Sakura 2: Hibachi Grill & Sushi Bar

After Kumo flat out refused to cleanse the food prep area to accommodate an allergy we wound up at Sakura and were delighted. Not only did the hostess communicate the allergy to the waitress, but the chef also came to the table to ensure they were taking care of us appropriately. The sushi was wonderful, and the service impeccable.

Since Sushiya closed, this has become my #1 spot. The only other place in town is Kumo, a sushi restaurant obsessed with jalapeños.
Sakura has delicious sushi, amazing lunch combo specials, and a ginger dressing that is to die for. I’ve never had an unpleasant experience at Sakura through dining in or carrying out. I eat there probably twice a month at least. It’s that good!

Sushi is really good! My wife and I usually get 2 or 3 rolls to share and are usually really full when we are done. The service has been really good thus far as well.

I went in cautiously after reading reviews so that if it didn’t live up to the reviews, I wouldn’t be so disappointed. Unlike its counterpart/​competitor down the street, the bathrooms had soap! We were off to a good start there…
The appetizers we got were gyoza and chicken Yaki tori. Not the best I’ve ever had, but certainly one of the best for this area. The sushi menu has pictures and descriptions which was very helpful!
We got the Playboy roll (my fav!), caterpillar, shrimp tempura, samurai roll, and spicy tuna. It was all super fresh and delicious… Again unlike its competitor down the street I wasn’t scared of eating it as the quality looked and tasted great. This is the place I have been searching for in this area. I never got to Sushiya before it closed. My only comparison is its competitor down the street. However, having lived in many mid to large cities in the Midwest, and Japan for a year, if you are looking for a decent, delicious sushi dinner in the area, THIS is your place!

This is one of the best Sushi/​Hibachi restaurants that I’ve had the pleasure of dining at! The quality of the food is outstanding. The staff is very friendly and professional. The prices are very reasonable! I cannot recommend this restaurant highly enough!

Sakura, mucho Unilocal love for you! If I could give you 4.5 stars, I would, so I will, 4.5 stars!
Stopped in for sushi brunch because I could eat sushi any time of day, really. The atmosphere was calm and casual. Right when you walk in, there is a sign for their daily drink specials– helpful! Sadly, it doesn’t seem like there are any daily sushi specials besides lunch combos.
We asked to sit at the sushi bar which wasn’t a problem. The service was great and everyone was really personable, including the sushi chefs! Our server checked on us casually and patiently waited for us to navigate the menu. Finally, my person was ready to order, but I was still indecisive. I asked our server for help and she first asked me of any food allergies I may have and then suggested some adventurous rolls for me to try.
While waiting for our meal, the sushi chefs gave us and the 2 gentlemen sitting down the bar a special salmon roll appetizer on the house, yum! Love it when that happens. We also had to pleasure of sipping on a Sapporo– which is a classic rice beer.
Our meal was huge. If someone ever sees me check-​in on Unilocal here, remind me that my eyes are bigger then my stomach! My stomach and my wallet will thank you… None the less, it was amazing. The rolls we’re large, fresh, and flavorful.
The highlights of each of the rolls I ordered were BBQ Eel on one and Tobiko (fish eggs) on the other, both nuances were out of the box for me and I approve!
This is now one of my favorite local sushi bars.

I’m new to the Kzoo scene and I’ve only had sushi at one other place in Portage, and I LOVED the sushi here. I had a Mexican roll, a California roll, and a buffalo roll. All of them were greatly and beautifully crafted and presented! The Mexican roll was so great! I definitely recommend that to anyone. The wait staff was very friendly and attentive and I liked the ambience of the restaurant. I’ll definitely be going back soon!

It’s tradition we come here for birthday. My kids loves it here! We can’t speak for the sushi side, but the hibachi is fantastic! I would recommend the filet mignon and shrimp.
The entertainment can be hit or miss at times. But what I care about most is food and that has been consistently good.
I met the owner once last year and he seemed like an awesome guy! Plus, he’s a Michigan State fan! Go green.

I am a long time customer of this restaurant. My husband and I have loyally enjoyed their food since the day they opened. I’ve eaten there many times alone during off hours (between 2 – 4) and always been treated warmly. Evidently they changed their hours to be closed during that time. I did not realize it and tried to go in at 2:45 today. The manager/​owner told me they were closed, and I thought he was kidding as there were MANY people sitting in the restaurant. Also, because we know him from our frequent visits, and because he’s a Michigan State fan, as are we. So I asked if he was serious and he rudely responded that they were closed. Still believing he as teasing me, I said what about all these people in here? And he responded they arrived before 2:30 and asked that I leave the restaurant! To me, customer service is EVERYTHING! While I did not expect to be served, given how often I’ve frequented this restaurant alone and with others, I would have expected better treatment from the manager. I absolutely will not return.

I come here for lunch and appreciate the quick service (hence the three stars) and reasonable prices. I have had better sushi — it is relatively okay. I am writing this review solely because I had the worst tempura of my life today at Sakura. Tempura batter is supposed to be light — almost paper thin. The tempura I had was heavy as a brick, with a quarter inch of batter on either side of the vegetable or shrimp. It was so starchy, it was practically inedible. I will not order the tempura here again.

Incredible experience. My family and I travel about once a year to this area and we always make a point to stop at Sakura 2. The servers, chefs, and owners are extremely friendly and welcoming; always giving their undivided attention and constantly refilled half empty glasses and cleared off unnecessary plates to make space at the hibachi grill.
The food itself tastes just as good (if not better than how it looks) the sushi chefs prepare it properly and the display is just perfection. Even the hibachi chefs neatly plate your enormous servings of food. You definitely won’t leave hungry with their soup, salad, and entrees.
The atmosphere is also warming and comfortable with a hibachi area separate from the sushi dining/​bar side.
By far one of the top hibachi grills I have visited throughout Michigan!

I’ve been going here for years and travel 60 plus miles to get there. They have the best sushi in the state.

This place has a weird set up. When I first walked in, I expected it to be a little bigger. Except, their hibachi area seemed bigger than the dining area. The sushi was nothing spectacular, they had the same rolls as any other place — nothing original to their restaurant.

This is my top choice in the area for sushi. That having been said I’m also critical.
Good sushi is hard to find around here. It’s my favorite food and I’m fairly adept at sniffing out the good and the bad. Having been to Japan many times I tend to be tough when it comes to rating Japanese restaurants in the US. This is a product that demands a high price not only because of the cost of the product itself but also because of the talent and experience required to properly prepare it. A good sushi chef is a rock star in my book.
Sakura has a number of raw choices as well as fried sushi rolls. I tend to stay away from the fried variety because it removes most of the talent element of preparation when the entire roll is fried. Frying eel is acceptable while frying the whole roll — may as well be frying pickles.
The lunch specials are good tasting, well priced and of all of the sushi restaurants in town I’m most likely to get it here. The servings, roll size, structure and taste are good here and more importantly never bad as I’ve experienced up the street at Kumo. The texture, temperature, and consistency of the rice are also better than most other spots in town.
The menu choices are fairly general without any particular stand out roll.
All of the sashimi I’ve tried has been decent, too.
The hibachi side of the restaurant is very good for a small group.
The wait staff is always cordial and attentive.

This is actually my wife and my sushi stop. The prices are fair, the fish is fresh, and we never leave unsatisfied. The sushi chefs always provide an attractive presentation and don’t usually take forever to get your selections made up and to you. My wife loves the hibachi dinners and if we’re feeling jazzy, we’ll eat on the hibachi side for a show. They also have a fair selection of sakes. I LOVE the fried green tea ice cream!

My first time here.
While in town to visit a few friends we all decided on going here. I have to say it was a great experience and the food was fantastic. The chef guy was very personable and did a great job. The meat was cooked perfectly to order for each individual and the sauces he prepared were outstanding as well.
The service was decent however our waitress seemed to forget to tell the people in the group that ordered combo’s that they were given free desert or a free shot of plum wine. We had to inquire with the manager on this and he made it happen for us.
She had already cashed us out and moved on.
I def will be back and am looking forward to trying more of the menu.

We had a coupon for this sushi place so we decided to try it out. We are big sushi fans, and unfortunately, we were let down by Sakura! We were even there during happy hour (even though a lot of things weren’t «included» in happy hour), but it just wasn’t worth the cheaper price to eat there — I’d rather go somewhere else (like Kumo) and pay more for better sushi.
It was fairly empty while we were there on a weekday afternoon, which was expected. The waitstaff was friendly and probably high school/​college students.
We got miso soup and veggie tempura to start with. The miso soup definitely wasn’t mixed before it was brought to our table because it was pretty much just broth — no tofu, barely any seaweed. The sushi was just okay — not too much flavor and I had a hard time deciding which rolls to get because I just wasn’t a fan of the selection. Plus, I hate when sushi places have PICTURES of each roll on the menu. It’s too much! One of the rolls we got had imitation «crab salad» in it — yuck. That was a definitely mistake. There was also piano music playing the entire time; I felt like I was in an elevator. Very chain Portage-​y feel. It tries to be classy, but just fails…
Overall, it was kind of a «meh» experience.

Summary: best sushi place in Kalamazoo by a landslide
Recommendation: if you’re looking for fresh fish, don’t go anywhere else
If I were to rate this taking into account all sushi places I’ve tried in my life, it would probably be somewhere around a 3.5. However, I’m rating this in contrast to the other sushi restaurants in the Midwest which puts it at a solid 4 if not 4.5. Kumo’s fish is NOT fresh. Sushi-​ya does a fine job, but Sakura will do it for a fraction of the price.
The prices are beyond reasonable, and the fish is far and away the freshest I’ve had in the area. This is absolutely the most important factor in sushi to me. They occasionally have specials, and on one of those days, I got hamachi to die for. I grew up in Hawaii, so I know fresh fish. Their best rolls are the ones with the most raw fish (rainbow and champagne).
The bento box lunches are a great deal. For under $ 10, you get soup, salad, shrimp tempura, California rolls, your main dish (teri beef, salmon, or chicken), and honeydew melon. Yum.
The ambiance is fine but nothing special. The service is fantastic. Everyone is really pleasant, quick, and helpful. The host/​hostess is always prompt to greet you as you walk in, and they always say goodbye as you walk out. I do occasionally get annoyed that the servers don’t know the correct pronunciations for anything, but I can get over it. (I once asked for shinkomaki, realized they had no idea what I was talking about, and had to say «yellow pickle roll» instead. But whatever.)
I have no idea who the creepy manager referenced in another review is. Maybe he left before I started going.
If you’re looking for a fancy dinner, this is not your place. If you’re looking for a lunch or happy hour place, you should check it out. Which reminds me: they have a full bar and some pretty awesome happy hour specials (half off apps before 6pm).
And psst, 10% Stryker & Pfizer discounts (but only if you dine in).
—
Edit: Okay, they just started doing something ridiculous. Their bento lunch no longer comes with a bowl of rice. And they will not let you substitute your California rolls for a bowl of rice which is crazy considering how much cheaper and less effort a bowl of rice is than California rolls. The rice costs $ 1.50. Totally insane. I’m going to keep this at four stars because this _​just_​happened and maybe they’ll change this crazy policy.

Sakura 2 is right down the street from Kumo and is a similar sort of sushi/​hibachi restaurant. Unlike Kumo, however, Sakura emphasizes sushi and hibachi over their kitchen offerings. As far as their sushi selection goes, they do have different kinds of rolls than Kumo. You can get more traditional rolls as well as fried and «crazy» rolls. And cheese on a maki roll? Really? I’m not even touching that. The nigiri and sashimi selection is comparable to Kumo.
The sushi rice itself has ranged from «awful» to «alright.» I prefer Kumo’s sushi rice flavor by far. However, apples to apples, Sakura has (generally) fresher and tastier (raw) fish than Kumo. To me, this is a huge point. Sometimes the fish at Kumo is a little iffy, especially during their Tuesday and Sunday sales.
And let me comment on the tempura fried green tea ice cream. AMAZING. It was so delicious. Do yourself a big favor and order this. They can also do other flavors besides green tea, but I recommend giving it a chance.
The décor is also much better put together than the messed-​up interior design of Kumo. And I haven’t had a weird, snarky waitress here either.

When we walked in the door we were met with the pungent odor of stale cooking oil and it took us a few minutes to figure out it was the «Hibachi Grill» portion of «Hibachi Grill & Sushi Bar» that was causing the smell. We were seated near the bar which wasn’t an issue because we were nearly the only patrons in the entire restaurant. The World Cup was on every television (from where we were sitting we could see five televisions) so we felt like we were in a Sushi Sports Bar. To top it off, all of the kitchen staff, both at the sushi bar and the behind the scenes staff were into the game so each time something happened everyone yelled. Nice.
Our sushi was mediocre at best. The «crab» was inexpensive imitation crab meat and the avocado was super slimy. The bento box was just plain sad. The main dish consisted of one piece of broccoli, one slice of carrot, and lots of over processed, chewy chicken drowned in a sickly sweet teriyaki sauce sprinkled with sesame seeds. The spring roll was raw on the inside and the melon was warm.
The highlight of our meal was our waiter. He was professional and helpful. While he was keeping busy stocking the bar and cleaning the hostess was massaging the other wait staff while the bartender was cheering on his favorite soccer team.
We will not be going back.