Sakura

Sakura is one of the those restaurants that my husband and I go to at least twice a month. They have a very large selection of food and a great sushi bar. Pricing is reasonable and I have yet to eat/​drink anything I did not like. I never got a chance, but that had some traditional Japanese rooms. I was going to throw my cousin’s going away party (she is doing a semester abroad in Japan) there.
The only drawback is sometimes service can be slow if they are busy. It only happens every once in a while, and the food and friendly service outweighs the wait.
Sadly, back in Feb 2014, the restaurant caught fire in the early hours of a Sunday morning. It burnt down. I am hoping that they rebuild, especially because they had just remodeled. We knew the people that worked there well, and I miss having a place close by (only 7 minutes from my house) that services great Japanese cuisine.

One of the few sushi places that are open on Sundays! Yay!!!

I love a not hip, not trendy, not full of yuppies, not with a cocktail menu on the table type of Japanese restaurant. Unfortunately in Chicago, there are very few of these places.
But then you go to Arlington Heights area and there are quite many options. We had a good meal with grilled eggplant with miso, grilled tofu with 3 kinds of miso, nabeyaki udon and a few pieces of nigiri. The hot appetizers are very good. The sushi is fair. Interestngly, I think their sushi rice is seasoned perfectly and is the right temperature and texture.
The restaurant is older. I enjoyed the warm service though, very personal and efficient.
We will definitely come again.

Visited Sakura with my friend for his birthday — I decided going to this Japanese based on proximity to my apartment and Unilocal reviews. We ordered the delexe sushi boat with 36 pieces of sushi (requires 2 minimum purchase, FYI). They also had shabu shabu, yakiniku, and other traditional meals on the menu, but my friend wanted sushi.
I gave the restaurant a three stars because while the fish and rice were very good, the amount of wasabi caked on by the chef was too much and overpowering. The service was ok as well — we first had a new waiter who said he just started today. I usually expect if there is a newbie, he or she should shadow another waiter/​waitress. Instead, I was drilling him on what kind of wine and cocktails they had and if they had a certain Japanese drink (chu-​hi). He went back twice and finally brought me a drink menu, which should have been one of the first things you do. I think I scared him off because he didn’t come back to the table and we had a waitress for the rest of the evening. The nice thing was she spoke Japanese, and I told her in Japanese that it was my friend’s birthday and wanted to know if they would a little something for him. For the rest of the meal, her whole perspective of me changed, she and other waitresses approached me and spoke to me in Japanese, and my friend got a free scoop of ice cream! Don’t judge a book by its cover!
I may be back — there are a ton of other Japanese restaurants in the area to try out, so I want to venture out some more. I did like how they have Japanese style rooms — a huge perk for large groups!

Amazing udon here! The sushi/​sashimi are very fresh and reasonably priced.
Specialty rolls aren’t terribly creative, and it seems that most of them are stuffed with egg (even the unagi and softshell crab rolls — so odd). Even so, we’ll be returning for some fresh basic rolls and the delicious udon.

My first introduction to Japanese food was downtown on Wells (old location), at the old Kamehachi, in the very early 70’s. MAN I wish they still made places like that. Does anyone remember that place? A Japanese restaurant owned by Japanese (Marion and Ben). Crazy good, but I was young and don’t remember everything about it. But I do remember the small cozy atmosphere, and great sushi (before it became popular in the states.)
I had been to Sakura in the eighties, and remember it being good as well. We were in the area recently and decided to give it a go. I’m not really a fan of all of hipster sushi (all of the rolls with crazy names) and stick to nigiri but they have some awesome options here, and the sushi is fresh and the portion sizes are awesome.
We (my wife and two daughters) usually get a little private room, and order the left side of the menu LOL. The sukiyaki is AWESOME and is hands on (even ask for a raw egg to dip into), as well as the shabu shabu. I always rate Japanese places by their quality of tempura, and you can tell they know what they’re doing. GREAT food, and the service is friendly and timely as well.
Sakura in Mt. Prospect feels the most authentic to me (in my opinion), but if anyone has an old Kamehachi type-​joint please let me know.
Try Sakura — I feel you’ll really enjoy it.

I lived in Japan for 2 years, and this is by far the most authentic restaurant I’ve been to in the Chicago area. Absolutely love the private rooms! If you have never had shabu shabu you have to try it! It’s my favorite Japanese dish, and not so easy to find in the states. In Japan it is a very high end meal generally, so I’m so excited I can get it here! All the sushi I’ve tried there is excellent also. It’s also right by the Mt. Prospect train station if you don’t live nearby:)

AMAZINGLY fresh sashimi, friendly service, nice sake selection. Stick with the chef choice sashimi, it won’t disappoint.

Sushi is ok here. We ordered the spicy tuna roll, the unagi maki roll, yellow tail sashimi, smoked salmon sashimi, and niagra rolls. My least favorite was the yellow tail. It was a little rubbery. I liked the smoked salmon.
The worst thing we ordered though were the crab croquet… Ewww… I did not taste any crab at at all. It tasted like potatoes and they drizzled this sauce on top which tasted like McDonald’s bbq sauce… Ew.
Service was the most part pretty good — prompt and not annoying. What was annoying was one of the guys who was making the rolls kept staring directly at my direction. It was so creepy. When I walked to the bathroom, he said something to me in another language that I can’t recognize.

I was brought here for my first true sushi experience and now i must say that i love sushi!
my friends and i reserved a japanese room, which is no extra cost, and it was great to experience eating sushi in an authentic japanese room. It was nice that the table was in a pit, so you’re not sitting on your knees on night.
if you do reserve a room, they have a coat rack and place to put your shoes because it is not allowed in the room!
they also add gratuity on your bill, if you still have room left over, take a little walk down to oberweis for dessert!

I’ve been coming here for years at this point.
The sushi is still very good, lunch deals are reasonable. Today I had a Tan Men (yes you can laugh) which is this huge ramen soup. Lots of good stuff inside. Almost impossible to finish (the gyozas didn’t help.) but super good.
The only short-​coming is the service.
They usually let you simmer at your table and don’t come back to see if you finished eating (granted I am slow). It’s a bit annoying if you’re there during your lunch break, so sometimes you just have to get up and remind them that you have not fallen asleep.
The music ranges from annoying classic to psychedelic traditional Japanese drumming (LOL), i don’t come here for that but because it is close to work and the food is great.
I’ll keep coming back.

SAVORY & FRESH. They set the bar high for my sushi palate. Better than most high-​end places I’ve been to in the city. Go for the fish, NOT the crab with egg sauce (yolk sauce was too sugary and sweet– savory crab legs with candy are no-​go for me). What a gem in the burbs. :)

This is an authentic Japanese place. Nice ambiance, nice service.
But they did not have right combinations of food that i needed. Well i guess that something to do with me coz me not being a sushi fan had lesser options. The portions were pretty huge. The Ambiance and serving bowls were different and I love it.
The place is little pricey though but they do have less expensive items too … Besides them having huge portions covers up for price.
I will go there again !!

Went here with a friend the first time and then with my family for my birthday the second time. Got great service here! The waitresses are dressed in kimonos, so cute! They are very nice. The second time I went for my birthday we got to sit in a private Japanese room. I loved it because it is private and all decked out Japanese style.
Got sukiyaki. Very clean fresh ingredients. Chawanmushi is awesome here; it melts in your mouth and has an unique aroma.
Hehe they have a cute funny entrance and exit voice greeting when the door opens.
Parking is free in the back of the restaurant.

Update/​Edit 7÷2012…
«RUN ON SENTENCES» WARNING!!!
I’ve had some time to think about my reviews of this place and I guess I need to be a little more direct if I am going to be fair in issuing a 2 star rating. I was a Sakura regular for over 10 years (’00−2011)…During this period of time the sushi chef, Otsuki-​a cranky old dude from Japan was the maniacal chef/​chef owner. This guy was my teacher, and it would help to know that the guy was a «kitchen chef» over in Japan for years prior to moving into the craft and art of sushi. There’s a lot to say about my time here –these years of eating and getting totally shmammered several times weekly, but I guess I will leave it at that I ate my way through most of the Japanese culinary catalog. As far as my sushi experience here, I have eaten CRAZY fresh things like: Entire wooden crates of top quality sea urchin roe, the board chopped in half on the diagonal with a samurai sword and served with wasabi grated on shark skin, sea salt and lemon. I have eaten the roasted whole eyeball gelatin of a wild bluefin tuna, and have used a scallop shell to scrape up «tuna cabeza» meat from the split and roasted skull of the same fish. I have guzzled black market sake, smuggled in from Tokyo. I have eaten the liver of a live sea cucumber. I was the dude that always got a piece of binchotan charcoal at the bar, which I used to grill my own duck breast tataki. I’ve had tempura fried baby whiting, and have eaten it with lemon and Madras curry powder. I’ve had bowls of grilled chicken butt. Raw fresh fish? you freaking name it… we ate it. I have experienced sushi, and Japanese food here that was far and away tastier and fresher than anything I have EVER eaten before, or since.
Well, Otsuki san hung it up a while ago, and yeah, I know he’s cooking in the kitchen of another pretty damn good sushi joint that I won’t name. But my Sakura… The legendary Sakura, ended up in the hands of a business man and his friends… I must admit that his sushi skills are actually pretty good compared to the competition, but shortly after the takeover, I started to get dry ice and SUPER elaborate, over the top presentations… I started seeing martini glasses, the «Ninja Turtle Roll» appeared on a backlit sign rimmed in neon. The crazy sriracha rolls and fried mayo started to be very noticeably merchandised… and then the fresh ingredients fell from peak by more than a few notches, they just started to cheapen everything up, from the chopsticks to the green tea and sashimi cuts.
Dude aint bad, and it is not really a bad place… I just need to fire off the 2 because over here the P and L all of a sudden became much more important than freshness, or even respect for this place’s legendary status, and moreover they lost respect for food in general. It simply isn’t the same, nor is it really Japanese. Maybe one day we’ll see the old crew back together in some way, shape, or form… Old School Sakura will live forever in my memory. Rumor has it that Otsuki may rise again, and be the vanguard for the coming ramen noodle invasion. I cannot wait.

Sakura sets a very, very high standard. The food is always fresh. I don’t think I’ve had anything that tasted even the least bit «off.» The hospitality is outstanding. We ordered Beef Tataki and weren’t entirely sure how to properly eat it. Our waitress gladly showed us.
Call ahead and ask for a Japanese Room if you’ve got a few hours before you arrive. These rooms are traditional Japanese settings: paper doors, floor seating, and low tables. Best of all: you get the room all to yourselves. The restaurant is great, but having a private room for no extra charge is a huge bonus.
We’ve seated seven people easily. Two of the rooms actually merge into one large room. It looks like it could probably seat up to 12 people comfortably.
My suggestion is to enter through the back. The enthusiastic greeting you get from the sushi chefs at the bar is always fun.
A few favorites include Unagi Nigiri, Dragon Roll, and Julian Roll. Try the Volcano Roll, too; their presentation of the dish is very unusual and pretty entertaining.

My sister and I went here for the first time today during a work lunch break. From the moment we walked in the door the entire staff was very friendly and greeted us (which is common courtesy in Japan). Aesthetically speaking, the restaurant was pleasant-​looking and charmingly, although minimally, decorated. There are supposed to be tatami mat rooms, but we did not see these. We were in the main dining area, which featured a long and narrow aisle way, spacious tables, and bar seating.
We were seated immediately and received complimentary coleslaw and green tea (the tea was somewhat «brothy,» which I really like, but my sister did not). Since we were only here for a quick lunch and it was only two of us, we did not sample many items from the menu. However, all that we did have was excellent. We chose to split the lunch box, which featured chicken teriyaki, two tempura shrimp and vegetables, six California rolls (or spicy tuna, if you prefer), and salad. This meal also came with miso soup.
The miso soup was some of the best that I’ve had, being flavorful, aromatic, and just the right balance of salty/​savory. The chicken teriyaki had a tasty sauce and was tender, although honestly I am not the biggest chicken fan, so I could only enjoy it so much. The assorted tempura veggies and shrimp were excellent, and fully exorcised the craving that had been haunting me for the past few days. The salad I LOVED; it was the staple Japanese-​style ginger salad you get at these sort of restaurants, but had a prominent lemony taste and was somehow otherwise unique and delicious. Even my sister, who normally hates these kinds of salads, admitted that it was the best of its kind.
Now, I know it was only California rolls, but the sushi… AMAZING. The ingredients within were clearly fresh and delicious but what really made it stand apart was the RICE. I have had sushi in all sorts of places, but no one has gotten the rice quite as right as Sakura. It’s hard to explain, but the best I can say is that it was not «caked» together — it was sticky as it should be and held its shape, but each grain seemed fresh and individual. With rice being perhaps the most important, and certainly the most prevalent, ingredient in sushi, I am very excited to return and try some of the other sushi offerings.
Because we split our meal it wound up being quite affordable, and the amount of food was entirely enough for us to leave feeling full and satisfied. However, glancing at the menu things didn’t look cheap (although certainly you are paying for quality). When I have dined at other high-​quality sushi restaurants with similar pricing, more «freebies» were often included (i.e., a more substantial complimentary appetizer, or some teeny-​tiny token dessert), but it was only lunch, so maybe dinner is different. Either way the quality seems to justify the price.
Certainly if you are in the area (and maybe even if it’s a little bit out of your way) I would highly recommend a trip to dine here. I hope future visits will sustain my high opinion, but my limited experience has at least shown the staples to be very good and I think sushi fans will be impressed. Also, if you have driven by here before and wondered where the parking lot is, it’s in the back. If you are going north on 83/​Elmhurst/​Main St., make a right onto Busse Ave. and then another right into the roomy parking lot. There is also an entrance back here.

Sakura was so uprising considering it is in a strip mall but as my wife and I looked around it was entirely full of Asian people, we knew we were at the right place.
The food and service were spectacular. We started with the kazuya (dumplings) which were fantastic, then had 3 different rolls that were among some of the best sushi I’ve had then finished with bowls of udon soup which were incredibly rich and deep in flavor also way larger portions then we anticipated.
Sakura has become our favorite Japanese restaurant and we will absolutely be going back.

Authentic Japanese food for reasonable prices.
Great sushi, hot pot, and other authentic dishes. They usually have shrimp or crab legs w/​egg yolk sauce as a appetizer special!
Friendly service and easy to find parking in the lot behind the restaurant.

My friends, Shaz and Jane were visiting and they were in the mood for sushi. I was saving this restaurant for quite some time, and I was hoping Sakura would be my dark horse restaurant. I felt confident about this place because it was in the Arlington Heights area and was Japanese run. I was even able to make reservations in Japanese and score a tatami room.
I’m sorry but I have to berate my fellow compatriots. Sakura was more of a black sheep than a black horse. We ordered the family boat and sushi deluxe boat as shown in pics. The negimaki was cold and eating cold beef unless a tartare was just unappetizing. The tempura did not have that airy crispness I was looking for. Yakitori didn’t taste like they were grilled. The sushi was mediocre at best. I would have been much happier using that $ 50 to get a platter from Lawrence Fish Market and the other $ 50 to get a boat load of wings from Great Sea.
I might have higher expectations from a Japanese run restaurant, and sushi maybe a hit or miss, but EVERYTHING was a miss! Well not everything, the pineapple on the boat was good and that’s about it. Also, it may be different in the main room, but we didn’t get much attention in the tokonoma room.
Maybe it was an off day, maybe the Boats were not the way to travel. But I never felt so betrayed by a restaurant. I just don’t know if I can find it in my heart to give Sakura another chance. Paying a $ 130 for eating great pineapple in a tokonoma is not the way I like to roll.