Wow. I have eaten sushi all over NYC and in a lot of other cities and countries and Yamagata is absolutely top notch. This was my 2nd time going and I loved it the first time as well. The staff is very friendly and accommodating. I sat at the bar and the sushi chef's were all so kind and welcoming. I always feel like a weirdo sitting in front of them but they made me feel very comfortable. My waitress was so pleasant and also a real fan of the food. As great as the service was, what really makes this place shine (as it should be for a sushi restaurant) is the quality of the fish. I had a large clam sashimi special that I thought would be a bit daunting, but was actually really elegant and fantastic. I had a special roll, the Hudson roll, which was also great (I'm a sucker for special rolls). But the individual sushi was the real knock out. The Uni and the fatty tuna were just incredible. There are other good sushi places in Fort Lee, but there is nothing that comes close to this. It's a little bit more expensive than the other sushi restaurants around, but for good reason. It's completely worth it. Can not wait to go back. read more

This marvelous, welcoming, yet small BYOB in Fort Lee is a gem of a place to eat - so make reservations! Mostly haunted by Japanese locals, it is still very warm and friendly to all interested parties. Exceptional, and I do mean exceptional sushi and sashimi. Gyoza also a treat. Still I found the noodle soups and teriyaki dishes to be fresh and good, but not too exciting to my palate. The Beef Negamaki was cold and the beef was a little chewy - - - But I don't mean to discourage, the food that makes it wonderful, makes is really wonderful. The sushi bar is fun too; although some behind the bar have limited English speaking skills, they are friendly, as is all the staff, and fun to watch (a treat in and of itself). read more

Can't believe this gem is a 5min drive from our house! My husband and I were blown away! The omakase was delicious! Thank you chef for the wonderful experience. For those that love omakase and don't feel like schlepping to NYC, please come here!! read more

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Amazing omakase experience. Restaurant looks small and unassuming, but the sushi is on point.

The best sushi spot in Bergen! Love their omakase and their lunch special sushi set they have on Fridays and Saturdays! The owner is super nice - the staff is great! Make reservations for weekend dinner because it can get packed! Another plus is that it's BYOB! read more

I pass by this joint a lot, therefore I decided to give this spot a try, but unfortunately, I don't think I'll be returning. This was largely due to the service that I received and the waitress' response to a request that I had made. The food I received fell on the smaller portion side, I ordered a side salad and received a couple (I do mean only a couple) of greens with dressing on top. But it wasn't a deal breaker because regardless, it was delicious. The problem began when I received my sushi. I didn't realize that all sushi rolls at this location came with wasabi within the roll as a default and I'm not the biggest fan of wasabi. I apologized to the waitress and asked her if it could either be remade or substituted for something else. Coming from the food industry, I know this is an annoying request, so I apologized again. She took a long pause and just stared at my plate, saying "Must be your first time" before walking away. I was sitting at the bar counter, facing the sushi chefs, and watched her argue quietly with the chef because she had forget to ask him to remake my order. At this point, I'm watching them and I can see him getting irate. At this point, my SO already had finished his food before I got mine. That being said, the restaurant had cleared out by now, so getting the check should be the easy part, no? Guess not. Even that took a while. If I were to come back, if ever, definitely for the omakase because the chefs were absolute artists. read more

Good quality food but on the pricier side. Portions were small. Great outdoor seating, and service was great! Will definitely return.

This place is our new go-to for date night. We'll stop by Mitsuwa on our way, pick up some sake, since this place is BYOB and sit down for an amazing meal. All the fish is so fresh and delicious. They always have great specials and wonderful appetizers. It's a tiny space, so reservations are a MUST. But it's so worth the cramped space. And the last two times we went, we had a table in the middle of the room, so it was kind of an awkward placement. But they knew this, so they gave us complimentary takoyaki. The takoyaki here is amazing! All of the balls have a nice chunk of octopus inside and they do a great job of making it crispy on the outside and not too gooey on the inside. I think they're better than the many that I tried in Japan. The Uni here is always on point! I have an Uni obsession. One thing I've found with a lot of U.S. sushi restaurants is that the Uni has a weird chemical aftertaste. And thankfully, Yamagata has delicious, non-chemical tasting Uni, much like I had in Japan. I must say, out of all the Japanese/sushi restaurants in NJ, this one is by far the most authentic, delicious and fresh! read more

Love this authentic and lively Japanese restaurant on Fort Lee. I'm a regular here and it's definitely my favorite Japanese restaurant in the area! High quality fish, excellent and delicious lunch specials, and consistent great service. Large selection of Japanese appetizers too which goes to show its authenticity. Their shrimp tempura is amazing. Light and fluffy and just the right amount of golden crispness. Highly recommend for lunch. Gets busy during peak hours and weekends so come early as the seating is rather limited! There is also a small parking lot conveniently right across the restaurant. read more

Yamagata - Add ons to lunch special - California roll and spicy tuna roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Fort Lee, New Jersey

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Are you living on the gold coast? Do you struggle to find a good quality sushi spot? Are you tired of going into the city just to eat a half decent piece of sushi. Then this is the place for you. What a great experience. Quality, service the whole nine yards. It ain't cheap but goddamn it is it good. read more

I'm originally from Japan. And this is the best sushi I have ever eaten in the states.

Came here at the recommendation of my friend who swears by it. It's korean owned it appears like many Japanese restaurants in Fort Lee. This place looks and feels like a legit Japanese joint though. Higher priced than the average korean owned joint, but they make up for it in quality. Lunch specials are reasonable ($20ish?) for the food you get. read more

Yamagata is our favorite Japanese Sushi restaurant in Fort Lee. Great sushi with fresh fish and well seasoned rice

4.5 stars This place is awesome! I passed by this place so many times but did not get to try because I wasn't sure if this place was gonna be good. Now I regret my last 2.5 years that I haven't tried since I am here. I think this is a very authentic japanese restaurant in which dishes are prepared by japanese people (even though I heard the owners are Korean). I have had regular sushi deluxe, then tried omakase twice afterwards. Omakase here is 10 people assorted sushi with an small appetizer, shrimp head (either in miso soup or fried) and ice cream dessert. I don't remember all the names but the selection was great. Fish were very fresh but then the flavor was very rich. seasoning was perfect. My favorites were scallop, sweet shrimp, eel, uni and toro. The sushiman was very nice and attentive serving us piece by piece. I would really recommend sitting at the bar as he will serve every piece ready to go. Serving crews were very nice too. The only reason I put 4.5 stars was because the omakase doesn't seem to change over time (even though they have small variation in it. I think I will try other variations next time and see how it goes. Again, this is definitely a place to go around this area. Personally it is a Manhattan caliber. read more

This is our second time having omakase at the sushi bar and we requested to do both sushi and sashimi. Great food and great service. read more

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was driving around looking for a small place to try out, and boy was i a bit surprised. this place is extremely small and over priced. i ordered a few things, the portions were small and not worth the price. the place was crammed like fucking sardines in a little can. i had a salmon roll which was like $6, altho the salmon was super fresh and great..it was nothing special. the soup i had was a dark miso-clam soup. it was served in what was basically a small cup. $6 for two little clams and broth. the broth was amazing though, i never had dark miso soup like this. deff. great but not wirth the price. i also had a yam noodle salad. i cant remember what it was called. just a small, very small bowl of sliced up yams in some type of marinade, which was good but i was surprised at the amount. yes this is an app. but it was so small and not worth the $6 flavors were good, but the portions sucked for the price. my boyfriend got a pork and rice type of box, very small, the box was very shallow and mostly white rice. it came with miso soup and salad. $14--he was pissed the fuck off. save your money, you can find another asian themed place in the area serving, if not the same menu ---something similar---same price and loads of food. deff not a bang for the buck at this bitch right here. read more

Glad to see chef Yama in. New restaurant. The sushi is extremely well-done here. The hot meals are also first rate. Love the new location which is more upscale and accessible. Highlight of the meal tonight was fresh clam sushi with ponzu and scallions seasoned by the chef. He always has breathtakingly fresh-tasting and creamy urchin. read more

This is my go-to Japanese restaurant in all of Bergen county! Although I am relatively newer to the area, I've been to plenty of other restaurants and this place offers quality sashimi, fresh ingredients in their entrees and extra service to customers. I enjoy coming here on a regular basis with my fiance. We've ordered a lot of items off the menu so I can't say what my favorite is, but I their sushi is on point. Sushi in my eyes is sashimi on rice, nigiri style only. No rolls, no fried cream cheese or crazy sauces. Just simple, sushi, that's how I like it! The sushi chefs here are very nice as are the staff, they always greet you when you walk in and when you leave. It resembles much of the service you receive in Japan and other Asian countries. Bonus - they offer a free scoop of ice cream with every lunch item you order :) Enjoy!! read more

Yamagata - Outdoor seating in the summer! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Fort Lee, New Jersey

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Fresh seafood, BYOB, top notch service.. need I say more? We came here for an annual Christmas/Birthday dinner for one of my friends. (I know it was a while ago, I totally forgot to yelp it!) We sat at the bar and had the omakase. This was probably the most fresh tasting seafood I had in Bergen County. I was blown away by the skillful cuts, beautiful presentation and friendliness of the chef and server(s). I'm salivating as a I am writing this review. I wish I had taken pictures of our meal. The price isn't too bad and the portions are good. I can't wait to go back. I highly recommend this place if you are a lover of raw seafood as I am. If you're looking for that california roll and spicy crab roll this might not be the place for you. read more

The sushi was a bit subpar, they weren't fresh, considering how much I paid. Miso soup was nice and hot. Then the payment was the major deal breaker. I understand if they only give back bills as change while keeping coins... But this place, it seemed inconceiveable to them to understand how giving back change works. They basically took 25% of my money. No where in the menu/restaurant had a sign about not giving back change. This is totally terrible ethics as well, illegal not to give back change. read more

Delicious sushi, seafood always fresh. Very friendly staff. I have added this in my favorite dinner places.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a decent sushi place in Jersey, and while there are a few sushi restaurants around, this has become one of my favorite around the area. The atmosphere isn't crazy out of the ordinary, seems like a typical sushi restaurant. But if you want some good sushi, then this is the place to try out. We started off with the eggplant appetizer and even if you're not much of an eggplant fan, then you will be once you try their Nasu Denkatgu. It was sweet, warm and toasty with almost pudding like texture. I'm definitely a fan! I ordered their sushi regular with 7 pieces of assorted sushi with tuna roll. While it seems like a typical order, their fish selection was definitely not typical. Their fish seemed to have been marinated in salt water, because the texture of the fish was soft and tender and did not have any kind of chewiness. Once in my mouth, I felt it melt away (along with my soul). So would I go back? Heck Yes! Thankfully my group made a reservation beforehand, especially because it was a Friday night, but the customer that did walk in, didn't have to wait too long before being seated. The only downfall? Not the best place to sit down chit chat away with your friends for too long, unless you're ordering. They tend to keep the customers moving in and out along. read more

Came here for lunch a week after their opening. They are very pricy compared to other restaurants in the area. Bento boxes had small portions with a price tag of $14.95. The dishes were pretty decent but I don't think it was worth the 14.95. Everything tasted fresh though. I'll come back to this place more often when I am richer. read more

Overpriced! Overcrowded! I went there for lunch and the place was crowded. Was forced to sit right next to the entrance with little space or room. The price for a plate was crazy. There were very few options. I wouldn't go there again when there are other sushi establishments with better ambiance, quality and price. read more

This place is always crowded given the fact that the restaurant is also very small. I've ordered Fried Squid and Soft shell crab for appetizer which was excellent. The squid was not overly battered and the crab was soft and juicy not too dry. I would recommend it. For the main course, we've ordered 25 piece sushi special for $65 between the 3 of us and it was just enough. It came with yellow tail, tuna, clam, uni, shrimp, and eel. I was really disappointed at this point. We are paying for 25 pieces of quality sushi and it didn't even include fatty white tuna or salmon. I would not recommend this place for sushi meal. I was very disappointed. I could get a better deal and Korean style sushi locations for more quality cuts; I would recommend Poonglim down the street and Asahi also. They have better selection of entrees (including soups) also. I would not be returning at this point. read more

I always go here for their Chirashi bowl lunch special. Their other options are as delicious. Clean food. 100% recommend.

Solid Japanese restaurant in the Fort Lee area. Party of 3 arrived around 7:30pm on a Wednesday night and it was full! We waited maybe 5-10 min for a table though and the staff was super friendly about it. We ordered 2 appetizers (clams steamed with sake broth and fried oysters - note this order only comes with 3 oysters!), sansai udon (its a root vegetable udon and I added a poached egg), the Angel roll (one of the specials: yellowtail, salmon and avocado inside out roll with blue crab inside), sushi regular (7 pcs + tuna roll) and 2 pcs of a la carte sushi. What really got my attention was the tuna roll that came with the sushi regular. For those of you who love sushi, you will know the difference: this wasn't the run of the mill, fluorescent red average tuna. It was high quality, fatty tasting sushi. I don't even usually like tuna rolls cuz I consider them filler if not at a fancy restaurant but not here! A+++++ They really use good quality fish and everything else was top notch. They even offered us free green tea ice cream at the end for making us wait for our table. For those looking for good eats in the area, definitely check this place out. BYOB. Total tab was $100 for 3 people which is high for jersey but I can save on toll and not have to drive into the city which works out for me! read more

Yamagata - Clams steamed in sake broth - Sushi Bars Near Me - Fort Lee, New Jersey

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Yamagata provides an excellent Japanese fine dinging experience with fresh ingredients. Highly recommend to try Omakase, which takes a lot of trust of your sushi chef, but it is so worth it. Very well composed food and great qualities of each bites. The staff is very helpful and friendly. Amazing service leads your pleasant experience at Yamagata. The manager, Jin, was very kind and helped guide us through the menu when we had questions. Highly reccomended! read more

Over priced sushi. It's no coincidence people are giving what's negative reviews. Very unfortunate because the sushi is decent and it's BYOB. read more

Updating after one bad experience. I previously gave it 5 stars but I did not appreciate their service yesterday. Our salad was not served by the waitress, someone else came and tossed it on our table and not tell us who it was for, and it wasnt even in a salad bowl. No one on my table was happy yesterday after that. read more

If you like real sushi, not the california roll fushion stuff, go here and eat the Sushi omakase. He knows what he's doing and it's delish. If you want sth hot, try the black cod - it's really authentic. Wouldn't recommend the eel on rice. They say the katsudon and pork belly are also delish. read more

First off, bring you own bottle! No alcohol in the store, but you're allow to bring your own. So instead of wasting money on being overcharged with alcohol, you get to enjoy quality sushi for an reasonable price. Parking lot is a bit small, but amazing quality omakase. And sitting at the bar means it'll come at a leisurely pace. Worth every penny. read more

Horrible service. They cancelled my 6:30pm for party of 2 at the bar and try to push my time to later so that they can take reservation for party of 7 at the bar at 5pm. read more

This is the best sushi I have had in the US, and I have a Japanese wife who steers me to the best places. They have a $14.95 lunch special which gives you 7 sushi pieces of sushi of your choosing, plus a roll of your choosing, for maybe 15 pieces in all. Plus you get salad, miso soup, and ice cream. The sushi was sublime, and we had a couple of appetizers which brought our outstanding lunch to $20 per. To the lady who complained it was crammed "like fucking sardines", I would ask why she thinks that is. It is because to discerning Japanese it is outstanding. read more

Finally found my Japanese go-to place in town! Coincidentally dropped in on Yamagata to fulfill my sushi craving without heading to the city but was completely blown away with the quality and service. Yes people, its pricey. BECAUSE ITS AUTHENTIC JAPANESE... Not the minority made, frozen, thawed, then frozen again fish. If this is expensive, then obviously you haven't been to Japanese restaurants in the city... Yamagata is for people who enjoy fresh and top quality raw fish because that's the only way you should eat raw anything anyways. They also have a great lunch menu that varies by the day of the week. Oh my... Amaebi & Uni... I'm salivating as I'm writing my review! Place gets packed quickly so a reservation is highly recommended. They're BYOB so bring your favorite sake and savor each bite! read more

Sushi rolls are pricey, but the fish is fresh. Inaniwa (handmade noodles) are worth trying once. The noodles are thin and chewy, but won't satisfy any thick udon cravings. The broth was very good, with a clean taste. Disappointed in the Naruto roll. Cucumber wrapping isn't supposed to have such thick skin attached. Maybe the chef got lazy. Oh, and no brown rice option. Would I come back? Probably not. read more

Yamagata - Naruto roll with such a thick cucumber skin! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Fort Lee, New Jersey

Best Uni I've ever had. I ordered the Omikase and it blew my mind. It actually ruined normal sushi for me. Why spend a fortune on 'signature rolls' when you can get the real thing in Fort Lee. It's pricey but worth it. read more

Yamagata - Omakase! Delicious! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Fort Lee, New Jersey

This place is alright at best. I would recommend going to Nakahara for a fresher and more authentic experience at similar price point.

Went and ordered a lot of different dishes. Really nothing special. My wife ordered noodles, which was quite mediocre. I ordered donkatsu, which was so dry and the side touching the plate soggy with oil. Normally donkatsu would be placed on a thin wire grill/grate, right? Way overpriced, in my opinion. read more

What happened? Change of ownership brought smaller, skinny rolls, yet same price. To us, this was the place for sushi. Not anymore. Sad when a perfect spot looses it soul. read more