This reminded me of Japan! I remember going to restaurants and bars that were tucked away downstairs (though this place is still ground level). The eating space is towards the back and very narrow with a low ceiling. It has a warm and cute vibe with spirited away art as well as the film playing on a screen in the back (love that film!). The food is large and very tasty! I would say that it's pretty good, though it didn't quite leave a lasting impression, though the inside vibe was enjoyable. I got the spicy pork ramen - it had a good flavor, but nothing too spectacular. Solid go-to place with decent prices and large portions. I'd come back again and recommend to friends. Atmosphere: 4/5 Food: 3.5/5 Service: 4/5 Overall Experience: 4/5 read more

My friend lives out in Alameda and we were hanging out. We were hungry and she had this great place she has been and wanted to get take out. She told me that we had to order from Yojimbo that it was the popular place in town and had the best sushi and ramen. So of course this is where we ordered take out from. I was in the mood for some lighter sushi so I got just a California roll and the yellow tail and green onion roll. Then I also shared the tempura with my friend. I can see the hype of this place it is absolutely amazing! My rolls were incredibly delicious. They were plentiful of fish as well. The tempura was so crispy and was a huge amount of food. It had so much food! We had three pieces of shrimp and then a ton of veggies. It was all so good. I am really glad this is where she suggested us to go. My friends rolls looked delicious as well. I can not wait to go back with her and my friends again! read more

Really taste good inside so beautiful arts & wall pictures must be there enjoy , nice animation tv series music read more

Yojimbo - Pork ramen favor - Sushi Bars Near Me - Alameda, California

Takeout from Yojimbo was easy and food was just as good as eating there (back in the day) Chicken teriyaki, rice, salad and miso soup that could feed 2-3 people. Rainbow and and Dragon rolls. Seaweed salad. And complimentary gyoza. Great food. Support our local businesses! read more

Yojimbo - Sushi Bars Near Me - Alameda, California

Yojimbo is a staple in my diet. Their ramen is phenomenal, and super delicious. Easily shareable, and so filling. I prefer eating in and not ordering online, because their portions are larger and it's all about the experience. The inside is adorably themed after animated movies, and they always have some film playing to set the mood. read more

Yojimbo - Sushi Bars Near Me - Alameda, California

See all

Is it the delicious sushi or the awesome artwork?! Come find out for yourself. This spot never disappoints, it's like that always awesome roller coaster ride at your fav theme that you go to 1st hands down in a sushi ramen type of way that is. Fresh and definitely great with portion sizes, not too much and not too little! Just freakin' right. The atmosphere is, in my opinion, artistically appealing. With the Japanese inspired are work and the collectible figures it's like an anime experience with your favorite Japanese dishes. I definitely recommend this spot when in Alameda CA! "Can't hit the Bay without stopping pass this way!" can I coin that?! Lol eat up Yelp hella sushi made for you and me!!! read more

See all

Delicious. Went on a nice day and sat outside, it was a cute place and the service was really good. read more

Yojimbo - Dragon Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Alameda, California

AMAZING! My friend and I went at around 7:30 PM on a Friday and got seats immediately. There is some limited seating outside but most of the seating is in the back. The entire place is pretty small but cozy. Parking seemed limited so you might have to walk a bit. I lucked out and got a spot right out front. It is decorated very much in Studio Ghibli style and there are even two Ghibli movies in the background. The artwork is super cute and either straight up Studio Ghibli or in that style with characters from Up and such. There is also some other Japenese style stuff. It's really cool to walk around and look at all the small details. I got the chicken teryaki bento box which I assumed was the normal size but I got what I assume is the full dinner size, which could easily feed 3 people. It was massive, amazing, and scrumptious. The chicken was SO flavorful and yummy. It came with miso soup, rice, a heaping pile of salad. The teriyaki sauce was some of the best ever. My friend got the eel over rice which was also super flavorful and plated with care. This is a must go! read more

Yelp should close the old reviews of Yojimbo and start over. If you haven't been here in a while, it's nothing like it was. Ignore every picture and review older than a few months. Trust me, it's night and day. That being said, the food is still good, not as good, way more reasonable portions, but you'll pay the same prices, maybe a little more. If you've been here before you'll know this isn't what you remember. Here's my pork ramen. No more miso egg, half the type of veggies, and 1/3 of the size. Same price. Maybe ill try the bento box next time read more

Yojimbo - This is what a $35 delivered pork ramen looks like since they moved. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Alameda, California

Folks give the love back to Yojimbo for all the wonderful sushi rolls, tempura, and katsu curry from this Alameda Island gem! Always ordering up an assortment of rolls and our gang of 5 fills up at a reasonable price ! My only wish was that in the summer I forget it's almost 9pm and closing time! read more

Yojimbo - Yojimbo - Sushi Bars Near Me - Alameda, California

See all

Such a cute place with huge portions and delicious ramen. Also had Tonkatsu with plenty to take home

Ordered take out through uber eats and was surprised to find out prices may be cheaper through their official website! (I had 75% off on uber so obviously I couldn't pass that up.) But they even inform you that there is a discount for everyone at this time. How great! On to the food- sushi was okay. I was expecting more due to all the great reviews. The nigiri was reallyyy good though! The California roll and salmon roll was just okay. I'm going to order something different off of the menu next time and I'll update. I love that they sent food on the house! Wontons tasted even better free :) I also ordered ramen for a friend and they gave us a large quantity of it! I'll order from them again! read more

Yojimbo - Sushi Bars Near Me - Alameda, California

See all

Food: To start off, as everyone else has stated in previous reviews, the portions are HUGE. I saw some one who ordered a bento box, and it looked like 3x what a usual portion is. When he got his leftovers to go, it still looked like a full complete meal. I got the dragon roll, which came out five minutes after we ordered. It was a solid roll of sushi, but nothing too spectacular. My friend ordered the pork ramen, which took ~20 minutes. It was yummy yummy. Broth was seasoned perfectly, not too oily, and full of FLAVOR. The pork melted in my mouth, but it was kinda fatty (what do you expect with something that tastes SO good?) Next time I come here, I'm definitely getting a bowl of ramen. Ambiance: I've never been to Japan, but I imagine this is what it would be like to be in Japan. I was so impressed by how small it looks on the outside, but it's actually huge. When we entered the restaurant, we kept walking back and back. I thought we were like Alice in going down the rabbit hole, we'd never stop, but we did eventually reach the end and got seated. I imagine that coming here with a large group would be hard because it looked like there were only two large tables in the restaurant. The decor in the restaurant really makes it one of a kind. Service: All the staff were really nice. I read some reviews that said they were rushing people out right after they finished eating. One of the staff did ask if we were done when we were still eating our food. However, this happened only once and I didn't feel like I was being rushed out of the restaurant. PROTIP: Don't get lost and walk right past the restaurant, their sign is faded and says that they're a cheesesteak restaurant. This is not true. They serve some bomb ramen but never changed their sign. I almost walked right by, don't make that mistake and miss out on some good ramen. TL;DR Get the ramen, wear your loosest pants. The portions are huge. read more

See all

Haven't been there in awhile but remember the wild Japanese anime artwork on the walls. It was cool. Ordered a nice bowl of ramen with pork. It was a filling generous portion with lots of veggies. Very delicious! read more

Food: 2.5/5 I haven't tried the sushi and therefore can't speak to it. We've been a couple times, and more recently we ordered the chicken teriyaki dinner and pork ramen. My family is all about bang for your buck, but we found the portions overwhelming, especially considering we weren't keen on keeping leftovers. Service: 4/5 The servers are friendly and attentive, and we always feel welcome. Ambience: 4/5 I personally love the decor and collector items. It's definitely a treat in itself marveling at the walls. Value: 3/5 Overall our experience was more quantity over quality. The prices are good, but we didn't end up wanting our leftovers (we always eat leftovers). 3.38 - I might consider giving this another try but would not order the dinner combo or ramen again. read more

Yojimbo - Pork Ramen - Sushi Bars Near Me - Alameda, California

Good food small cozy place. Love the totoro decor around. Nice waitress. Will come again. read more

Yojimbo - Totoro Decor - Sushi Bars Near Me - Alameda, California

See all

2nd visit 10yrs later. Better this time. Sushi was fresher and tastier. Ramen was very good - pork belly was tender and not overcooked. Service was good. It is small and like a hole in the wall but not cramped and has its own charm. read more

Yojimbo is the best Japanese restaurant in Alameda. It's an excellent ramen and sushi spot that looks like a small noodle shop you'd discover in Japan complete with Japanese-speaking staff. During COVID, we switched to ordering takeout and they are fast with putting together our orders in a sturdy box along with thank you notes with coupon codes and sometimes a free "on the house" appetizer. I appreciate that they have good vegan and vegetarian options. read more

Yojimbo - Vegetarian sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Alameda, California

Good quality fish, poor parking situation (but it's alameda is it's like that everywhere), and decent service. Ambiance was okay. A bit old and a little run down but I'm there for the food. Got the bento box. Pretty unique, was able to build my own. Everything tasted pretty good but the mixed tempura. As we were leaning i noticed they pre fry everything and leave it sitting out. Was wondering why it tasted a bit soggy and cold. Not a fan of mass fried foods that are left to sit out (no warning lights either). The rest of the meal was pretty good though. I would recommend coming to this place. Lots of noodle dishes to pick from as well. I'd skip on the tempura though. read more

Yojimbo - Bento box - Sushi Bars Near Me - Alameda, California

Such a lovely restaurant! A small hole in the wall with great food and decor. The restaurant is pretty small but filled with anime and studio Ghibli decor. Most rolls are pretty cheap and the bento boxes and ramen are AMAZING. It is hard to find parking outside of the restaurant since it's on park st but other than that I'm always pleased with Yojimbo and their food! read more

See all

I think people like this place because of the huge portions. It was my first visit and I ordered the chicken katsu curry, and my friend had ramen. We were asked what size, and my eyes literally popped when the table next to us had their large sized ramen brought to them. We stuck with the smaller sizes. When they brought out my chicken katsu curry, I didn't realize it came with a sunny side egg, but the egg didn't look like it was fully cooked. I should have said something but I didn't want to keep my friend waiting. Nothing special about the dish, just a tad too much rice for the amount of curry sauce. read more

Yojimbo - Chicken katsu curry - Sushi Bars Near Me - Alameda, California

Came here a few months ago on a weekday in the fall 2016! Wait: about 20 Minutes for a party of 4 but we parked right in front so we were able to chill in our car Decor: Japanese calligraphy, anime and toy figures, and various drawings were displayed around the entire restaurant! Very cute Service: fast! Greeted us right away when we sat at our table and refilled our waters quick Food: loved everything! Our party got about 4 or 6 rolls total and a chicken teriyaki Recommend: leftover roll, chicken teriyaki Pro: -variety of items, specialty rolls -art decor and movies played in the back room for entertainment -huge portion for chicken teriyaki! Enough for 4 people Cons: -parking can be a bit difficult but after 6pm it gets easier, especially on a week night -small restaurant, our table shook everytime a waiter passed by read more

See all

Great food great service and amazing environment if you want a solo lunch or a time with friends and family.

I'm always on the prowl for a good sushi place because my favorite is so darn far away. Unfortunately, this joins my no thanks list. The servers were not attentive and forgetful, the food portions were tiny, and the food from our bento box wasn't hot. When I saw the price for the rolls, I thought wow not bad!, but when we received our rainbow roll I was like ahh, no wonder. It tasted great, it was just so small. We had to order another. The nigiri hamachi we ordered was also very small. For the bento box, we ordered the combo (it didn't come with rice). Chicken katsu, tempura and sashimi. The 3 sashimi slices were puny. I'm used to getting at least 4-5 bigger slices in a bento box. The chicken katsu and tempura was served at room temp. We asked for rice since it didn't come with the bento box (which is odd, if I may add), and we had to ask 3 times before we actually got it. Not once did they check on us to see how we were doing or refill our water. We were trying to flag them down when we needed something. Wanted to like this place. The interior was cute, and it was very busy inside, so I know it's popular. Plus the great reviews on yelp, but this Yojimbo just didn't impress me. 2 stars for the sushi that was fresh and tasty. Just small. read more

Yojimbo - tiny bento box with no rice. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Alameda, California

See all

Love this little japanese restaurant on Park st! They have such a cute ambiance with a lot of great art and anime on the walls. Their servings (especially the bento boxes) are huge and their sushi feels pretty fresh. We ordered take out during covid and they also gave us free appetizer which was a big plus! Support your locals! read more

Omg service is awful. Came here got seated and waited 15-20 minutes waiting just for water. Somebody got seated 20 minutes after us and got water right away. We left after seeing that without the water I might add. There was like around maybe 6 people in the restaurant. It wasn't busy at all. read more

Oof, another place I thought I reviewed... Yojimbo is a great Japanese restaurant in Alameda on Park Street. It's a bit removed from the busier side of Park Street (ie. Central/Santa Clara). Parking can be hard to find on weekends, so I recommend driving a few blocks and you can usually find parking in residential areas. FOOD - Bentos: portions are huge. The bentos could probably be 2-3 meals depending on your appetite. They give a generous amount of salad, and if you order the chicken bento, they give a good amount of that as well. They revamped their menu and added a Bento Mixer option where you can choose individually priced items to make up a bento (minimum of 3 items.) - Ramen: also good portions. I recommend the pork broth. The noodles are always on point. - Rolls. Just okay...it's been hit or miss with us, which has been disappointing. DECOR A bit cramped inside, but overall a fun place with anime playing on the TVs (thankfully not loud or disruptive) as well as a ton of paintings on the wall. TBH I would have given this place 4 stars a year or so ago, but have noticed quality going down recently as well as prices going up. Not a good combo =( read more

Yojimbo holds a special place in my heart. Whenever I crave a nice bowl of pork ramen, which in my opinion is the best thing to get here, I automatically think of the generous cuts of pork belly sitting on top of a bed of vegetables, delicious ramen, and broth. Now the ramen is huge. I have tried and have never managed to finish the whole thing... and that's saying a lot. Personally, the perfect balance would be to bring someone and share a bowl of their delicious ramen and a roll or two. Please note that their sushi rolls are also huge. Another good thing to get are their fairly inexpensive Chirashi bowls. Another thing I love about this place is their artwork. It's all very nicely brought to life in this very homey styled restaurant. Watch out for your head though. read more

Holy portion size! If you're looking for quantity on tempura or a bento box, this is definitely the place to go. Came on a Saturday afternoon, and as expected there was a crowd to get in. We did however get in faster since we didn't come in a large party. Parking can be a huge hassle sometimes, it's Alameda, so there is pretty much only street parking. The place itself looks a little beat up. Don't look for "Yojimbo" because the place doesn't have a sign up and you'll need to walk up to see where it is. The place is super cramped and I highly recommend not bringing a party bigger than 2. Looks like they expanded the restaurant because the tables in the back of the restaurant are mainly only 2 seaters. Try not to get a seat in the middle back table as it's right in front of the "storage" sign so you may have to get up and move out the way so they can get stuff. Really bad spot to put a table to be honest. Ventilation is okay here but on a hot day, it'll probably be a little bothersome. The place has a ton of artwork all around by local artist, which is awesome. Had to get some of their names from the pictures and painting so I can get some on my own time. Onto the service, it's pretty outstanding, waiters are very nice and they came back from time to time to check up on us. Just nothing to really complain about in that department. The food is probably why another reason for the popularity of this place. We had one bento box, a gyoza appetizer, a tempura appetizer, and a roll of sushi. The bento box came out first, which surprised us, so I'm assuming they are constantly cooking it non stop in the back due to demand. The bento box, comes with a huge portion of salad and teriyaki chicken. The dressing on the salad was good, but I really didn't like the kale there. The chicken wasn't anything out the ordinary, matter of fact it tasted like a fast food chicken which kinda disappointed me. The tempura portion was also huge, I'm a big fan of tempura and this place hit it. Gyoza was normal and the sushi was good. Don't expect a huge portion size for the sushi, I do wish it was a little bit longer. Overall, I would come back here if I was really hungry and wanted a big portion. TLDR Service 5/5 Food 3/5 Parking 1/5 Pricing 4/5 read more

See all

Alameda staple. Great sushi. Other dishes (curry, bento boxes) with really big portions. We love both eating here and getting to go.

LOVE THIS SPOT! Sushi is as fresh as you can get and is 100% the best sushi spot in alameda hands down. My wife were just there last night and obviously couldn't eat inside so we just opened the food and started eating on our car trunk parked out front. About 15 minutes later the owner comes out and checks on us to make sure we are enjoying ourselves and everything is good. Not to mention they gave us FREE Gyoza! When he walked back in he sent a worker out to then give us free drinks since we had none! read more

The interior was so charming with its Studio Ghibli decor and low ceilings. Extra points because it was nicely heated too. Now for the food. If you're coming here for the ramen - don't. It wasn't good. The ramen egg was hard boiled, the pork was not pork chashu - it was just some pork strips, and the miso broth wasn't very flavorful. The rest of the food was great though. We had tempura, gyoza and rolls and enjoyed all of those. Since all the food except the ramen was good, and the interior was so charming, 4/5 stars. read more

Great food and service! Always a go to option for us. Love the art and ambiance inside too

My coworkers and I were looking for an affordable ramen place and stumbled upon this one. The decorations here are really awesome and we really loved the ambiance! I'm not a huge fan of street parking but I was able to find a spot right in front of the restaurant. We shared the poke salad and each got our own ramen. I got the chicken miso ramen, while my other two co workers got tempura miso ramen and spicy chicken ramen. The poke salad was really good and a great way to start off the meal. They provide a good amount of sashimi and the dressing used was light but tasty. The ramen tasted good but it was really heavy. I'm a huge fan of ramen broth so I was disappointed with the noodle to broth ratio. There just wasn't enough broth. The chicken was okay but not as tender as I thought it would be. My coworker thought her ramen was too spicy. Overall, we still enjoyed our experience here. read more

Fresh fish, great ambiance- Win! I'm new to Alameda, so I took a long time deciding where to go first for dinner and I ended up choosing based on Yelp reviews. When I arrived I thought I'd come to the wrong entrance- the door basically opens straight onto the kitchen. As you descend past it, you will find the hostess podium with digital checkin, and a couple seats to wait. Fortunately I was early and had no wait at all. The fish was fresh and generously portioned. I had a sashimi bowl and salad. Be careful because the 'side' salad is enormous! The rice was perfectly cooked and the whole bowl was obviously freshly assembled - cold fish+warm rice. I love the wood paneling and low ceiling that make you feel like you've boarded an old fishing ship and joined the crew in the mess below deck. Also, the sound is quieter than most modern restaurants which are trending toward exposed ductwork and vaulted ceilings. It's hard to enjoy your food if you have to shout across the table to be heard. Not here- I saw lots of families with children and didn't hear anyone except the teens sitting right next to me. The kitchen was quiet too, even with it being so open. Service was wonderful and quick- it couldn't have been better if my mom was serving. The server just read the look on my face and left to get the tea almost before I could say yes, lol! Grab a punch card before you leave, and maybe check out the bathroom for the hand painted scenes from My Neighbor Totoro, Ponyo and more. read more

See all

100% a stumbled upon GEM! It looks like it's nestled in a side alley in old Tokyo. Wow. And the sweetest service. Giant bowls of noodles read more

See all

Nice spot in Alameda to grab some quality sushi. I tried the deep fried CA roll ($12.95) and the spicy Tempura roll ($7.95) for dinner and I thought everything tasted great. I would probably skip the S tempura roll next time but the deep fried CA roll was so good. I didn't get to dine in, but the place looked quite small. My to go order was made on time and was a breeze to pick up. Parking on Park Street is a little busy, but the residential streets could be fairly easier. They currently dont have any outdoor dining from what I could tell but I could be wrong. Id come back here again to try more of their rolls. I think Alameda still has reasonable priced sushi rolls so I cant wait to come back! read more

Highly recommend Yojimbo if you're craving Japanese food! The portion size is huge and you are definitely full after your meal. I really enjoyed the Chicken Katsu Bento meal and Rainbow Roll, and my husband really enjoyed the Salmon Donburi. I would definitely call ahead to pick up food because they are quite busy but the wait is totally worth it. Our meal also even came with a side of gyoza which was so nice! Will come back when we're in the Alameda area! read more

Staff was so friendly and the portions were huge! Small space but it was an inviting atmosphere. Everything was super fresh. Defiantly would go again. read more

Great option for sushi takeout! I love the way they package everything so it still looks nice. Everything was fresh and delicious. Ordered the sushi combo C. Lots of food! Loved the tempura roll and the nigiri. Their miso soup is also very good. Will order again. read more

Yojimbo - Sushi Combo C - Sushi Bars Near Me - Alameda, California