I called Sakura at 2:30pm to make a reservation for my daughter's Birthday dinner, at 6:15pm on 4/24. I was told they could accommodate the 12 of us, in the regular dining area (not a teppenyaki table) at the time I wanted. My husband and I arrived promptly at 6:15 and we were told it would be about 10 minutes before they could seat us. I said it was fine, and asked to see a menu. I noticed there were only a few things listed for the dining room menu and asked the hostess (whom was very nice) about teriyaki chicken, for the teenagers that were joining us. I was told they only serve it at lunch, but I could ask our waiter/ waitress if we could order it for dinner, but she wasn't sure if we could get it. Then I asked if the $25+ prices were what we would be paying for teppenyaki plates, even though we wouldn't get the whole "experience" of the teppenyaki table. She said yes, those were the prices. So now all our friends and family have arrived and we are discussing food options, and we are all literally still in the waiting area to be seated. It's now 6:50 and the hostess asked if I thought we could "squeeze into" 2 tables there were side by side or did we want to wait for the 3rd table to open up. I saw the couple sitting at the table she was talking about, and they had both just ordered cocktails. There was plenty of room in other areas of the dining room to pull table together for the 12 of us to sit, the entire time we were waiting for this one table to free up.
I dont understand why after making a reservation, we had to wait more than 45 minutes! It would have been longer.....but we decided to take our dinner party elsewhere. I called another local sushi restaurant and they were able to get us in, no problem. We arrived there in 10 minutes and our tables were set and we were seated as soon as we walked in!
Sakura not only missed out on a very hefty dinner bill, but have also made a very bad impression on 12 potential loyal customers! Doubt any of us will ever be back!