Sakura Sushi is a welcome addition to Tunney’s Pasture

Upon entering the building, save for a small sandwich board out front, you might think you’re at the wrong address. The signs out front only read Chung Chun Hot Dogs and Gong Cha, a bubble tea chain from Taiwan.

To your left is a small seating area, and on your right are two large screen kiosks for ordering. Immediately in front of you, a few steps up to a landing teeming with people waiting for the food they’ve ordered from the screens.

On the landing to your left are more stairs up to Sakura Sushi. It’s a calming, blonde wood space with a few tables that are shared with those enjoying Korean hot dogs and tea from the venues below.

Given this dynamic, it’s no surprise that Sakura Sushi is the latest restaurant from the parent company behind the other two. Expect to see more Sakura on the landscape in the years ahead.

A friend and I seated ourselves after ordering miso soup, scallop sushi nigiri, a rainbow roll and a hamachi roll. 

The miso soup ($5) arrived and it was disappointing to say the least. This soup sets up the appetite and is a remarkably simple affair. At Sakura, there was even less effort. 

It was an almost entirely clear broth with little miso in evidence both in appearance and taste. The universal Japanese seasoning dashi had, although essential, not been used, but the soup was loaded with so much seaweed it did the dish no favours.

The Japanese salad ($8) was a success however. A refreshing, bright salad with a tasty sesame-inflected dressing and topped with shredded surimi.

The scallop nigiri was plump and sweet and pretty standard on a bed of well-crafted rice and served with seasoned soy (slightly sweetened) and a paste of too mild wasabi.

Freshness was also front and centre with the maki rolls. The rainbow roll was a mix of tuna, salmon and shrimp topped rolls filled with cucumber, surimi and avocado. 

I asked for a negi hama roll but was told they didn’t have it. Yet they did, but didn’t know it under that name, only as a Hamachi Roll. Hamachi is also known as Yellowtail and for whatever reason, it works like a charm when rolled together with green onion. It was very good.

As a fast-casual venue, prices at Sakura reflect those of a very good (Nagi Sushi) dedicated Japanese restaurant so I’ll leave it to the individual to determine if it’s value for money. As part of a global chain, I was expecting economies of scale to be at play and that prices would be more modest but the opposite is often true of large chains.

Chef Duc Vu runs the whole show by himself and having worked at the original Laurier location of Shinka Sushi, he brings his experience to bear on credible sushi and maki. It’s especially notable in his rice, which is perfectly cooked so that all the grains are identifiably separate but holding their shape in various applications. I’m certain we all hate when our sushi falls apart.

As part of a multi-venue one-stop shop, Sakura offers fresh, healthy options for those government and office workers in and around Tunney’s Pasture. It’s a slightly different concept but one that is very popular and much needed in what was largely a barren strip.