exploring Southampton: tasty sushi at Sakura

 

Japanese food is right at the top alongside Mexican as one of my favourite genres of food. I adore sushi, so when we wandered down Bedford place once evening and discovered that not one, but TWO new Japanese restaurants had opened up, I was very excited. I have visited Zen many times and always had a fantastic time (more on that another day), but it’s nice to have somewhere different to go from time to time. As sushi is probably my favourite food to eat out, variety can only be a good thing.

My boyfriend is also a sushi fiend, so we thought it would make a nice end to the week to go and have dinner at Sakura. We’ve tried it once before and loved it, definitely keen to go back for more. A couple of our friends came too – it’s always nice to share the love!

One of the things I love about this place is the atmosphere, it’s really nicely decorated with Japanese artwork. It has a cosy feel without feeling like you’re too close too anyone, and perfect for a natter with friends.

But, the most important thing: the food. I am a pescatarian, so I eat fish but not meat. I’ve always found Japanese food very accommodating as it’s very fish-based. Fish is another one of my favourite things to eat (let’s face it, I like to eat everything), which is partly why I’m not entirely veggie. I am a huge fan of sashimi, which is typical given that it’s one of the more expensive things on the menu wherever you go, and you can’t really buy it to have at home either. For those of you not quite as obsessed with the soosh as I am, sashimi are slices of raw fish. It has to be stored and prepared very specifically since it’s eaten raw.

Both time I’ve eaten at Sakura, I’ve gone for one of the teishoko options, which is a set meal. If I didn’t do this I’d bankrupt myself with sushi (one of the tastier ways to end up destitute I guess). It’s just enough to fill me up nicely, which id good because self restraint is unfortunately something I lack, That’s why I always need rolling home when we go to Zen and have all you can eat.

So, as you can see, you get quite a lot with the set meal and it is all super delicious. I always wanted to try a surf clam, and now I have. They are very tasty. The food is also pretty healthy, so I don’t even feel that bad for eating so much of it. It’s nice not leaving a restaurant with that “oh my goodness I’ve eaten sooooo bad” feeling.

My  boyfriend didn’t have the set menu this time, he went for a ramen bowl and a plate of sushi, which cost about the same as mine did and looked just as filling. There are so many options for a tasty, filling dinner that I could probably eat here every night for months and not get bored. I don’t have a picture of his food because I was being teased for being one of “those” people. I promise, it looked super tasty.

We will definitely be going back again and again. Maybe next time I’ll be brave and go for something that isn’t a set meal… better warn the bank though!

more info and the whole menu at www.sakurasouthampton.co.uk