Yama Sushi

I was extremely disappointed in the cleanliness and the quality of the food. It certainly didn't live up to the high yelp reviews they is has gotten. That's been my biggest let down. I don't know who these people are giving such high reviews. I'm very suspicious of the ratings here based on my own experience.

I knew I was in trouble when as soon as I sat down they gave me a wash cloth that I thought was dirty, smelly and plain old disgusting. What makes them think they can get away with this. I guess we are by not giving bad reviews. Well it stops here now.

I was too deep in there to leave. The food was at best edible; that's it. I ate it just hoping I don't get sick.

I ended up needing to go to the bathroom.
That's when my worst fears were confirmed. Oh my god the stench of backed up sewage was overwhelming.

The bathroom was unbelievably dirty and smelly. If they don't even care to give the appearance of being clean to the public just imagine what they are doing behind the scene.

Don't do it. STAY AWAY.

Hey management if you are reading this, for your own sake remodel your bathrooms and fix the sewage issue you might be having. Then start buying better fish and maybe you can call yourselves a Sushi Restaurant. At this time you are nothing but a bad yelp review to me.

In any case the food was horrible. So for now I would have to yell it out NEVER AGAIN.

Is there a secret to dining here that I should know about? Meaning, you come on a magic day ending in Y to get good, no, even mediocre service? Someone, please tell me. I am really interested.

So, here's what happened: I was greeted at the front door by an older man who handed me a folded menu and directed me to a booth. I sat down, the restaurant was already pretty busy (which I usually take as a good sign!), and I opened the menu. Was I on Candid Camera? There weren't any sushi rolls listed. The prices were high (to me), and the choices were very limited. What did I walk into? My gut told me to get up and leave. I almost did. I'm kicking myself for not following my intuition and just walking out.

Since I was already in neck deep, I just ordered an Assorted Tempura appetizer. Nothing else appealed to me, BECAUSE I WANTED A SUSHI ROLL! WHY else would I have come here? The Tempura was cheap enough and I thought I'd be safe with Shrimp Tempura.

After the younger guy took my order, I am looking all around at the bar, etc. and I see people eating rolls. WHUT THE HECK? I pulled one of the younger girls over and I asked, "Um, do you have sushi?" and she laughed at me.

"Of course we do. We are a sushi restaurant."

ME: "Well, where is the menu. Is it secret? Who do you have to know to get that menu?"

She looked at me like I had 15 eyes. She said, "Oh, do you want a sushi menu?" NO, I WANTED A SUSHI MENU WHEN I WAS SEATED AT THIS PLACE. IT'S NOT MY JOB to pull you over and have to ask for these type of things. If I am choosing to come to YOUR restaurant, then I expect to be treated a certain way. Call me crazy. As soon as I told her I didn't get any other menu(s), my limited service (as it stood) COMPLETELY WENT INTO THE TOILET. No one else looked at me, asked if I needed anything further, nada.

And, the tempura was very doughy. Gross. Not impressed at all and I will never set foot in this place again.

Some hits, some misses. Might be back for some things, but will avoid others. First impression = slight issue with cleanliness. Seated at a table with dirty napkins. Asked for new napkins, but these turned out to have sauce smears on them, too. Now, on to the food...

DELUXE PLATE = generous platter with two huge rolls plus assorted sashimi. This was laid out nicely, tasted fresh, and shareable between 2 people.

DINNER COMBINATION W/ SALMON TERIYAKI AND GYOZA = salmon was moist, salad had an unappetizing pool of water underneath, and gyoza were crunchy but bland

VEGETABLE TEMPURA = fried perfectly with crispy, light batter and tender inside

SANDY SPECIAL ROLL = interesting presentation, but not in a good way. There was just way way waaayyy too much going on here. From the floral plate to the mound of shredded daikon to the side salad to the sauce, it was overload, and we haven't even got to the actual roll yet! Components were asparagus, imitation crab, sprouts, white fish, avocado, and tempura. With such a combination, would shine better served alone. Tasted pretty good by itself.

Service was friendly. Initially attentive with drinks and order-taking, but food took a long time and we were never checked on after that. Also had to ask twice for our check.

Location is in the Vons shopping center on Arneill & Ponderosa.

1st time and was impressed by the food and presentation. Started with the Blue fin special and octopus- they were great! Moved on to a couple rolls - Kevin, TJ, and Friday. They were all fresh and just loaded up with goodness. My wife had a teriyaki chicken and it was fantastic. None of the rubbery bento box crap!

Only reason for the lost star is our server wasn't that knowledgeable and the room is a bit dated. There seemed to be a strange odor when we walked in but seemed to disappear as we started drinking-lol. And the prices were a bit on the price side compared to other competitors.

However, will be back to try them again! They have a roll called the Teddy Bear with a full piece of Eel. My son was dying to try that

The raw fish here is always fresh . There are tons of rolls and dinners to choose from. You can also have teppan style cooking too. We had tuna sashimi it was delicious ,we also ordered regular sushi for a change flavorful and again fresh.
The servers and sushi chefs were all attentive and friendly .

This is one of our local sushi restaurants and I've eaten here a handful of times. You are greeted by the sushi bar staff with a loud welcome as soon as you walk through the door, kind of fun! The staff is friendly, but the sushi bar guys seem to hold all the fun!

The menus are a little dated and really do not offer much of a description for all the menu items. There seems to be a little bit of a language barrier with the staff, which wouldn't be as much of an issue if the menu's were clearer. However, i would never base my review on that alone.
We have tried various dishes the different times we have come, but again they are usually just a guess as to what it is. Typically it is good, but seems to take quite a while to arrive. Let's just say the bill comes super fast, but the food not so much. The price on their dishes is ridiculous and definitely not worth how much you wind up paying. We have always wound up there because it was conveniently located and we were hungry, but I would rather drive an extra 10 minutes to get good food at a reasonable price.

Went to Yama for a lunch with wife and was not super impressed. First of all, the food is a little overpriced considered the quality and quantity. Sashimi was fresh. Sushi was made fresh but the work was sloppy. If you are looking for an authentic Japanese food, do not waste your time here. Since the restaurant is owned by Korean owners and managed by Korean chef, their Japanese food is a little Japanese-Korean fusion. If you were to look for a good lunch at a more reasonable price, try sushi oaks in Newbury park. Same quantity food for $5 less.
Restaurant itself is a little beat up. The interior needs tons of work. Ceiling is terrible, floor is old and sticky and the dish wares for food is outdated.

Owners were really nice and attentive. That itself deserved a star.


Per my Japanese food restaurant scale, I'd give Yama 6 out of 10.

Per yelps standard- 3 stars for restaurant & food; one star for their service.

Had a delicious lunch at Yama Sushi today! Uggghhh I didn't get our servers name but he was awesome! There were many regulars there for lunch. Super great Sushi!!!! Tempura was off the hook good. Tempura was Fresh .I recommend the Kevin and the Sandy and the Tempura of course.! Great Lunch!!! Check in with Yelp and get a free California Roll!!

This place is no longer in business, I went by on Saturday, December 7 during dinnertime and it was closed. I peered through the windows and saw that
much of the restaurant equipment had been removed.

Came by for dinner the other night and the meal left much to be desired. The restaurant is located in a sleepy mall that looks like a an ex-Denny's or IHOP esp w/ their booths.

The interior is dated and its staff is male-dominated. They have a booth, a la Denny's style seating, traditional sushi bar seating, and a tepanyaki seating.

Ordered the 2-item bento w/ chicken teriyaki and assorted tempura. The tempura was overly breaded and the tempura sauce was more like standard soy sauce... The chicken teriyaki was over-grilled and dry.

The wait staff wasn't very sincere either...