Sakura Bistro Tapas Sake - Oakland

Notes: (1) One of the few restaurants open in the area on Saturday night area doesn't seem safe but the restaurant is located inside an outdoor plaza. (2) Street parking.This is a Japanese/Chinese restaurant with the options of sushi or Szechuan food. We came here on a Saturday night looking for some take out as we were in the area. The place was really big and there was alcohol displayed everywhere. We ordered the Shanghai pan fried soup dumplings as it was popular on yelp. After waiting for over 25 minutes, we found out that it wasn't really a dumpling but more of a bao (bun). The dough was super heavy and it was just so oily inside. The stuffing was good but as mentioned oily and there was no soup since we did take out. Would I venture out to try something else here? Probably if this was the only option around but wouldn't go out of my way to get food.

Gonna say the food was decent, but nothing special. Maybe I need to try the hot pot. We had the fried chicken, which was good but could have used a bit more spice. It was crispy and well salted. The green beans were good, but nothing to speak of. Pan fried soup dumpling also were fine. The restaurant has a Japanese menu and a Chinese menu in one space, though they are technically two different restaurants. Service was fine. It's pretty big inside. Probably wouldn't come back as there's so many good options in Oakland Chinatown. But I guess I should try the hotpot at some point.

Ordered this to go, but I literately just remembered to take picture when I'm eating the last piece of the fishPickup was really quick and service is good!I love the fish fillet in chili oil here, ordered mild spicy, not quite spicy next time if I get it I might go medium spicy. Not too numbing. Pretty good portion, it comes in three boxes, but I opened only two and shared with my husband.We ordered the wrong eggplant, but this eggplant with basil is not bad at all, it's actually even better cus it's something different! The basil smells so good and tastes good too!

First time here. Service was very nice and we were waited on in such a nice way throughout our meal. We didn't feel as though the Sichuan dishes had enough flavor and pepper punch. Dishes tasted sweet more than anything else. The meat and tofu didn't not taste as though they'd been simmering in the spices, but just added on top of the dish. We ordered:1. Mapo Tofu: this was okay. My criticism would be: kind of sweet, not too numbing, maybe old Sichuan peppers, and we tasted more of a bean sauce than the complex deep umami flavor you can get from the garlic, ginger, and combinations of peppers one usually enjoys in this cuisine. 2. Beef Slices in Chili Oil: the beef was sinewy and difficult to chew. No flavor in this dish despite looking beautiful. Just under the beef is a huge bowlful of bean spouts. No complex flavors at all. No numbing. 3. Stir Fried Green Beans: best dish by far! Crunchy, flavorful, lots of garlic. Loved it!

My husband loves the twice cooked pork. I'm crazy about the stir fried tofu and the veggie noodles. We both enjoy the green beans. Everything has plenty of sauce and flavor. Definitely a new favorite.