Another Great Sushi Spot - Zakura, Wexford Street

I am originally from the southside. Grew up there, went out there and ended up working there! Somehow though in my thirties I have managed to find myself living in Meath. Noone saw it coming! Now I find myself on the Northside a lot so it is wonderful to see it reviving in the last few years especially in terms of food. Instead of having to cross the Liffey for a good feed we now have a few fantastic choices. Sandwiches at Oxmantown, middle eastern breakfast plates in Brother Hubbard and Dublin's best Chinese at M&L. Indeed one of my favourite restaurants is Musashi on Capel Street. Read my blog post on it here. Word on the street now though is that they are also the people behind Zakura Noodle & Sushi on Wexford Street. Indeed walking into Zakura is a very similar experience to Musashi. The decor is the same, right on down to the small wooden stools covered with red cushions. The menu though is more Wagamama style, all glossy and black and very easy to read. 

We walked in at 5.30 on a Friday evening and were seated immediately and handed a cup of green tea. I don't think the word has gotten out yet that it is there! I started off with some crab cucumber norimaki while Maya went for salmon sashimi. Both were presented beautifully and were fresh and tasty. I just love how they display their food. I mean how cute is that little boat filled with sashimi!

Norimaki

Salmon Sashimi

If this had just been lunch I would have left it at the sushi but seeing as we tend to eat a LOT we decided to get some bigger dishes. Maya went for the very exotic sounding Suzuki Amiyaki Gohan which is basically grilled seabass on a bed of stir fired vegetables. It was as lovely to look at as it was to eat.

For me it felt like a good night to try out their Chicken Ramen as it had felt wintery all day. I love ramen and it's usually my go to dish in Wagamama as it always hits the spot. I will definitely be adding this one to the list. The broth had a deep chicken flavour while the chicken breast itself was glazed with a sauce that added another dimension of taste to it. It was comforting, filling and fun to slurp up! What more could you want in a ramen.

Another plus besides all the food is the price, it's pretty cheap for what you get. The whole meal cost us €40.90 which included a pot of Japanese green tea. It was great value and we left full and happy. It's also BYOB so what more can you ask for! So if you love Japanese food I would suggest you get down there fast before you are being turned away because they are full.  The word is going to get out fast!

You can find them on Facebook here and their website here. 

Clarification: Zakura is independently owned and is not a sister branch of Musashi's.