Sushi Sapporo
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Alcohol: Full Bar
12 Reviews for Sushi Sapporo
ok, car, pull over, pull OVER...it always wants to go directly to Eatzi's when it sees it, I have to take command over my Caddy just like it's one of my kids. I'm glad I did. I think our little Sushi Buffet has new owners. The look has been updated and the buffet is actually gone, which initally was a big fat bummer, cause this big guy was in "KILL ALL FISH" mode. Good news: it's still $19.95 for all you can eat, just in much more graceful way: you simply order what you want and they bring it to you. Of course, without draping napkin over the top of my heaping plate of buffet sushi, I was a little uncomfortable re-ordering, until of course, I witnessed Godzilla across from me, sloshing roll afer roll thru his wasbi colored soy sauce. GREEN LIGHT!! I have to tell ya, it was fine sushi. Some elaborate rolls, fresh yellowtail and tuna, and some of the best Miso Soup I've had. (I had two bowls: Zilla: 4) Order away, the waitstaff was very nice. Consistant fillings up on the Iced Tea (Is this a good thing or bad thing...discuss) and all in all, for $24, (Tax/Tea) It was quite a bargain.
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Oh no... Oh no no no... What happened Sushi Sapporo? What has your new management done to you?
I'm very disappointed to announce that I'm officially lowering my rating for Sushi Sapporo. While the quality of the food has not changed and the service is still good, there are some issues that have finally started to sink in after my most recent visits.
First of all, tranny karaoke is gone. No more Wayne Smith dressed up as Cher making me feel that strange combination of disgust and attraction as I sing Beach Boys to my sake-drinking fiancee. This Saturday night fixture has gone the way of the dinosaur. Boo.
Second, the $20 "all you can eat" buffet is here to stay. It used to be $12.99 and they had a cart full of sushi that allowed you to freely express your sushi hunger at the exact moment you wanted a piece. Now, you order it from the standard menu and they bring it to you like a normal lunch. The items that are available during this time are in regular black type. The ones that you must order a la carte at the normal price are in a "forbidden" red font. Call me old-fashioned, but anything written in red makes me think I failed a test and should therefore feel bad. So what I'm trying to say is that looking at this menu makes me feel fucking awful before I've even ordered any food.
Then I was informed by our waitress that whatever we did not eat we would be charged for. I've heard of this rule at some sushi restaurants but had never been to one. This is an awful policy. It sets a hostile tone from the onset of your meal (as if the blood-red ink wasn't foreboding enough).
This is not "all you can eat." This is "all you can eat -- or else!"
There is a simple fix to this problem that I have yet to see implemented. Put a cap on the amount of food a person can order at once. Allow four food items maximum to be ordered per person. One salad, a miso soup, and two rolls. If that doesn't fill you up, you can order up to another four things. Of course, you'll want to order four more things anyway because you'll have just barely gotten your money's worth if you just stop there. But then, you're trapped and you'll owe extra because you won't be able to eat it all. Just like what happened to us.
We asked for the bill and the waitress said, "Finished?"
"Yes," I said.
Then she looked very apologetic, "You can't eat just few more?"
"Ahhh... no, I don't think so."
"Maybe you have just two? I have to charge you if you no eat. So sorry."
"Uhhh... ok." So I crammed one in my mouth and could barely swallow it because I was so full.
I put the rest in my pocket. I was not gonna freakin' pay extra after I'd already paid for the buffet.
But at least with the four item order cap, you can't get a dozen things at the beginning when you're really hungry; it gives you time to pace yourself and order responsibly.
When we left Sushi Sapporo that day, I knew that would be my last trip there for lunch.
My last experience was Sunday night. We went for some quick cali-rolls, which are less than six bucks -- still a great deal. I also got some mackerel, my personal favorite, and the ahi tower. These were all great and wonderful; they weren't the problem.
The problem was that they had rape rap playing at an uncomfortably loud volume throughout the entire dinner.
What is rape rap? I'd say 75% of top-40 rap and pretty much anything with Lil' John in it. Or just tune to 97.9 the beat and listen for just thirty seconds. You will understand.
The lyrics are usually like:
(group chant)
Get dat ho on da flo (WHAT?)
I said just get dat ho on da flo! (YEAH!)
Get dat ho on da flo
Now we gon' impregnate you!
(chick sings)
You wanna impregnate me
But first you gotta buy me stuff
Your friends wanna do me too
That's cool they can buy me stuff too
I know what you're thinking -- "Fuck off Nick, me and my girlfriends fuckin' LOVE that song! We shake our booties all night to it! WOOO!!"
*does body shot, passes out*
Oh I know, ladies, I know, but can we agree that it may not be an appropriate music choice for quiet dinner ambiance? Maybe it's perfect after you've had a long lonely month and you need a little jolt in your self esteem, so you head to the local club and lose yourself in the hypnotic rhythms. Maybe you strike up a conversation with a charming guy cleverly referred to as "J-Pizzle" by his friends. He's in sales -- for a big company, and he's buying you drink after drink after drink. He seemed like a great guy when he offered your drunk ass a ride home after you somehow got separated from all of your friends, but then why are you waking up at his house and not yours? And why is he introducing himself as James Pewterschmidt, Allstate insurance salesman? Where's J-Pizzle? And is THAT A VALTREX BOX ON THE NIGHT STAND?!?!?!
BOTTOM LINE:
I'm going to be finding a new sushi venue. I welcome your suggestions. Sushi Sapporo is no longer on my "best of."
2 1/2 stars
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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05/27/2008
I went to this place the first day it opened and I've been coming back since. It had a rocky… Read more »
Found this by accident.
We were actually looking for SushiZushi on Oaklawn and i thought this place was sushizushi.... no.. its Sushi Sapporo.
perfect timing because when we went it was the Re-Grand opening and ALL the food menu items were 1/2 off!! couldn't get better than that.
I got the beef teriyaki with rice. and i havent had teriyaki in so long.. so it was fantastic. we also got the volcano roll and shrimp tempura.
i have had better rolls but this girl Amber who ate some with me loved the Volcano roll.
I went back and took my mom since it was 1/2 off til Monday. and she thought it was good. we got the bulgogi, gyoza, and some sushi that i cant remember and that was good too.
The place and atmosphere was cute i liked it.
Service was good and so was the food so overall it was pretty average.
3 stars for me.
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We love our sushi and Sushi Sapporo made us love it even more. A great atmosphere and bar but the sushi and service were outstanding. We drove From Tyler, Tx and the gas was well worth the price. It is a bit pricey but for sushi as good as this it's worth it!!
New ownership..very cool guy and pretty wife. Could even add 1/2star for getting to watch the owner take a sake-bomb! haha
The calamari was not my favorite--calamari steaks cut into strips and fried, it reminded me of elementary school fish sticks, not a good thing. The soft shell crab was good, nice sized and the right amount of crunch. They had it served in a boat with a small amount of memmi (soup stock/dipping sauce) on the side, I wish they would have had a more flavorful dip like ponzu or put some ginger in the memmi. anyway, just being picky.
The "japanese pancake" is actually a "korean pancake" or pajun. It was tasty nice amount of crunchy veg and bits of seafood.
The sashimi was very good and nice thick pieces.
The rolls were ok. My favorite was the sunshine roll, not only is the name awesome, but it was sweet and tasty. It's made up of imitation crab, egg, and cucumber inside-out and rolled in panko. I looove tamago (sweet egg), as simple as it seems, it is my favorite and a staple item. The rainbow roll was fine and I didn't care for the ss something or the other with soft shell crab and mango.
Overall I had a nice meal, I know a few of the girls who work there are they are always sweet. I will probably be back.
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A group of 10 of us went to Sushi Sapporo this past Saturday night for a bachelorette party. What goes better with a bachelorette party than karaoke hosted by a drag queen Cher impersonator?
I'm torn on what kind of rating to give. We didn't have any food, as we went post-dinner, so that doesn't factor in at all. The karaoke was fun, but the drinks were terribly disappointing. I had a couple of cape cods, and I'm fairly certain that there was no vodka in there. $4.50 is a fine price for a mixed drink but a bit steep for a glass of cranberry juice. Still, if you're going for something different on a Saturday night, I'd recommend going at least once. The crowd thinned out by Midnight, so for two hours, we almost had the stage to ourselves. One piece of advice though: drink before you get there.
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Went for the lunch buffet and have to say the rolls all taste the same. The rolls are bland and so is everything else in the buffet. Its cheap so don't go expecting Nobu at Mickey D prices. I have yet to try green papaya next door but it seems to be always crowded.
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I am usually more curious about places I read about on Yelp with polarizing reviews.
Sushi Sapporo fit the bill so I checked it out.
I have to say I actually liked it alot. While far from a sushi connoisseur, I can tell rotten fish when I taste it.
I had my usual staple item, spicy tuna and was pleasantly surprised when it was actually...spicy! I didn't even need to whore it up with wasabi. They didn't skimp out on the pieces either.
I also tried the crunchy roll...which is essentially the spicy tuna roll with fried gyoza skin mixed into the rice. Tasty but a bit kept getting stuck in my teeth. Not cute.
I started out my meal with some miso soup...was flavorful and not your usual hot water with some powder thrown in.
So, by the time I ate two rolls by myself, I was stuffed.
This place is not cheap by any means...unless you go for the sushi buffet. I don't do buffets so can't speak to that. Sushi averages $4-5/2piece, rolls $8 and up.
Sushi Sapporo has a spacious dining area which probably is alot nicer when there is the whole dog n pony show going on. I went during the day so it was empty. Regardless, I was still served as if the place was packed so props for that.
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FOOD STYLE: Sushi & Cooked Asian
FORMAT: Buffet / Sit-Down & Order / Karaoke Bar
LOCATION: Mandatory "Complimentary" Valet (Please Tip)
Once upon a time, in an America of Not That Long Ago, serving raw fish on a roll of wet seaweed was the equivalent of trying to sell bubonic plague to 13th Century Europeans - people wouldn't touch it for love of god or money. The ability to properly handle a pair of chopsticks labeled a person as exotic or odd. 'Wasabi' was not even a real word, and it certainly wasn't encrusting anyone's baked sole of salmon.
No, Burger King and McDonalds stood astride the great coasts of these United States, hailed from New York to Moscow as the mighty goliaths of Americana fast-food cuisine. Later came Dominos and Taco Bell. With few exceptions, cheap, government-issue styled burgers and cardboard-flavored tacos ruled the national consciousness. Happy clowns and "Still-in-the-Closet" kings danced merrily in our dreams.
Then, one day, the populace awoke! and declared it all a bland, soulless pile of calorie-packing convenience, devoid of taste and inspiration. The old gods were overthrown, and new ones were erected in their place - Emeril Lagasse, Mario Batali, Nobu, the Food Network ... Iron Chef. And lo! the great Culinary Renaissance of America was begun.
Today, we can't stuff our faces fast enough with raw fish bellies and kelp leaves. The inability to use chopsticks is a public embarrassment and the mental flag of our nation is now a proud red, white, blue, and the pungent green of wasabi (actually, it's dyed horseradish, y'all, not real wasabi, which retails for $70 an ounce - sorry). The unthinkable has gone from avant-garde to trendy to mainstream. Japanese fish mongers despair as the best tuna evaporates from the markets (and the sea) and into the gaping craw that is our collective gullet.
Unfortunately, this new culinary fetish comes with a string attached - to your wallet. Whatever the kitchen saves on the gas bill is more than made up for in expedited freight charges, and the words "affordable" and "sushi" are paired about as often as "success" and "Chrysler". Good, affordable sushi is even more uncommon ("profit" and "Ford").
Thank goodness, then, for Sushi Sapporo, a Dallas gem that offers one of the best sushi buffets in the metroplex for your buck. $17 buys you all-you-can gorge at the lunch buffet (drink, tax, and tip), and the super fancy dinner version costs about another ten.
Sitting beside Green Papaya and the hollow remains of what was Nuevo Leon, Sapporo is not hard to find. Parking is - go north on Hall street and enter the shared valet parking lot behind the restaurants in front.
Sapporo offers a smorgasbord of raw (and cooked) delights to be sampled by buffet, by order, or by sake-induced karaoke fest (upstairs). The joint looks sharp and trendy-ish, with a hint of the upscale in the air. But people don't come here to admire the wood grain patterns in the highly polished bar.
The order menu, as you might expect, is loaded with great choices, such as creamy and spicy volcano rolls, spider rolls, eel rolls, salmon and prime tuna etc. rolls - all the kinds of high-dollar rolls you normally expect to see at any decent sushi joint in DFW. And they will cost you.
But it's the buffet that makes Sapporo shine. While most sushi joints stuff their buffets with the obligatory California rolls, salmon slices, fake crab, and spicy tuna bits, Sapporo laces its buffet with these gems: cowboy rolls, cooked eel rolls, daily specials, some spicy-tuna-esque roll that I can't name ... and that's just the sushi. (Dinner buffet is even better...)
Also in the buffet are cooked Asian fusion delights, such as cheesy-mussels, tempura-fried rolls, egg fu young, and a selection of various meats and fried rice offerings. All pretty good, and nice for a change of pace from the relentless sting of soy sauce and wasabi.
Sapporo also kicks it up a notch with the addition of various atypical (for here) sushi condiments. By the ginger and wasabi there are other bowls, filled with little beady things and stringy stuff that all looks like it was dredged up from the bottom of the sea. Interesting to taste, hard to describe, and it won't please everyone, but you usually have to pay extra at other sushi joints for the pleasure - if they even have it on the menu.
All the sushi at Sapporo is very good, even the regular ho-hum stuff in the buffet. It's not as good as the really special sushi bits you might order direct off the menu, but again, you pay top dollar for top-notch sushi. For sushi 'slumming', this place is the Ritz and well worth your consideration for cheap fish in the raw. Whisper 'Sapporo' in my office at lunchtime, and the whole place clears out.
"Hi, Sapporo? Tell the chefs to work it double-time. I'd like to reserve a table for 25.... yes, again."
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After many dinners and lunches at this restaurant, I must say, this is a great place for sushi!
I have taken dozens of friends to the buffet (from as far as Japan or New York) and no one has left displeased. The sushi was delicious, although after several times at the lunch buffet, it does get a little boring. I usually eat the cowboy rolls and the tuna, along with a bowl of miso soup. It is quite delicious and reasonably priced.
Ordering off of the menu is always good too. I enjoy the spicy tuna, bourbon street, california, philadelphia, and rainbow rolls. I have tried other rolls, but cannot remember the names. I think everyone who enjoys great authentic sushi will enjoy themselves at this place.
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I've visited the weekday lunch buffet twice and had a weekend meal off the menu once.
The hot choices off the buffet are greasy and bland. The nigiri are a tad small and probably of questionable quality. I haven't run across one that tasted rank yet (knock on wood). The rolls are dull. I think I once had the salmon teryaki bento, but just the fact that I can't remember for sure is a sign that it wasn't that great.
But the buffet is pretty cheap (around $12 I think). And we can get in and our under an hour, so it's pretty much the only place we can go for sushi on a weekday lunch.
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I've been here a few times now - twice for the buffet and once for the regular sushi.
Let me first state the fact that the buffet is GROSS. The offerings are good, yeah, but I've had one too many pieces of rank-tasting sushi there to ever go back.
Regular sushi is a bit better, but there are much better options in the area.
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