Freshest ingredients, courtesy wait staff, you feel like you're dining in a little cottage in the Japanese mountains! Excellent sushi, love their homemade ginger dressing! Also the free appetizer is a lovely gesture! All round great experience! read more

Amakara-Japan - Japanese Near Me - St Catharines, Ontario

Food and service good and take out ready on time . Nice inside but parking is a challenge

I've been visiting Amakara since before it was call Amakara. They started on James St. as Iseya. We will never forget James the long time owner, now retired. We are quite pleased that with the change in ownership the food quality remained. Has always been the best in Niagara! read more

See all

quaint and cozy setting, delicious food in generous portions, and a great/extensive menu.

I really enjoyed the ambience of this place, however I can't say the same about the food. The sushi rice was a little undercooked-- giving it a slimy texture. I ordered lunch combo C - rolls were very big compared to other local sushi restaurants. The place could definitely improve its heating system as well. The place was very cold, me and my friend ate our food with winter jackets on. The positive: staff were very friendly, fast service, free appetizer, reasonably priced (for lunch), cozy ambient. read more

Amakara-Japan - Undercooked sushi rice -- slimy and mushy texture - Japanese Near Me - St Catharines, Ontario

See all

Very charming little place. You don't expect much as from outside it's had to even notice the restaurant. It was a very pleasant surprise to experience a superb service and food. The menu is rather big, but that every dish our party of 7 ordered was delicious and beautifully decorated. I will definitely come again when I'm in the area and i would highly recommend if you love sushi. read more

See all

Always go here for special occasions. The restaurant is in a small little house. Good price & good quality read more

Delicious food -- had a take-out order of the Ten Don (rice bowl dish) with deep-fried shrimp and vegetables. Portion was very tasty and very large! read more

Amakara is the real deal! The quality and selection of sushi, sashimi and other Japanese food is also excellent - and fresh, too! This is not an 'all you can eat' sushi place, and honestly it shows. There is real care and attention (and dare I say tradition?) put in to every item you are served. I'll admit, I'm not super adventurous when it comes to food that comes from the water (part shellfish allergy, part general squeamishness) but there is enough selection on this menu that you will find something you like (and if you've got adventurous friends, you'll grudgingly admit that BBQ eel is surprisingly good!). My personal favorites: Tempura Yam Maki, Avocado Maki, Inari Sushi, Kaizoku Maki and Tekka Maki - the teriyaki, tempura and miso soup are also yum! One day (ha!), I will make an all out effort not to fill up on rice and try the donburi or udon noodles. My recommendation - go here with friends (invite me, too!), order lots of different things and find out what you love! And trust me, you'll find something! And keep coming again and again! Oh yea, and they have take out and delivery options! read more

I used to love going here and the sushi was always great. With the competition in the city they had a chance to really show why they are better than the all you can eat places. But they just didn't. Nothing seems as fresh as it used to be. My main complaint is that it feels as though they wipe the tables down with coke. The whole restaurant is sticky. AND don't get me started about that curtain you have to walk through to get into the eating area. My lord is it filthy. I swear it has never once been washed. So much so last time I went I ducked under it as you could see the filth. Then when I sat down at the sticky table I had to say sorry and just leave. 10 years I have been saying it was the only place to eat sushi in the area until now. read more

Came here with my girlfriend for dinner. We both got the special roll deal with California rolls. You get a soup and salad with your meal, soup is a standard miso soup and the salad had a delicious house dressing on it. The sushi tastes amazing and it is a serious step up from sushi that you'd buy in store, you can really taste a difference when fresh ingredients are used. Service was quick and friendly too, highly recommend for a nice meal out! read more

Great sushi !! Highly recommend it ! Cosy, clean, fast, polite staff ! There are table for around 20-30 people. read more

Amakara-Japan - Boat tray ! - Japanese Near Me - St Catharines, Ontario

We were driving through on the way back from New York and completely starving. My partner in crime got it in his head that he wanted sushi, and I was too low-bloodsugar to care, as he plugged 'st. catherines sushi' into the GPS ap on the phone. This is how we found ourselves at Amakara. A small, intimate sort of place. Had the overall experience been better, I probably would have enjoyed the atmosphere more. Being quite hungry and eager to get back on the road, within minutes of sitting down, we were both ready to order. The two waitresses (we were one of 4 occupied tables) walked past us 4 or 5 times while we were trying to make eye contact .. They were ignoring us completely and was beyond frustrating. I have never seen anything like it. This persisted through our entire visit. The food was expensive, for what it was --$15-20 each for a basic maki set --we figured that would be easiest. Portions were sufficient, but unimpressive. Reasonably authentic, but nothing to write home about. Timing left some to be desired. My set came with miso & salad, and my bf's didnt so he ordered an appetizer. About 5 minutes after tea arrived, (and 20 minutes after we walked in), the soup came.... 8 minutes later the salad came....... 10 minutes after that the appetizer came. I had, by this time, passed most of each to him because I could see he was fading fast. Some time after he'd finished the last of his app, the main arrived. We ordered different sets, but they both looked pretty much the same. I think one of my rolls might have been salmon instead of tuna, but otherwise it was the same thing. Oh well. We had to play the making-eye-contact game again to ask for soy sauce, after our meal arrived. My dining partner asked for spicy mayo, and was brought plain Miracle Whip. Whatever. Too tired/hungry to care. Inhalation ensued, got the bill, and got the f out of dodge. Honestly, $40 and an hour and a half of our lives that we will never get back. Should have gone to Kelsey's. read more

It was really good! I'll visit this store soon:) i ordered mini boat and tendon. the sushi was so fresh and cali also have a good size. read more

Amakara-Japan - Japanese Near Me - St Catharines, Ontario

This is a sushi gem. Have been enjoying their fresh, consistent, beautiful offerings since they opened. This is by far the best sushi in the region. Service is fast, and has always been flawless. It's a gorgeous dinner or lunch that you don't have to wait forever for and is very reasonable. I would recommend it to any Japanese food lover. You will not be disappointed. read more

Amakara-Japan - Japanese Near Me - St Catharines, Ontario

St. Catharines is full of sushi places and all you can eat sushi buffets...but nothing like this restaurant! I agree with the other reviewer that this place definitely takes the time to put their best into each dish. Each dish is absolutely succulent. I was blown away at the deliciousness of this restaurant which looks shabby and inconspicuous from the outside. We ordered the Crystal roll and Twister roll, asparagus tempura, a mix plate of sashimi pieces. It melted in your mouth! Honestly, I would come back again and try all the other dishes. read more

Definitely the best sushi in St. Catharines. First, it's virtually the only spot where you can get a proper a la carte sushi meal. Everything else is AYCE which is not my bag. The food at Amakara is prepared with care. Love the spicy pumpkin appetizer which is quite unique. read more

Very homey place. Food quality & price is decent. Didn't regret to come here instead of some high end place in town.

I have been going to Amakara for quite a long time and have never been disappointed. The service is always great and the food is fantastic! They put a lot of care into everything and the quality is top-notch. There are a lot of AYCE sushi places in St. Catharines and I much prefer the quality of the food here. The atmosphere is also cozier than most. The tables are quite close together in a fairly small room but it generally feels intimate instead of crowded. I also appreciate that Amakara offers a variety of options for vegetarians. They will happily substitute vegetarian versions of the miso soup, tempura sauce, noodle appetizer, etc. and there are many vegetarian-friendly entree options. My personal favourites are the tempura yam maki and the inari sushi. The salad dressing on their green salad is exceptional. They even sell it by the bottle if you ask! read more

I'd have to say that out of all the sushi places I have been to, this restaurant just wasnt that good. The pricing of the menu is cheaper than most al le carte sushi restaurants in Niagara and st Catherine's, they have lots of items to chose from, and portion sizes are good. But what really takes away from this restaurant is that the fish isnt that fresh, and the rice wasnt flavoured or textured properly (it was just the slightest bit sweet and over cooked). I gave this restaurant a try since I had never been, but sadly there are other places that provide fresher and better sushi. read more

Came here to get sashimi dinner as I was craving fish. The salad is good as always and this time around the fish didn't taste as fresh as I've had it. The tuna, and scallops didn't taste as fresh. For sushi in the St. Catharines area, this place is great for party platter with price and quality but for sashimi they may have missed the spot this time around. read more

Amakara is our go-to for sushi in St Catharines...or for Niagara, for that matter. I enjoy the intimate atmosphere of the interior, which lends the experience a unique flavour. The food is always delicious, and we often order the same thing (their sashimi is fresh and tasty). I have brought guests from Vancouver here many times, and they are always surprised at the quality and authenticity of the meal. Lots of regulars, which is a good sign for a place like St Catharines! (Take out is great too.) read more

very good food!!! good sushi, good entrees and the desserts were alright. highly recommend and good takeout!!!

Quality sushi. Friendly service. Fast. A good amount of food. I think they've recently redecorated. It's nice inside. Small, comfortable, quaint. I will return soon. read more

Such a cute little restaurant ! It looks like a warm and cozy house, the staff are always so sweet and patient. It isn't all you can eat but the items on the menu are fairly priced and they will fill you up ! The appetizer they give is a warm noodle dish , so good ! read more

Easily the best place to go for sushi/sashimi in the city, the quality is amazing and I have stopped going anywhere else once I was introduced to it. The servers are very friendly and accommodating, I go there quite a bit and so some of the staff has even learned my name which is an added bonus. I have never had a problem and will continue to go until I'm sick of it (which will be never). :) read more

Great authentic Japanese resturant. They make many dishes besides sushi!