First off, when we moved here, I could have sworn we did not have a "live" hibachi restaurant in town, so when I found Yamato, I was extra excited to try it! To be fair, we went on an extremely busy Friday night with graduations and events happening all over town. When we arrived, we were quoted a 20-25 minute wait, which ended up being closer to 45 minutes. Things happen, especially on nights like that, so we rolled with it. After we were seated, though, it was pretty quiet for another 15-20 minutes before anyone came over. Finally, a young waitress came up and jokingly said, "Well, I guess I'm your waitress now," and apologized several times. Honestly, I appreciated the honesty because it genuinely felt like they may have been short staffed or had someone quit unexpectedly. Having worked in restaurants myself when I was younger, I know how chaotic nights like that can become, so I really tried to give them grace. Once things got going, the experience definitely improved. The chef was incredibly nice, and I was honestly disappointed that I missed recording his sweet egg flip on camera! Little by little, our meal came together and everything was cooked really well. The filet was absolutely delicious, and my favorite part of the meal was honestly the noodles. The chicken was also really good, and I happily took the leftovers home for lunch the next day. The miso soup had plenty of fresh vegetables and ingredients, which I appreciated. My only real suggestion for next time would be to at least bring waters to the table while people are waiting because I was incredibly thirsty by the time everything started moving. Also, I am sorry to the chef because I completely forgot to bring cash for a tip! Just as an FYI for anyone visiting, you can tip the hibachi chef separately too. And listen, it would have been a full five stars if we got the classic saki squirted into our mouths, but maybe that was just a "north" thing from back home in Massachusetts. Totally joking... kind of. Overall, we will definitely be back. Just know that if you visit on a super busy night, you should absolutely expect a wait. Also, it can get a little smoky inside during peak hours, so if that bothers you, it may not be the best fit. read more

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So back at Yamato's a year later for my friend's birthday dinner. So again we had a reservation for 7:30p unfortunately - they don't budge on their policy of sitting your party until everyone is there. If you don't know this is the place to come to for a birthday party as that person can a get a free dinner. Once we sat down, our server came out and took our food and drink orders relatively quick which was nice. Our chef, who's name was Johnny, was very friendly and so much fun. He was so entertaining creating huge fires and doing all types of tricks with the egg and all. He really put on a good show. Way better than last year's chef who had no personality. We received huge portions of food - which I can't complain about since it's great leftovers for the next day. I usually order the Imperial with filet mignon but went with chicken and shrimp. The chicken is cooked in some type of teriyaki sauce I believe. It was really flavorful and good and not sweet. The shrimp was plump and fresh. One downside I will say it when the chefs are cooking, they need to immediately turn on the fans because it can get very smoky in the area. Honestly it was a good turnaround from last year's experience. read more

My family and I visited the Gainesville location on 12/26/2025 to celebrate my daughter's birthday, and unfortunately this was the worst experience we have ever had here. We have been regular customers and have come every year for her birthday, but the service we received tonight was unacceptable. I called earlier the same day to let them know we would have a party of 13 at 7:30 PM. I was told they could not take a reservation without us being present, yet when we arrived we were told that we should have called ahead and made a reservation. We did try, and the conflicting information caused completely unnecessary issues before our evening even began. Once seated, we continued to feel unwelcome. Our order was incorrect, and although the chef corrected the mistake, the pricing remained the same even after adjustments. My daughter's birthday meal was only partially discounted even after I provided the proper documentation. For a $200 dinner, we expected at least basic courtesy and consistency. The service from our waitress, Jenna, was especially unprofessional. She was visibly rude without reason, argued with the chef in front of our entire table, and her attitude set the tone for the entire visit. Even when the chef arrived, the grill had not been turned on, so he had to walk away and wait for it to heat up before he could cook. This level of disorganization, combined with poor customer service, made what should have been a special celebration extremely disappointing. We have always chosen this restaurant for family occasions, Our daughter has made it a tradition to celebrate here for dinner instead of having a party, but after this experience we are genuinely unsure if we will return. I hope management takes this feedback seriously, addresses the customer service issues, and ensures that future guests are treated with more professionalism and respect. read more

The food here is always amazing and crazy portions ! Only thing is you can definitely tell which chefs actually like their job, sometimes it can ruin the happy feeling but there are also some amazing funny chefs just depends who you get to make the atmosphere better. read more

Our cook was horrible he rushed everything didn't care how we liked our steaks pretty much served everyone's steak the same regardless what we said and it had zero flavor! The shrimp tasted like like bitting into a lemon. Definitely won't be back. read more

I love it here I wish they did stuff for birthdays rewards . I love that place and how they cook in front of you and make it with fire in front of you as they add the ingredients. They have excellent service skills too . They also clean and nice too that also why I love that restaurant too . read more

**AVOID AT ALL COSTS** If I could leave negative stars I would. We came here for family's birthday, and the managers were the rudest people we've ever met. The white lady manager tried to force us to move after we were seated and more people came in, even though we talked to those guests and they were all okay with sitting where they were sitting. Her attitude when doing so was horrendous, so we went to talk to the managers about how this was not okay, and she had a terrible attitude in response. She walked away from the conversation and left us standing there with another manager who kept putting the blame on us. No wonder this place has 2 stars on Yelp, the food is mediocre and the service is the worst in Gainesville, if not Florida and the entire US. We've never seen this level of discrimination and rude behavior and attitude from management before. There was one chef that was very nice and understanding, but the rest of the management were so rude, blaming the customer for saying anything and not even genuinely apologizing. We will never come here again and will tell all our friends to stay away. I recommend every customer take their hard earned money elsewhere to spend, and not this place which has terrible service and management and will leave you wishing you had chosen somewhere else with better food and kinder people. read more

John the server smells like poop, Charleigh has great potential and is so pretty and a great server she needs a raise. 1 star off for the poop smell coming off John read more

I can recommend takeout from here as the food was acceptable and plentiful. However the experience was excruciating as it was obvious the elderly "chef" was unwelcoming and should have stayed home until his attitude could improve. It was apparent that he was having a bad day and shared it with the guests. So sad as it was a celebration of my granddaughter's birthday. read more

The food tasted great! The service was phenomenal! Ambiance was quite nice! Chef was fun! I was stuffed after! Great place!

Not a surprise to see Yamato only has an average of 2.5 stars on Yelp. What a clown show! I tried to do the right thing by asking the server, Lorena, when I sat down which entrees were included with the birthday special. She specifically said that any hibachi entree ordered by the birthday person showing ID was the one that was covered. When the check arrived she took off my wife's entree which was significantly cheaper and couldn't honor what I was told because her manager was off site. What kind of restaurant doesn't have a manager on site? I was told that it was our servers first time serving a table solo but there was still nothing she could do. Will not be returning. read more

Your average hibachi experience with the usual works. I came to celebrate two friends' birthday and ordered the Yamato special, which is chicken, shrimp and steak (however you'd like it) with the already included combo of fried rice, noodles, and vegetables cooked tableside. Our chef was very sweet and was very friendly, always offering extra portions to others and making sure everyone was good. The hibachi restaurant is tiny though and is a little hidden near the Oaks Mall plaza. Service was a little slow and wait time was about 15 minutes but most likely due to our party of 10, which does fill up an entire hibachi table incase anyone is curious. Overall it was a good time! read more

Yamato Japanese Steakhouse - Yamato Special - Shrimp, Steak (Medium Well), Chicken, Side Vegetables, Noodles, Fried Rice - Teppanyaki Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

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Steak was not well done like asked. and was served all the fatty pieces. im disgusted read more

Yamato Japanese Steakhouse - Got served the fat on what's meant to be a well done steak. Completely disgusted. - Teppanyaki Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

First time going here for my girlfriend's birthday while we were visiting in town. The young hostess at the front seemed extremely confused about seating folks on a relatively non-busy night. Her communication skills were lacking and she really needs more training. We were told that we had to have our entire party there, then we were told that we could be seated if they were still on their way, but we knew their order, then we were told that we had to wait until the whole party was there. Just a lot of us explaining that they were coming and her being super confused about what to say. She told us that they do not serve sushi there anymore. None of this was communicated on their website or front signage. Food was great! Chef was great! Server was OK but did forget one item. The men's bathroom was dirty! We finished up our meal, and it was after closing, and we all felt it was super weird that they were cleaning the grills in front of us with what seemed like cloudy water. I don't know if it was a solution or actual dirty water. The forced gratuity is a fucking joke, in my opinion. I think this is why the wait staff is lacking in professionalism. There is no incentive to do good if they get to charge your card with a forced tip. These need to be earned. We had a party of 5. read more

I would have given them.5 stars but our chef hardly did anything to entertain us. But, our server, Jill was awesome!!. She deserves 5+ stars. Very attentive. Very pleasant with a beautiful smile. The food was very good. read more

We had reservations for our party of five. Although we were seated promptly we had to wait a long time for our orders to be taken. It then took a long time to be served soup and salad. The hibachi chef soon followed. Can't be sure but the may have been under-staffed. read more

This place has been a staple in my family for years. We come here for almost everyone's birthday every year. However, tonight was disappointing to say the very least. It was my grandma's birthday and we never get to see her, so everyone was excited to fellowship and have a great time. We were all seated and our orders were already taken, on top of that, we had our drinks, soups, and salads. After 47 MINUTES the manager sent over a server to separate us. Apparently, their policy states that there can only be 12 people per party. Well, we had 13 people. So, they separated our entire party to separate tables just because we had one extra person. Mind you the "extra person" was my 5 year old sister which made it even more absurd. They then decided to put us at the bottom of the list because of the "inconvenience" of having to separate us. At this point, we had been there for an hour and a half and everyone around us was being served. Mind you, everyone around us got there AFTER us. After a couple of people in my party confronted the manager he showed absolutely no remorse. He was unapologetic and rude...he DID NOT CARE. Most lazy, arrogant, and inconsiderate manager I've ever witnessed in my life. Everyone was STARVING including my 2 little sisters (they're 5 and 7 years old). My grandma and our whole party was disappointed and Yamato lost some very faithful customers. Absolutely will never be coming back here. read more

Yamato Japanese Steakhouse - The rude manager - Teppanyaki Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

The clear soup and ginger salad had some of the best flavors I've ever had at a hibachi restaurant, and they were very generous with the portion of scallops. I was a huge fan! read more

I took my just turned 12 year old twins in a party of 4 and the kids wanted to order kids chicken and stake. The server said they couldn't and I ask for the manager and he said the same that they have to order adult size. Manager said the owner is super strict on that. Now for kids meal they serve half of adult size. Any restaurant you go to that isn't buffet, an adult can anytime order kids meal without being challenged. If you don't serve more food to the kids why do they care what you order? I have been going to Yamato for 15 years for at least party of 4 and sometimes business party of 12+. I have put up with their over heated restaurant most of the time and long waits at the table due to shortage of cooks, but after tonight no more giving business to them. There are more nice restaurants in town deserve the business. read more

Fifteen minutes to be seated but a two and a half hour wait for dinner. It was not a good dining experience with young children. All we requested for the children were the noodles that came with a child's chicken dinner. After the chef arrived, the noodles were cooked last and served last. The food was extremely salty. There were no offers to refresh drinks or explanation for the long wait. Waiter seemed to be overwhelmed. Poor service and extremely dirty restrooms. I would not recommend this restaurant. read more

The food was tasty and the service was great. The wait wasn't that long and we really appreciated the Free Birthday Dinner (even though we wasn't told that gratuity would be added but that was okay because I always leave a tip). The Alcoholic drinks were also good along with the ambiance. An overall nice experience on Christmas Eve for the Wife and I! read more

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Not sure how it escaped my radar, but it's my first Hibachi grill experience. The style was interesting and I'm glad I finally tried it. We arrived very early, and were seated pretty quickly. Maybe because we were the first batch, it was not smoky or greasy. I ordered Fillet Mignon and Shrimp hibachi ($22). The shrimp was very tender with the yum yum sauce. The fillet however was a little chewy and flavorless. The hibachi sauce was a bit blend. Get double yum yum sauce at the beginning if you can. As for sides, fried rice was okay, but it got cold pretty quickly and lost some flavors. The presentation was good and fun with egg tossing. Not a big fan of their noodles though. It did come with a lot of food (mushroom soup, salad, rice, noodles, veggies), so my leftover basically became my next meal. Overall, not really impressed with the food, but watching fire glowing on your food is always fun (without it being burnt ofc). It can be a special experience with your friends. read more

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Food was great... Johnny was our cook and was very friendly. Also made some great food and made us laugh. The yum yum sauce is delicious! And the portions were huge! The only thing I didn't like was that they couldn't seat us until our entire party of 7 had arrived but this was a minor inconvenience. Overall, was very happy and satisfied! Even had two meals worth of leftovers from my plate alone. read more

Always a huge fan of Yamato hibachi!! I took my boyfriend here for his birthday dinner last night and it was so much fun and so so yummy. He got his meal for free because it was his birthday so it was an added bonus. We have so many leftovers and I am so excited. I think my only complaint would be the wait. I made a reservation and we still needed to wait for our table. Then when we sat down, we had to wait about 15-20 minutes for the right size parties to fill our table. But after we started getting served, the service was great and I had no complaints. The miso soup is the best I have had but the salad is just eh. I ordered wine and my boyfriend ordered a liquor drink and it was the perfect amount of alcohol for the meal (a good pour of wine & the drink was perfectly mixed). I got the steak and chicken and my boyfriend got the chicken and shrimp & it was SO delicious! The yum-yum sauce is the best too. Tip: make a reservation when you want to go to maximize your experience. There is always a wait! read more

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I don't understand why Yamato has such a low rating on here. It's ALWAYS packed and busy and filled with UF students and birthday celebrations. Of course Yamato is good. I went here as a kid and loved it. And when I came back for my birthday yesterday it was totally fine and the food was great. The chefs were great. I had a reservation and I was seated within about 5 minutes. The waiter forgot our soup and salad but I honestly didn't make a big deal about it. She brought it out after our food was done and I ate it afterwards and took the rest of my sukiyaki steak hibachi home. Which is fine. The sukiyaki steak without onions is AMAZING! The only thing I would suggest Yamato do is update their bathrooms. Thank you for a good time! read more

Yamato Japanese Steakhouse - Sukiyaki Steak without onions REALLY GOOD - Teppanyaki Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Yamato... Come on you can do better than that! Your take out is just plain awful! How can you charge for food that looks like it did! I had just had an optometrist appointment and decided to get Yamato to go since I was in the neighborhood. I ordered my favorite which is shrimp and scallops. It came with soup and salad. I placed my order and it was ready in 20 minutes. I take my food home and have the soup and salad. It tasted just like at the restaurant so it was good. Then the main dish. I open the box and it was just rice with very few pieces of shrimp and even less scallops. There were 3 full scallops and 4 pieces of shrimp. This is was less than the restaurant version of this meal. Also they don't give you noodles with to go?! What is up with that? Why no noodles with to go orders? You could pretty much just see fried rice when you opened the box the protein was on the side. Also they didn't give me the veggies! Boy was I mad. I called the restaurant to tell them this and they said there was nothing they could do... this is the worst response a restaurant can give... nothing you can do is lazy and shows you don't care! I used to love Yamato and would take friends here. I'm done! This was it! Our lovely relationship is over. You dug you key into the side of my heart! I highly don't recommend! read more

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Well, I gave it another go and it seems to be getting worse. The facilities are not being kept up very well and the bathrooms are pretty dirty. The food was cooked well to me having the veggie entree but my wife was not happy with hers. The cook was nice and funny and I was very happy with him personality wise. He was definitely not creepy this time which was nice. They put way too much ginger dressing on the salad. The onion soup was too salty. This will likely be my last time here for a long time. I wish they could be brought back up to the level they use to perform. read more

Typical Japanese steakhouse it's a little bit hidden on a back road. Little bit smaller then others Yamato's. Classic Knife flipping, fire and oil action.. fresh meats and vegetables and portions are decent for steak house.. you do typically get seated with other random strangers. So it you don't like others hearing your conversations.... but personally I don't mind... prices are very reasonable also. read more

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Waited 2 hours to be seated to be greeted with two roaches crawling up the wall right Ivy our table. The restaurant was also unbearable HOT. One of the older people in our party felt sick from the temperature of the area. We will not be back. Left before ordering due to obvious lack of cleanliness read more

Got what we came for and it was prepared in a quick and entertaining way. We both had filet and shrimp, and left full and satisfied. I don't think the overall yelp rating is fair. Just sayin.... read more

9/10 the food from here is amazing and you can get it relatively quick ordering to go. You do have to ask for yum yum sauces and utensils but they give you however much of either you need. Edamame appetizer is also be ready good. read more

Yamato Japanese Steakhouse - Chicken, rice and vegetables hibachi to go. - Teppanyaki Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

I've been to this restaurant a few times to dine in and my experience has typically been a good one. Since the cook in front of you the experience and food largely depends on the particular chef you get but overall things are usually consistently fine. Unfortunately my last experience was absolutely terrible. It was my birthday, I was feeling for teppen yaki and Yamato's offers a buy one get one birthday special. Since I was pretty sick my boyfriend and I decided to order the food to takeout, which we've never done before. What a mistake. I ordered the chicken and shrimp combo and paid extra for double rice instead of rice and vegetables. When we got the food home we realized my food was completely wrong. I was given shrimp and scallops (which I don't like) and veggies and rice instead of double rice. Not only that but my boyfriends shrimp appeared to be unseasoned and barely cooked (see the attached photos). We were very upset about the food but we were hungry so we went ahead and ate the food. The next day both myself and boyfriend were struck down with extreme cases of diarrhea and vomiting. The food made us sick. I will not be eating food from here where it's done in or takeout. read more

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Loved the food it was great But hot ass balls in the restaurant. Overall great restaurant would for sure cone back again

I have eaten at a few teppanyaki restaurants in the past and this one does not rank that well. The hostess and waitress were friendly and attentive so no issues there. The chef was lackluster at best. Part of the reason for dining in at a restaurant like this is the table side show. Ours was meh. The rice was very nice, cooked perfectly and seasoned well. I had the steak and chicken and my wife ate the shrimp. The steak was done to my liking and seasoned well. The shrimp was cooked perfectly. The chicken was done but it had more of a bbq flavor rather than Japanese. The noodles and veggies were the same. Cooked well but weird flavor. The place could use some more lighting when eating and the chef is not cooking. read more

Yamato's is one of my favorite places to eat in Lake City. It's all good, the food is delicious and cooked to my liking. The ladies are nice, there is a family atmosphere. The hours of operation could be a little better but it is what it is. When I want some really good food, this is where I go. Thank you your mottos for keeping our bellies full. read more

The food, as always, was excellent! I was there with a party of eight, amongst us we tried almost all of the proteins available. Everyone was very satisfied. The amount of food was generous to say the least, nearly everyone went home with a to go box. Our waiter and chef were very attentive. We all had a very good time. My family often gets takeout from Yamato as well. The takeout food is always very good although I will say that the portion size is smaller with a take-out meal. read more

I took my boyfriend to try hibachi here, for the first time ever. I'd never been to this location until taking him but I heard great things. They did not disappoint! It was after work on a weekday, so not very busy. Our chef was amazing! Very nice and engaging. That always makes the hibachi experience great. The food was sooo good and the steak was cooked perfectly. It was SOOO much food. I had a full tray of leftovers like I hadn't even eaten at the restaurant. Don't go there starving! You'll get full off the rice alone lol. Oh and try the plum wine! My boyfriend and I enjoyed our visit, him way more than me. He's been talking about it ever since and has even told all his friends they NEED to try it too! We will definitely visit again read more

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I really like Yamato it is one of my favorite places in GNV but it is very expensive and one time the chef tried doing a trick with the eggs and it cracked all over me and my guest! I love the steak here. Both times I have had the filet and both times it tasted amazing! I have also had the fried rice, noodles, veggies and the Yum Yum sauce and I love them all! I have also gotten Sake Bomb and some mixed drinks and they are amazing! The service is sometimes slow and if I could give 4.5 stars I would because this place is so very expensive. One thing that is cool is they give you a free meal on your birthday. I can't wait to go back read more

Yamato Japanese Steakhouse - Teppanyaki Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Yamato Japanese Steakhouse serves hibachi-style Japanese food in Gainesville, FL FOOD (3/5): The best part about Yamato is that they offer a birthday special for anyone who comes with at least 3 other guests. Besides this special, I found the hibachi lack-luster. Yamato's food was underseasoned and also any changes to a menu item comes with an upcharge. For example, requesting rice instead of vegetables causes an upcharge (Even when rice is cheaper for the restaurant to provide.) All in all, Yamato is a decent option to go for Hibachi especially if someone is celebrating a birthday. read more

The food was okay. The portion of protein to carbs is 20% protein to 80% carbs. The service is fast, friendly and funny. The ambiance is fun. Lots of people laughing. read more