Our favorite date night location. Amazing food and great casual atmosphere. No problems parking like you have downtown Athens.

Definitely one of the best japanese restaurants in Athens! Especially as far as hibachi/steak houses go. Their drinks are always really good, and they have a roll that has shrimp tempura, avocado and eel! It's super yummy! A bit pricey but you get what you pay for! The fried rice isn't oily or greasy either, which can happen at japanese establishments. The decor is really pretty and upscale inside. The outside does look very plain however. read more

Great place. Efficient and clean. The food is amazing!! They have the COVID regulations down. Felt very safe. Great job.

Beware! RUDE, APATHETIC AND ABYSMAL CUSTOMER SERVICE! They are only taking orders through eat365.com. My fiancé placed an order and it said it didn't go through. She placed it again. No dice. She checked her banking app and had 2 charges on pending and they prepared the food as we ordered when we arrived. They insisted she pay a third time upon arrival (when her bank app stayed the money had been removed from her account twice already) and we said forget it. We ate there a lot (in the past) and spent quite a bit of money (won't anymore). We left our order there after we offered to come back (regulars) and pay if the two pending charges dropped off of her account (and were restored to the balance). Again, they refused and we said keep the food and walked out. Management here is myopic and ridiculous. You've been warned. read more

I've only ordered the veggie roll and it was delicious. The place was very clean inside. People are saying this place is better than inokos but when I go back I will update my review. read more

Best Japanese place I've ever been too! Food is awesome and so is the staff. Even the dessert is great (fried green tea icecream). Would definitely recommend. read more

Sakura has been hit or miss for a while. Tonight was definitely a miss. The waiter rushed to get our order. The cook rushed to cook and leave. With what is cost for 4 people to have dinner, you would think the service would be better. Especially when over half of the tables are empty @ 9pm. Very disappointing!! read more

This Place is a hidden Gem. From the outside, you think, hmm, but inside, you walk in, and the ambience is fantastic, they definitely spent money on the decor and interior, not a cheap Sushi bar look, and the bathrooms are very clean, which is always something to take into consideration, as a Chef, I can tell when a place takes pride in their presentation, and this place goes the extra mile. Hibachi grill is always entertaining, but if you like a more private setting as my wife and I do, you can get a booth. Make a reservation, because it can get crowded, and it's crowded because the food is off the chain. Ive eaten at every sushi joint in Athens multiple times, and this place is hands down the one to go to. Their servers are incredibly courteous and will take care of you. Just remember to tip well, (if you're a crappy tipper, don't expect good service, waiters remember who's stingy, and they will be stingy with their time. That goes for any place btw, tip=to insure proper service, little inside baseball for ya'll) To the food. The appetizers are great, there's a crispy shrimp appetizer that is off the chain, melt in your mouth. The Sushi chefs are pro's, it's customary to tip before you eat in Japan, and if you do this, they will hook you up, you will receive a free roll, or appetizer, something off the menu, and they're always tasty. If you like Sushi, this place can't miss, if you prefer Hibachi, the chefs always nail my wife's Filet and Lobster to perfection, if you want the Lobster bare, (no sauce) just ask. You can take the kids there for a show, or date, it works either way. You receive your drinks promptly, which is always better than the alternative. I can't say enough about this place, great staff, great food, great time. It's not McDonalds prices, so don't come expecting to eat on a dollar menu. I rarely leave positive reviews, because frankly most places do things half a$$,. Sakura does not. Give it a try, you'll be hooked. Oh, and the Deep fried green tea Ice cream, holy moses, its good, like a funnel cake with pistachio ice-cream inside, gotta give it a try. read more

Been wanting to go for a few months and finally went for lunch today. Staff were friendly and attentive. We all ordered hibachi-nothing special. Clean environment. I'll probably go back again and try their sushi next. I wish the county remodel the shopping center that it's located in. read more

The hostess brought us to our table and directed us where to sit. We are a family of four and the hostess was trying to make sit apart to fit in another party of three. The hostess insisted that the other party had a toddler and young kids absolutely had to sit on the end. We complied and as dinner progressed we saw that toddlers at other tables were seated between people and not on the end. So we were flat out lied to! There was a chunky dark piece of garbage (I will include a picture) right in front of my plate where I was seated. I told the waitress that it was there before I sat down and could they please remove it. The waitress told one guy about it who then told another guy and then another guy came to look at it, left and then returned with a rag to remove it. This process took about 10 minutes. When the hibachi chef finished cooking all the chicken, he served a huge helping of chicken to one of the people seated at the hibachi table who had ordered and was eating sushi. The man told the chef that he did not order chicken but the chef had already put it on his plate so everyone else who had ordered chicken (and was going to be paying fora full serving) got significantly less chicken. We had already cooked all the meats and realized that he had forgot to bring out and cook the lobster I had ordered. It was at this time that everyone who was already served their food pointed out that we were never served the dipping sauces. The chef then cooked the lobster quickly by covering it with a dish over the hibachi grill. This made it taste hard and rubbery. Within the next couple of minutes everyone was abruptly given takeout boxes. They apparently wanted to clear us all out of there as quickly as possible so they could start the whole poor customer service experience over again with a new group of people. My husband went to speak with the manager about the whole dining experience of whom really did not express any interest and was just nonchalant. I have had much better dining experiences at other hibachi restaurants whose portions are larger because your portions are not given to someone else!!! read more

Sakura Steak House - This is the piece of trash I found in front of my plate when I was seated. - Steakhouses Near Me - Athens, Georgia

Very poor customer service. I called and made a reservation for my family at 4:00 in the afternoon, for 7:30 this evening. My family arrived at 7:30 and was told it would be 15-20 they were just waiting on a table to finish up. 30 min later I asked how much longer it would be and I was told there was one family that had been there since 6:00 still waiting I be seated. There appeared to be 2 tables about to be emptied so we waited. 15 minutes later we checked again with the hostess. This time we were told that there were 3 groups ahead of us, and that they alternate between reservations and walk-ins. What is the point of a reservation? So we gave up at that point and went next door Dos Palmas where we had fantastic service! read more

This place only has five star reviews. This is absolutely inconceivable. I made a 7:30 reservation, and its 8:30 as I'm typing this review. I've been standing at the bar for an hour. No apology, no free drink, no we'll try to do better next time. Only "we promise we'll seat you soon." For absolutely abysmal service delivered in an apologetic way, Sakura gets one star. I would never recommend it, to anyone, ever. And yes, their abysmal service made me angry enough to create a yelp account from my phone only to write this review. read more

Fantastic food and service at the grill. Steak and chicken were tender and well seasoned. Sashimi was fresh, soup excellent, vegetables perfectly cooked. Attentive servers and an excellent chef, all for a great price. My family and I loved it. read more

I came in with high hopes after reading the glowing reviews here. The seaweed salad was excellent; the decor is great; the rice,vegetables, and shrimp were as good as you'd expect at a nice hibachi restaurant. However, the price is twice that of Inoko Sushi Express and the food and service were not as good. The quality of our steaks was pretty substandard; we had two or three bits of gristle. My lobster was very tough and overpowered by the sauce put on it. read more

ATTENTION!! ATTENTION!! ATTENTION!! I saw the sushi chef picking his nose and then he return to make sushi with unwashed hand nor gloves. Also the chef they smoke cigarette inside the kitchen under the exhaust system. I wish the health department catch them!! read more

The food is good and so is the sushi. The beer is never very cold. My wife and I have a baby and they don't have a changing table anywhere in the restaurant. We asked them if there was somewhere we might could change her they looked at us like we were crazy and said you can change her in your vehicle. That did not go over well! read more

This place is brand new. You would think, because of its location, that it would be less than stellar.. but it is NOT! The place is gorgeous inside and you feel like you've walked into another dimension. The atmosphere is lively and fun. We sat at the hibachi grill where they cook the food in front of you. We were seating quickly and promptly served drinks. The hibachi chef was great, very friendly, and got everything right. He even catered to a child who was sitting at our table. The food.. amazing! I had the steak hibachi dinner and it was cooked perfectly, the rice was amazing, and so were the veggies. As most hibachi is the meal is $15+ but well worth every penny. It comes with soup AND salad AND a shrimp appetizer! I just love this place cant say enough about it.. and I am picky about where I eat and the atmosphere of restaurants. Iwill be a regular customer. read more

Really good sushi and hibachi place in Athens. We came here tonight for the first time. Can't believe I have not tried this place before after living near the place for three years. We will definitely come back here again! We ordered the Philadelphia roll, sakura roll, salmon tempura, seaweed salad, and clear soup. All were very good and portions are very healthy! :-). Service was great everyone are really nice! It can get fairly busy so be patient if you are in a hurry, however the food is worth it! read more

Prompt service, honest wait time, and very engaging hibachi chefs. Sushi and hibachi were both great. We went for a friend's birthday and they did a cute song and small dessert on the house. read more

I have been here a couple times. The Sushi is better than the Hibachi. The hibachi meat was a little tough and not seasoned quite right. It was good just not as good as it could be. The Sushi is very good. They have a pick 2 or 3 roll menu for lunch that is good and inexpensive for lunch. Nice atmosphere. read more

Love this place! Great food and very pleasant service! The reason for only 4 stars is that they discontinue their usual lunch menu on holidays thus leaving only their dinner menus from which to order. And that seems a bit tacky. read more

Excellent sushi and hibachi. Nice to know there actually is some quality Japanese food in town.

My friend and I visited this place for lunch today and we were pleasantly surprised! The location does not do it any justice. It is in a run down shopping center but as soon as you enter, it opens up into a very tasteful and large restaurant with a full bar. We came in for a late lunch so it was not that crowded and we were seated immediately. Our server also came to get our drink order immediately. We decided to try their sushi and ordered the Spicy Tuna roll, the Godzilla roll, the Alaska roll, and the Sakura roll with the hot green tea. Our order came out super fast and we were not disappointed! The Sakura roll was amazing! We would definitely come back if we were back in Athens. read more

Top notch sushi, fantastic hibachi, good service. Affordable lunch but dinner $$$. If you're looking for Japanese for lunch this is the place to go. read more

I've eaten Sakura several time. Tonight I went and it was horrible. There was so much salt and garlic in my food I couldn't eat it. I am a huge fan of salty food and love garlic but it was over bearing for everyone at the table. All three of us got sick after eating... all the restaurant would do is give use 20% off. DO NOT RISK IT read more

Best sushi in Athens. Avoid the hype of the other places...avoid the huge tables of loud students. Sakura has it all and more! I've tried them all and Sakura is the best by far! read more

I read all the reviews for this place as I sat in the restaurant after ordering about 100 dollars worth of sushi. I couldn't help but feel a little guilty eating my sushi after reading about the supposed unethical behavior of the owners. But I regress this review will be about the awesome sushi I had not unethical behavior which I know nothing about. For a sushi place in Athens Georgia its not to shabby. I really enjoyed the fantastic roll the sashimi was flavorful and very appetizing. The atmosphere is typical strip mall hibachi. I can only speak of the sushi as to which I enjoyed every thing else is a mystery. read more

Not a long wait for a Fri. night. Food & atmosphere were great. Our chef was young, quiet & in a hurry. He did a little show, but not much. My daughter thought the volcano role was too spicy but my husband liked it. It was served with the foil on fire. The steak was great. Over all maybe a little pricey, but probably average for this area & that atmosphere. read more

My husband and I eat here about once a month for date night. Normally we eat sushi but sometimes we eat hibachi both are fantastic! The wait is usually long so we come early to beat the crowds. read more

I was very unimpressed with the dinner that myself and friends had tonight. I have been to sakura at Atlanta Hwy multiple times and this has never happened. I'm unsure if they changed their recipe or if they paid little attention to detail but their rice tasted and smelled like bleach. Even after the manager said that it smelt funny and said they would remake for us, the rice that was remade tasted and smelled the exact same. The upsetting part about this is that they still made us pay almost full price for our meals. read more

I highly recommend going here for lunch, you can have 2 quality rolls for $9 or 3 for $12. This includes a soup and salad. Fresh, great service, and even better price. read more

While the service was somewhat shy, they were super quick and this was easily the best hibachi I've ever had. Their lunch specials are great as well! read more

One of my absolute favorite date locations. Some of the best sushi and hibachi I've ever had. The hibachi chefs are always friendly and entertaining. From larger dinners like the shrimp and steak hibachi to sushi, my favorite being the Godzilla roll, do something small like a clear soup and ginger salad brunch, Sakura never disappoints. read more

Delicious food. Great atmosphere, and clean environment. We went during lunch so it was half the price of dinner which was nice and they were very prompt with everything. Great hibachi place for sure. read more

Service was AWFUL! I was told the wait would be 30-40 minutes and ended up waiting around two hours. The hostess was very rude and dismissive throughout the wait and the manager would not talk to me. Their food was good but service was the worst I have ever experienced. For that reason I will never go back. read more

This is the best Japanese Steakhouse within reasonable driving distance of Athens. The sushi is absolutely amazing as well. It was never terribly busy and I never had to wait to be seated. The appearance is deceiving as the shopping center is a bit run down-looking from the outside, but it's rather large and nicely decorated inside. I only had poor service from one of the servers one time and the guy seemed pretty frazzled, so I'm not sure if they were understaffed that night or what. The chefs were always entertaining and friendly as well. As usual with these kinds of places, if you go for lunch you'll pay half of what the dinner menu costs and get nearly the same amount of food. read more

More of a 3.5. Decent sushi, pretty good hibachi. Lunch is a better deal than dinner.

Same price as most hibachi restaurants. Good all around service. Well prepared food right in front of us. Entertaining chef. All around great experience and will definitely be back. read more

I have eaten at most of the Japaneese restaurants between Gwinette and Athens and this is my favorite by far.

I like to come here for Sushi, doesn't have the snobby feel (or PRICE) of Shokitini and is just as fresh and well prepared, maybe even more so. The Hibachi grill is great fun for kids, nothing that really sets it apart from others. Again though, the sushi is excellent. read more