Sakura Japanese - Runcorn

After going to Mizu, the next place on my Japanese Food of Brisbane bucket list was Sakura at Runcorn. Having gone to it previously to find it closed, we made sure to check its opening times and head there when we were sure it was open. Being situated in quite a hidden corner in a little shopping complex in Runcorn meant that only people who were really looking for it could find it.

Being quite cold, my companion and I opted for one of the limited seats inside. The inside was somewhat small, but I liked the cozy environment, especially the sashimi bar, which allowed us to appreciate the sushi chef at work.

The menu was provided for us, and we noted a large assortment of entrees, mains, set meals, sushi and sashimi. 

Without the option of a medium sized sashimi, we went all out and got a large sashimi. It came out in a massive boat, containing salmon, tuna, kingfish, cod, snapper, calamari, flying fish roe, salmon roe along with sea urchin. We were very impressed with how fresh the fish was, and how generous the thick cuts were. I especially enjoyed the texture of the tuna, and the super thick salmon. The calamari wasn't too chewy, and the sea urchin wasn't especially fishy, which was a very good indicator of its freshness. Needless to say, I loved the platter, even more so because of its freshly grounded wasabi.

My companion, again ordered a Wagyu beef yakiniku, which came with a sort of pasta salad as the side. The rice was thankfully short grain, which was quite delicious, but the wagyu was a bit overcooked for his liking, but the sauce was strong and mixed well with the rice. The pasta salad though, was quite bland and tasteless, so he didn't finish it. 

I also ordered two sushi rolls, being the salmon avocado roll and the spider roll. Whilst I was super impressed with the sashimi, the sushi rolls were a bit of a let down. They were significantly smaller than our usual rolls at Oishii, and the rice to topping ratio was nowhere near as generous. Both rolls were topped with flying fish roe, but having been used to other stores offering sauces topping the rolls, I found them to be slightly bland, and rolls were a bit cold for my liking.

Price Range: $20 - $40pp

Taste: 7/10
Value: 6/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 7/10