The first time we heard about Sakura, we lived walking distance from the restaurant but we didn’t start frequenting it until after we moved away. Over the past 15 years, it’s consistently one of our go-to spots and we’re always happy to return.

On tonight’s menu I ordered the salmon with sashimi and for my husband, a 12 piece sushi plate, a nabeyaki udon and 2 rolls.

My dinner came with a small side salad and miso soup. The lettuce was crisp, cold and fresh and the light sesame vinaigrette had a bit of tang. The miso soup was piping hot and not too salty. 

My salmon was a bit dry this time but my tuna sashimi was just right. My husband’s udon comes with either a California or spicy tuna roll. We usually order both which we did again tonight. The spicy tuna had a bit of kick and the California roll was perfectly savory. The rice on the rolls stayed tightly wound around the center. 

My husband’s sushi plate was devoured so I’m making the not-so-bold assumption that the quality and flavor were up to par.

He took his nabeyaki udon to go so that he can enjoy the plumped up noodles for lunch tomorrow. Funny story: one of the first times we ate at the restaurant we ordered too much food and by the time the udon came, he couldn’t eat anymore. A day later, he opened up the to-go container and the broth had disappeared. Initially, he was confused and then upset that they had forgotten to give him the broth. That of course made no sense since there would be extra effort to remove the noodles from the broth to pack it up. After he heated it up and tasted it, he realized the noodles had completely absorbed the broth, making that dish even better the next day so that is now his tradition, to order that soup to go, extending the Sakura experience a little bit longer. 

The staff is always super friendly and nice. Even when it’s ridiculously busy, the patrons are never rushed and are allowed to enjoy their time at the restaurant. This is one of the many reasons we will keep coming back time after time. Sakura is that rare find with solid food that is reasonably priced, is casual and quite the neighborhood gem.

Sakura

4545 S. Centinela Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90066