Sushi was ok, not the best in Des Moines but decent. The customer service was terrible. From the moment we walked in, the staff acted as if they'd rather be anywhere else but serving us. We were rushed through our order and quickly brought out our check, not asked if we needed anything else. Restaurant is tiny and can't accommodate groups larger than 4, the booths are also really squished together. I saw a lot of people ordering to-go and maybe that's the way to do it. Will not be returning again. read more

A great lunch special. Even on Saturdays. Miso soup is delicious. Grab rangoons are ok. The rolls are decent. Maybe a little extra rice in them than normal. But the avocado shrimp roll, shiitake mushroom roll, and seaweed crunch roll were delicious. Definitely worth h a try! And 20$ all you can eat Monday's :) read more

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Fresh, great rice (essential to great sushi) and pleasant service. Try the Lady Lobster roll. Swoon-worthy. The Key Lime martini was good too. Really, everything we've had there has been excellent. read more

Sakura Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

Awesome vibe in this sushi bar area some of the other areas were ok. The picture stickers and wall of papers was kind of weird and looked cluttered The sushi was not the best I have had. But it was good and fresh. The ginger dressing salad was way over dressed. The miso soup was pretty good. The tempura was wonderful with shrimp and sweet potato! The prices were decent. Especially lunch specials. And apparently Monday they have all you can eat for $19.99. Staff was friendly and filled our water glasses every time it was empty. But service was slow. Overall there is a lot better places around the area. But it is decent. read more

Sakura Sushi - Salmon skin roll, shrimp avocado roll and tuna avocado roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

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New favorite sushi place! Its hard to find good sasami in Des Moines but I finally found it! I've come here several times already and ordered the Sasami platter they offer and it is always delicious. I haven't had any of their regular rolls but everyone I come with that orders them loves them. Also if you are looking for a good priced martini, this is your place. They aren't very expensive and I liked mine enough to order 3. They also offer a All You can Eat special on Monday and other cool deals. read more

Sakura Sushi - Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

Friendly staff! Consistently good sushi! Go to place for us! We enjoy coming for lunch since they good have deals on lunch. We always end up buying a speciality roll or two, so it is more than $10 per person. But you could come away full under $10. read more

This past week, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit a good friend living in Des Moines. The first day there, she offered up Sakura Sushi as a dining recommendation as it was just down the street. After eating mozzarella sticks at an Applebee's the night before when I got in late (I regretted the decision two bites into the first stick), I was ready for something lighter and fresher. Unfortunately, Sakura Sushi missed the mark for me. When you walk in, there's not a whole lot. The walls are plain, there are some booths and few tables, a bar stands against one of the walls, as does a small fish tank. There are some unexplained, unframed photographs on the walls of what I assume were patrons at some point. I will say that the service was excellent. It warms my heart when a restaurant that deals primarily in the sale of raw fish will work to accommodate a vegetarian - making recommendations, checking ingredient lists, making substitutions, etc. So hats off to the staff for not making me feel like a burden! The food was all delivered quickly and our servers were wonderfully kind. I ordered the lunch special, which comes with miso soup and two sushi rolls. I choose the avocado and sweet potato tempura rolls. Additionally, we ordered tempura vegetables. The miso soup came out first. It was savory and got big points in my book for being vegetarian (miso soups are often not veggie-friendly), and I really enjoyed it. It was my favorite part of the meal. Then came the tempura vegetables. These were quite large pieces of vegetables that were battered and fried. The dipping sauce on the side was sweet and kind of acidic, but the dish didn't seem to come together. The vegetables probably could have been drained better or seasoned with at least some salt, or maybe cut up into smaller, more manageable pieces. The sushi, unfortunately, was the biggest letdown for me. To me, it was uninspired with undercooked rice and nothing to make me enjoy my eating experience. I don't know what else Des Moines has to offer sushi-wise, but for my next visit, I will likely be trying out other places. read more

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If you want massive amount of mediocre sushi go on a Monday- they have all you can eat sushi (not specialty rolls) for $19.99 per person. I went with my boyfriend last Monday and we were not impressed. We sat at the sushi bar and usually ask the chefs what is fresh that day/ what they recommend, etc but they were not very engaging. The sushi was presented well, but was nothing special. Some of the rolls fell apart, and they just weren't that flavorful. Overall, a decent place to take your very hungry boyfriend for sushi and not pay through the nose for it. read more

Sakura Sushi - Sushi bar - Sushi Bars Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

Had the Iowa roll and the Dynamite roll. AWSOME!!!!!!!!! Every time i come to Iowa i go there. read more

Sakura Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

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This is the best place I go to in des moines :) their food is fantastic and it's affordable. Lulu and lala are the nice lady of this restaurant. I will definitely keep coming back. Their best roll is crunchy 2 in 1. For a healthy roll I like their shrimp with asparagus. They also have some good deal on Tuesday and wednesday. So check it out. I wish their place is bigger, they seem to have a lot of customers, and I know they deserve it. Keep it up sakura sushi. From a happy customer read more

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I hate to do this, but the food just wasn't up to par... the rice was hard, and the fish pieces were thin. I could see thru some of those fish pieces. I gave an extra star because of their service. They were still attentive even though they had a large party of some sort. the mixed tempura- why was this served cold? the vegetables were freshly fried, but the shrimp was cold. This makes me wonder if they just pulled it from their batch of shrimp tempura for sushi rolls... Ninja roll- the mango was different , which gave it a good flavor. The fish pieces were sliced too thin on top sakura roll- it was good, but not anything to rave about. read more

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Tonight was my first time eating here, and I'm in love!Great staff, incredible food! My wife and I have a new date night spot. Thank you Sakura sushi!!!! read more

We've been going to Sakura for years and they never disappoint! The team is always ready for answering questions or make a tasty cocktail with our sushi! They always have fresh fish, hot yummy noodles, delicious appetizers, and a wonderful cocktail menu! If they have the fried ice cream, GET IT! read more

Mmmmm...no thanks. Went tonight for dinner, and there were so many things that were lacking. It seems like there is only one waitress for the entire restaurant so, and she can only do so much. Service is very slow. I'm all for taking my time and enjoying drinks, then appetizer, then main course, but it shouldn't take 30 minutes to get an appetizer on the table. My husband got the beef noodle soup, and it was not very satisfying. I think there may have been two slivers of beef, then noodles and a bland broth. I got the Green Dragon roll & the Black Dragon roll, both about $12. They were good rolls, but not a very good value for the price. So, overall it seems like they need to hire more staff to handle their customers. It's also way to expensive for the quality of food served. If I pay $2/piece of roll, it really should knock my socks off. read more

Sakura Sushi - Green Dragon Roll (rear) & Black Dragon Roll (front) - Sushi Bars Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

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Finally open for dine in. Great food with a staff that really cares for their customers. I think I've eaten my way thru most of the menu and would recommend everything. I have never had a bad experience and will try to make it thru the rest of the menu. read more

Decided to try Sakura sushi in West Des Moines again. Wednesday special - All special rolls $9.99 ea. Ordered the Angry Dragon, Super Woman, and 2n1 Crunch rolls. Service was great (I've never had a complaint with service there). All three rolls were good with the 2n1 Crunch roll being our favorite. For the price it was a good deal. I've never been knocked off my feet by anything there, but I've never left disappointed either. I have issues with textures and something in the prep there and I occasionally have minor issues. The top of the Super Woman roll was slimy to me, but once I got past that the taste was good. I've had a similar issue there with the grind of the tuna in the spicy tuna roll... Not my personal all time favorite sushi in the metro, but all in all its good food and it's worth checking out. If you can't stand wobbly chairs make sure they seat you at a booth, but the wall of notes by the tables are fun to read. :) Edit 3/16/2017: Bumping my review up to 4 stars. I've been back a few more times and it's growing on me. I still have to watch what I order there (texture-wise), but service is always stellar and you can't ask for a more attentive and polite staff. read more

Sakura Sushi - Sakura sushi. - Sushi Bars Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

I live close enough to the coast that I'll admit I was a little nervous about eating sushi from a flyover state. What was I thinking?! This place was great. After we sat down, there was a little bit of confusion about who our waitress was (two different ladies asked for our drinks and our appetizer), but nothing terrible. We ordered 3-4 different specialty rolls as well as some sushi (salmon, eel, striped bass...) and everything was delicious. I would go back in a heartbeat. Thanks for proving me wrong, Sakura Sushi! read more

This was my first time coming here- we got a pickup order of edamame, 2 white rices, an avocado roll, a sweet potato roll, and an avocado mango roll. It was just about $20 and they even gave us spicy edamame instead of regular which was very delicious. The prices are so good and the employee who helped us when we got there was so friendly and nice. I will definitely be back soon to try the other vegan options and support a great business. :) read more

Some of the best sushi in the area! Affordable, high quality, and great service. They also have many different drink and food specials throughout the week! read more

This was our first visit. Staff was great. We had the crab rangoons and beef nakimaga(pretty sure I spelled it wrong) both were very good and fresh. For entrees we split the Kobe roll and the teriyaki scallops both were also delicious. The scallops were tender and not tough. Overall we were impressed and will be adding this to our sushi favorites (along with Akebono and Sakari) read more

Read all the other reviews, had higher exspation. Walked in atmosphere was cozy. Wait was short less then 10 min on Tuesday @7pm. Had Katsu Pork, some nigiri, 2 specialty rolls, 4 rolls off all u can eat menu. The specialty rolls and raw pieces where okay. The Katsu was very dry and stuff. The breading was very hard on pork. The all you can eat was mostly rice an extreme amount. They also charge for every piece you don't finish. With a 18% gratuity the quality should be a little bit better. The rolls took 20min for some reason with 4 chefs. This place was below average to me. Customer service and ambience was average. read more

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I eat here a couple of times a month. I lived in Japan and Japanese food is my favorite cuisine. I usually order the bento boxes that they serve during lunch. It's a great value around $8-$9. It comes with your choice of entree -teriyaki, katsu, or tempera are all great choices- plus rice, miso soup or salad, gyoza, California rolls, orange slices. They are one of the few places in town that serve yakisoba. The only thing I've had that I didn't really care for was the Nabeyaki udon (soup). The staff is very friendly and attentive and it always seems to be clean. read more

I'm very picky when it comes to sushi. My favorite sushi place is Waterfront but after trying some of the deep fried rolls here, this place comes very close to favorite :) read more

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We needed to head home so we picked up some sushi rolls and a few appetizers. The good: We got a deep fried app called a San Francisco that was quite spicy (in a good way) and was the highlight of the meal. Also the edamame was tasty if unexceptional. The bad: The fiancee ordered a ginger salad, it looked like the little portion of salad you got in the elementary school cafeteria. The lettuce was wilted, there were a bit of sliced carrots and a little cup of dressing. Perhaps the presentation in the restaurant would have been better but seeing it deconstructed was really pathetic (but that was really cheap so I'll excuse it). The sushi was terrible though, the spicy tuna rolls were made from fish that seemed to have lost it's structural integrity and just seemed mooshy. I'm not a sushi snob but I expect higher quality from the refrigerator section at Trader Joes (at half the price) of what I got here. read more

My fiancé and I often come on Mondays for all-you-can eat sushi. I wish the all-you-can eat price included miso soup and salad like many other all-you can eat sushi specials at other Japanese restaurants. The sushi here is fantastic, I love some of their creative rolls, and their sushi menu is extensive. On a recent trip my fiancé tried one of their creative rolls and wasn't a big fan, and left 3 pieces of sushi at the end of his meal and got charged $3! I think that if an excessive amount of sushi is left on the plate, it's ok to charge the customer, but 3 pieces of a roll he didn't like isn't that much, and we usually come here EVERY Monday, and this makes us question whether or not we want to go back again! read more

I ordered pick up on Wednesday. They have speciality rolls for $9.99 every Wednesday. I assumed that the specialty roll would be pretty large. I was disappointed to find this was not the case so I went back for another order. :) The sushi is decent quality. I also got the shrimp tempura which is a good deal for two pieces of shrimp and several pieces of vegetables. read more

On business trip, arrived mid-afternoon around 3pm on Monday. Place was clean, average service. Ordered age tofu and sashimi. Tofu was good, sashimi was surprisingly fresh in spectacular presentation. There was AYCE sushi on certain days for $20, but not sure what's included. read more

Sakura Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

Returned for their Wednesday $10 special rolls, and ordered the Godzilla Roll (Spicy crabmeat, avocado, crunch, topped eel - $11.95), Rock N' Roll (Shrimp tempura, cucumber, topped with spicy tuna - $11.95), Mountain Roll (crab meat, cream cheese, jalapeno, cilantro, deep fried topped with spicy tuna - $12.95), and the Super crunch (deep fried spicy crab, avocado, cream cheese, jalapeno, with eel sauce on top - $11.95). The godzilla, rock n' roll, and mountain roll were delicious, and the super crunch was okay, IMO. read more

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Very consistently great. I'm gluten-free and sushi can be difficult but not here. Deluxe rainbow, Alaskan, and California are my usuals and the special is always excellent. I get to eat sushi all over the country and how great it is to have the best right here in WDM. I would give 6 stars if that was possible. Staff is friendly and help with beginners. read more

We retuned here this week to give it a second chance. I have to say that I enjoyed the sushi much better this time around, but was disappointed that we waited over an hour for our first plate sushi rolls. The food is good but the service needs some work. read more

Sakura Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

Pricey for the amount of ingredients in the sushi. I'm from Atlanta, so it's difficult to compare. However, the angry dragon roll was great with just the right amount of cream cheese. And the spider roll was perfect! The Shumai wasn't as warm as I would like but it wasn't frozen. Order the spider and angry dragon! read more

Best $20 all you can eat sushi in town. Absolutely incredible options and selection. You will have to leave in a wheel barrel how much you will want to eat. It's so good but watch out if you leave one piece of sushi they charge you a dollar for it to prevent waste so eat all to your hearts content and it won't be hard because it's really delicious and fresh and that's really really yummy sushi read more

Oh Sakura, how I love thee. Whilst searching yelp for other deliciousness I realized I am a horrible human being for failing to review one of my favorite spots in Des Moines. I come here often with friends and my newly converted sushi lover boo and I'd like to live here every Wednesday night when their special rolls are only $9.99! (And yes, you can do take out and get the special--it's crazy there that night!) Spicy girl is a staple and the 'Super Women' is as delicious as it is adorably misspelled. The Sweet Potato Tempura roll is amaze balls but I'm pretty sure I'd eat my hand if it had tempura on it so I may be biased. They have all the classics (Philadelphia, California, Alaska, etc) at reasonable prices and the food comes out quick! Their miso soup rocks and their ginger salad dressing is to die for. The ambiance isn't fantastic (is a converted storefront) but the wait staff are sweet and attentive and they serve alcohol (my true favorite food). There are big, happy fish in a tank that I feel slightly weird making eye contact with while I eat their cousins but they are so cute and they fit in well. If you sit at the bar you can watch the sushi being made and it well simultaneously amaze you and make you feel thoroughly inept in the kitchen. All in all, this is one of my favorite sushi spots in Des Moines and it's right down the street! Mmmm suuuuuushi! read more

My wife and I went and immediately we noticed a fishy smell and also the A/C seemed to not be working. We ordered a couple rolls anyway along with the crab Rangoon appetizer. Fast forward to 3-4 hours after we left and we are both showing symptoms of food poisoning and let's just say it was a long night with lots of vomiting and diarrhea. Probably not going to go back. read more

First off, I was rather shocked of the almost consistent "5-star" ratings given by other Yelpers. Was it because we are talking about Des Moines, IA, or is Sakura really that fabulous of a dining establishment? Ever since I was transplanted over here from restaurant galore C-bus, I have been craving my favorite meal of all times: chirashi (no veggies) + 2 pcs of ama ebi sashimi + side of spicy mayo. This was a weekly thing when I lived in C-bus, & I have been on a dry spell over the past month or so. With that being said, I was excited to try a sushi restaurant . In fact, I was so determined to eat at Sakura that I even risked being late to my hair appt (& we all know you just don't mess with a girl's hair)! The servers were extremely friendly, but: 1. The chirashi came out with veggies (which I explicitly ordered w/out...boo) 2. The rice is supposed to be sushi rice, but it was more like regular long-grain jasmine rice that you eat with your orange chicken or what not (again, boo) 3. The fish was obviously not very fresh, but not horrible. The tuna wasn't even filleted cleanly since you could see some skin. Some types of fish were better/worse than others... Also, but: 1. Miso soup was good 2. The ama ebi sashimi was DELICIOUS!!! & jumbo, just like advertised!!! :) 3. Cute restaurant interior, & again, very nice service I am curious about the other items on their menu... I wouldn't mind trying out their rolls sometime to see if lives up to the hype some more. As for my chirashi craving...alas, it has yet to be satisfied. read more

We came thru Des Moine & checked out some reviews on sushi places & this one sounded good. I'm so glad we came here. The staff was awesome & super friendly & accommodating to our 4 kids. They played with the kids & made us all feel really welcome. Our food came fast & was so good we ordered 3 more rolls. Our kids are good eaters & loved all the rolls, tempura & crab rangoon. This place is small so we were lucky to get a table big enough for us. Most of the seating is booths. Luckily it wasn't too crowded on a late Friday afternoon. We will definitely be back! Sugoi! read more

Sakura Sushi - Sakura sushi is oishii! - Sushi Bars Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

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Great sushi, great atmosphere, nice peeps. It is very close to home and downtown so great place for an after work meetup. Usually pretty crowded, especially on weekend. Will need a Rez. You should check it out. read more

I had great time with my mother and sister. The food here is so amazing! I love how they make there food in a art form it looked awesome. read more

Sakura Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

My husband and I walked in at 9:30pm, my understanding is the restaurant did not close until 10pm. The 2 sushi Chefs rolled their eyes and hollered out to the manager and our server then came over with the manager to advise us that it was 9;30 and the kitchen is closed. We felt unwelcomed and rushed by everyone their. We sat for about 5 minutes and decided to get up and walk to the chicken coop for food, they had no issue welcoming us and being pleasant. By state law if your closing time is 10pm you legally have to serve even if customers were to walk in 3 minutes before you close. Also, we are daily regulars and will not be giving Sakura anymore business. Hopefully in the future you are careful about what you say to people. read more

Sakura Sushi - The actual response to my complaint - Sushi Bars Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

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This is my favorite sushi restaurant! The employees are so genuine and have great customer service. I go here so much that they know my order every time. Every sushi roll I have had has been delicious! My favorite is the hawkeye roll. Their crab rangoons are fresh and tasty! They also have great deals on Mondays and Wednesday's. I definitely recommend going here for a fun family dinner or lunch! read more