Update 2021-Aug-30: Unfortunately, Sakura Japanese Cuisine appears closed. It is listed as Permanently Closed in Google Maps, Closed in Yelp and its phone # is out of service. It is unknown whether this is due to the pandemic or not. This seems like enough evidence that it is no longer around.
Miso soup was unfortunately (still) lacking dashi, and tasted reminiscent of porridge. But things picked up with the seaweed salad which Mishy described as amazing. Green salad had a unique mustard/wasabi dressing which I liked, although Mishy wasn't big on it. Satay chicken skewers were (still) fantastically spiced and we both thought they were amazing. Chicken teriyaki was also excellent, almost perfect, with a really good sauce and was very well-cooked, and slightly smokey; we both loved it. Garlic pepper beef was also fantastic with perfect spicing and we both adored it. Steak teriyaki was excellent with thick juicy pieces of steak-like beef and a very good sauce. General Tao chicken was breaded, but was not bad as it had a good sauce. But she said it was excessive sweating on the sweet and sour chicken balls, but I didn't think so in the sauce was good. Chicken and pork katsu were both very good: tender, moist and the sauce was excellent. Hash brown was also very good as it used the same sauce. Gyoza were delicious and the dipping sauce was very good.
We ordered basil beef, but I don't think that's what was delivered as it had no basil whatsoever in it and whatever it was I didn't like; it had a strange sickly-sweet fishy flavor as if something was off. I tried the basil chicken and it also had that strange flavor and no basil it. This is in contrast to when I first ate here where there was plenty of fresh basil and this dish was so good that I ended up giving Sakura a nearly perfect rating. Mishy also did not like the Pad Thai, indicating that the chicken appeared to have been reheated so many times that it turned into the consistency of egg, rather like going backwards in time. The sauce had the same strange odour and flavour as the basil beef and chicken did, so as they share very few if any ingredients I think that this issue was that the grill needed to be cleaned (badly.)
We both enjoyed the Philadelphia roll very much, it had a good balance of avocado, salmon, and cream cheese. Spicy salmon sushi we also oth enjoyed; the sauce had a good spice and heat balance, and Mishy appreciated the portion size. Crab surimi nigiri was good, although it had a slight odor. Butterfish AKA escolar nigiri was good and a little fresher. Surf clam nigiri was very good, very fresh and with good texture.For dessert, deep fried milk was delicious with a coconut-like flavor. Deep-fried banana was also excellent with a strawberry sauce. Mango pudding was wonderful and both of us loved it. Vanilla ice cream was darker French-style vanilla, and was very good. Mango ice cream was excellent, with plenty of flavor and very fresh. Green tea ice cream was fresh and good. Red bean ice cream was also very good with more flavor than average. Strawberry ice cream was delicious, with strawberry syrup throughout.
For Sakura’s tenth anniversary special, lunch was only $14.95, $15.95 on weekends. This is only a dollar or two more than last time, so is an excellent price. Unfortunately the issue with the “basil” chicken/beef and pad thai weigh upon the rating, but everything else was very good. I hope that this was a one-time issue.
Rating: 8.5/10
Original review:
Sakura Japanese Cuisine was a serendipitous find at 392 Bloor St. W. in Toronto, about midway between Spadina and Bathurst. It's only a few minutes' walk from either subway, but I found it while biking. Interior was nice and there were plenty of other patrons. Soy sauce is all low-sodium and definitely tastes that way; mine was excellent and fresh.
I had several dishes by the time I got to the miso soup, and it was the only "meh" item I had at Sakura. It wasn't bad, just not up to the rest. The hot and sour soup was unusual but very tasty and reminded me a bit of gumbo. Green salad's dressing was excellent (and thankfully not just Thousand Islands.) Cheese wontons were very good with plenty of cheese and a tangy sauce. Hash browns (usually called potato pancakes) were delicious.
On to the entrees,
the salmon sushi was excellent with a good nigiri portion size. Spicy
salmon and spicy scallop sushi were equivalently good and the spicing
was perfect. Avocado roll was good and the unique fruit salad roll was
interesting and different, but enjoyable. Butter yaki mushrooms were
excellent as were dumplings/gyoza. Chicken teriyaki was slightly charred
but some prefer it like that; the sauce was good. Steak teriyaki was
super tender and savoury, as well as some other descriptive that my
messy handwriting prevented me from deciphering later! I wasn't able to
sample the sweet and sour chicken as it wasn't delivered though I
ordered it twice; thankfully the rest of the service was stand-out.
The
two standouts were satay chicken which had an amazing subtle flavour,
but the real star was the basil chicken. It was absolutely perfect and
the chef managed to bring out this hidden flavour in the basil that so
many other dishes that I have tried with it left undiscovered. After all
the dozens of places I've been two and hundreds of entrees I have tried
this stands out among the best and it's good to know that I haven't
been so jaded after this many that something this good can't shine
through. I'd recommend a visit here just to try this entree alone.
For
dessert the usual offerings of mango, red bean, and green tea ice cream
were very good and I also enjoyed mango pudding. The service was
fantastic, especially when I clumsily tipped over my miso soup (I swear
it wasn't because it was the only "meh"... honest!) and the food arrived
very fast. Sakura had other dishes I didn't get a chance to try such as
ramen (which is rare; most places have only udon) and Thai dishes, as
well as the elusive sweet and sour chicken. Lunch was $13.99 and the
extra buck over the average cost was worth it. AYCD $1 pop is available
which is a nice bonus. Sakura will definitely be seeing me again with
Mishy in tow.