Yamamoto Japanese Cuisine

Yamamoto Japanese Cuisine used to be located in Pacific Mall, but I heard that this location has been open for quite some time now as well. When you drive into Bridlewood Mall, expect to drive to the back of the mall until you see a big white sign that says Yamamoto.
We made reservations on a Saturday night at 5:30pm, not a lot of people eat during that time, so many seats were available. The restaurant did begin to fill up at around 7:00pm.
Adult prices for weekends and holidays (dinner) is $ 26.99, (lunch) is $ 16.99. On weekdays, dinner is $ 24.99 and lunch is $ 14.99 for all you can eat!
There were a lot of options of food, that came at a fair speed, though the sashimi came really slow. It basically came after every other food dish we ordered during the first round.
Two things I really liked are their desserts as well as their soft drink availability. Often, soft drinks are extra the price. The desserts came in glasses that were a little wider than the tall shot glasses, though the sizes were the same. (So if you’re used to ordering the desserts from Tenichi or Matsuda, make sure you divide the number you want to order by half.
Their sashimi and rolls were average, but I really liked their grilled items — the Saba and Sanma were one of our favourites of that night (though I do know some other people won’t be big fans of grilled fish).

Awful awful place. We went to the Markham location before but unfortunately it closed down 6 months ago so we decided to go here for lunch on June 5. We were a big group of over 25 people. Firstly they said my daughter and nephew would be charge $ 6 each. They r 2 years old! All other sushi place r either free or $ 1.99. So we place an order for food and all the cooked food came first. All the sushi either came 1.5 hrs later or never came at all. The salmon sushi was awful. The rice was disgusting. The salmon was so paper thin. I never had sushi like this before. Only the egg and salmon and surf clam sushi arrived. All the other sushi never came but yet all the cooked food came. Unbelievable. Never going here again.

We had dinner there last weekend.
20 minutes after we ordered, our first dish came, the rice in the sushi was undercooked and cold.
Whatever we ordered, it either didn’t come, or came in many less pieces than we ordered, or took an unbelievably long time.
This is an all you can eat sushi bar, but the food and service were both terrible.

Menu:
What we had:
Appetizers: grilled (not so jumbo) jumbo shrimp, chicken cartilage, miso soup, shrimp tempura, curry cuttlefish, grilled squid, yoshinoya’s beef, baked avocado seafood
Rolls/​Sushi: snow season, jade roll, kansai unagi sushi, unagi avocado maki (grilled eel and avocado roll), black dragon roll, spider roll, salmon rose, salmon sushi, white tuna sushi, chopped octopus sushi, spicy salmon sushi, spicy tuna sushi
Sashimi: salmon, red snapper, white tuna, beef, octopus, herb salmon, scallop
Dessert: green tea ice cream, mango ice cream, mango yogurt, amber cake, mango pudding, green tea pudding, chocolate mousse, durian mousse, crème brûlée
(This was over multiple visits, we don’t eat THAT much.)
Taste: ⁹⁄₁₀
Appetizers are good in general. Steven really likes the chicken cartilage and the yoshinoya’s beef. I was excited about the grilled jumbo shrimp but it turned out to be just regular sized shrimp. It was still good. Curry cuttlefish could use more salt. Baked avocado seafood was quite heavy.
The special rolls are really good (snow season, jade roll were unique, black dragon and spider rolls are good too). Their sushi have a good fish to rice ratio, and the fish is fresh. The dinner menu has a nice selection of sashimi, including scallop sashimi that I’ve never seen at other places before. Steven likes the beef sashimi and the herb salmon sashimi (salmon sashimi marinated in some lemon juice and herbs). The scallop sashimi is tender and slightly sweet, though no matter what quantity of it you write down on the order sheet, they only give you a small lump of it.
Desserts here are pretty much the generic AYCE sushi desserts. Mango yogurt is really yummy (I had 10 huehuehuehue), and so is the crème brûlée. The amber cake is really a jelly with goji berries in it, wasn’t so great. Puddings and mousses were pretty on point.
Value: ⁷⁄₁₀
Decent selection for the price, fish to rice ratio is pretty good for most rolls. The portions are not too big, so you don’t have to about not being able to finish what you ordered.
**Average cost per diner: $ 20 per person for lunch, $ 30 per person for dinner (add $ 2 if for weekend/​holiday)
Service/​Convenience: ⁷⁄₁₀
The place is easily located in Bridlewood Mall. The seating is not too crowded and we were seated fairly quickly on a Friday night. Our first round of orders arrived quickly, but subsequent rounds took a lot longer. I’m actually quite impressed with the fact that they never missed a single order, even if they did bring it slowly.
Would go back? Sure, mainly for the scallop sashimi. Also the place is fairly close to us, so its very convenient.
Would recommend to friend? Yup, great place for AYCE at a decent value in Scarborough/​Markham region.
Similar places: Any AYCE sushi restaurant, but as far as we know this is the only one that serves scallop sashimi
**Disclaimer: Average cost per diner constitutes the amount (per person) we eat to get full without drinks. Total cost is usually divided between 2 diners, one of whom can regularly eat 7 slices of XL pizza

TAKE OUT REVIEW
This review only pertains to ordering take out (lunch). Our office often hosts bento lunches and this is one of the location where they order the lunch bentos.
It is easy to order from them, someone from the office just calls and provides them the order. They’ve gotten all the orders correct to date (we usually have over 20 orders at one time and they are always on time with their food).
Portion are great with the price you are paying for lunch — comes with a soup and salad.

My favourite AYCE japanese place closed down so this being my second favourite became my next go to place.
I like them for their variety in sashimi. Other places only have the usual salmon, white tuna, hokkigai, snapper choices but this place includes scallop, octopus, beef and herb salmon. They even have sweet shrimp on the weekends, though I wish they offered that on every dinner menu! (If anyone knows of any other places that offer sweet shrimp, please let me know!)
Sushi wise they have the usual choices, their rolls are not too big. I can still fit them into my mouth in one bite so they’re not stuffed with too much rice. I don’t like their makizushi though, they’re way too big! They have these vegetable rolls and rice paper rolls that are very yummy on the back of the menu. I actually did not know I could order them until recently. I wish they had more rolls like that because all their other sushi rolls, including their signature one are all too similar. They have advocado, a shrimp tempura, crab meat, etc and it’s just a different piece of fish on top to change the roll’s name.
They’ve changed their hot menu recently, and removed a lot of the things I used to like a lot about them. They got rid of their cold soba and their baked mushroom is now just stir fried mushroom with garlic. Their kalbi beef rib is gross, it’s literally mostly fat or the worst cuts.
Service wise, they don’t speak English. I booked a reservation on a saturday and spoke in English because the lady who answered the phone spoke English to me. I come in for my reservation at 8pm with my group and it turns out they never wrote it down so they denied having any reservation and offered to seat us at 9:30pm instead. I was so upset that day, not going to lie.
Pricing wise, they’re a good choice on a week night if you want dinner. Also get the membership card for a 10% discount, which would negate that extra service charge they slap on top of your bill. They are really expensive on the weekends, for not much difference in menu options. The weekend dinner just means you can order sweet shrimp and 4 extra rolls that are not normally offered. Not worth the extra $ 5 per head.

We really like this place for take-​out platters. They have excellent pricing for take-​out platters for normal tasting rolls and sushi. I’ve always had a really good experience with the service.

Food is great here. It’s really getting busier here than before. Their staff was really nice and spend the time explaining. Ask for them to set a nice sushi plate. They make a beautiful presentation. Check out the goose liver sushi. Taste amazing!

Food was good but service was TERRIBLE. I ordered a couple vegetarian rolls and had to order twice and remind them 3x before it actually arrived almost 2 hours in to our meal. They must’ve thought it was mistake because let’s be honest, who orders vegetarian rolls.
Anyway, they’re ridiculously understaffed and didn’t plan accordingly for service on a Saturday night.
There’s potential here though!

3.5ish.
Came here as a group of 5 for dinner. Overall the sashimi and sushi was pretty fresh, they have a nice variety as well. I didn’t come with high expectations because I’ve been here for non-​ayce and this place is definitely nothing special.
Let’s talk about their food, so aside from the sashimi and stuff being pretty fresh, their cooked foods were also pretty good. Nothing tasted bad honestly but there are some items on the menu that don’t really belong there… For those that have seen it will know, the «sushi rice» they have shown on their most popular items looked pretty good. It’s actually just a sad ball of rice that came out as a deformed triangle. In general though the food was pretty good so yeah.
What I didn’t like about this place was this one waitress that kept saying LAST CALL ORDER NOW, kept coming by and telling us that. It was only like 9:15 or something. Like chill okay?
Verdict: good OK.
In general, the food was pretty good. It’s what you expect when you go to an AYCE place, which is completely fine. The place was packed but food still came relatively quickly so no complaints there either. So give the place a try!
That’s all.

Been here 3 times now and each time I was not disappointed. But then again I’ve only come during lunch time for their lunch specials and pretty much tried a lot of their bento boxes that had either beef, salmon or saba. Today I went and it was quite busy as it was peak lunch hour time. Anyway let’s begin!
Let’s start with service. All 3 times I’ve been here, their service was not disappointing. Pretty efficient and friendly people here. Helpful and aware for the most part, especially if you needed something. Food came out in a timely manner too.
Food from the bento boxes were good. Not too salty or oily. The only oily parts were the bed of vegetables that was always under the fish or beef. Aside from that everything was delicious. You also get miso soup when you go for the lunch specials.
The place is pretty roomy and can definitely fit a large crowd especially during their busy times. They are considerate and won’t rush tables to pay the bill when there is a line up. However, when they have a table open after a customer leaves, they clean it quickly and thoroughly and have the next customers in line seated asap. Pretty impressive in that they care for their customers enough to be efficient but thorough with cleaning and set up but also with the current customers and not rushing them to finish faster. Sometimes they would team up and have 2 people clean up the table and set up for the next guests. Two sets of hands are always better than one right?
Honestly, I’ve been on the hunt for a decent japanese restaurant to make it a go-​to when I want some decent jap food or ayce. I must say this place is slowly becoming that go-to…both service and food quality has got my attention. I have yet to try their ayce menu but from what I have experienced so far, I am definitely looking forward to it!

Good AYCE Sushi. Great Selection
If you’re looking for a great all-​you-​can-​eat sushi restaurant with a great selection of food to choose from, this is the spot for you. In addition to serving food you would commonly see at other sushi restaurants, Yamomoto also serves many other food items as well including Thai, Korean, and French dishes.
In regards to sushi, what stood out for me was the house signature item ‘Yamomoto roll.’ It’s a delicious blend of mixed sashimi on top of a California roll. It’s a basic concept but you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the novelty of the item and start to wonder how come no other sushi restaurants have attempted this sort of sushi concoction before.
If you’re craving for bbq, Yamomoto’s has a great selection of bbq items such as the Korean Kalbi beef short ribs and grilled calamari which I found to be delectable.
What really hit the spot for me was Yamomoto’s good selection of desserts. I was pleasantly surprised to see an offering of crème brulee, chocolate mousse, and durian mousse at a Japanese restaurant. Needless to say, it was a great addition and added an international tasting fare.
I also must note that the restaurant is decently spacious and clean, the staff is attentive, and all the food items were well prepared and cooked with a short amount of waiting time. Overall, the food wasn’t the best I’ve ever had but it was still delicious which is why I’m not giving Yamomoto a perfect 5 stars.
At $ 24.99 for dinner for adults, it’s not the cheapest AYCE sushi restaurant you will encounter, but you will definitely get your money’s worth with their wide selection of food items.

Came here with my family for my birthday dinner and it wasn’t very busy in the restaurant for a Tuesday night. Didn’t need to make a reservation. The place is spacious and I reckon it would be good for large groups. We took to a place in the back with the booths so it offered more privacy (and comfort) so we could stuff our faces to our heart’s content (or stomach’s, whichever you like). Service was fast and efficient, but not very friendly — a little bit detached and aloof, not quite looking at any of us in the eye when we asked questions and gave them our orders. But that aside, the food was good. My family and I ordered AYCE sushi. It wasn’t the best sushi I’ve ever had, but very decent. I have got to say that I was very pleased with their sashimi. The fish was fresh and their portions were fatty and generous. I particularly loved the scallop, beef, salmon & white tuna sashimi. I think I would come by again, maybe for lunch. I saw the sign with their lunch specials and they’re all under $ 10. As a student on a budget, I think I’m sold! If I’m in the area again, I’d come here :)

I had a good experience here on a Tuesday night. Place was not too packed. Their food was as good as it can be for an AYCE place.
I was surprised that they played and served their sashimi on fresh ice in a wooden box/​boat. Not even many a LA carte places serve their sashimi on ice to keep it fresh. Nothing ran out that night even when the menu said limited availability, probably cause itbwas a Tuesday.
What sold us to coming here was the scallop sashimi and chicken cartilage! They both did not disappoint. When ordering the scallop sashimi, you might want to order 10 – 20 pieces as they come chopped up in little pieces. The baked mussels were also really good. The herbed salmon was really good because of all the fatty parts in contained. The mackarel was also fresh and cut not too thin.
Last but not least. Dessert! A pretty decent selection. The last thing that tempted to to try this place was the DURIAN mousse! And boy did this NOT DISAPPOINT. the aroma was so strong once you stuck your spoon in the first time. If you closed your eyes eating it, it was basically eating a durian, from the taste to the texture. I’ll be back just for the durian mousse!

Last call on the menu is 10pm. Came in just before 9. The first waitress said last call is 9:45. The second waitress said last call is 9:30…okay. We are in a party of 5 so it wasn’t like we weren’t going to spend.
Food was not like the original location at all… sloppy and gristle filled. The taste was unremarkable even for AYCE.
The one waitress kept hacking a lung… lovely. Not only that but their customer service was pretty awful… literally chucking dishes of hot food haphazardly and almost knocking food onto us.
Anyways being rushed from beginning to end this was certainly a shame. If you want the proper Yamamoto go to the Kennedy location. Avoid this one please!!! I’d be amazed if this location stays open…

The 4 stars is for their lunch value– a delicious bento (minus the disappointing gyoza) for only $ 8? Any day! I recommend the Maki box ($ 7.50). Also, take-​out service is remarkable. They are quick and friendly and serve you right away when you walk through the door.
Did ACYE months ago, probably wouldn’t do it again. They’d have to step up their quality-​for-​price game.

Service was rushed and the staff didn’t clear the plates often so the table was full of piles of plates. This was towards the end of the night with an hour left of service.
Last call was at 10 and the staff was turning down the restaurant even though closing is at 11.
The food was ok. Some special rolls were interesting but the menu was about the same in quality and selection as other AYCE places.
Overall, not a great experience and would not return.

First time trying Yamamoto at Bridlewood Mall. We opted for AYCE Dinner. The Mister the Missus were thoroughly disappointed.
The rundown:
Food — mediocre at best
Tried a lot of the items on the menu, nothing special. Same as all AYCE sushi joints. Chef’s recommended items were a disappointment.
Service — lackluster
Servers were not personable. Needed a lot of hand waving to get attention and noticed other tables were doing the same. Only 6 tables occupied, slow traffic, no reason for long wait. When they deliver food on the table, the plates were roughly handled.
OVERVIEW:
* Some of the food we ordered never came.
* Dessert was the redeeming part of dinner. Above average for standard AYCE sushi places.
* Lots of space and elbow room. Brightly-​lit interior. Sparse decorating. (Mister does not think this should be included on here)
* GRATUITY WAS sadly AUTOMATIC

This place is a gem of a find for AYCE sushi restaurants. A close friend recommended this place to me and I’ve eaten at Yamamoto twice now; once for lunch, which I ordered the beef bento box –food for thought, beef brisket is the protein, I should have ordered the sirloin beef bento instead. I went there last Saturday for my second visit with a few friends. I chose AYCE instead of a la carte; and boy was I blown away by the huge selection. The sashimi was fresh and served beautifully on a wood platter. I fell in love with the grilled mussels and the shrimp tempura rolls.
The servers were friendly and quick in serving our food and clearing the table. The restaurant is smaller than most places but I like the intimate feeling you get at a smaller but well run eatery.
I am definitely going back within a couple of weeks.

Just noticed this place on the way to the only Taco Bell in my area inside Bridlewood Mall. Decided to try this out instead of tacos for an afternoon snack just to be different.
Considering we arrived just around 4:30 pm, it was nice of them to let us avail of their lunch specials rather than their all you can eat option.
So we decided to go with their chashew ramen since we wanted something simple and cheap like a taco.
One good thing about the ramen is that they are generous with the chashew portions and the broth had the slight thickness of a pork bone soup. However that’s about the only good things I can say about it.
The ramen noodles tastes a little eggy and didn’t really taste right even for an eggy noodle.
The seaweeds they used are not nori. They were the rehydrated seaweeds. So it feels out of place.
The broth is like water and almost no flavour. After drinking it my tongue started to feel numb so I guess it has some MSG.
Finally the egg tastes like the tea egg that you get at Taiwanese shops. But does not match the rest of the ramen.
So overall I won’t recommend this place for Ramen. Niwatei which is nearby is much better.