When I first arrived in Cuenca, I was surprised to find that the locals did not take advantage of the prime real estate along the banks of the Tomebamba River. I was thinking, of course, ‘what a great place for a restaurant!’ 

I have to report, though, that the local naiveté has given way to some good ol’ Yankee appreciation of “location, location, location,” and the Barranco area is now undergoing gentrification. In addition to public works projects that include a new stairway connecting the river greenway to Calle Larga, a pedestrian bridge across the river and regular patrols by mounted police and street sweepers, the restaurants are moving in.

One of the best is Sakura, a Japanese establishment that offers sushi and sashimi. Besides its ideal location, the restaurant offers a varied menu with vegetarian as well as meat and cooked fish options. The menu also features non-traditional items with Japanese ingredients. I am particularly fond of Gunkan Sushi, which is an individual roll of either bite-sized nori made by hand or, selected fish, filled with different seafood.  There is also hand-rolled Tamaki, which is cone-shaped and filled with rice, veggies and seafood. 

Sakura’s specialties of the house are: Gunkan Sushi, priced from $1.25 – 1.75 for individual orders and platters of 6 pieces for $8 and 12 pieces for $14.75; Sashimi Hamachi, white tuna, at $2.50 for 3 pieces; Platters of 6 and 12 pieces of assorted Sashimi selections for $6 and $12, respectively. If you add rice to these, they’re called Nigiri Sushi. In total, there are 15 different kinds of Sushi Rolls available. The seafood, by the way, is very fresh, right out of the Pacific, brought in from the ports at Guayaquil and Machala. Not crazy about raw fish? No problem. Sakura also features such dishes as grilled fish, teriyaki and yakitori (chicken, pork, beef and shrimp) and grilled steak.

There's a lunch special for $4.10.  It includes dashi soup, grilled catch of the day or chicken curry, teriyaki veggies and rice, and soda. Also highly recommended are the homemade green tea ice cream and the plain green tea.

Sakura is located at 2451 Paseo 3 de Noviembre and the Escalinata, the stairs leading from Calle Larga to the river. If you come down the stairs, turn left at the bottom and you’ll find Sakura half a block down on 3 de Noviebre.  Phone 282-7740;  Open Mon.-Sat. from 12 noon to midnight and Sunday from 12-3pm.