Yamato requires preparation and I mean that in the most serious way possible. Girls, wear your leggings and a huge sweatshirt. Guys, come HUNGRY. This place was created for binge eating to satisfy that sushi craving you've been having for the past week & who cares if it's low quality fish? Pro-tip #1: get in your first order as soon as you sit down so you don't have to wait too long Pro-tip #2: DON'T BE GLUTTONOUS! you get charged for leaving any food remaining on your plate, so be aware of how much you can actually fit in your tummy. Pro-tip #3: avoid getting charged by flattening out your rice on your plate and covering it with random stuff, hiding it in your miso soup, under your salad, etc. Pro-tip #4: ask for the check before you finish your last dish, so if you can't finish your sushi/hand roll, they can't add the charge because you've already paid! Pro-tip #5: let's say they (the waiters) are hawk-eyeing you and making sure you finish your food.... get a diet coke. it helps ease the pain. I speak from experience. Lunch came out to be about ~$20/person and I ate so much that I can't look at another maki roll for a good month or so... eh, who am I kidding? I'll probably be back next week. read more

Yamato Restaurant - Round 1 - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

This place is absolutely disgusting. Sashimi was frozen and cut in blocks. Gave us mackerel that looked like food they would feed penguins at the zoo. All the rolls were so bad honestly everything was just terrible. Pretty sure the sushi chefs aren't even Japanese. Terrible service and terrible food. Had to try smashing up the rolls and hiding them so they didn't charge us extra for not finishing their gross food. I feel disgusting after eating at this place do not go here. read more

I was contemplating between giving 3 and 4 stars, but after my most recent experience here, I decided on 2 without hesitation. Why the change of mind?? I had food poisoning. I came here with a group of friends and had a few plateful of maki and sashimi. I felt completely fine during the meal and was enjoying the glorious amount of sushi until my stomach started twisting and turning on my way home. As soon as I got home I ran to the bathroom. I'm not going to go into details here. All I can say is that the food here is not fresh, at least not that evening. I'd like to think that was an isolated incident, but one of my friends had a stomachache after that meal as well. I have been here several times in the past few years, and this was the first time that I had such an unpleasant experience. I was in shock! I have always enjoyed coming here for the all you can eat sushi, a variety of appetizers, and green tea/red bean ice cream. However, after this experience, I'm not sure if I will ever come back. I value my health and would rather play safe and take my appetite and money somewhere else. read more

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One star for Food, Two stars for all you can eat option. To reiterate what others have said, the sushi quality here is a "C" maximum. They move insanely slow when you are doing AYCE on purpose (probably), and its mostly rice with very little fish. It's nice to do once in a while, maybe with, you know, some pre-AYCE activities, but, to sum it up, its underwhelming and overrated. Go to Fin's if you are in the area and want better sushi. read more

In food and in life, you get what you pay for. Yamato is no exception. This review is only for the sushi buffet. PROS - Sushi buffet ($17 for lunch, $25 for dinner) has made-to-order food - In addition to sushi, you get appetizers (including agedashi tofu and edamame) and dessert (three flavors of ice cream, fried ice cream, and fried banana) - Efficient service - Good location near various bus lines NEUTRAL - Only dinner buffet has sashimi though, but lunch still has all of the appetizers and desserts. Explains the price cut! - Tons of warnings to finish your food otherwise they will charge you double for it CONS - Packed all the time. Call ahead if you have a large group because they do take reservations - Pay attention to dishes that have up-charges--even in the buffet - Service is not the friendliest, but it gets the job done read more

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Welcome to Yamato. Land where all is forgiven in the name of $25 all-you-can-eat. Honestly, throughout the course of our dinner we just kept joking "this one is also perfectly mediocre". And that's really what you're getting here. I'm assuming you're not foolish enough to believe that you're getting high-end dining for $25 all-you-can-eat. Cuz that's the price of a roll and a half, maybe 2 rolls at a quality sushi restaurant in Boston (of which there are MANY). I'll give a quick tour: - Drinks: 3/5, a beer is a beer, but the sake tasted old - Sushi: 3/5, some rolls were decent, some fish were too fishy, and you're clearly not getting the first pick off the boat selection here - Appetizers: 4/5, the fried stuff is hard to mess up, the udon was solid, and the miso may have been a little bland - Value: 5/5, this is the reason you're here, isn't it? - Service: 5/5, I really don't know what people are raging about. Our server was perfectly polite, brought us the stuff we asked for, and didn't make us wait for any long periods of time. This was on a Wednesday night, so maybe it's worse when it's busy on weekends. read more

FINALLY, a solid AYCE sushi joint! Many thanks to Michael D. for leading me in the right direction =D Having everything made to order is the only way to go for any sushi buffet, so Yamato was off to the right start. My friends and I sampled the vast majority of the sushi and sashimi with no complaints to be heard. The specialty rolls do cost an extra $1 each on top of the base cost, but they're hefty and pretty well-executed. In particular, the Volcano Roll with its mushrooms is tasty and a steal considering it normally costs $14.50. With regards to the fish, it's by no means top quality but without a doubt the best I've seen yet at a buffet. As for the sushi, the nigiri is OK and I'd recommend leaning more towards the maki rolls as the chefs don't overload them with rice. For cooked dishes, the salmon teriyaki's a nice high-yield dish - not overdone and fresh off the grill. Skip the chicken, rice and noodles though as they're really just a waste of space. I can't speak for the tempura as we were aiming to maximize our meal, but it looked sizeable and potentially very good if you're in the mood. Not surprisingly, the place does start to get packed around 7:30-8 pm on busy days, so come early if you can and be ready to nom it out! read more

Usually when someone suggests getting all-you-can-eat sushi, I get a little suspicious. Images immediately pop up in my head of dried out fish on crumbly rice, tiny portions and limited variety. However, Yamato's all-you-can-eat sushi is a GREAT deal. They use really quality ingredients and have a huge variety of things you can order, including dessert even. I came here with a large group on Sunday night and the restaurant was completely full. The amount of fresh fish we ordered was probably bordering on obscene. One roll I'd recommend is the spicy crispy maki - not the most descriptive, but it's an interesting warm roll with scallops, crab meat and mushrooms. Not something you see every day. We also ate copious amounts of sashimi, including your usual fare (salmon, tuna, yellowtail) and your not so usual fair (ikura and even fatty tuna). Can I just say how amazing it is that you can get unlimited amounts of fatty tuna?!? And it's actually decent quality? Topped everything off with fried ice cream and banana dessert. They also have an assortment of Asian flavored ice creams including green tea (really subtle, light) and red bean. It's not sushi but it's included in the all-you-can-eat price! Total price per person before tip? $24. Amazing! (and it's $16 for lunch) read more

Yamato Restaurant - All you can eat sushi/sashimi - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

THE HANDROLLS ARE SOOOO GOOD HERE! Otherwise, here's the breakdown: 1. Buffet prices: Dinner is $19 on weekdays, $21 on weekends. Lunch $14.99 every day til 3pm. 2. Everything is made to order, unlike some places. *AHEM*MINADOS*AHEM* 3. The host needs to smile more/be more welcoming! 4. Eat everything you order! You're charged for what you don't eat! 5. Ordering the second time could take a while if it starts getting busy 6. Parking here sucks. Take the Green B Line instead. 7. Special rolls cost $1 extra in addition to your base buffet price 8. Heard entrees are good but havent tried them 9. Service is just ok. Had to flag down waitresses a couple of times. 10. Again. Get the handrolls. the end. read more

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I can't believe it's taken me this long to write a review for Yamato. I went here for the first time totally by accident in the summer of 2016 because I pulled up to Maki Maki in Brighton, only to discover that it had closed. AYCE-sushi-craving still intact, I pulled up Yelp and decided to give Yamato a go. Yes, sometimes the service is slow. Yes, it's slightly annoying when the waitress questions your ability to eat all the rolls you ordered and keeps reminding you there are 6 pieces per roll (my husband can make a competition out of eating sushi, so 8 rolls between 2 people is a light snack for us). Yes, they will charge you if you don't finish your order (never had this happen to me, just a heads up). HOWEVER...given all the minor annoyances, I keep coming back because they have tons of options, for a good price -- think $17 for lunch -- and the fish is good quality from what I can discern. Having been to other made-to-order AYCE places, I've had tough, rubbery, stringy fish that was almost impossible to eat. I've never had this problem at Yamato. I regularly order sashimi and other raw rolls (tuna, yellowtail, bass) and have always been pleased with the taste, texture and quality. Plus, the price is right and dinner includes apps and desserts from the menu. Parking is a pain, it gets busy on weekends, and sometimes you may wait a while if you order more than one round of rolls, but all that being said, I think this is the best AYCE sushi in town. read more

Yamato Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

I've always been skeptical about sushi buffet. Since someone was raving about this so much, I agreed to come even though I deeply do not enjoy looking for street parking in the neighborhood that is resident sticker parking mostly. I had my expectations up due to the rave. Nonetheless, I was disappointed. Service wise, I had to ask for everything, such as tea refills. The lunch buffet here is $14.95 that does not include sashimi and dessert. The beef and chicken yakitori was very dry. Yes, I did waste it because I cannot put myself thru finishing the stick of meat. The beef terikyaki is to die for.. as in, I have to kill myself if I had to finish the whole plate. The nigiri is subpar. They slice the fish very thin. I ate the fish and skipped the ball of rice. I'm not a nigiri fan unless the sushi rice is delish. I ordered tobiko which they put just enough to cover the rice. The maki was poorly wrapped and had no heart. I had no desire to eat the maki after the first piece. It's awesome if you like an unlimited supply of sushi and not care about the quality - It's a good deal. Yes, the person is still raving about this place after all the negative impressions in this meal because she had a better dinner experience before and after this lunch meal. Will I go try dinner? Only if two conditions are met, I get a ride and I get treated to dinner. read more

I have been to Yamato's a few times through the years. After Yamato II opened it was closer for me, but it was more expensive. I also prefer the OG Yamato than the second. Coming on a Friday night around 8 it wasn't packed but it wasn't empty. We got seated right away with a party of three. We ordered a lot of sashimi which they happily gave, but it was cut into smaller pieces. I had to eat two pieces of salmon sashimi at once to mimic one piece. The maki rolls were fine, but the spicy salmon maki had a bit of rice packed into it. The service was average, it wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst. The waitress did her job so nothing to really complain about, but also nothing to praise her as well. The ice cream was good but it was probably store bought ice cream, but the fried ice cream and fried bananas was awful. It was so soft and mushy and not golden and crispy like it should be. It is decently price, coming out to around 35 ish including tip and tax on a Friday night. Just make sure you eat a lot to get your moneys worth. read more

Yamato Restaurant - Salmon, Tuna, White Tuna Sashimi! - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

Perfectly adequate all you can eat sushi. Quick service 9 times out of 10. In the 1 off chance there is a full party in their back room with no food in front of them, you may be looking at an hour wait. Reasonably priced - although I think prices went up recently, which could bump them down a star. Solid selection and have never gotten sick after stuffing my face over the dozen times I've been here. read more

Eating my own words. Party of 12 came again yesterday. After a while, everything just takes the same. Who the hell am I kidding? I'll be back for sure! hahaha read more

Poor customer service! I ordered take out directly through their website and they called me to say for some reason the credit card didn't go through, so I went to pay at the restaurant instead. They charged me a DIFFERENT amount than what was originally charged WITHOUT telling me. I showed them my online receipt for proof of original purchase and they claimed they changed their prices last night which didn't reflect on their website but did on GrubHub. I later double checked on GrubHub and the prices are exactly the same as their website. The manager refused to adjust the cost to what was originally charged to my card. As a longtime customer, I expect to pay what was originally charged! And I'm also upset that they didn't tell me about any price difference before charging me! So unprofessional! read more

Yamato is a relatively small all you can eat sushi buffet located on comm ave nearby BC campus area. Amongst the Asian community, this place is pretty well known but if you are not Asian or you are not really into sushi that much, then this place can be easily overlooked because of its obscure location (on the corner of some random street perpendicular to comm ave). Yamato offers a variety of appetizers along with their sushi selections. They give you a menu and a pen and you just select whatever you want. They will charge you for any leftovers so make sure to only order little by little so you don't end up paying extra. For appetizers, their spicy seafood noodles, donkatsu, and seasoned seaweed salad were pretty good. I thought their miso soup was a bit light but it was still good to have something to wash down sushi with. In terms of their sushi quality/taste, I don't think they are spectacular or anything but it is not bad compared to other sushi places that I have been to. I thought their sashimi pieces were great, sushi rolls were well made and presented, and their customer service was also up to par. On the negative side, they do not have fresh crab legs, oysters, clams, and other sorts of raw bar seafood selections so it is really hard to get your full money's worth (if you are looking for raw bar + sushi experience, I highly recommend Takusan located on Beacon St. nearby Coolidge Corner area - For more info, see my review for Takusan). Also, dinner price for Fri-Sun is pretty expensive so I recommend coming here either for lunch or dinner during the weekdays. Overall, Yamato is a good place to check out if you live nearby and you want to satisfy your sushi craving. However, if you are anything like me and you love making the most out of your buffet experience, then Yamato might not be the best place to really get your full money's worth unless you plan on eating 5 full plates of sashimi and sushi rolls. read more

Yamato Restaurant - Sushi (Mackerel, Fish Eggs, Salmon, Tuna, Squid, Sea Bass, and Sweet Egg) - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

We've been going to Yamato for years and will for years to come. For AYCE, it can't be beat. Solid rolls, and if you don't like to eat raw fish there are plenty of cooked or veggie options. The sweet potato roll in particular is yummy. I also love the crab rangoon, it's worth the stomach space. Come here if you're craving sushi in a big way read more

Yamato Restaurant - Our feast - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

Looking for a place to spend $25 on a variety of Japanese dishes, a lot of decent sushi and desserts that can fill up your stomach? This place may have your answer. One of the nearest Japanese restaurants to my place, I decided to come here with a friend. They have this dinner special for about $20, not including tax and tip, you can eat as many types of sushi that you want, as well as a variety of Japanese dishes. How you order is that they give a couple of pieces of paper, and you mark on the paper what you want and how much. I remember ordering a bunch of sushi rolls, such as a Dragon Roll, a white tuna maki, spicy tuna maki, yellowtail maki, salmon and tuna handrolls. We also got various types of sashimi, such as salmon, tuna, bass and mackerel. Sushi was decently good, it was definitely not great sushi but it was sufficiently tasty. The sashimi pieces were really small, I would say one piece is about the width and length of my thumb. I do not have big hands, so the sashimi pieces are small. I felt that they put a little too much rice in the makimono rolls and the handrolls. As for the fishes, they were fairly fresh, and just decently good. I would say that the sushi tastes a little better than the sushi that you would get from a typical American supermarket, but probably not as good as getting sushi from an actual and sophisticated Japanese restaurant with some of the finest sushi chefs. The wasabi that was provided was fairly strong, and the Gari was decently good. Soy sauce was satisfactory, but made the sushi tastier. As for other Japanese dishes, I only ordered a Tempura dish, since I was focused on getting as much sushi as I could eat. This consisted of shrimp and vegetable tempura. I thought it was one of the worst tempura dishes I have eaten in Boston so far. They put in a lot of batter on the shrimp and vegetables, that I tasted more crispy batter than shrimp. As for desserts, we got some ice cream. Fried ice cream is an extremely rare treat for me, because I have not had fried ice cream for months, maybe even years. I thought the fried ice cream was sweetly tasty and crispy, did not taste much cold ice cream, but I was glad to get it, because it is one of the few desserts that I rarely get. Service was not great. We had to wait a while for the sushi. I guess that was because there was a lot of people, and I think the sushi chefs were overwhelmed. When there is a lot of people in a restaurant, usually the service gradually becomes lousy. As for the servers, they were nice enough to make sure we have enough glasses of water, but that is probably the only good part of the service. The servers just did not seem like they care. The only improvement suggestion I can provide is just have the servers be nicer, sincere, and genuine. Interior was decent looking. They have a TV, but they do not show the TV sports programs in high-definition. Overall, this is not a bad choice to spend $25 so you can eat as many sushi as you want but do not expect any amazing dishes from this place. My friend and I actually enjoyed eating here. Sushi tends to be expensive in the USA in general, so if you are not looking for really good quality sushi, this is actually not a bad deal for what you are paying for, and if you do not mind less than mediocre service. This is probably not my top choice for sushi in the somewhat decent city of Boston, but maybe if I have $25, I do not really care for quality, and if I really want to get my stomach full, then it would be one of my top choices. read more

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I eat here every time I'm in the area. Don't be fooled into thinking that the quality of the food is low, just because it's an all-you-can-eat restaurant. The food, in terms of both taste and quality are phenomenal, and on top of that the price us very fair. It's actually SIGNIFICANTLY better than Fugakyu, the Japanese restaurant a few miles away. Fugakyu is a much fancier looking venue, but the quality of the food is worse than that of Yamato's. The rolls and sushi are always fresh, and there is a wide selection. The great thing about this place is that you are not limited to just sushi, but also to all different kinds of hot foods; pretty much anything you would normally look for in a Japanese restaurant, only you can have all of it and as much of it as you want, for the same flat price. In terms of rolls, the dragon roll and spicy tuna roll are by far the best. The spicy tuna roll has breading in it which gives it extra texture. The katsu is grilled to perfection. No excess fat on the meat, and it is both tender on the inside and crisp on the outer breading layer. The steak is delicious as well, though only available during dinner. The chicken and salmon teriyaki are also very well done. I also very much enjoy their spicy seafood noodles and gyoza, though their fried rice is just average. Also, dinner includes dessert as well. I always opt for the green tea ice cream, but every once in a while get the fried ice cream which is pretty decent. Though dinner gives you dessert and some extra dishes, the difference between that and lunch are slim, but the price gap is fairly wide. Definitely try to make it to lunch hours (before 3). Preferably get there before the lunch rush around 11, because the place is always packed. **Also, don't order more than you can handle. Even though it's all-you-can-eat, you will be charged double for leftover food. Just order little by little so you don't overshoot how much you can handle. It's a marathon, not a sprint lol. When you're finished, grab some of their green candy on the way out and go digest slowly at the playground right next to the place lol. Side note, the bathroom is rather gross. read more

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This place is amazing. Great sushi, great service, great decor. Some great choices in sushi as well, you will find mostly anything that you'd like here. read more

An all you can eat sushi place that differs from most all you can eat places by having the sushi made to order. I have been here twice, where the first time we had it we thought very highly of it. The sushi tasted fresh and the service quick. This second time we went was during move-in weekend, so the place was filled with the ideal demographic: college students on a budget. This time around the sushi was quite disappointing, where some of the pieces even tasted frozen. The place was crowded so there was poor communication among the servers(ex. it took a few rounds of asking different servers for soy sauce). Overall, it's a decent price for the amount but this place majorly skimps out on the quality. read more

I have no expectations whatsoever for sushi buffets because it just doesn't make sense to me, rather oxymoronic. But after hearing favorable reviews, I decided it was time to venture out to Yamato. It's $20 excluding drinks and "specialty" menu items, which is $1 extra per dish. This is so much cheaper than Minado, which has skyrocketed in price and kept their quality the same. The place is small for a buffet and people just sit there eating. And it doesn't help that the service is pretty slow, but not excruciatingly so. How do they make money? Food quality is a notch above so-so, but it is definitely one of the better sushi buffets I've been to! Not bad indeed. Watch out! They charge you DOUBLE if you have leftover food. Make sure you order plenty the first go around. The kitchen appetizers are tiny as well as the sashimi. The seaweed salad tasted off from the seasoning and the fried ice cream batter is not recommended. Stick with either the red bean or green tea. To put this all in perspective, $20 can buy you ~1.5 quality rolls at a nice sushi restaurant, so it really depends on your mood that day you crave for sushi. Overall, I wouldn't mind going again if I need to stretch out my stomach. The toughest thing is the parking. Good luck. Really. read more

Yamato Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

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My dad was the first person to mention this place to me. I was a bit iffy thinking that the sushi would be super lame, tiny slivers of fish wrapped in a ton of rice, but it's the complete opposite! They have an amazing selection of sushi, sashimi, hand rolls; along with hot orders such as udon noodles, chicken teriyaki, miso soup, etc. The quality of their sushi is phenomenal; nice think slabs of fish both in the maki rolls and as slices of sashimi. Tuna, salmon, salmon skin, white tuna, eel, sea urchin, mackerel, squid, fluke... the list goes on. They have some really great sounding fancy maki rolls that I have yet to try, but I'm dying to. I honestly haven't had much of their hot food just because I'm such a sushi junkie and I'd rather fill up my sushi fix. This place fills up quick, so be sure to get there early. Another helpful hint-- the earlier you get there, the faster you'll get your order. There aren't as many sushi chefs as you would imagine for an all-you-can-eat situation, so when they get these huge orders, it takes more time than you'd think. The one down side is that you have to finish everything you order. There's also one waiter who seems to be the sushi nazi, haha. He's always coming to tables telling them to NOT order so much food (which I understand, it's his job, but he could be a bit more polite and easy-going about it). The biggest plus about this place-- super freaking cheap for how great the quality and amount of sushi you can get!! I've never really had any complaints about this place other than the scary nazi-like waiter, but other than that, I absolutely love this place! There was one point in time where I was actually going here at least once every other week, if not once every week. I highly recommend Yamato for anyone who's looking to get their sushi fix! read more

Yamato Restaurant - a little of everything :) - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

Since my last review, I've been back a few times and the service has gotten WAY better and the sushi comes out a lot faster. The waiters and waitress' always inform you how many pieces of sushi you are ordering, which is good because sometimes, your eyes are bigger then your stomach. however, my friends and I always finish it all. I've finally been in for dinner and the sashimi does not dissappoint. the salmon sashimi is pretty decent and the pieces aren't tiny, obviously not huge either, but you dont feel ripped off, atleast I dont think so. All in all, I think Yamato is taking all the criticism constructively and I see this place being around for a long time and being a favorite for young and old :) I hope that in the future though, that they add newer or specialty items to the buffet list. :) read more

Was a little unsure of the service before coming here since people were saying food comes slow/they ignore you, but.... It was actually really good. The service was good (came by many times to ask if everything was ok and filled water and brought food out relatively quickly). The first batch of sashimi (dinner) was a little frozen, but fine. Rolls and handrolls were great. The staff was very nice and this is a GREAT deal for all you can eat sushi! Oh, and I recommend the spicy tuna roll! read more

Yamato Restaurant - Sashimi for dinner + a couple handrolls. Very delish! - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

Yamato is an incredibly decent all you can eat sushi place :) the staff here are quite busy during peak hours and so they may seem a little on edge or unfriendly. The wait time isn't too long-it can range from 10 to 30 min depending on what and how much you order (not to mention also how busy it is). They do a good job of bringing all the sushi/sashimi/rolls out on giant plates, which is very satisfying :) the sushi itself is decent and they have a nice variety of things you can order off the buffet menu. Recommendations: starve yourself before you come eat, you're going to need all the empty space. They have a policy where you have to pay extra if you don't finish all the food, so try not to over-order. I typically avoid the breaded/fried foods like tempura as they tend to fill you up rather quickly and dive straight into sushi heaven. I personally like to wash down sushi periodically with udon noodle soup! But that's just me :) Bring a large group of friends that can eat their fill to your stomach's content :) read more

Yamato Restaurant - Rolls on rolls :D - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

We came here for their lunch buffet last Friday. Street parking wasn't too difficult and we were quickly seated. The ordering system here is done via a menu where we plan out all the dishes we wanted and then submit the paper menu. Our favorite dish here is the Dragon roll such that we ordered it again after we were full from eating everything else. The fried items such as the calamari and the gyozi could be improved though. It'll be best to avoid those to maximize the stomach space for the sushi. read more

Yamato Restaurant - Our favorite is the dragon roll. - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

At the time of this posting, I went to Yamato for their all-you-can-eat sushi which was $19.99 for weekday lunch, plus $1 off if you pay in cash. You go and they provided you paper of selections and a pencil. You choose which items and quantity from their extensive menu you want and they bring it to you. Pros: - A lot of options on the menu! - The sushi is decent and you can see from your seat the sushi chef making your order behind the sushi bar as you wait - so the sushi is made fresh to order and not sitting around in a buffet table - The sushi menu includes mostly the basic cheap sushi but a few such as the dragon and caterpillar roles that usually cost more at other sushi places, which I was shocked (but happy) to see in the all you can eat menu - the rolls are not mostly rice as some all you can eat places- they don't just try to fill you up with rice. You're getting regular sushi! - Lots of non-sushi options in case you come here with someone who doesn't like sushi (I didn't try the non-sushi options but they looked good) - their menu has pictures so you know what you are ordering (this is a plus if you're a visual person like me) Cons: - the furniture seems outworn- the seat cushions were ripped - the soy sauce trays we got still had water in them and we had to pour the water out - the waitress did NOT try being nice at all. She didn't smile or respond to our "thank you"... we still gave her a stellar tip because we are good human beings but she made us feel unwelcome. Also, after our second round, she didn't bring the paper for further food selection- we didn't intend to order more and I assume she would've been obliged to if we asked for it, but it seemed like she wanted us to leave after two rounds of sushi - we each had 2 rolls, shared an edamame, shared spring rolls. FYI - If you eat as like we did, I would recommend their lunch special instead - which I didn't know about before going there. $9.99 for 2 rolls, soup and salad! I wish I had gotten that because I feel like I wouldn't feel rushed out and would be eating the same amount of food for half the price of all you can eat. - parking situation is horrible! We went on a Wednesday around noon and there was not parking anywhere. We parked on Commonwealth on the opposite side of the restaurant and thought there were no signs within 15 feet on either side of our car, apparently every other Wednesday there is street cleaning. We even asked a resident coming out of the building on that street if it was okay to park there and she said it was. When we got out of the restaurant, our car was towed, so we had to take a Lyft and then also pay to get our car and for the parking ticket. $144 for towing and $40 foe the ticket. Our cheap lunch outing turned out to be very expensive because of improper street signs and not knowing the street cleaning situation of Brighton since we are not from there. I wish the restaurant had better parking options! Despite the cons, I'm still giving Yamato 4 stars for the good deal on sushi and the quality of their sushi. For those who can- take the green line there and don't deal with parking! read more

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Decent sushi for a reasonable price but the service was terrible. I informed the waitress of my allergy to sesame seeds and to not put it on anything. I then received all the sushi with sesame seeds on it. When I asked to send it back the waitress tried to convince me there was no sesame seeds lmao read more

The best thing about Yamato is that it is an all you can eat buffet. They have many different varieties of sushi as well as appetizers. However, there are certain kinds where they are only provided during dinner, which really isn't a bad thing since that is reasonable. It is always a filling meal. The service is pretty good, that is, if there are little amounts of customers. I came with 20 people one time and we all chipped in with cash. We paid extras for the tips. And as we left, a few of our friends were pulled back because they said they did not pay their portion of the tips. They were really mean about it. read more

They no longer take reservations unless it is a large party. Expect a wait during peak dinner hours. They do a great job with large groups. Just ask to split the table up into a few groups, so the orders come out smoothly. What they lack in quality, they make up for it in quantity. This is a dream for a lazy person. Order everything your heart desires and have it all brought over to your table. Just make sure to finish everything you order. Their fried rice is actually pretty good. Love any of the katsu choices (Panko-covered and deep fried cutlets). Can't go wrong with inari (fried tofu skin), spicy tuna/salmon, unagi (eel), spider roll, hand rolls, and sashimi (love the fatty tuna). Save room for dessert (included if it's dinner). Fried ice cream? Yes please. read more

Very disappointed on the lady who service at the front desk, we were told to leave this place, because we don't have a mask on, we ask the lady if we can have a mask so we can eat there, she give us an attitude said "no" I guess they don't want our business, no problem I can go some where else near by. Owner at this place should train their staff at the front desk how to be nice to customers read more

Went here for the second time. The food was fine but as when we're leaving the server told us we're not tipping enough. The service was mediocre so we left roughly 12% tips. However, the waitress said that we had to leave at least 15%. Then we just changed our tips. When I checked my bills I found out that they charged me more than what I tipped (even more than the amount I changed) without my acknowledge. I'm not sure if it's legal. Tho it's not a big amount of money, it still makes me feel very uncomfortable. Tips should be voluntary and based on the service we received. If you want to charge at least 15%, you should write it on your menu and improve your service level. read more

At $15.99 a person for all you can eat sushi during lunch time, Yamato is awesome. This was my second time here, and while others have commented on poor service, I thought we had good service during a Tuesday lunch. Boyfriend and I came here with a friend and ordered a decent amount of food. We had edamame, miso soup, and veggie dumplings to start. I had the edamame and dumplings and will say both were delicious and well sized. Since we were the second group of people here, it didn't take very long to prepare our order, an assortment of sushi and rolls. I thought the rolls were larger than the last time I came, and they were all delicious. Place started to fill up as we continued to eat. We could have ordered more and contemplated doing so but decided to avoid overfilling ourselves. It's a pretty spectacular deal for made to order sushi and a variety of udon, appetizers, and soups. We also lucked out on parking and found a spot in front of the restaurant. If you're not as lucky, parking can be tricky on the residential streets, but the restaurant is close to the Chiswick Rd. B line stop. read more

Yamato Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

If you care about the quality of sushi over the quantity, then this is probably not the place for you. But if you don't mind acceptable quality sushi and all-you-can-eat portions, then Yamato is your go-to place for sushi! I've been here for several occasions for lunch and dinner and I'm finally writing a review! For the price of $23 + tax or so for dinner, you get unlimited sushi and sashimi along with other great dishes like salad, miso soup, gyoza, and katsu. The quality is not the best, but definitely pretty good! I prefer the other dishes over the fish at Yamato. My personal favs are the gyoza, katsu, and udon dishes. The rolls are pretty good as well! Overall, for the price, you get pretty good quality sushi and other delicious dishes. read more

Yamato Restaurant - Sashimi sashimi sashimi - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

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For an all you can eat joint, this place is the best I've found in Boston thus far. Yes, it's all you can eat, so the food isn't on par with expensive bars such as O ya, but for the price, it's more than worth it. Everything is made fresh to order and the sushi chefs put care and love into each item. AND they don't overload the the rolls with rice so you get full faster.. IN FACT, sashimi is offered as an option in the all you can eat menu! (in addition to pretty much the entire menu: appetizers, udon, salads, soups, and dessert). A FREAKIN STEAL if you ask me! Pay one price, get pretty much ANYTHING on the menu! Even the $25 BOAT FOR ONE, which, if you get, is already more than the price of all you can eat! My only gripe about this place is the service. The waiters and waitresses are slow and dont seem to care about the customers. I had to give the sushi chefs my orders twice because the waiters/waitresses were too busy playing games on their cell phones. ALSO, they eye you as you eat to make sure you don't sneak any food away or try to toss any unwanted items, which can get pretty annoying. BUT WHATEVER, i came for the sushi, not the service! Solid 4 stars! OH and the sashimi and dessert are only included in the dinner menu (so go for dinner and get fried bananas and fried ice cream!) ALSO, each specialty roll will is $1 on top of the set all you can eat price! read more

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This was my third time at this location and I am still a fan. I also tried out the new one in Back Bay, but I think the quality was slightly better here. My party of 8 and I came here one Sunday afternoon and we were able to get a seat immediately. Even though it was lunchtime, they now let you pay the dinner price to get unlimited sashimi. My friends are from Chicago so they haven't really had great sushi in their lives, but the sushimi was very fresh and pretty tasty for an AYCE. We ordered a ton of apps as well and I would recommend in the future to skip out on that and order more fish. We ended our meal with some fried bananas and fried ice cream which was also pretty good as well. I will make another trek out here sometime in the future. read more

Yamato Restaurant - Unlimited sashmini - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

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I've come here twice for all-you-can-eat sushi. The price is $19.99 per adult on Sun - Thur, and $21.99 per adult on Fri and Sat. The price for lunch would be $14.99, but you don't get to order salmon and tuna sashimi, as well as the desserts. I think for the price we pay it is a decent meal, you can certainly get your money's worth. While others complained about the speed that they are being served when it is crowded, my experience on weekend (more crowded) is actually better than that on weekday (less crowded), perhaps because of the added number of sushi chefs. read more

Yamato Restaurant - example of all-you-can-eat sushi -- most of your order come together on a single plate. - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

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People are right that the service here is pretty slow, but really with the amount of sushi that this place has to make for every table I kinda understand. The waiters aren't hovering around you all the time waiting to get something for you either, so you do have to flag them down now and again to get what you want. Food wise though this place is a steal. They make some pretty good quality, tasty sushi. And it's all you can eat! They also made some of our sushi into little heart shapes, which was a nice touch :) read more

Yamato Restaurant - yummay - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

To be completely honest I did not have very high expectations when I came here, having experienced sketchy behavior from other all you can eat sushi restaurants in the past. BUT Yamato truly exceeded my expectations. First, the sushi was very fresh. They definitely did not overload on the rice for the rolls which was also something I was expecting. Hot food appetizers came out very quickly, and once we finished our sushi, the server was immediately at our table taking away empty plates and handing us a fresh order sheet. I definitely did not feel like they were delaying each new round of orders at all. I recommend going during off hours when it's not too busy.. I feel like the other complaints on here are due to people going at extremely busy times and interpreting mistakes in orders and delay in service as the restaurant trying to trick you to eat less, when they're probably just incredibly busy! Another tip is to be very conscious and only order what you can finish!! I have worked at multiple sushi restaurants through college so I get picky when it comes to sushi spots, but I definitely recommend giving this place a try and will be back again soon! read more

Yamato Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts