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After a long day at the brilliant (but sadly lacking in the food department) PortAventura theme park we ventured into Salou hoping to find somewhere decent to eat.
Parking opposite ‘The Black Bull’ and having to avoid being sold a dodgy watch or flashing plastic toy as we walked down the road I wasn’t optimistic. It felt like Blackpool or Benidorm compared to the riverside paradise we were staying at.
But just as I started to worry we wouldn’t find anywhere acceptable to eat, I spotted a Japanese restaurant offering ‘All You Can Eat’ for 17€ each. I’m not generally a fan of such places or offers as I much prefer quality over quantity, but options were limited and I have to admit I’ve even secretly quite enjoyed some supermarket sushi occasionally so surely this would be better? And it was unlimited!
Approaching apprehensively we were immediately reassured upon entering the restaurant which looked and felt welcoming and inviting with it’s traditional Japanese decor.
The friendly staff were all Japanese too which was great to see. I was further relived to find that although it was ‘All You Can Eat’ it wasn’t a buffet style, everything had to be chosen from the menu and was freshly prepared.
As much as I love Spanish beer it was nice to have one of my favourite Japanese beers, Asahi for a change.
We started with ‘Miso Soup’, not the best ever but certainly not the worst either and was enjoyable. A good flavoured base stock with plenty of tofu and nori.
Similarly with the ‘Gyoza’, not a patch on Yuzu but easily as good, if not better than the likes of Yo!Sushi & Wagamama.
Everything so far had been slightly above average and better than I expected but the sushi far exceeded my expectations. We ordered a variety of fish and vegetable maki, nigiri and iso rolls.
It was great to watch the chef making the sushi in front of us, from watching him work he was clearly very experienced and it showed when we were presented with plate after plate of wonderful sushi. I had very little complaints about any of them.
All tasted great and were beautifully made; perfectly cooked and seasoned rice, expertly sliced fish, precise rolling and delicate presentation. Highlights were the prawn nigiri, avocado maki and California rolls.
We only tried one hot dish, the ‘Prawn Noodles’ was a little uninspiring but a decent noodle dish.
It was late and we had an hours drive to get back to our holiday home otherwise i’d have stayed all night and tested if they really meant ‘all you can eat’. I was seriously impressed with the standard of food, particularly the sushi in a restaurant of this type. It was far superior to supermarket sushi, better than Yo!Sushi and also several much more expensive Japanese restaurants. It was unbelievably good value and considering what I saw of the area i’d say it was some of the best food around too.
Service was unfussy but friendly and efficient, we didn’t wait for long between dishes considering it was all made fresh. I can’t say i’d rush back to this part of Salou for any other reason but i’d certainly return to Sakura.
Date of visit: 28.08.2013
