Sakura Sushi & Noodle

2 words: dont. go.
The service: prompt, but forgettable (the only reason I think this place deserves a star at all)
The food: no… just no. Portions are tiny, and super overpriced. And if that wasnt enough, those tiny portions of sushi and sashimi taste like were constructed using fish that had been frozen and defrosted for a week.
so if you’re starving, and must have sushi at all costs, do your self a favor and drive somewhere else. If you dont have a car, walk to sushi love. Whatever you do, avoid this place at all costs… there’s a reason its empty all the time

Service is horrible… The waitress literally took away my miso soup without asking before I was done with it! The food also came way too slowly given that the quality is meh and the place isn’t filled with many customers at all

Great Japanese restaurant. Don’t expect to find only Americanized food. They have several especial rolls with japanese style and creativity and real speciality sushi (uni, toro, clam, etc).

Checked this place out over Memorial Day weekend and so I understood why the restaurant was near empty.
I wasn’t feeling like sushi so I went with the gyu-​don which is traditionally a rice bowl with thinly sliced beef that you mix with either a raw egg (like sukiyaki) or one that’s been lightly cooked. It’s also mixed with some of the sweet soy sauce-​based marinade of the meat which makes the consistency of the rice soft. Think of a fancier version of what you would get at Yoshinoya, which is highly underrated in my opinion. Anyway, there was nothing spectacular about the gyu-​don. If anything, I wish the portion was more generous but that’s because I’m a pig.
Service was timely but again, it wasn’t very busy given the holiday.

have eaten here for many years — not a sushi fan — but their hot appetizers, vegetable tempura and soup with noodles (nabeyaki — sp?) are fabulous. love the reasonable pricing, prompt service, and sitting by the water fall.

I went to Sakura while visiting UVA with two friends. The servers were polite. However, the food is average at best and the prices are a bit high in my honest opinion. I don’t mind paying a lot for great sushi but this sushi was average.

This place deserves better than 2 stars. Just try the Spider Web roll. Good service and tasty sushi.

There aren’t many sushi options around the corner, but when you have a sushi craving, this place hits the spot.
Their seaweed salad was about par. Nice and crunchy, but a little too wet for my liking.
I also ordered a shrimp tempura roll and an eel and avocado roll. Both tasted fine, but were extremely warm. I guess I’m one who likes my sushi about room temperature. Warm sushi in hot Charlottesville weather isn’t such a great combination.
I’ll probably eat there again. The food came out really quick but was kind of pricey.

A really cozy restaurant with wonderful service! The gyu don and black dragon roll are my favorites. Great with sake as well.

The sushi is pretty standard, but a bit on the expensive side for the quality. The service is just okay. Can’t really beat its convenience on the corner and the décor is nice. Lots of people go for the sake bombs rather than the food.

This place is horrible. If you think this is good Japanese food, you obviously haven’t had good Japanese food before. Completely unauthentic, prepared horribly, and just plain faked. I come from the west coast and to realize that the only decent Japanese restaurants are in DC is sad… Ten is great, but way overpriced and more a place for drinks and tapas. In any case, I’ve been here a few times and every time I go, I feel I will never come again and most importantly, overpriced!

Having lived in places with fantastic sushi, living here in C-​ville requires a little «re-​adjustment» of the palate. But that’s ok. Spend enough time here and that sort of happens on its own. My rating is based on what’s available here in town, not what’s in DC, San Francisco, Chicago, etc. This is decent sushi, reasonably priced, in a good location, with very good service and accommodating hours. Spicy salmon rolls, while not on the menu, can be ordered and they are one of our family favorites. For lunch, I really like the Tempura Udon. Overall, a very safe bet. Won’t blow your mind but it’s a solid performer.

Very average food. Would only go there when my frds wanna eat Japanese food while there arent any choices around.
Saki-​Bomb is fun.
Food is…

It’s going to be hard for me to review the sushi at Sakura because it was my first ever sushi experience. I was just coming out of vegetarianism, so it was kind of a big deal.
I liked it! I was very wary and the texture was difficult at first, and being so cautious, I had trouble fitting a whole piece in my mouth, but in the end it was the beginning of a great love affair. Sushi is now one of my favorite foods.
So even if Sakura doesn’t offer the best sushi (and the other reviewers seem to think so), it at least isn’t so bad that a first-​timer was immediately turned off by it.
The location is good, right on the Corner by St. Maarten’s and Frank’s Pizza. The décor is also really nice – very feng shui, I would say. The service was good and the prices were pretty reasonable.
I give Sakura a 4 for introducing me to sushi!

I’ve eaten here twice in the past year. Both times I found the waitstaff to be very fast and nice. They have unfiltered sake which is always appreciated. :)
I’m not surprised by the reviews here… but I wouldn’t have ordered sashimi. I did order standard sushi rolls like unagi and ebi and wasn’t impressed either time. My companion loved the Gyoza dumplings and edamame but I wasn’t impressed.
I did like their specialty rolls… maybe the best ingredients get saved for these! I can’t remember the names (maybe Spiderweb Roll?), but check over the menu for the roll with the mango — that one was the best both times I went. You will also note that it is one of the more expensive things on the menu.
I’d go again but I’d also be willing to try another sushi place next time I’m in town.

Sushi is not good. Nope. Really bad. I hate to say it b/​c the servers were kind & prompt…
…but I couldn’t even finish the tuna sashimi b/​c the texture was reminiscent of a mealy apple. The salmon was only a little better but I ate it all because I cannot waste salmon. The CA roll was ok but that hardly saves a sashimi bento box.
Oh, and the spinach appetizer was gnarly: frozen spinach rolled & cut diagonally made for a novel presentation but it was cold and had more fiber than Metamucil. Even worse, it cost 5 bones… i needed iron.
The fish that end up at Sakura are there because they picked on fishes smaller then them and stole algae from tadpoles.

[Shrug]. I really was not impressed by Sakura. The sushi is overpriced. There is nothing to compare this place to in the area, so people come to accept it. The tempura I ordered was greasy. The sushi is nothing spectacular. And I didn’t even get a fortune cookie! j/​k. IF you do not mind paying for overpriced mediocre sushi and japanese food, come here.

In a university town full of burger joints, bars, and sandwich shops, a sushi restaurant is very welcome. I had a great early dinner here. I spilled soy sauce everywhere but the waitress wasn’t fazed. She was very sweet and courteous. The presentation is gorgeous, check out my pictures. It tasted as good as it looked.