REVIEW SAKURA JAPANESE RESTAURANT Today, 31 December 2025, my wife and I decided to have lunch at the Sakura Japanese restaurant in Colony Plaza, The Villages, Florida. We arrived at 1400 and there was a large number of people eating lunch, but seating remained available and our waiter soon appeared. We ordered a CocaCola and Green Tea while we perused the menu. My wife decided on the Tempura Bento box with pork katsu, while I chose the lunch combination of sushi and sashimi with salad and soup. We were both delighted! I found the sushi/sashimi combination to be delicious; more than I could comfortably eat after the salad with carrot-ginger dressing and clear soup. I took a taste of her pork katsu and found it surprisingly moist (much more moist and appealing than other Sakura restaurants here in The Villages). I was pleased that my tea was refilled on request. (One interesting aside: My sashimi plate was decorated by a variety of fresh spice leaves and a mysterious nest of what appeared to be shredded daikon radish with a green glow emanating from within. The green glow turned out to be a small battery powered green LED for ambiance!) All in all, an appealing performance by this Sakura at Colony Plaza; we shall return. read more

Sakura - Cute green glow from beneath the Daikon due to a mini battery/LED combination - Japanese Near Me - The Villages, Florida

We both had the hibachi chicken. It came with vegetables, fried or steamed rice, soup & salad. The vegetables and mushrooms (2 on my plate) were barely cooked. The chicken was dry and overcooked The soup and salad were ok Our server was good and it's clean inside. A bit disappointed because we've always enjoyed it here. read more

Sakura - Hibachi chicken - Japanese Near Me - The Villages, Florida

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Came in here while waiting for my oil change. The host was welcoming and gave me my own table near the sushi bar. My server was Beam and was very attentive to my needs. The vibe is laid back, you vcan be dressed up or casual. I ordered the duck wrap, and it did not disappoint! I miss the duck and pancakes I used to eat in england so this became a nostalgic moment! The duck was cooked to perfection and the vegetables tasted fresh. I enjoyed a warm green tea with my food and ended my meal with some lychee sake. The prices are fair for the portion sizes. I will definitely be coming back here again! read more

Sakura - Duck roll with hot green tea - Japanese Near Me - The Villages, Florida

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The wait staff is always top notch. they are friendly and remember their regulars with a smile. The food is always consistent. You can always know that the food you order from time to time will be just as good as it was the last time it was ordered. The atmosphere is clean and pleasant. The restaurant is well designed. read more

We always come to this restaurant when we visit the Villages as it is good quality sushi / hibachi, good sized portions, fair pricing, a nice / clean restaurant, and kind and helpful staff. The do some nice happy hour specials and have always been very accommodating for some of the very particular people in our group! Would recommend! read more

Sat at the bar for drinks, the bar stinks like someone vomited. The bartender ( Omar) stated it's a plumbing problem. Said other folks said the same thing. Fix the problem!!! Also a side note we sat at the stinky bar for more than 10 minutes before getting waited on by Omar. Omar was busy eating. Folks, you need to improve, fix the plumbing and fix the bar service. I'll let you know how the food is. read more

Food is always really good a household fav for sure my husband and I eat here at least once a month

We go here quite regularly with friends and neighbors because of location convenience and quality of food. The hibachi style diners come with a salad and bowl of soup and is more than enough to split or share with another. My go to is a chicken hibachi, while others I know do the chicken and steak or shrimp or scallops. The service is always spot on and attentive with refills of water done before asking in many instances. The sushi options are also popular and bento boxes I have seen around the dining tables also read more

Sakura - Sushi section - Japanese Near Me - The Villages, Florida

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This is one of my all time favorite restaurants. I love watching food get cooked in front of me it's ready in minutes and so delicious. Come check them out! read more

I have been here twice and the food was delicious and fairly priced. Everything was clean. Some of the booth seats have tears in them and tables have wear marks. I ordered the chicken hibachi which comes with salad, soup, hibachi chicken fried rice and yakisoba noodles . Lots of food for the $17.95 check. The huge complete I have here is the service and the people who work here. I walked in with a smile which was immediately taken away by the unfriendly and unhappy people who work here. Sad it is! Every time the waiter came to my table I cringed... And on both visits I had different waiters . Get happy people or find somewhere else to work. read more

Food was better than average! The service was fast and efficient! The ambiance was average! The only negative was that the chef was a little flat. He was good but not very entertaining. Definitely going back. I had the tenderloin dinner and my wife had the shrimp dinner. Both were very tastey and done perfect. read more

Impressive presentation and quality sashimi. Service is good - ambiance and atmosphere is blah.

The food was excellent and we had a very good server. The food came out quick and everything was nice and hot. Cute on the inside! Will definitely be back to try some other things on the menu. read more

I've eaten in twice and done take out once from here and it's all been good. I haven't really tried other sushi in the area yet, but so far, this is our go to. I come from the DC area and it's not as good as my favorite there, but it's definitely good. The Good 1) They have lunch specials 2) Their sushi is nicely presented (with flowers on the plate, etc.) 3) The sushi tastes fresh 4) The roll pieces are a nice size and there isn't too much rice 5) They have a nice variety of rolls as well as other items: bento boxes, teriyaki, apps, desserts, etc. 6) The Flying Dragon Roll is my favorite so far: crunchy spicy tuna, avocado, topped with eel and eel sauce. We also liked the spicy tuna, California and spicy scallop rolls 7) Chicken teriyaki was good - large portions. The lunch special came with fried rice, veggies, soup and salad. The Bad 1) Their ginger dressing on their salad is pretty sweet - a lot sweeter than I'm use to at Japanese restaurants 2) The teriyaki sauce was sweeter than I'm use to, as well as the miso soup. I wouldn't have the soup again unless it was included with my meal. Honestly, my only real gripe with this place is the "sweetness" in some of their offerings. I'm just not use to it. We went for a late lunch and it wasn't very busy. Service was mostly good - our server went on break while we were there and no one waited on us for awhile, but I was able to flag someone down to get our check. Our take out experience was positive also - order was ready on time and accurate. When I picked up our take out it was packed - no open tables at all (dinner time). read more

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I've been to many sakuras and this is one is the best yet. Great quality sushi, not too much rice, affordable, and huge portions. Their entrees come with both soup and salad. Most others you just choose one. The service was great and fast and my infant made a mess and they stopped me from cleaning up after her and said they'd take care of it. Will be back! read more

Sakura - Maki combo 2 - Japanese Near Me - The Villages, Florida

Best dish of chicken yaki udon noodles I've ever had. Best spicy tuna roll in The Villages. Great food and great service. Such an amazing place and experience tonight My recommendation is to make reservations as this place is very popular Enjoy as many of the menu items are delicious. I've had the steak an chicken and wow to the tender steak and chicken. Generous portions and fresh vegetables Great experience read more

Sakura - Japanese Near Me - The Villages, Florida

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Food is really good! Good prices. Fast service! The escolar is amazing and the filet mignon teriyaki was super tender.

First time dining at Sakura. Wife and I both had Hibachi dinners. I had Lobster and Filet, Donna had steak and scallops. Our meals came with soup, salad, fried vegetables, noodles, and our choice of fried rice or steamed rice. We choose clear soup with mushrooms and onions, iceberg salad, and fried rice. Excellent service and great tasting food. Happy hour ends at 6:00 pm. Beam was our server and she did an excellent job. Proper spacing between water, drinks, soup, salad, and main course. This is a great Japanese restaurant that is golf cart accessible in The Villages. My only suggestion is that you may want to bring your own salad dressing if you don't care for ginger or ranch dressing. Great job Sakura! read more

I ate there once and I want to go back The food is awesome and the service is very good.

I love Sakura, both locations. Great prices, great habachi & good sushi! Even to go, which can be a complete hit or miss at other restaurants read more

Lunch during a visit with family. Service was very quick and polite. Very accommodating since I cannot eat rice. Enjoyed the experience! read more

Sakura - Japanese Near Me - The Villages, Florida

Ate at the sushi bar. Ordered several sushi appetizers, nigiri and hand rolls. They aced the presentation, portions were good sized and flavor excellent. Prompt service on a Saturday at lunch. I like that there is no hibachi here - I dislike the way those smell and affect the air quality while dining. read more

It should be zero stars. Probably the worst dinner I have ever had at a restaurant. Started with the vegetable tempura appetizer. Veggie pieces so big you had to cut them to get in your mouth. Problem, almost impossible to cut. Asparagus was tough! Others had no taste!! Main dish was Chicken Yaki Udon. Wow! Absolutely horrible. The udon tasted like slippery worms! The chicken was so dry that I believed it had been reheated daily for at least the last week. One glass of wine in a tiny wine glass!! Never going back. What a disappointment!! read more

I've been here several times so I had to review them especially since my Sushi has been outstanding! Their Sakura Sandwich Roll is amazing! The passion roll is really good too. We had hibachi steak and chicken and it was excellent too. If you're in the mood for some good Japanese, this is your place! read more

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We love this Japanese restaurant. They have hibachi plus menus service. Our new favorite is the avocado ball. Surimi inside a whole avocado drizzled with a spicy sauce with some crunchies. We dream of this! We also love the hibachi. You get the standard protein, veggies plus rice and noodles! We love the noodles! In The Villages, there are 2 locations. One with the hibachi tables and the other in Colony plaza doesn't have those tables but still will serve those meals. read more

Every thing. One of the best restaurants in the villages. Amy is great. Don't know why the website wants more characters? read more

Excellent food. Served hot and delicious. Great service and ambiance. Service was also very good.

Such a great find!!! Sushi and sashimi are fresh, really good! I recommend the energy roll, also the cheesecake- great presentation and yummy- will be back a lot! (I would post a photo but ate everything already read more

The sushi rolls sex in the city,dragon rolls and eel sashimi Fresh ,excellent taste . Great hostess and ambiance. I keep returning.

This restaurant has a nice selection of appetizers, sushi rolls and hibachi choices. We went at 6:30pm on a Sunday. It wa very busy but we were immediately seated. Service was good and the food was delicous! We ordered fried gyoza for our appetizer. Then followed by filet and scallop hibachi dinner ($32) that includes soup, salad, steak, scallops, fried rice, veggies and noodles. Our friends had a couple of the sushi rolls. Everyone enjoyed their food. We will come back again soon! read more

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I have lived in The Villages for 12 years and this is my favorite restaurant. Always fresh. Service is perfect. Going today for lunch with friends. read more

Had the lobster roll tonight night and it was fresh and delicious. I'll be back to try more rolls

Sakura is always a great stop when I visit The Villages. The food is always fresh and delicious and the staff is very friendly. We started off with coconut shrimp which were displayed so nicely and came with a fantastic cream sauce for dipping. I had the chicken and shrimp hibachi and my husband had a bunch of sushi rolls. The presentation on both dishes is really nice! Everything you get at Sakura is so flavorful! We will definitely be back! read more

Sakura - Chicken and shrimp hibachi - Japanese Near Me - The Villages, Florida

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The best hibachi and sushi in the Villages. The amount of one dinner can feed two stomachs. Take out is fast and always correct.

The service and food here was very good. We've only been once, so we are looking forward to coming back. I had the Maki Combo A (California, tuna, and salmon avocado rolls) which came with clear soup & ginger salad. My husband got the chicken hibachi dinner, also with clear soup and ginger salad. It was a busy night, but we didn't feel like we waited too long for our food, and everything was delicious! read more

Sakura - Maki dinner combo & chicken hibachi - Japanese Near Me - The Villages, Florida

I stopped in for lunch today. I received very pleasant and friendly service. I enjoyed their Miso soup which was hot and flavorful. Following that I had the Mermaid roll which has tempura shrimp, avocado and banana in it! So delicious and enjoyable for something different! I highly recommend visiting Sakura! read more

Sakura - Mermaid roll - Japanese Near Me - The Villages, Florida

Absolutely delish and they followed special requests exactly how we ordered them. We ordered take out so I can't speak to the restaurant vibes or service but the food was fantastic. read more

All ways a great place to eat Japanese cuisine. Believe it or not, it's reasonably priced AND accommodating.

My family and I have been coming to Sakura for almost a decade now when we visit our grandparents in the villages. Having traveled this country coast to coast, I can still say, to this day, Sakura has the best sushi I have ever had. The flavors are fresh and on point. The fish is abundant and flavorful. And the unique rolls I have here are unlike any I have found elsewhere. This restaurant may look like a typical sushi place from outside, but I promise, give it a try and you won't be able to have sushi without wishing it was from Sakura! My personal favorites are the Tiger Roll, the Energy Roll, and the Red Dragon roll. The light use of char on the tiger roll and energy roll just give them another depth of flavor unlike any sushi I've had. 5 stars! read more

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The food is always fresh when we went there ! No frozen shrimps or fish. The veggies are also fresh and cooked right. Prices are good and the portion size is huge. I can only recommend this restaurant! 5-stars well done read more