Ratings are out of 100, with 100 being the highest standard and 0 being the lowest
Quick Summary:
- An All You Can Eat Japanese restaurant in Salford
- With robot waiters, and an iPad to order on for a very quick service
- Providing gluten free soy sauce and a range of gluten free food upon request
- Location: Manchester, Salford
Finally Trying Sakura: Our First Visit After Driving Past So Many Times
We have driven past Sakura Japanese Restaurant countless times while leaving the city centre of Manchester. Every time, I’d point it out to my partner, intrigued by the restaurant but never quite getting around to trying it. So, when it came to pick a new place for dinner, we decided it was finally time to give Sakura a go.
A Warm Welcome and Pretty Decor
On entry, we were greeted by a very friendly waiter. He was smiley and charming and throughout our meal, he made sure we were enjoying ourselves. Little did we know, the food service also used automated robots to bring our ordered food straight to the table, adding both humour and efficiency to the experience.
One thing to note about the automated robots at Sakura: make sure to listen when the robot arrives at your table, as it will announce which row your food is on. Since the robots often deliver to multiple tables at once, it’s important to check that you’re picking up your own order and not someone else’s. Also, once you’ve grabbed all your dishes, be sure to click the ‘finish button’. The robot will wait until you do.
The Ordering Process: A Learning Curve for Allergies
Once seated, the waiter explained the entire process of ordering via tablets at the table and advised us to order only a handful of plates at a time to avoid waste. He also showed us where the dessert buffet was (included in the price) and explained that the Sashimi and drinks were an extra cost.
When asked about any allergies, the waiter demonstrated how to find the allergens for each dish via the tablet. However, we were quick to realise that the tablets showed very very few gluten-free dishes. From this realisation, I was even tempted to leave. Basically everything had gluten in it except the salad and some veg! Both me and the waiter were shocked at this, and he quickly went to the kitchen to check if this was the case.
When he returned, he explained that the tablet’s allergen information was incorrect. And handed me the allergen book for every dish. This was of course frustrating and took a lot of time to decipher through every dish and figure out what I could actually eat. HOWEVER, I was just so relieved that I could actually eat sushi and many more dishes than we originally thought.
Now let’s get to the food: Beginning with Gluten-free Soy Sauce
Now to actually talk about the food…Sakura had gluten free soy sauce! And they had a very large bottle of this. The waiter poured some in a bowl, in the image above, and said to just get him if I need anymore.
Most of the maki rolls were gluten free, so my partner and I began by ordering a selection of them. That included salmon, tuna and avocado. These were delicious and small, just one small dunk in the soy sauce and then straight to your mouth does the job.
My partner ordered three different types of nigiri. Including a salmon, tuna and a smoked salmon. In the image above you can also see him pouring his soy sauce (with gluten) in the sauce bowl. I thought the tiny jugs they use for the soy sauce (with gluten) were cute.
Sushi Handrolls: A New Favourite
As I’ve mentioned in a previous post (Sushi Mami), Sushi Handrolls are becoming my new favourite food, especially at a Japanese restaurant. At Sakura, most of the handrolls were gluten free, with a choice of a few different fish and/or veg to select. And I particularly like pouring just a tiny bit of soy sauce into the roll before taking a satisfying bite from the top. The handrolls were served on pretty wooden stands, adding an extra touch of authenticity.
Unexpected Prawn Crackers: Missing in Allergen Book
The robot waiter also delivered a bowl of prawn crackers to our table. We hadn’t ordered them, but I believe Sakura offers prawn crackers to every table as an extra condiment. While they were a nice touch, I could not find these in the allergen book. I’d recommend checking with the chef before snacking away at these, even though normally prawn crackers are gluten-free.
I ordered a prawn cocktail salad, which you can also see in the image above. This was a good size dish, as it wasn’t too large so I could try other dishes, but also enough that I didn’t need to order it again.
Lacking Gluten Free dishes in the Teppanyaki and Fried Section
From the teppanyaki and fried section, there was not a lot that I could eat as most food had gluten in it. Unfortunately this is the case for most Japanese restaurants, as most sauces contain gluten. In the allergen book, there was a sign next to some dishes, that meant if you request ‘no sauce’ the dish will be gluten free. So from this I could try the grilled salmon, grilled tenderloin cubes and the spicy shrimp. These were all cooked to perfection, however by lacking sauce they were relatively plain.
Every Sweet Tooth’s Dream: A Dessert Buffet
One thing we did not expect was the dessert buffet!
Despite being very full from all the sushi and soy sauce, I wanted to try, or at least attempt to try a dessert.
Not very surprisingly, all the cakes and tarts and chocolates contained gluten. The waiter did warn me about this when we first arrived. BUT the ice cream was all gluten free! They were kept in tubs in the freezer, and there were a few flavours to choose from: vanilla, strawberry, bubblegum, mango and mint. I picked up three tubs to share with my partner. The ice cream wasn’t the best. The flavour tasting quite processed, but the texture was creamy and smooth. The tubs were very small so it was easy to try a few different flavours. Personally, I found the mango ice cream to be the best. It was a nice change from the usual sorbet texture of mango, offering a creamy treat instead.
There was also a variety of fresh fruit in the buffet, all gluten-free. So I helped myself to some grapes, melon and peach, providing a refreshing and light end to the All You Can Eat at Sakura.
Would I Recommend Sakura?
I would recommend Sakura to coeliacs or anyone with a gluten intolerance HOWEVER I would warn them over a few issues:
- The incorrect allergies listed on the tablet (request the allergen book)
- Many dishes do contain gluten and only some can have the sauce taken off to be gluten-free
- Most of the desserts contain gluten except ice cream and fruit
Sakura is a great restaurant and it is good for anyone who really likes sushi. But if you aren’t interested in sushi, then as a coeliac or someone who is gluten free, I’d say do not bother.