Sakebar - Bloomington

Japanese, Casual, Catering

Sakebar

Sakebar
3.2 / 5 (33 reviews)

Description

Sake Bar is a cozy, wood‑paneled sushi spot praised for private booths, an enormous sake and wine selection, creative specialty rolls and wallet‑friendly deals. Many diners enjoy fresh fish, generous portions and friendly service, while others report uneven dishes—mushy sashimi, subpar tempura—and at least one instance of rude, slow service and missing ingredients. Vegan choices are basic. Overall it’s a charming, budget‑friendly destination with standout drinks and rolls but occasional quality and service lapses.

Last update: 17.01.2026 from: Cody

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★ 3.2 / 5 from 33 reviews
dee-h-chef9178
19.06.2024

The Crazy roll was supposed to have tuna, salmon, yellowtail, cucumber, and avocado inside, topped with red tobiko, crunchy, wasabi, spicy mayo, and eel sauce. The Godzilla roll was meant to include shrimp tempura, eel, cucumber, and crunchy outside, with avocado and various tobiko on top. Unfortunately, the chef didn't include any eel or tuna in the respective rolls. When we brought this to our server's attention, rather than addressing it politely, he was distrustful and displayed a poor attitude. We explained that the tuna should be inside the sushi and even suggested an easy solution—just to have it placed on a plate so we could add it ourselves. He seemed irritated and took a long time to fetch the menu for us. After 10 minutes, he finally brought it, but we still faced issues with the missing eel, which was never delivered. As grad students, we were not trying to cause any trouble, but the lack of respect from the server was disheartening. My friend and I had to approach him separately for water refills and to follow up on the eel. While he mentioned to the chef that we wanted eel, he then went back to studying his school book. After 30 minutes had passed since the Godzilla dish was served, we still hadn’t received the eel, even though we saw other dishes being boxed up for takeout while our issue remained unresolved. Eventually, we asked for the bill and requested the removal of the one order since we had been waiting so long without receiving the eel. The waiter was extremely rude, maintaining an attitude despite our calm demeanor. He suggested we were being unreasonable for not giving the chef a chance, claiming he was new. Mistakes happened multiple times, service was abysmal, and after an hour in the restaurant, we still hadn’t received the eel. In my opinion, the waiter is not suited for any customer service position. His manner with customers was unacceptable, and the level of service should be much better, especially when only one party is being served. If he prefers to study in peace, perhaps he should consider working in a library rather than in a restaurant. We will definitely not be returning.

robin-k-school519
19.06.2024

Ordered three specialty rolls: Hanna, Diablo, Lion King. Hanna roll was so amazingly creamy fresh! Server was generous with my delicious fruity wine. Absolutely affordable considering the size extravagance of these rolls. Definitely will return very soon. Perfect for my anniversary dinner. Also absolutely love the Peachy Roll Crazy Friday Roll.

sarah-b-school2-2
19.06.2024

I really don't want to write this place a bad review, because it's super cute inside, I really liked the private booths and the server and sushi chef were adorable... They also have $1 Japanese beers on Fridays, which is awesome... All of that being said, the food was just bad. We ordered the shrimp veggie tempura and the Chirashi (sashimi on rice). The tempura tasted like a bad Chinese knockoff of tempura, and the sashimi was just.. bad. It tasted like it had been slightly warmed by mistake, which gave it a mushy texture. The salad that came with it was covered with what looked and tasted like old thousand island dressing. I'm sorry, sake bar. I really did want to like you... but your food needs a serious overhaul.

cody-b-fox057
19.06.2024

Sake Bar, first things first we Love Ya. love the snacks love the drinks and love the good times. you can really feel the Heart of the Chef in the every bite. If i had forgotten to pay my tab at Sake Bar yesterday instead of hellhole Upstairs, i would probably be there right now. ordering hella edamame for apps n some classic-twist-on-an ol 'favorite dishes like the dreaded Volcano Roll . maybe i would be solving the mystery of what and why is a Spider Roll . idk i guess we 'll never know. THAT BEING SAID i have some questions. 1. have you considered opening a THIRD sushi place serving an identical menu immediately next to sake bar? 2. How do you keep the prices so Low?? 3. would Sake Bar be a good dad friendly place to take my dad! Thank you for your time and this opportunity -cody

rebecca-n-snake98
19.06.2024

I've never had a bad experience here ... Love this sushi bar . It's pretty small but the booths are so cute and cozy . And it's just got a nice vibe, even when the techno music gets loud. Service is great and the sushi is reasonably priced, and tastes fresh . Also,They are almost always on GROUPON with deals, def look into that . Then there's 50% off specially rolls during the day . So many perks about this place!

FAQ

There is a TV / screen on-site where sporting events are shown.

The restaurant also takes credit cards from the common providers as a means of payment.

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