Yamato Ya Japanese Restaurant

I used to really enjoy this shop when it was next to sagaya. I considered the best value for Japanese food back then.
I had lunch there today and while service was polite, the food was horrific. Sushi rice was hard like they had shaped the rice hours in advance. I had the ramen and gyoza. Ramen was inedible due to its sweetness. The soup was more like sweet soba noodle soup. Gyoza was not very good either.
Given the many other choices in town, unless I hear different or someone else chooses this spot, I won’t be returning.

their food was delicious! I can’t wait to go back. I went with my boyfriend and we had gyoza for an appetizer, which I loved, then I had a bento box dinner with teriyaki chicken and assorted tempura, and I enjoyed every bite, we then both shared the tempura oreos for dessert which were to die for. there wasn’t a long wait for any of the food, and there were only a few other people there dining while we were :]

I visited during lunch hour and it was a bit over half full. The seating area was clean and staff pleasant.
I ordered the shrimp tempura and a roll, and they arrived in that order. Both were delicious. I can’t remember the name of the green tea, but it’s the typical brand for sushi restaurants, which I adore.
My waitress never checked back during my meal, but a gentleman stopped by shortly after the food arrived to make sure everything was okay (it was!) and a lady (not the waitress) who cleared a plate offered a hot tea refill. Not typical, but it worked.

This is just a review of the ramen and gyoza, but sadly we won’t be coming back to give anything else a try… There is a ramen «combo» which we tried. Your choice of one (maybe two?) kinds of ramen and either gyoza or fried rice. We got one of each so had the full spread and the gyoza were not very good. Tasted very «green» — like it was packed with spinach or some super green power veggie that fortified me with all things photosynthesis in one bite. The fried rice was rather ‘meh’ and the ramen wasn’t even finish-able…I left half a bowl.

Food was good and decently big portions. Staff was friendly but the food came all at once. I would have like to finish my app before the meal came but the Sake was good and I left full and happy.

We have always been impressed with their service and sushi. The best part is how they help out getting the kids food out fast. By far the most authentic sushi restaurant in Anchorage. If you are an adventurous sushi eater their chirashi is awesome. Only disappointment has been lack of ama ebi or Uni when we come in.

Great service and made to order food. I usually go for lunch and get the bento box with tempura, gyoza, California roll with miso soup and a salad. Always very good and my favorite gyoza in town. Also like the ambience… very pleasant wait staff.

Yamatoya roll is king in anchorage. The Uni is some of the best I’ve had in a while. Great service at the bar.

We came with a groupon, so had a set menu. If you can get a groupon for Yamato Ya, do it! The food– miso soup, gyoza, sushi (crunch roll and Alaska roll) and the yaeko chicken were all wonderful, everything was full of flavor and not dried out and just yummy! We also had our drinks included! I got the hot sake, which I thought was spicy hot, but was temperature hot and was really good (especially since I was cold!) — my new favorite way to drink sake! Our server was really sweet and very attentive. My only complaint is that the music was too loud for my taste! (Im such an old lady!!)

Yamato Ya is a sweet little place to have lunch while shopping or running errands in Midtown. Service can be a bit slow for those who are pressed for time — but do keep in mind that many menu items are cooked to order, rather than being prepared in advance. The restaurant’s attention to detail makes the wait worthwhile.
I can never decide between tempura and teriyaki, so for me the bento box is always a nice option. During my last visit the tempura shrimp were plump and tender, but the large chunk of broccoli was unwieldy and not fully cooked. Boneless chicken was dressed with a citrusy teriyaki sauce that was sweet but not cloying.
Most Japanese restaurants offer teriyaki beef as an option. So does Yamato Ya, but rather than a cut of sirloin they have a «hamburger steak.» My advice? Steer clear of that cut of steer — and stick with the juicy chicken.

Came in with a Groupon for a complete dinner for two which included the following:
2 drinks
My husband had the hot sake and I had a beer. He enjoyed the sake.
2 bowls of miso.
Not as intensely flavored as we’re used to.
1 order of gyoza
They were nicely cooked with that steam/​fried technique, but they had a borderline unpleasant bitter flavor to them.
2 rolls
We chose the BFK roll and the Alaska roll. They were both pretty small. We thought that maybe it was because of the Groupon deal? And hopefully they weren’t the normal size because they were $ 14-​$ 15 priced rolls.
The BFK was a crunch roll topped with SMT. In reality it was more like garnished with SMT. It looked like a tiny bit of SMT was painted on the top.
The Alaska roll was cooked salmon topped with raw salmon. There was a bone in one piece.
An order of Yaeko chicken (their house special)
It was grilled chicken topped with mayo and furekake. It tasted fine, but we thought it was odd that it didn’t come with any rice.
We also ordered an additional sashimi dinner which came with sushi rice and a bland salad. The pieces of fish were cut thinner than other sushi places we’ve been to. The quality of the fish was not that great to ok.
The only redeeming quality of the place was the waitress. She was great!

Other people may love this place — it really has a very nice ambiance and the service was pleasant.
However, I do love my sushi — so I’m a bit of a sushi-​snob, sorry!
The rolls that we ordered were very good but I ordered a $ 16 roll that came out to be maybe 7 pieces — that were very (very) small. The dressing on the salad was odd and cloying and the tea tasted like lukewarm water.
There was only one thing on the children’s «menu» so that’s what we got the little one. Chicken & Tempura — Tempura was 1 shrimp, 1 broccoli and 1 carrot — served with ketchup. (??? What, kids aren’t allowed to have tempura dip?) The kiddo wasn’t digging the food so I tried it — annnnnd I can’t blame her for not wanting to eat it. So she at my rice and miso instead.
1 Star each for nice décor, nice service and decent rolls. But I won’t be back, there are too many 5* sushi spots to waste a sushi night here. (sorry)

I travel for a living and eat sushi in every city I go to. While Yamato ya’s atmosphere took a hit when it changed hands and moved to its present location, it took its most valuable asset with them.
Jose, yes he is Mexican, yes it seems counter intuitive, but joe is the best in anchorage and ties with the best flavor sushi artists in the country.
I confess I don’t go to Yamato ya without making sure he is going to be there. And I won’t let anyone else there make it for me. Everyone else in this town pales in comparison to him.
His sushi is artistic
His sushi is balanced. One flavor, garnish, or sauce does not overwhelm the oral experience. Jose’s sushi is very complex while tasting primarily like the main fish ingredient. It is not smothered in some sweet American sauce.
I go there for Jose! Not the service… Not the atmosphere… not the price.
If you want five star service. Five star location. Five star atmosphere, cheap sushi… go somewhere else.
If you want the best sushi in town. Go to Yamato ya and sit in front of Jose and enjoy the time it takes to get the best.

First sushi place I’ve been to in Alaska.
We were seated immediately and our server was polite and knew the menu well.
Drinks were served quickly, we also got hot saki which was good
We got an appetizer called monkey brains which was delicious but it looked exactly like what it said.
The sushi was fresh and delicious. I got about 4 rolls and they were all flavorful and presented well.

First goround here. Their sushi is good with quality ingredients. I also had the Udon it was lacking in the broth. Tasted like noodles in warm water. Tempura anything here is obviously fried in a basket type fryer. My friends tempura was literally one big clump/​mound of fried stuff. I’ll still give it 4 stars cause the place is clean and over all the food is worthy of it in comparison to some sketch places in ANC.

Good Food, service lacked.
We ordered the Tiger Roll, Alaska Rolln and shrimp tempura dinner. Good food. Didn’t have enough Tempura sauce and the salad that came with it was odd. I was expecting a ginger soy sesame dressing for a typical Japaneese dressing. It came out with a mayo creamy dressing — that brought it down 1 star.
Service lacked the attention. Our drink glasses were constantly empty and had to flag the server down EVERYTIME… this contributed to the firewall 5
over all it was good. over all dinner cost, was $ 45.00 without drinks. They do honor military discount!!!

Typical Japanese restaurant, I wouldn’t say it impressed me or anything, I had some sort of salmon roll, it was good, I would go back again for sushi, everyone there seemed very nice and friendly, pretty nice and open setting.
Have some warm sake to warm yourself up in this freezing cold weather!

It’s spacious inside. Jose working the sushi bar is super nice and remembers everything you order verbally. I had salmon and hamachi sushi, salmon sashimi, and beef udon. Fish is relatively fresh and good size pieces. Rice is okay. The udon isn’t bad. Beef is definitely overcooked, the vegetables are just cabbages, and soup is a bit too sweet. Price is good.
Pros:
relatively cheap
nice and spacious
good service
Cons:
food is just ok

New location, same servers and quality of food.
I came here con mi madre because she enjoys japanese food and that is what we always choose when we lunch together. We have been to most places and wanted to try Yamato Ya, new location.
It’s all the same though now it is in a different building and different interior. Maybe I’m resistent to change, but I liked the old décor better. Low lighting, white and dark wood hues, close knit tables with comfortable chairs; it’s all gone. In it’s place are hard seated booths, mauve spackled walls reminiscent of raves (just turn on a black light, I’m sure there will be some pentagrams and cuss words splashed in neon paint), and a view of the kitchen in the corner. We ordered combo meals: sashimi with tempura for me ($ 17) and chicken teriyaki with tempura for her ($ 14). We ordered hot green tea, and the meals came with the traditional salad and miso soup. Some people don’t like the dressing but I love it. If I could I would bathe in it. I think it is the mayo base, I can actually hear myself getting fatter after every bite, and not caring one bit.
Good food, good service, meh interior. I’ll be back.

Having traveled to Alaska for vacation, I wanted to try out their sushi. I looked up a couple places and a popular pick was Yamato Ya.
This isn’t the place to go if you’re looking for sushi in a trendy and chic place with modern décor.
This is the place to go if you want some amazing sushi and satisfy an intense sushi craving. Here is where you go for the quintessential sushi experience.
The sushi is so delicious, so fresh, and most importantly full of flavor. I’ve been to many different sushi establishments, and I think I can say that this is some of the best I have ever had.
I recommend the spider roll where you can taste the crab and has the right amount of crunch and the rice is perfectly packed and prepared.
I’m sorry that I live so far away, but as soon as I go back to Anchorage, Yamato Ya will be among my first stops.