As someone with celiac, eating sushi can be surprisingly stressful. Soy sauce is in nearly everything, menus aren't always clear, and I'm usually stuck asking a ton of questions or avoiding places altogether. That's why Sakura Sushi & Grill stood out right away. They clearly label gluten-free options on the menu. They also offer gluten-free soy sauce, which is a huge win. Even better, they have lunch specials with gluten-free options, which is rare. It's located in Riverside Plaza in Albuquerque, just past the river on the west side. I ordered the Sushi Lunch A with premium fish and chose the double salmon roll. Everything was incredibly fresh and delicious, and the portions were great for the price. The miso soup that comes with lunch isn't gluten-free, but they brought me a side salad with an amazing gluten-free dressing instead. I felt confident eating here, which is not something I say often. I didn't have any reaction afterward and would absolutely eat here again. One of the coolest surprises: they make their own wasabi in-house. It's not on the menu, but if you ask, they'll bring it out, and it is absolutely worth it. We considered getting a sushi boat, but the lunch specials were a better value for lunch. If we went for dinner, we would absolutely order a boat. I also had hot sake, which paired perfectly with the meal. At the end, they even brought us a sweet cinnamon tea for my friend's birthday, even though we didn't order dessert. Service was warm and attentive the entire time. My friend has a shellfish allergy, and the server made sure her plate only included fin fish, which we really appreciated. We went around 1:30 p.m. on a Tuesday, and it was quiet with only a few other tables. The atmosphere felt calm and relaxed, with a casual, comfortable vibe that made it easy to sit and actually enjoy a conversation without feeling rushed. They close at 3 and reopen for dinner, so it's a great low-key lunch spot if you time it right. My friend also mentioned she brings her young kids here often, and the woman manager or owner is especially kind and welcoming to them. I enjoyed this place so much that I called my husband on the way home to tell him all about it. We're already planning to go back with our kids, which will make this my second visit in one week. If you're gluten-free, this place is a gem. And even if you're not, the quality, service, and overall experience make it absolutely worth a visit. read more

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Green eyes, fried rice I could cook an egg on you.. Excuse me, a green tea?" From ice on rice.. Music for a sushi restaurant.. We settled in at Sakura for a late lunch... We started and finished w. delish Cold Sake.. We shared...a very well cooked delectable.. "Soft Shell Crab"..melt in your mouth good.. Up next.. "Vegetable Fried Rice" of Stir Fried Rice cooked with Peas, Carrots, Yellow & Green Onions, & Sesame Seeds w. Added Kimchi..nicely hitting the spot..:) "Sakura" is most authentically superb..:) "If the stars were edible And our hearts were never full Could we live with just a taste? Just a taste.. "Music For A Sushi Restaurant" Best, Avram Hairistyles Jr. read more

Sakura Sushi and Grill - My Geisha Queen - Japanese Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

The service was quick and efficient. We were seated and having miso soup and happy conversation when the first of our orders arrived. Tuna collar baked. Korean rice bowl. Sashimi done nicely. Three rolls and the lemon roll was lovely. Price was right and a good time was had by all. read more

Excellent sushi. Nice people at the restaurant and staff was prompt and efficient. We had the boat for 3 and had leftover. Gave good quality of food and quantity. Our waiter Ryan was excellent. read more

Saturday. March 15, 2025. Dinner. The last time I visited here was 2016. You can still read my old review. This time I came with me wife. Prices have gone up since back then. Last time we paid about $24 for a family of three. Inflation! We ordered an appetizer of the Tuna Tataki ($16). This was six pieces of seared tuna with ponzu sauce. The taste of this appetizer was a little flat, it begged for another sauce to complement it. I ordered the volcano roll ($15) for my main entree. This consisted of baked avocado, imitation crab, cucumber, and mixed fish, and then covered with scallions and bonito flakes. I really liked this roll and all the different ingredients made it very tasty. My wife ordered the chicken yakisoba for $14. She said her yakisoba tasted just average. For dessert, we had the vanilla tempura ice cream. This featured ice cream in four separate tempura "bowls" with whipping cream, chocolate sauce and a cherry. We both loved the texture and flavor of this marvelous dessert. We paid a total of $59.73 for a satisfying dinner for two people. As I said previously, inflation! read more

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Amazing. Sushi was great. I loved the American dream roll. I love the squid salad . The miso soup is so delicious. And then to finish it off. The cinnamon drink at the end was soooo good. And the mochi dessert. DELICIOUS! I highly recommend this place. read more

Very good sushi and love the saki. A good place to go at night time. Food quality was good.

I don't feel that this situation warranted being banned. Over the span of years, this was a one-time issue. I was unable to make it before closing after being pulled over, and I apologized and offered to pay for the inconvenience when I returned. We have always had positive experiences and have consistently been kind in our interactions, which is why this response felt especially unexpected. I'm sorry this situation occurred, as I have often brought family and friends to this restaurant, and I have never been banned from any establishment before. In any business, occasional issues with orders or timing happen. As a long-time customer, I would expect those situations to be handled with some understanding not used to define someone's character. What was most concerning was being addressed in front of others and called 'the rudest person.' Situations like this should be handled privately and respectfully. I understand businesses have policies, but the way this was handled both in person and publicly felt disproportionate and unnecessary. It's particularly disappointing given that this is a small business I had been happy to support, and I will be sharing my experience with others. I'll leave it there so others can decide for themselves. read more

I reviewed Sakura Sushi and Grill back in 2019. I want to review them again. Sakura Sushi and Grill is outstanding. My wife and I went there today. I had the Bulgogi Bento Box. My wife had the Spicy Chick Bento Box. I opted to get steamed vegetables, my wife the Teriyaki. The service is outstanding. Every time I've been there, they've been very attentive. We went close to when they would close to prepare for the evening diners, so not many people were there. It was quiet and fun to eat there. I look forward to my next visit! read more

Sakura maintains an excellent reputation amongst Sushi lovers here in Albuquerque and tonight lived up to that status. Started with 3 appetizers. Soft Shell Crabs were delicious. The Vegetable Tempura was spot on but the Baked Green Mussels were off the charts . My wife went for the Tempura Lobster Roll her go to sushi meal and loved it. My daughter and I are more adventurous. She had a Spicy Tuna Roll in rice paper and loved it. We then split an array of their prime sushi: Blue Fin Tuna, Salmon Belly, Yellowtail Belly, Halibut, Red and Black Snapper and Eel. We finished it off with their Albuquerque Roll which is delicious. Washed everything down with some Hot Sake and Sapporo Beer. Sakura never disappoints. read more

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We've been to the Sakura across town and have never been disappointed. Well today we were on the west side of Albuquerque, so we decided to check out this location. First of all, we went during dinner time and though there was not many people there when we showed up... shortly after we turned to look and saw a ton of filled tables! We were all spread around nicely that it wasn't too loud at all, and we still felt like we had the place to ourselves. Despite the pickup in customers, our drinks and sushi came out quickly. We ordered our main course slowly, but once we did place our order for that, that also came out quickly! We got 3 different (but basic) rolls and all were fresh, beautiful, and delicious! Even my son who adamantly turns down our offers of sushi every other place wanted to try them! He tasted 2 out of the 3 rolls we got and he ended up eating all of our tuna roll! He loved it! Our meals came with miso soup and a lovely little salad. I ordered salmon which looked EXACTLY as pictured in the menu! (Which let's be honestly... NEVER happens) it also tasted fresh, was cooked perfectly and I loved the teriyaki sauce that it came with. The steamed vegetables were so flavorful as well! Sheesh! All of mine was amazing! My son finished all his food and loved it! My husband raved about his food as well and claimed he wanted to come back again later this week! Overall we loved our food, our waiter, the overall service and experience! read more

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I would like to gatekeep this gem but they deserve to be touted for their very fresh and delicious sushi. Not to mention the excellent service. read more

I was super excited to try this sushi spot from all I've heard on Yelp and the hype on Abq foodies fb pages. I was waiting in my car because it said they open at 5, and the open sign wasn't on, but people were walking in and after a while I went in to discover they were actually open. So note to y'all if you show up early, try to open the door :) I walked in and came to eat by myself, they sort of suggested I sit at the sushi bar, which is okay, i understand that they would want to reserve the tables for more people. It did dim the experience down though, because in beach side cities I usually have sushi at I'm used to the sushi bar being a fun place to be, you get to interact with the sushi chef's and order with them and they greet you in Japanese. It was definitely more of a colder vibe at the bar, almost felt like I was intruding on kitchen work . First thing I got was the miso soup, I've had plenty of miso soup, this one was more of a miso broth because it was lacking the ingredients. It had 3 slivers of green onion and one piece of tofu. I mean it's free but , wish it just had a little more to it. The appearance and presentation of the food was really good. Even had a nice smell for the most part. The New Mexico roll looked beautiful, it even had a crunch to it, but it wasn't spicy nor did the flavor of the sauce really stand out. I mean it's sushi in the dessert so my entire star rating is going to be based on the idea of lowering the bar from what I'm used to in beach cities. So I'll say it was decent, it was like a half step better than whole foods market sushi. The baked lobster roll didn't quite look in person as the pictures I saw on Yelp, however the flavor was much better on this, you can taste the sauce, the roll underneath it fell apart easily and could have used a little more size. But I'll say this one was actually slightly better in taste , texture was gone but flavor was better. The Abq roll would have been really good but you could actually taste the flavor of butane with each bite. The bulgogi wasn't the usual thin fatty meat slices in used to when I have bulgogi, it was thicker, tougher and had little muscle tendon pieces I kept having to pick out. The flavor was sweet but not much else. It was not too bad, definitely eatable! The "spicy chicken" not spicy at all, texture of the meat was good, generous portion of meat. The service was really friendly and they also brought me a Korean dessert tea for no charge at the end and it was really good. The servers were mostly the owners and their children, there was one server that wasn't a part of the family. All of them were really nice and friendly, I truly did enjoy the service and I wish their establishment well. I hate leaving negative reviews and I always try to be as positive as possible, but it was hard to rate this place. I would call it like a 3.5 star establishment in my opinion based on what I experienced and I rounded it to 3. If you're from a beach city area remove a half star to make it more accurate to what you're used read more

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They are the best Sushi as far as I am concerned. Had a lovely lunch! Uni and bluefin tuna. Absolutely DELICIOUS!!! Their consistency is unmatched. Nothing like a saki on a cold day! Thanks Sakura! read more

I brought my niece here for a birthday lunch this week. My niece ordered a Crunch roll and chicken fried rice. She loved both. I ordered a bento box with bulgogi, vegetable tempura, salad, and white rice. My bento box was a great size for lunch! Everything was delicious! Our waitress was friendly, came back often, and was efficient. The restaurant had a lot of tables and we were given a booth near the window. read more

Sakura Sushi and Grill - Bento box with bulgogi and vegetable tempura - Japanese Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

Superb sushi, the best in New Mexico. We have eaten here for many years and always enjoy the quality of the sushi. The food is excellent, the staff is professional, accurate and helpful. Interior decor is clean and beautiful. Definitely recommended for all our family and friends. read more

Food was delicious! Our waiter seemed a little distracted, but nice. We liked it! My friend didn't. We enjoyed our moment.

I have been here two times for dining in and once for carry out and I have to say this is probably one of the best places in town to eat. Talk with the owner they do both Japanese and Korean. She's from Korea originally and the dishes are just made beautifully. Great staff and lots of seating. They also do sushi and I can't say anything bad about this place. I used to work in restaurant and the bathroom was clean. read more

Sakura Sushi and Grill - Japanese Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

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Sushi's on the menu. Where is the question. It's close and we haven't been here is quite awhile. Seating was easy, not too busy. Got our 1st order in and our server returned with so Miso Soup. Nice flavor and not too salty. The rolls we got were equally delicious. The final piece to this was their dessert tea: Cinnamon, ginger, sugar and pine nuts. Excellent service - a good mix. read more

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Sakura Sushi and Grill is a Japanese American restaurant located in Albuquerque, New Mexico in an unassuming strip mall. Inside, the place is pretty large and quite clean. Definitely a lot more of a modern interior compared to many of the other locations we visited on our trip to ABQ. However, despite this, the restaurant was virtually empty. This worked out great for us as we came with a rather large group of around 8. Despite having no reservation, they quickly put together some tables for us to enjoy our meal there. The menu is quite expansive featuring noodle dishes, sushi, and more and so there is something for everyone. We had some vegetarians so this worked out perfectly as Japanese restaurants are not always the most suitable for vegetarians. For the meal, i ordered a Chicken Yakisoba and a a tiger Roll. The Yakisoba was good, I'd say like a 7.5/10. I liked the tiger roll a bit more, probably bout an 8/10. Both were fresh, but could use a bit more flavor. For dessert, they dropped us off some tasty complimentary dessert tea which was quite nice. Very refreshing way to end the meal. The service was a bit strange but kind, our waiter made some jokes with us, but we were never quite sure if they were supposed to be jokes or not. Nonetheless, our food came out at an average pace and nothing was missing. Overall, I'd say it's a solid choice for a meal. Wouldn't go as far as saying it's great, but it was definitely good. read more

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Food is so so good, very clean . The meat is so fresh. I don't write reviews but had to for this place

My daughter and I came last week for lunch and were so impressed we can today again for lunch. Service, top notch and very friendly. Lunch crowed is smaller so food and sushi come out very fast. Fresh ingredients, delicious choices off the grill. 5 stars for sure read more

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AMAZING!! My father and I came here for lunch and we were in for a treat! We barely had to wait for 5 minutes then we got called to sit down. When we sat down he gave us miso soup, and our appetizer. The place is very quiet and soothing. One of the best sushi I have ever have! Then after our food, they gave us this special dessert tea. One of the best experiences I have had! The reviews are correct! Would recommend. Great service. read more

Love the variety of their menu. My husband loves the pork katsu. I like lots of different things, including agedashi tofu. Service is always good & staff are friendly. And they remember us! If there are a lot of people it can be a bit noisy, but it's a relaxed place. This continues to be a favorite place. read more

We tried this Sakura for the first time and we're hoping for a good experience. Unfortunately we felt rushed our entire dinner. The sushi was good though. Would recommend the edamame. No music so it was quiet. read more

This place has exceptional service, delicious food and no matter how busy it is we have never waited for longer than 20 min. The main woman who works there is so attentive and kind. She remembers you and comes to the table to check in about how your dinner was. She knew how much I loved the dessert tea (helpful with my pregnancy nausea) and she gave me the recipe and other sweet tips for supporting my pregnancy. It always feels like you are at a neighbor/family members house. The restaurant is clean and overall a nice place for dinner! read more

Food was delicious and service was attentive. Highly recommended! Large dining room that was open and airy.

Really good sushi and service. We've found our place! The King Salmon and Albacore were so fresh and the specialty rolls were great too. read more

Yum!! Haven't visited here since we moved away but we were back in town celebrating a birthday and chose Sakura's. We ordered the dumplings for the appetizer, bulgogi, bibimbap (hot pot) and galbi for dinner. The waiter even came with an ice cream dessert for the birthday boy at the end of our meal. read more

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I love ordering sushi for a night in. Sakura sushi on the Westside is always my go to. I always get excellent service and the rolls are spot on. I highly recommend the New Mexico roll which has green tempura and the tiger roll is also one of my favorites because I prefer sushi with cooked fish. read more

Sakura Sushi and Grill - Japanese Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

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The service was amazing and our server was absolutely a gentleman! The food is always great and prepared immaculately! The ambiance was awesome and I felt as if I was back in Japan! 5/5 would recommend! read more

This used to be one of my go-to restaurants, but it has sadly gone downhill. Neither of my last two visits went well. The prices seem to have gone up, and the quality of the food down. Flavorless sashimi. Dak-galbi cut into tiny tiny chunks, and low quality beef used in the galbi. Can't say I'll be back for a while. read more

This place is budget sushi dream Ryan our server is an amazing person and was so kind our food was late but it didn't matter because they were so nice and apologized The food is amazing for the price that they charge especially the quality and quantities you get the building is bland and low key on the outside but looks amazing on the inside If your looking for a good budget sushi dinner this is the place read more

For a landlocked state, it was pretty good. The New Mexico Roll was definitely different. For the fact that green chili was apart of the roll, it was actually good. Good flavor from the sushi part and it mixes well with the heat from the fried green chili. The Spider Roll also was quite good. Nice soft shelled crab with great flavor built into it. I've always enjoyed a nice Spider Roll and this one is better than others I've had. This is a nice place for dinner if you decide you want some sushi for the family. Better than other places I've been to here in ABQ. read more

Sakura Sushi and Grill - New Mexico Roll (left) Spider Roll (right) - Japanese Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

Great place for date, the service was great. Wait time was exceptional. Dinner overall was delicious, can not wait to try the local rolls (green chili). read more

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Sakura is absolutely delicious. I had not been here in quite a few years and had forgotten this gem. My sister and I had an unexpected sister's day where instead of replacing my windshield, we prepared for a baby shower sprinkle and stopped for sushi. We got a ton of different things and tried the sushi tacos. I liked the concept, but they broke apart too quickly and were difficult to eat. Each and every item we got was fresh and delicious. I loved the tea afterward and the red bean mochi. I am craving sushi once again just writing this. read more

Quick stop to grab a bite to eat and we were pleased with the service! Everyone gets a bowl of miso soup which honestly was a little too watered down for my liking but still ok. The food was delicious and at the end you get a nice surprise of ginger cinnamon tea which made the experience even better! Def recommend this place! read more

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Best sushi place on the westside. You have got to try the pink lady. Fresh wasabi is a definite must with your rolls. Nice quiet environment. Most meals come with miso and a salad. We usually get the small boat with upgraded sushi and 1 side roll. It is a little pricey but well worth the cost. read more

Upon first look at this place, I thought it was mostly sushi. I order bulgogi and was pleasantly surprised because the food was very good. The serving was very filling. My wife had bi bim bap which was also very good. My son ordered 3 servings of sushi rolls and he was full when finished. I highly recommend coming here to eat. read more

Sakura Sushi and Grill - Japanese Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

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Sakura is super unique in that it's both a really good Korean restaurant and really good Japanese restaurant all under one roof. It manages to have authentically and skillfully made staples from both cultures. I challenge anyone to find a place where you can find rock solid Tamago or Saba Nigiri alongside a well made tofu soup. It's one of my favorite sushi AND favorite Korean places. read more