This was an almost bad experience. Sashimi combo, 9 pc, 3 diff fish. ALL 3 NOT CUT ALL THE WAY THROUGH. Pick up one piece and all three lift off the plate. Psssst, your only job is cutting fish. Rolls were mediocre at best. Eel ice cold, not warmed as it should be. Sunrise roll had some weird sweetness in the sauce. Mackerel nigiri, did not taste like they marinate themselves....almost surely packaged. The Yellow Tail hand rolls were OK. Kitchen food, same thing, mediocre. Gyoza WAAAAY over fried. Yakitori, the opposite, not enough color. These people clearly don't care. With the number of Japanese restaurants in Tucson, you can find quite a number better than this. read more

This review is solely based on the sushi. We visited Sakura on a thursday night around 7pm. We were limited on time and the waitress, which is the reason they get 2 stars was very good at accommodating our request to not only have separate checks, but to be out in 50 minutes. This lady was awesome, she had our drinks refilled at all times and was very pleasant. Now onto the food, I had a vegas roll, some nigiri salmon and a spicy tuna roll. It was all very disappointing. Portions where small, and I can deal with that if the sushi is good, but this was the worst sushi I have ever had, the pre-packaged stuff they sell at fry's can taste better than this overpriced sushi. Maybe the teppanyaki is better there, but as far as sushi, even the all-you-can-eat places do better than sakura. read more

This was my brother's most favorite place ever to have his birthday celebration. As a vegetarian, I guess I never really got the full experience. I always had to eat just veggies, since there was nothing else on the menu I could enjoy. I always loved the show and the fire and stuff, but this wasn't my most favorite place ever. I came back recently as a pescatarian, and let me tell you, I am a WAY bigger fan than I was when I was 9. My parents and husband and I all went to grab dinner here at the Teppan table before going to Creative Juice, and though I wasn't super excited about this, I was happy to see the fun show. I ordered the salmon teppan dinner, every one else had either steak or chicken, and my dad ordered some tuna nigiri along with his dinner. We also got some crab rangoons to start. I will say this: if we did not get the rangoons during happy hour they would have been really overpriced. It evens out to about two bucks a rangoon, which is quite a bit more than I would be willing to pay. On happy hour, though, they were reasonable. My mom got a Blue Hawaii drink, which she liked but I thought was too sweet (just a matter of taste. Her drink WAS really yummy, but I like less sweet drinks.), my dad had a martini and I had an Angry Orchard. My dad's nigiri fell apart while he was eating it, but he did enjoy it. To be fair, it may have fallen apart because he was using the chopsticks too ferociously. It was then time for our fun show to start! Our chef, Daniel, seemed like he was new, but he did the typical things. You know, he flung shrimp into our mouths (mine ended up down my shirt, which made for an embarrassing extraction), he made the onion into a choo-choo train, made the fried rice look like it had a heart beat...we all had a lot of fun watching him make our food! My. Salmon. Was. Amazing. It was cooked really well, so it was still juicy but totally cooked through. It had the yummy soy sauce glaze on it...it was really delicious. The veggies were cooked perfectly, so they had the right amount of seasoning and were still crisp. My dad ordered mango-shrimp, and Daniel even asked if we wanted mango sauce on our shrimp, to which we all said yes. It was pretty tasty, also. I know what you're thinking. "It sounds like your experience was straight from Heaven! Why the four stars?" Well, the table service was a little lacking. Our server talked over us when we asked questions, left in the middle of our sentences...it wasn't the most stellar service of all time. But four stars it is! We all really enjoyed our meals! My salmon was delicious, watching our chef cook our food was very fun, and, somewhat disappointing service aside, it was an entertaining way to spend the first part of our outing! read more

I've only ever had their sushi (not the hibachi), but I think the sushi is a bit lackluster. If you go during happy hour its excellently priced, but the quality isn't great and drinks aren't all that cheap. The calamari is great, as are the panko-fried veggies. But, really, I'd rather go to Ra for happy hour any day over Sakura. Their redeeming quality is sitting out on their massive patio with a group of friends during happy hour when it's cool out. Nice ambiance. They also have live music sometimes, which can be fun but its sometimes way too loud to hear each other! read more

Teppanyaki Chefs perform at your table in an outdated, rundown restaurant that still is pretty cool as a spectacle, not so much from an eating or drinking standpoint. AMBIENCE: 2 stars. Dated. The smell of cooking oil, fish, and sweaty Tucsonans pervades the place. STAFF: 3.5 stars. Host staff was not super helpful--we arrived about 5 minutes prior to our reservation for and were not seated until 10 minutes after our reservation time. Wait staff was good--keeping the drinks flowing, and educating our group in the proper etiquette of the Sake Bomber (who knew?). The chef was great--very skilled and able to entertain us all without looking like he was working up a sweat. FOOD: 3 stars. It is cooked right in front of you--so you are pretty sure it is not under a heating lamp someplace in the back! Our dishes ranged from chicken to shrimp and lobster, from NY strip steak to Filet Mignon--and it was all cooked as we requested with pretty good fried rice. ALCOHOL: 3 stars. Sake Bombers were the bomb.com for our group--the other drinks were pedestrian at best. VALUE: 3 stars. The "show" portion is worth the price of the food. OVERALL: 2 stars--the reason this place gets two stars is that back in the day it was THE place to go for fun/food/drinks on the East Side of Tucson (represent!), and it was not uncommon to see celebrities there (we saw Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger back when they were celebrities... well I guess he still is)--not anymore--the smell alone when you walk in the door makes me think the place needs a visit from Robert Irvine of Restaurant Impossible for a makeover. To be fair--the place was still packed on a Saturday night, so maybe they don't need any help in the money making department--but I can't see going back again unless some changes are made. read more

Love coming here with my dad, he comes here often but i really appreciate the way they treat him like family every time. Food is always yummy and a great atmosphere read more

We took the in-laws to Sakura for a teppan dinner during our Thanksgiving visit to Arizona. We had a 6:30 reservation and were seated within 5 minutes. Amy, our server, was very helpful explaining the menu options to the folks. (They have never been to this type of restaurant before.) She was very quick with the soup and salad and made sure our beverages never got low. Chef Carlos arrived shortly. He was quite entertaining and worked to get everyone engaged. I had a fillet and chicken combo dinner, which I found to be an excellent value at $27.50. It was a hearty portion prepared exactly as requested. (Portions large enough there were leftovers shared with the shepherds at the house.) The only thing I found odd were the Lima beans in the fried rice. In all it was a wonderful experience. The staff was pleasant and attentive, and the food was very good. read more

Sakura was disappointing. I'm a big fan of Hibachi, but just about everything about my experience here was a let-down. The chef was pretty rude. I'm not sure if it was his particular sense of humor or what, but he should probably find a new line of work. I was shocked to see that he dumped FROZEN veggies on the grill. Seriously? I can do that at home! Cocktails were very weak. The sushi was about the same quality I'd expect from a cheap Asian Buffet. It did not taste fresh. The one redeeming quality was the hostess. When my group told her it was my birthday, she made it her personal mission to make sure that we had a good time. They even took a group picture, printed it out, and presented it to me in a card at the end of the meal. read more

Back again! We tries it one more time. We brought our 8 year old son for a bday celebration. Disappointed once again they had no presentation which is the whole idea of tepinyake is dinner with entertainment. There was none. Our server was boring and aweful. Never going back! read more

Don't waste your money, me and my wife ate here and it cost us $70 before tip. The chef didn't talk to us and the food was completely horrible. If paying $70 to get an upset stomach and what seems to be minor food poisoning is your idea of a good time then this is the place for you. read more

Love this place. We eat here alot. If you're into watching you're food get cooked, fire, and catching shrimp or chicken luke a dolphin at sea world, you'll really like this place! I know it sounds bad but it's really alot of fun and even keeps the kiddos involved. read more

Sakura - Happy hour menu - Sushi Bars Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

warning!!!!! beware!!!!! warning!!!!! beware!!!!! this place is a total scam!!!! they post that happy hour is from 3 - close but they don't give you happy hour prices on your bill at all!!! the server sat us and i asked him about the happy hour, he said they are all 1/2 off but when i received my bill they were full price, i asked him about the price and he said that was in the bar only but he sat us in the dinning room and told me about the happy hour prices!!!! i will never go there again and i will call my bank about the charge on my card!!!! this place has been going down hill for year's!!!!! we brought in a party of 17 for a birthday,. every one was upset about the happy hour prices!!!! go to ra they have a great happy hour!!!!!! read more

We went here for my daughter's birthday. Our cook was a lot of fun to watch, and made the experience memorable for my kids. The kids menu is a little pricey, so I had my kids split one meal, and luckily it was enough food for both of them. Our cook was also very accommodating when it came to making my meal as vegan as possible. I appreciated that. read more

The restaurant is dirty and very run down. Sushi bar has old soy sauce splatter on the area and is not cleaned after each guest leaves. The wait staff is not attentive even when the restaurant is empty (which is quite often!) The female servers continually insisted on telling me how to keep my child safe on a restaurant (ie: insisting he needed ice for his soup, needed his food cut smaller etc) My son is 6 and a foodie and dies not need those accommodations and they could not accept that. Server Malou is extremely unprofessional and yelled at me and my child and then went and spoke poorly about me to her other tables. Manager John watched this happen yet did not stop her but did follow me out to my car apologizing. I'm sorry if you know she was in the wrong you stop her as she's doing it. We will not return to this restaurant or any restaurant owned by the Lee family (they gave several in Phoenix and Surprise) read more

The moment I walked in, It was uncomfortable. No one greeted us at the door for a while, I had to ask an employee that was standing 5 feet from us to seat us. Then, I think it was the manager who came up and ask if we wanted to sit at the bar or get a teppan. The live music that was outside was so loud, I couldn't hear myself think. The menu items had no description, just very basic and uninformative. The seats and tables were just gross and the whole place had a strange odor. I wouldn't go back. read more

I've lived in Tucson for over 25 years and eaten here many times. Anyone can cook steak, chicken and shrimp, the flavor is in the sauce. Since the restaurant was sold they must have lost the right to the recipes to all the sauces. The two dipping sauces everyone gets with the meal were just off from what they used to be and very watery. I really looked forward to the ginger dressing on the salad yesterday and it wasn't even close to the previous taste. Considering the prices have doubled also it's just not worth it anymore. read more

The first time we went to Sakura was back in 2009 when we came to Tucson for a soccer tournament. I remember seeing a commercial of it while watching tv @ the hotel, so I suggested it to my husband and his friends. I remember the whole experience being great. Great sushi, service, & ambience. So when we decided to move to Tucson in 2011, I told my husband that he would be taking me to Sakura. We went in on a Wednesday night (I believe it was ladies night) and we decided to sit on the patio. It was seat yourself and we had trouble finding a table, but we finally did. It took a few minutes for the waitress to come over and take our drink order. It seemed as if we had to flag her down everytime we needed something including the check, we can tell that she was very busy. As for the food, we ordered a couple of rolls (that I don't remember the name of), we also ordered the fried calamari & gyoza. The rolls were just ok not something I would rave about or peer again. The fried calamari was really good,probably my favorite dish of the night. It had fried onions and yellow chiles and a sauce that complemented the calamari very well. The gyoza were very good too. I loved sitting on the patio because there was a live band. It was also very fun to watch a few people dancing with one of the band members. I haven't tried the teppan yet, or sat inside. I will definitely give it another try and hopefully my 3 star rating will go up. read more

Was very excited all day thinking of enjoying some jazz, food and good friends. But it was canceled because of the cold. :-( Still had a good time. Would have been better if there was jazz instead of sports but, the chocolate martini and lettuce wraps were just what the doctor ordered after a long days work. (Half off appetizers and $1 off drinks) YUM!!! read more

I was driving by this place on my way to Beyond Bread to grab a salad for dinner but I saw a sushi sign and quickly did a U-turn (alright, I realized afterwards that was was going the wrong direction). This place looks fun from the outside with torches and a live band on the outside patio and the parking lot was pretty packed. All good signs. So I walked in and placed my take out order for a spicy dragon roll and albacore and fresh salmon nigiri. Well, the staff was certainly friendly. But the food was pretty blah. The roll didn't really stick together and oh dear god that unagi sauce was so, so gelatinous. The fish quality wasn't terrible but it certainly wasn't anything to write home about. Kinda wish I had just found Beyond Bread and gotten a salad... read more

I'll be forthright in saying that the only reason my wife and I visited Sakura was because we had bought a Groupon a couple months back. For the value of what the Groupon cost plus how much extra we spent while dining, it was worth the money. But would we ever go back and pay full price? Unfortunately, no. Sakura is not a bad sushi/teppan restaurant, it's just average. We did not partake in the teppan, so I can't speak for that side of the restaurant, but the sushi was decent. There are pages and pages of sushi to choose from--at times it feels like almost too much--and they are all moderately priced when compared to the rest of Tucson's sushi establishments. My wife and I had no problems finishing both of our rolls and the sushi chef behind the counter was very eager to interact with us. Not a bad experience eating sushi at all. Where Sakura goes wrong is its appetizers and desserts. We ordered the Rangoon and for $8.95 we got five bite-sized servings of rangoon made with imitation crab. It was mostly cream cheese filling and very little imitation crab and while it was still tasty, it was not worth the price at all. The same thing can be said for the Tempura Ice Cream, which was basically a ball of ice cream with soft dough surrounding it. Again, it was tasty (it tasted like a funnel cake), but for $5.95 I would have rather just bought dessert at a grocery store... or a funnel cake. read more

Probably worst experience at a teppan place... the atmosphere is really Smokey and you feel like your inhaling grease the whole time. The table are so cramped together you can barely get in and out to go to the restroom. On top of it, is it half restaurant half bar and the drunk patrons use the same bathroom and they are so rude and dirty but they are spending their money so no one told them anything even after I complained. What a let down, I should have listened to all the previous reviews. It's not worth it and the experience sucked read more

awful. spent $150...the shrimp, scallops, chicken and filet migñon was sliced diagonal to make it look like more to feed our party of 4! they cooked the fried rice with frozen sliced vegetables first, serve it, try to fill you up with that, give you tiny pieces of protein, then give you the last portion of one sliced zucchini, carrot and onion and throw it last on your plate. the plates were old and stained...omg... also, the lemonade we ordered was a powdered substitute. each dish averaged $20. disgusting. speaking of ... oh disgusting, the rug, chairs and tappan grill were filthy. the bathroom...filthy. caling the health department! read more

This place is very very good! I took my family and friends, a group of about 10, and we had a great time. The food was excellent (Filet Mignon & Shrimp), service was great, and it overall was very entertaining. I will definitely come back when I am Tucson. read more

Sakura - Filet Mignon, Shrimp, and the infamous flame shooting Onion Volcano, Awesome! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

Immediately when walking in you get this barrage of awkward stares. Waited 5 mins before getting approached by a hostess. The attitude and overall vibe of the place is just unwelcoming. After waiting 20 minutes for a table we were told there were no more tables after two more groups the same size had been seated. Just walked out. Horrible. read more

This is the most accommodating restaurant for a dairy allergy I have ever been to. Every single person working here made sure my son got no dairy, no cross contamination, no anything that could trigger an allergic reaction. They were kind and did not make us feel bad for being high maintenance. I haven't been here in a while For tepanyaki but I absolutely will be back. read more

This is the best Happy Hour in town! The drinks are cheap, the staff is friendly, and the food is great! Both on the sports bar and on the restaurant side, I have never had a bad experience. I have been coming here for years and it has only gotten better. I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a great date spot, some live music, or just a couple drinks. Cheers! read more

Reece was great and the service was so good. We had a really great time and they have a nice late night menu. Good vegetarian options and cheap drinks will keep us coming here for a long time. Those sake bombs will get you. read more

Horrible service!!! Had reservations for 7PM arrived at 6:50. They did not have my table ready. They had a few other couples who had been waiting for over an hour. Complete mess. They never got my name to check us in. Worst customer service ever. Will never go back! read more

We went for lunch, the prices were fair for Teppanyaki. Our cook was super entertaining and we were given large portions. Overall great experience read more

Man oh man this place was fun and good food. The cook was fun and gave us a great show and time. Had the lobster and scallops and it was gooood. Highly recommend and I will be back. read more

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Best night ever! Reese was a rockstar! He was amazing, you should ask for him. Not only did he have all of our orders correct and our serpeate checks but he was very attentive. All of the food was delicious and I'm pretty sure that Reese cooked it himself ;-). He was also deliciously handsome, so was the food! Also he played my drum... he's polite and humble demeanor almost made me forget I had to pay for the food. Also people really shouldn't write reviews when they're drunk. read more

We were craving sushi so my husband and I decided to try this place out. The sushi was ok but the nigiri wasn't cold so it made me wonder if the fish was kept on ice, like it should be. The next day both of us had very uncomfortable stomach issues. It's a good thing we don't live in Tucson because we wouldn't be going back. The only reason I am giving 2 stars is because our server was attentive. read more

Overpriced, disappointing small portions and overcooked. I've had better food from Chopstix at a fraction of the cost. The outdoor live band is extremely loud and atrocious, I couldn't bear how they butchered MJ in "Thriller" learn the words for Gods sake! Third time I've eaten here and I never will again. read more

First time at a Arizona Sakura and it was delicious. We were very impressed with the service and the food. We had the pleasure of having Daniel as our chef and he was wonderful . The service staff was so welcoming . We will definitely be back soon ! read more

We had a late dinner today. We ordered 4 rolls, miso soup, and fried rice. The waiter was prompt in taking our order and checking in on us. Rolls were good, we all liked the miso soup and fried rice was very good. I was surprised there was a lot of negative comments about service but perhaps they have improved their service. The place does not look modern and it could use some updating. So it's nothing fancy but food was good. read more

I literally just downloaded yelp to completely discount the review left by Mendy M today. Rochelle is an excellent waitress and my experience at this place was amazing other than having the misfortune of having Mendy and her miserable friend sit at the table next to me and berate the staff for no reason other than to score a free meal. Will definitely be returning in the near future! read more

Was in Tucson visiting from PHX & I wanted Benihana but they only offered takeout/delivery, I was in the mood to sit down for teppanyaki so I gave this place a try. It was the absolute worst mistake I have yet made, this place is run down & straight up dirty, they seriously need to deep clean or just tear this whole place down if I'm being completely honest. I really could've made better chicken, fried rice & veggies my damn self. My friend got the shrimp which was truly drier than my phone plus I asked for Hot N Spicy sauce but they gave me Sriracha, last but not least I wake up the morning after & they charged my card TWICE. It was my first & last time there. read more

Good presentation..food just ok and pricey. The cook was not very interactive..he just cooked and did not even try to engage us..that is part of the fun for me! Shintaro in Belligio was my favorite, but now it is gone...sigh! read more

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Was looking forward to a nice lunch with my sister and niece. However after even pulling the front door open it was bad vibes. The hosted acted very unhappy that we even walked in and was over the top RUDE. Unfortunately we still decided to still give them business hoping to get a friendlier server. Once approached by the another person, not sure if she was our server either, I thought okay there may be hope. But again let down. There where three of us but they only brought soup for two....I guess the child isn't considered a person...so I gave the sweet five year old my soup. Never came back to check on us, never asked if we needed more water/drinks. Had to flag down whoever walked by for things we needed. Spoke to the manager but go nowhere there either. Guaranteed that I won't be back EVER! And I do not recommend this place! Drive a little farther to Sachiko Sushi....totally different service and way better prices. read more

Yes, it is expensive... however the food is absolutely amazing. It will probably run you about $50 a person. When I went, there were 4 of us, I ordered a cocktail and my mom and her boyfriend ordered 2 glasses of wine each. Our bill was around $220 and that was with us ordering chicken, steak, shrimp, calamari, and scallops. Like I said earlier, the food was amazing...... I would have paid that much for the fried rice you get in the beginning! Amazing food. Love this place! read more