Sakura Japanese Kitchen, Sydney CBD

They say that good things come in small packages, and this definitely applies to the cute little Japanese restaurant, Sakura.

The BFF and I end up at Sakura as our ‘plan B’ dinner.  I’d actually convinced him to come to the Malaysian Kitchen with me that was on in the city last week.  Tales of queues a hundred miles long and waits of over an hour had me worried that my dream of eating at the Malaysian Kitchen would be just that…a dream.  I did a quick walk by on Thursday night and the queue was already well over 200 meters long and the event wasn’t even open yet. Yikes.

Hmmm…I knew there was NO WAY that the BFF (or myself either, if I’m totally honest) was going to line up to eat dinner in a little laneway, on a stinking hot day, with 80 other people, no mater how “cool” I thought it would be.

So plan B is put in to action and the BFF marches me down Pitt Street towards Thainatown...or is it Koreatown?  Regardless, before we hit the stretch of Thai or Korean restaurants that occupy this end of the city we duck into the petite Japanese Kitchen, Sakura and grab a seat.  There are only about 20 or so seats in this tiny hole-in-the-wall joint, so we're pretty chuffed to grab the last available two.

We decide to share a few dishes and start off with an Avocado and Salmon Salad ($9.00). This is a lovely salad, with a combination of salad leaves, cucumber, crab meat, salmon roe and thick slices of Salmon Sashimi. The salad is drizzled with a fruity dressing and the sashimi is thick, meat and amazingly fresh. 

The Agedashi Tofu ($6.00) is a winner, but then again it always is.  I think my addiction is probably more for the dashi-based sauce and bonito flakes that dance atop the dish, rather than the tofu – but mix the three together and viola. Perfection.

We order three Sushi Rolls to share; Tempura Prawn Roll ($6.00 for a small serve), Soft Shell Crab Roll ($7.00 for a small serve) and a Ungai (eel) Roll ($8.00 for a small serve). The Sushi Rolls come with a miso soup on the side.

My favourite is by far the Soft Shell Crab Roll. The crab is super crunchy and I’m having a love affair with that lovely Mayonnaise that seems to adorn so many sushi rolls. I'm also pretty partial to the Ungai Roll - the eel is lovely and soft and falls part easily in my mouth (which is good as the weather just seems too hot to go to the effort of chewing food).

Sakura is a teeny tiny little restaurant on the southern end of Pitt Street.  The building looks a bit art-deco, with lovely little leaded windows and fancy ceiling cornices.  It’s not a good place for those of you who are claustrophobic, but if you don’t mind sitting shoulder to shoulder with other dinners then give it a try.

Sakura is at 325 Pitt Street, Sydney.