Yes! I think I just found my new favourite sushi spot in Pickering! We were wandering around the plaza trying to figure out what to have for dinner and we popped in to Sakura Sushi. When I found out that they had poké bowls on the menu, the decision was made! And what a great decision that was! We ordered the salmon poké with spicy mayo. I was a little surprised that there was an extra charge for the mayo as most sushi places include it. The menu stated that the meal included salads and miso soup. The miso soup was inconsistent... his was a proper miso whereas mine was more of a bowl of hot water (see pic). We also never received the salad. Aside from the above, the poké bowl itself was delicious, the service was also super friendly and the environment was welcoming. We will definitely come back! read more

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We did a take out order. Food quantity was lesser than expected. We ordered mango salmon roll and got vegetarian mango roll instead. Food was pretty pricey. Probably won't order again read more

Sakura Sushi Japanese Restaurant - Party platter and mango roll - Japanese Near Me - Pickering, Ontario

This is one of the sushi places I had in a while !! The food was fresh and served in a timely matter and the ambiance was very quaint as well and thank you to the staff for being helpful !! read more

Sakura Sushi Japanese Restaurant - Sakusra plate - Japanese Near Me - Pickering, Ontario

Sakura once had, in my opinion, the finest sushi and dining room in Durham Region. They always used the freshest fish, and the tempura was always perfectly prepared to a crispy, thin shell of coating, allowing the flavour of the food inside to shine. The former Sakura would have had 5 stars from me, for food, decor and service. It had been so long since my last visit, and some friends and I decided to head over to Sakura (my recommendation), and I felt foolish when I learned that, since the pandemic, the dining room is closed and only take-out is available. Sorry, friends! We took a pass on eating there, as we wanted to be out for dinner, not at one of our houses. Much of the pleasure of a sushi restaurant, in my opinion, is the combination of the food and the dining room ambience. Sakura used to excel, but now I may as well pick up sushi at Loblaws and bring that home. Hey, Sakura, the pandemic is, basically, over! I'm sure that the closed dining room is driving customers away, as all the other restaurants are dine-in. Open up your dining room again, please! Keeping it closed due to "the pandemic" is almost laughable at this point. Someday, I may get some takeout, just to up the star rating. This was once an exemplary restaurant, I feel sad about this low rating, and I really hope that the owners consider opening the kitchen again. read more

Ordered take out as they don't have dine-in service yet, but was informed by Owner that starting October they'll allow people that do take-out to also dine-in if they wish... Ordered their 40pcs Maki-Set for $40- Consists of sweet potato roll, dragon ball, salmon, roll, salmon & white tuna roll and one other roll I forget... Also ordered their Fire Dragon Roll- $16- Consists of avocado and tuna layered on top of red tuna inside as well. Got their tamago roll-$12. Got their spicy scallop roll- $14 The rice is very generous making the pieces very big and the rolls start falling apart very easily. The quality is decent, but leftover maki rolls didn't taste good the next day. Value is good though. May try other things next time to see if its the same issue or its better. read more

This small restaurant had a very cosy feel, and served some delicious sushi. I had pretty low expectations coming to this place, but I am glad to say that I will be recommending here to all of my east end friends. We ordered a sushi boat which came with a spicy spider roll, as well as 3 other rolls. All of the sushi and sashimi cuts of fish were very generous, and their rolls were all very large and tasty. Our order of edamame was also quite generous. We ran out of tea and had some difficulty getting more, but after we got someone's attention, the wait staff checked on us every few minutes for tea, which was nice. read more

Sakura Sushi Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Pickering, Ontario

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After insisting on having to travel towards Toronto for decent sushi, I'm glad I finally found this place in Pickering!! The location of this place is pretty hidden in a plaza; I only discovered this place through Yelp and I'm so glad I did. The restaurant itself is small and quiet, offering a cozy atmosphere. Both times I've been here the restaurant was never too busy, and I have noticed that a lot of people come for takeout. The menu has a lot of combinations and sushi boats for sharing. Last night I got the Take sushi combo, which came with a variety of sushi and a choice of California rolls or spicy salmon. I really like how they give you two options to choose, as they do this with most other stuff on the menu too. Last time I came, I got the love boat and they let us choose from any roll (including specialty rolls) for the roll component. The first time I came here, they gave us side dishes to start but last night we did not get any, so I'm not sure if it's dependent on what you order but it added to the experience the first time because it's not something you usually get from Japanese restaurants. The meal also comes with a garden salad and miso soup. I like the dressing they use on their salad, but both times I've found the miso soup to be watered down. As for their sushi quality, I have no complaints. Both times the sushi was good. Especially, I loved their spicy salmon roll which I chose for my Take sushi combo. It had just the right amount of spicy and crunch with the tempura bits. With my love boat I got the green dragon roll, which I felt had a bit too much rice but other than that it was good as well. The service here is good. Since they are never extremely busy here, the servers give you just enough attention without being too much. I don't think they have too many workers here but the girl that served us both times provided us with great service. Overall I would definitely recommend this place. Especially if you live in Pickering this is a great discovery for sushi, as I find the other sushi places in the city to be just... okay. read more

Sakura Sushi Japanese Restaurant - Take sushi combo with spicy salmon - Japanese Near Me - Pickering, Ontario

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An intimate and immaculately kept restaurant with lovely Japanese art and ambiance hidden in an office plaza. There's lots of parking on the weekend since the offices are closed but it might get a little tighter during the weekday. They have a lot of different specials for dine-in lunch, take-out lunch, and other incentives including their buy 2 alcoholic beverages, get 6 spring rolls deal. Even if you are here during the golden hours, I suggest you take a look at the main menu for all the sushi puns in there...no joke! We came for lunch on a Saturday and their deals were still active. It wasn't busy when we arrived. The lunch specials come with a miso soup and a house salad. There are two tiers - one at $12 and one at $15. The portions in the latter tier are a little bit bigger (for example you pick 3 items out of a list versus 2). I chose the Sakura Maki Combo which came with a choice of 3 rolls. I went with the salmon roll, spicy crab, and dynamite roll. The miso soup was very light. The dressing on the salad was a red sauce that was kind of tangy and almost sour. As for the rolls, I feel like at a lot of other places these more basic rolls, especially the salmon rolls, are very tiny one-bite rolls. Not these rolls - they were huge! A lot of rice but also huge thick meaty slices of fish. That meant I only made it through half of my meal (a little over 1 roll). At about $5 per roll, it was a really good deal for lunch. I tried a bit of the teriyaki chicken. It was well flavored but a bit dry for me. I did like that it wasn't just a slab of chicken. The chicken was stir fried with a mix of veggies like broccoli and carrots. Also just a comment on the sashimi lunch - it was all fish with the most being salmon cuts which was great. There wasn't any of the less desirable/cheaper filler cuts. The waitresses that we were helped by were both very nice. They checked in to see how our meal was and came back to refill our tea several times. They have Styrofoam boxes for any leftovers. To pay, you go up to the counter. read more

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This is my favourite sushi place in Durham Region. The fish is always fresh and the price is very reasonable. It is not the cheapest, but the higher quality that they give you is reflective of the price. There is a sushi place closer to me but I prefer to drive farther to get my food from Sakura Sushi. This is a very solid mid-range sushi restaurant. The owners and staff are always super friendly. Also the in-restaurant dining has a nice flare to it with the traditional style wooden booths. read more

A relatively nice sushi place in Pickering I would say. The starting salad and miso soup aren't as good as most other places that I've been to. I really like the spicy salmon maki roll, it is big and filled with good food. The sashimi itself was okay and was a great set for trying out new food, as well as it was a great deal!! A meal set during lunch was only $12!!! Although the other set options they had weren't as great of a deal if you consider getting sashimi with a roll vs 2 maki rolls as the same price. I would give it more of a 3.5 than 3 star because of the area it is in, but definitely not the best sushi place in the world. read more

Sakura Sushi Japanese Restaurant - Sashimi lunch set! - Japanese Near Me - Pickering, Ontario

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This place was highly recommended as a place for Sushi in Pickering. It was definitely a good recommendation. I like the sushi I got here a lot. I can tell it's good sushi when I want to go back and get more. I want more from this place! The people are also super nice. I think this place will be a regular place I go. I am sad I waited so long to go. read more

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Ordered California roll, spicy salmon maki , red dragon roll and the spicy salmon sushi pizza. Price came out to be about $45 with tax Called in for takeout and they had my order ready in less than 10 min. The lady who picked up the phone was absolutely delightful and kind. The sushi pizza was really tasty, the rice was cooked nice but it was spicer than expected. One thing about the sushi pizza that I didn't expect was the size of it. It was probably the biggest sushi pizza I've ever seen and eaten. But it didn't have avocado which was disappointing but not that big of a deal. The rolls were pretty standard and tasty but the rice was a little bit over cooked. Would go back again to try some other rolls or maybe the party trays. read more

Sakura Sushi Japanese Restaurant - Sushi pizza - Japanese Near Me - Pickering, Ontario

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We accidentally stumbled across this gem on the way to our friends place. They are a family run business who care for their customers and seemed to have a loyal patron base. While we were waiting for our takeout order lots of regulars showed up. The sushi and rolls both were delicious. The portions were huge and excellent value. Thankfully we live 60 km away; else we would be showing up for takeouts every 2nd day. :-) A tip - if you're ordering on a Friday/Saturday evening, make sure to call 1 hour ahead as this place is very busy. read more

Good quality sushi in Pickering! They do not have All you can eat, but the rolls are very large and proportioned well with rice and filling. read more

Sakura Sushi Japanese Restaurant - Rock n Roll - Japanese Near Me - Pickering, Ontario

HIDDEN GEM IN PICKERING. Pickering is known for its copycat chain restaurants, and most of the japanese restaurants you find are low quality all-you-can-eat places, but that is not the case for Sakura Sushi. This is an authentic japanese family-owned restaurant, and the quality is top-notched, especially for their prices. You can choose where to sit, so we sat in a cute closed booth. After ordering, we were immediately brought miso soup and green salad, and I never knew there could be such a difference in quality. The miso soup had large, fresh chunks of tofu and plenty of seaweed, and the salad had what seemed like a homemade dressing. FOOD: I ordered the chirashi ($20) and it came with 18 pieces of sashimi on a bed of SUSHI rice (not just plain white rice). The fish was high quality and the sushi rice (you can tell because it's slightly sweeter and has a hint of vinegar) complimented it nicely. I also had the chance to try the teriyaki salmon in the lunch bento box and it was so light and flaky! Overall, I definitely recommend this place. The food is amazing and the service was great too. Though part of me wants to keep this hidden gem hidden all to myself... read more

So so good! I drive from Ajax to come here because the food is always fresh and delicious! The prices are amazing I don't know how they do it so cheaply. My fav items are the spicy salmon rolls and the pan fried udon with chicken. Yum! read more

Great teriyaki chicken and sushi platters here! It's a shame the dining room is closed because the inside looked super cute, but the food was delicious nevertheless! read more

Was in the area looking for a place to grab a bento box. Came across this restaurant on yelp! Gave it a try incase it may be one of those hidden gems. Place was decent but maybe not for the bento box. The main beef teriyaki was over cooked and dry, but the spicy salmon sushi and tampura made up for it. Portions were good. Overall an okay place, but not a go to. read more

Sakura Sushi Japanese Restaurant - Bento Box comes with salad and miso soup - Japanese Near Me - Pickering, Ontario

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I ordered a take out platter not long ago and the sushi was delicious and very fresh. Nothing disappointing at all and I will be ordering more in the future. I really enjoyed the spicy salmon maki in our platter, however everything else in the platter was good too. There are not many good sushi restaurants in the Durham region and I will put this restaurant above all that I have tried in this area. If you live in or are visiting this area, come try their sushi as it is great. You will not be disappointed. read more

They make it just how you want it. I'm not a fan of sushi, but this place is so good that I made an exception for it . They make the sushi just the way you would like it. They remove any ingredients that you dislike and they will give you extra of some ingredients if that's your preference, like extra mayo or extra tempura or extra sesame seeds. No additional charge. They know how to take care of their customers and that's why I keep coming back. My favorite is this Spicy Philadelphia roll. They shake toasted sesame seeds on the outside of their rolls and that's what makes their sushi extra tasty. The sushi pieces are huge too and they are tightly wrapped so they don't fall apart when you're eating it, like other places. These people know what they're doing! The people here are really friendly and the service is great. I usually call and order ahead of time so that its ready for my pickup. There are sushi places all over town but this is the best I've had. I recommend this place. read more

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Me and my friends love spending every Friday night here, the sushi is good, and the prices are fairly low so you can order a couple different plates of sushi for under $20. It isn't all you can eat but the rolls are fairly big with lots of filling, and the other dishes served are totally worth the extra $3-$5 for them. I wouldn't recommend getting the bowl of sticky rice, I've ordered it three times now, and it always comes with sesame seeds on top that taste burnt and kind of ruin the rice. But I totally recommend trying there dynamite roll and salmon roll. This place has a nice atmosphere and the servers are very friendly and welcoming! Highly recommend for anyone who's looking for some high quality sushi! read more

Found this place right here on Yelp and decided to see for ourselves if the good reviews here were justified. The time was 4 PM so we were the only guests there. By the time we were finishing our meal, there was another group of 4 people that walked in. Overall, a positive experience. The food came out fast, was fresh and tasted good. Their miso is rather think (no just broth that most other places serve). Salad dressing has red-ish colour (usually it's yellow / orangey). The place is very small and you probably won't notice it unless you already know it's there. Prices are moderate. Have I eaten better sushi than here? Yes, I have. But this was very good too and is excellent value. read more

Sakura Sushi Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Pickering, Ontario

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As service in a restaurant is almost as important as the food, this review MUST discuss the former. I accompanied a friend who suffers from bipolar disorder, to Sakura for dinner recently and was horrified by the undeniably, discriminatory manner in which we were addressed. My companion ordered a beer with his meal but was denied service by Yuna the owner who said he was drunk. Having spent the day with my friend, I knew this to be untrue, deduced his slowed speech from bipolar disorder caused her to do so. Knowing Yuna for over a decade, I politely explained that he had a disability, a mental illness, that caused this occurrence. Instead of apologizing, Yuna refused him service, banned us from the restaurant and loudly told us both to "Not bring our mental illness to her restaurant"!! We left in shock and embarrassment. That night I sent an email to Sakuras website. I explained that failure to serve someone because of a disability is a violation of The Human Rights Code which can put her at risk of litigation. I advised her to contact The Human Rights Commission or her lawyer to confirm my statement and advised her not to continue such behaviour in the future. I didn't receive any response. Yuna, who is an immigrant, is a fully assimilated, U of T graduate who absolutely should know better than to treat others so inhumanely. As I explained to her in the email , what she did was as wrong as calling for an appointment and being told 10:00 am was fine but not to be Korean when she came. Honestly, the food is always great here and I know it's clean from top to bottom but if given the choice between the also great restaurant 2 blocks away and Sakura, please consider my story. Would you choose to give your money to a business that refuses to serve disabled people, DISPITE having their huge errors explained to them? I'm pretty sure that I won't be spending any of my money there. Partly because I'm sure I'll be kicked out but mostly because it's just wrong. read more

What an unexpected surprise. I was craving some Japanese food and I didn't want to travel far. Lately the sushi scene in ajax/Pickering has been going downhill and I didn't feel like spending any more money on low quality food and service. And behold! Sakura! First off, the setting is quite nice. My mother and I went pretty late for dinner on Sunday and the place was pretty empty. However, the server was quite attentive and the food was great. I ordered the sashimi donburi ($14) and my mom ordered the sakura bento ($25). The sashimi donburi was more of a Korean dish and it was soooo yummy. My mother's order, however, was not as satisfying. The tempura was a little on the salty side and the batter wasn't that crispy fluffy type we are used to, rather more like a fish and chips type batter. And the beef teriyaki was really hard. All in all, the setting, service, sushi and sashimi dishes were excellent, maybe the best in ajax/pickering area but the hot dishes fell flat. I would definitely come back the sashimi donburi and sushi. read more

Sakura Sushi Japanese Restaurant - Sushi donburi - Japanese Near Me - Pickering, Ontario

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Decent for Durham. Korean female owner can come across as Curt and short. If you can tolerate the attitude for ok sushi then come here.

Our favourite local sushi place closed a while ago and we've been searching for something as good ever since. Sakura is the one. Food was fresh, delicious and beautifully presented. They were very helpful accommodating allergies and it was, in all, a great value. Found a new favourite. read more

Definitely not as rated. I was looking forward to a great sushi meal. I was not happy. The server was overworked as he seemed to be the one who served customers and answered calls for takeout. Miso soup was watered down. Salad was not Asian as it had some kind of fruity dressing. The sushi was ok. It had a lot more rice than actual fish. Disappointed that they used simulated crab meat on sushi. We saw several people come in for takeout so I'm sure that other dishes might be good. Just not my cup of tea. read more

Sakura Sushi Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Pickering, Ontario

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I've lived in Pickering 2 years not and I JUST discovered this place. I spent so long complaining that there were no good sushi places in Pickering. I should have come here sooner. I enjoyed every bite, the spicy tuna roll is a MUST try. They are generous with the amount of tuna they use and the spice is just right. When you dine in they give you little side dishes that are great. read more

Sakura Sushi Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Pickering, Ontario

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Very poor value for the money. The teriyaki chicken meal for $18 consisted of mostly filler. It came with a side of salad and miso soup, each of which were less than 1 cup by volume. The "salad" was iceberg lettuce with a sprinkling of shredded carrot and a couple pieces of cucumber. The main meal had 40% plain white rice, 20% clear rice noodles, 15% cabbage salad and 25% "teriyaki" chicken which contained 1/3 cup of chicken but was mixed with yet more cabbage and a few small pieces of broccoli. If it were $9.99 maybe, but $18!! Never again! We had a side of mediocre sushi/maki too. Not worth it! read more

I called 10 mins before they were closing and they still took my order. Everything we ordered tasted amazing. The sushi was so fresh and the chicken teriyaki bento box was a great value. The kids loved the shrimp tempura and edamame. read more

Sakura, the little guy thats packing a huge punch among his franchise competators who's philosophy is quantity over quality. You do not want to go to Sakura if you hate excellent service, fresh meats and vegetables, a variety of Soju/Sake and beers and a calm relaxed environment. Instead you should go to a low quality rushed restaraunt thats main focus is to stuff your gullet as quickly as possible and rotate you out with the next line up of mindless Japanese cuisine "fans" with no idea of what real food should taste like. Sakura is up there with some of the best japanese/Korean dishes i have ever had and i would choose them any day over the large franchise buffet style spots. sure you are paying a little more but why is that even an issue when the service and food is second to none. enjoy. read more

This 5 star gem is located in Pickering. The tempura, sushi and sashimi are made with tic and are always made to perfection. This is our go to spot for Sushi. If you're looking for excellent quality food, this place is for you. Ideal for couples and small groups. read more

I knew there was a reason I got up this morning. Ok, I went here a few months ago, and it is definitely the first sushi place I have been to that I really didn't like. As we all know, there are at least 4 other sushi places in Pickering alone, but somehow this is the closest to my house. Maybe it was my fault for not ordering sushi, or maybe this place is just inadequate. When I walked in there was no one in there but the staff, that should have tipped me off, as it was approaching dinner time. I ordered something to the extent of teriyaki beef, to go, and waited about ten minutes for it. When I got home, I was not impressed. I didn't know if the beef was starting to turn, or this is how they cook, but it was a grainy-chewy-partly mushy kind of texture that I knew was not right. The soup and salad and other sides that came with the dish were standard, but I just could not get over this mystery beef. Maybe next time I should order the sushi, or walk the 20 minutes to Makimono. read more

One of the best sushi restaurants in Durham region. Handrolls are huge and filled right through with fresh fish. Maki rolls have a great ratio of rice to fish and are neatly made. Fresh and delicious. This family run place is our go- to for fresh, quality sushi. Love this place! read more

I'm surprised how high the ratings are. It was good but not super amazing. The prices were a bit on the high side. We were in the area and decided to stop by here. I had the chicken teriyaki bento box. The chicken was a bit dry and could be tastier. The rolls were fine and it also came with some shrimp/veggie tempera. I was quite stuffed and had to pack some home. Staff was nice and we got some comp dishes. My fav was the rice balls. read more

Went there today because of the ratings. And would also like to agree based on what they've said. Despite being on their break, which is usually everyday from 3-5pm, which I did not know of, they still made food for us. Pricing was really good too. For everything we got we should've spent at least 20$ more for just the one combo. Quality and quantity. 100. If i could rate higher i would. read more

Was ok. Not good, not bad... ok. Went for late lunch and was told I could only come in if I could finish by a certain time... odd but ok. Had a lunch special, wanted a cheaper Maki than what was on the special had to pay extra...off but ok. Soup and salad came, no chopsticks, no spoon. Bento box came quick. Wasn't terrible but it wasn't good enough to warrant the current star rating they have. Value: low Quality: medium high Service: medium poor read more

Had an okay time hear the food wasn't bad and the service while seems like that a lot of practice and experience with customer service that is to say anyways I would definitely RI attend maybe I would get larger portions next time if I order more than one because well the meals were moderately priced but not moderately portion which is why had an okay time hear the food wasn't bad and the service while seems like that a lot of practice and experience with customer service that is to say anyways I would definitely RI attend maybe I would get larger portions next time if I order more than one because well the meals were moderately priced but not moderately portion which is why it's getting read more

My wife and I visited this place last night. I had beef teriyaki on the iron casting plate and my wife had Sushi and Sashimi Boat. They were juicy, flavorful, and tender and worked together beautifully. By the end of the meal we were planning our next visit soon. The service was top-notch. The chef from the kitchen and sushi bar and serving ladies were very attentive and friendly. It was a great experience. Thank you,see you soon.......... read more

This is our go to sushi spot in Pickering. We only order take out so I can speak to the eat in experience. Staff have always been very friendly to me and the sushi has always been fresh and well made. read more