sushi is. I’ve had hundreds of Unagi Donburi in my day, and I’m vacationing in Victoria, so I stopped in Sakura for one.
First weird sign: I order at their very small sushi bar, and I see the waitress go and retrieve a vacuum-​pack of pre-​broiled eel from the grocery refrigerator. Now, I can’t say if I ever had such before, or always had freshly-​broiled eel, so I reserved judgement.
I get my order delivered, and ask for Shichimi (the Japanese red pepper) — the hostess says «It’s in there already» and just starts walking away. I had to insist three times before she brought me the little bottle. It’s been at least a decade since waitstaff refused to bring me a condiment, declaring that I have enough of it in the dish already.
But the real surprise: I had my plastic fork at the ready, and tried to break off a nice chunk of eel: I could not. Multiple attempts to wrench the filets apart with a plastic spoon and fork failed. I then brought the bowl to the sushi bar, and said «This is inedible: if you need a knife to eat unagi, something is wrong». I just turned and walked out, figuring I was being nice not to even ask for a refund.
It was about ten minutes later when I realized I hadn’t paid yet in the first place. Oh well. I shall not be going back there, not when Sen Zushi is in town.
Edit: after seeing Sakura’s frank explanation, I have changed my rating from 1-​star to 3-​stars. I will be in Victoria again in a few months, and will stop by – and probably try the Unagi Don again. I’m betting it will be great, and then I’ll up my rating further.

Loved the sushi here! I visit Victoria yearly, and have a regular routine down pat. I stay at the Fairmont Empress, I get high tea, and I get my sushi fix right here.
It’s clean, inexpensive, and yes, it’s part Japanese grocery too (and yes, that’s a little strange coming from San Francisco). Don’t let it fool you though, this place is the real deal. They make some tasty and fresh sushi.
I love Victoria — Give Sakura a try, you can’t go wrong!

Love this place. Have been going here for nearly 10 years now. While I do like to go to the nearby Sen Zushi for a proper sit down restaurant meal, when it comes to sushi though I always come here.
Sakura is a grocery/​deli store but does have a sizable sitdown area and a choice of simple and quick menu items aside from the deli style sushi to go section, which can also be made to order.
The store is staffed mainly by local Japanese students and the sushi is simple but affordable and delicious. The ingredients are fresh and their choices are numerous.
I also like to buy my asian cooking ingredients here too such as nori, soy sauce, and sushi grade tuna and salmon for when I’m feeling more creative, or to make my own tuna tataki.
Bottom line, if you don’t mind a deli style meal or you are on your lunch break, Sakura is a total MUST!