Sakura Garden

It’s taken me 10 years to talk my husband into giving this restaurant a try. Its location (at the end of a strip mall anchored by Hamden’s supermarket for poor people) made him suspicious. And when you’re eating raw fish, you want to be confident in the quality of your food. Despite the somewhat shady location, it’s a totally different experience once you step inside. There’s a little pond with fish and turtles in it, some fake glowing cherry blossom trees (fun fact: that’s what “Sakura” means in Japanese), and a circle-shaped bar that all contribute to much better ambiance than you would expect in the price rite plaza. I’m only giving it four stars for ambiance though because a) my husband was weirded out by the fake fish on the wall in the bar area that he had to look at during the whole meal and b) the hibachi section is noisy and full of kids crying, people screaming, etc. If they could isolate the hibachi section a little better, it would be a more pleasant dining experience for everyone else. Everything we ate was outstanding (including the “outstanding roll” - my husband’s favorite). Service was absolutely perfect - better than I’ve had in fancier restaurants. For example, we ordered a bunch of stuff including a couple soups. He asked if we want the soup first or everything as it’s ready. I really appreciate that. Too many times at other places they’ll give us our entrees before our starters arrive. I find that so annoying and it ruins the meal. Anyhow, excellent food, perfect service, and surprisingly nice vibe inside (if you can ignore the loud hibachi people and fake fish mounted on walls).

Server only once came to our table to drop off our initial drinks. Never came back again. We ordered hibachi and never got our soup our our salad either. Also noticed s forced 10% tip, I always leave 20% (and we did regardless of the poor service). Just thought it was a little shady.

I always Love coming here and getting my Shrimp Tempura and Sweet Potato Rolls...😋😋

First time. Great service. Food was excellent. Wide variety of Japanese food. Hibachi steak annd shrimp withbv$white dipping sauce excellent. Companion had sushi and rolls. Fresh. Tasty. Price reasonable. Can be too noisy for q I iet conversation. . Kids love Hibachij chefs performance

I come here regularly, the service is always good and the staff is friendly, the food is great as well. I believe they are one of the better places to get the “bang for your buck” they keep the restaurant clean and it has a nice atmosphere I would highly recommend this establishment, I always enjoy it here