Yamato Japanese Steak House

Reviews

• Reagan K.

  star star star star star 15 June 2026

  I LOVE Yamato. It's got to be one of my favorite places to eat, the food is delicious and quickly prepared, and it doesn't hurt that the prices are low!
  
  Their lunch specials end at 3:00 pm, for all of you deal hunters! I got in at 4:00 and paid about $11 for my sushi bento box, which came with soup, salad, a spring roll, a California roll, and four pieces of nigiri. Which is totally worth it considering the prices of other sushi restaurants in the area!
  
  The service is amazing, too! Our waiter was friendly and chatted with us while we ate, and was extremely accommodating to our questions about the menu and requests for more silverware or soy sauce!
  
  The location is more of a toss-up. In theory it's great, only a few minutes from downtown, right across the street a shopping plaza, and very close to the hospital (I got takeout here when I was visiting someone there, it was extremely quick and tasted delicious)- but the parking plaza it's in is tragic. It's always crowded and I've been in two accidents here. Overall, be careful where you park and make sure to use the crosswalks, and you should be okay!

• Dana L.

  star star star star star_border 11 June 2026

  Yamato is a nice little Japanese and sushi place in New Albany Plaza on State Street by Kroger. I stopped in here last night for a quick solo dinner. Inside, it's small, but nice and clean. It's not fancy, but is a step up from something like a Chinese take-out. The lighting is dim and they have both tables and booths. They have a tv hanging to occupy diners, and they were also playing contemporary country music on speakers, which although a bit out of place, didn't offend this country music fan.
  
  I ordered a dinner bento box with chicken teriyaki. It came with fried rice, soup, salad, a spring roll, and four pieces of sushi (California roll). It was a lot of food. I chose onion soup instead of miso, and it was pleasant. The spring roll and chicken teriyaki were both really good. The sushi was fresh, and I had no complaints. The California roll wouldn't have been my first choice, but since it came with the bento, I didn't mind. I had over half of my food left over to take home. It will be lunch today.
  
  The service was friendly and efficient. My food came out really quick and I was in and out in no time. I even made it out before the country station could play Luke Bryan and I might lose my appetite. The location is very convenient and the prices are really good. When the price and value is considered, this place is easily earns four stars in my opinion.

• Maddie G.

  star star star star_border star_border 3 June 2026

  I came here on a Saturday night at 8.  There were only a few other customers.  The restaurant was creepy quiet..no music or anything, just silence.  Our waitress was nice enough but seemed very disinterested in what she was doing.  For an appetizer, we had the gyoza..to be honest, the frozen potstickers from the frozen aisle at the grocery store are better.  The shrimp and filet mignon hibachi dinner was far cheaper than any other japanese restaurant I've ever been to.  It came with soup, salad, vegetables and rice.  I like that we had an entire bottle of yum yum sauce and ginger sauce for the table.  This entree came with plenty of food and it was good..a bargain really.

• Lynn P.

  star star star star_border star_border 2 June 2026

  Fast, Hibatchi type asian food.  It reminded me of a Japanese Steakhouse but without the "chef show" preparing it in front of you.  There are some other differences...
  The Hibachi dinner menu includes the onion broth soup and salad.  The entree protein is accompanied with veggies (zucchini, broccoli, carrots, onions and mushrooms) along with fried rice.
  Salad came with soggy croutons, so they obviously are premade.  The dressing is brought to the table in a plastic squeeze bottle like you might find at a small diner but was close to your higher end JSH.
  The onion broth soup needed a little dilution as the flavor was quite strong and salty.
  I asked that they omit the onions and zucchini from my vegetables which did not happen.  The filet mignon seemed more steam cooked than grill fresh although they did honor my medium rare request. My niece asked for streamed rice instead and that was no problem.  We both were very pleased with the consistency and taste of the rice.
  Our appetizer, a shrimp tempura roll, was a bit on the small side but was pretty good.  
  The outstanding service, other than the veggie mess up, has to be mentioned.   It has been a long time since I felt someone tried so hard to make sure we were well taken care of...at least at a fast food establishment.  
  The best part was the price.  Literally 1/2 the price tag of the establishments with the grill show.
  I will try them again now that I know what I know and am certain my next visit will score more stars.

• Haley S.

  star star star star star 23 May 2026

  First time here, just accidentally stumbled upon this place looking for a quick bite to eat for dinner. The food was amazing! Prices were shockingly fair, the inside dining room was clean, well decorated and the tables/seating were nice. Staff members (including our waiter,Max) were so friendly and quick to serve. We mentioned to Max that we enjoyed our sushi  and he went and told the chef, which he was elated to reply with a big thank you from the kitchen! Above expectations and can't wait to go back!