Sakai Japanese & Korean Cuisine

wonderful place

Faced with an 8 page menu, exhaustive in its range of enticing descriptions of Japanese and Korean food, I opted to sample the former side by having soup, salad and appetizers (3 as it turned out). I love miso soup and have had incarnations of it in many places in Canada and abroad but this broth was simply fabulous in the depth and complexity of what is often a flat, watery introduction to a meal. The poky salad (fresh tuna, julienned seaweed, etc.) was vibrant, flavourful and spicy as advertised. I started my appetizer foray with mandu yaki (small homemade dumplings with a combo of 8 different ingredients) and tako yaki (fried minced octopus balls with a unagi and katsu sauce on the side). Can you say FABULOUS?. Having washed it all down with warm sake, I rested for a while and then tackled a tempura dish: soft shelled crab (4 pieces) with a ponzu sauce. Cheer again. Service was attentive and friendly and relaxed especially when the young lady and John, the son of the owner realized that I wasn't in a hurry. (I was honoured with a tempura zucchini sample from the owner's garden (in the back he said when I mentioned that he had tomatoes growing in the front). This is simply wonderful food, presented with smiles and pride by people who love doing what they do. I can't wait to return and try some deeply Korean dishes of which there is an abundance on that wide-ranging menu.

Not so my favourite.

I loved inside of sakai it was fansy and all expensive looking. I ate dolsot bibimbap, dynamite, tempura appetizer. The food was great i liked it. But my shrimp tumpura was kind of cold and big but inside of it, the shrimp was so small it was all tempura bits over the shrimp....... The dolsot, i don't know why one side of it was so salty and the waitess looked mad and they scared me... I hear so many good thing about here and i was do excited visiting there and i kind of dissapointed. I liked here but not my favorite !

Great place

My Dad took me to this place when I was younger and that was the day I found out what good food was. This place gives you realy good service with realy good food and alot of things to try some things I would say you owe it to yourself to try once in your life. For starters I would recommend Miso soup if it's a cold day that stuff will warm you right up, the house salad has a tangy sauce I'm not sure whats in it but it's realy good. and Mandu yaki realy good beef dumplings with a great sauce My recommendations for entrees would be the Bokum if you like spicy stuff or the chicken karashi if you want something a little sweeter and the sukiyaki if you are feeling adventurous make sure to ask for instructions on how to go about cooking/eating it. unfortanitly I have not been to this place enough to try all the items. Make sure to try something new once in a while

My FAV Sushi restaurant

Introduced to the place on a cold winter day, introduced to Dolsot Bibimbap, AMAZING. Still my go to dish on a winter day. Also was my first experience with Sushi, I've been addicted ever since. Sadly though, I compare ever other sushi place to Sakai, nothing compares!!! Fish selection, freshness, preparation, service it is ALL GREAT. I can't say i like the little rooms but not a big deal. My favorite sushi and Korean restaurant to date, just wish it was a little closer to my home :)

Outstanding. i must admit i like sushi, but this restaurant has the best Spicy tuna Handrolls I have ever tasted. The service is terrific and you must ask for the "Peter Rolls" Fresh, delightful and the best in Burlington.