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    Yama Kitchen

    4.4 (92 reviews)
    Open 11:30 am - 11:00 pm

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    Brandon D.

    Met up with my friend in Galveston at Yama Kitchen in Pasadena. This is a Japanese bbq and sushi place that opened last year. They have 2 different tiers but we just got the most basic ones. Our favorite cuts were the classic bulgogi and short rib. They also have sushi and I especially liked their salmon and yellowtail nigiri as well as their salmon sashimi. They use really good quality salmon here. They have a buffet far for any appetizers like fried rice, crab Rangoon, fries, eggrolls, a sauce bar, some additional items for the grill like lettuce, jalapeno, garlic, and a pickled veggie section. The apps were all pretty mid except for the lo mein. I was kind of expecting the meats to be more flavored from the marinades but they were all pretty bland, the sauces were just ok too in my opinion. Overall just an ok place, definitely an option if you live in Pasadena but I rather just drive to bellaire

    Exterior
    Jyreka N.

    I have no formal complaints about this place. I loved the location (it's near my house!), the spread on the all you can eat, the menus selection is pretty good. The seating is nice- i do wish they had chocolate ice cream instead of strawberry tho. Lol our server was very attentive & explained the menu & it's dynamics. The restaurant & bathrooms were clean. There was a birthday & we got to witness that. Too cute!

    Jesus D.

    Service was great and no complaints about the staff. Food wise was a hit or miss and lots of misses We took both Japanese bbq and sushi option Salmon and yellow tail sashimi were hits, fish was fresh. Chuck beef was the best hit as the marbling was excellent The rest of the items were all a miss: signature pork belly, short rib, "pork cheek". Thus we stopped ordering the other items except for the hits above. Pork cheek on the menu was definitely not a pork cheek. The meat were slices of pork butt. Both short rib and pork belly were marinated and unexpected. They were sweet Unfortunately, no comeback on this restaurant

    Juan P.

    New restaurant in Pasadena, right off Beltway 8 and Fairmont. Great location! Service is quick--go in, get seated, and then start ordering your food. For $6 more, get the beef and sushi buffet--it's worth it. There's a 2-hour sit-down limit, and if you leave too much food at the end, they may charge you more. All the sushi rolls are fresh and delicious. The meats are good too. I had a lot of different things, so I'll say this: don't get the spicy yellowtail roll. Everything else is great. Some meats had no flavor, but just throw some salt and pepper on it and you're good. It's definitely worth the price to chill and eat a lot. The grill in the middle can be switched out if you don't want too much char on your food, or just wipe it down with your napkins--that's what I did instead of waiting for them to change it. Ahhh, the tips--I'd recommend taking cash for your waiter. According to two workers, I was told the restaurant keeps the credit card tips, and they don't get them until they're split among everyone, and that takes about two weeks. So I highly recommend having some cash for a tip. Overall, it's a great place to go--definitely worth checking out. Ambiance was calm and chill.

    Robot action
    Charisse T.

    We were celebrating my early birthday and they gave me a bang along with a delicious dessert. The food was outstanding but the robot too the cake. The food was fresh and hot. It's a buffet restaurant but also serve sushi on the line you can order dozen of each or half dozen of each to make a dozen. We did Korean bbq, rice, cheese corn. We walked out full and satisfied. The servers and the manager checked on us constantly. Let not forget the decor is absolutely beautiful

    Royal V.

    First time, all you can eat. You have a small oven griddle on your table. A robot will bring your food. They have a small buffet line where you can get veggie rolls, desserts, crab, shrimp, fried rice, and other items. The manager brought us out a complimentary glass of plumb wine since it was our first time. Very spacious place. Reminds me of a restaurant in a casino. They have booths and tables. Food was good. Server was informed.

    Sashimi
    Quynh-Anh V.

    Food quality is pretty good for the area (much better than Sushi Yoto). I wouldn't go out of my way to go here but I definitely left full and satisfied. Salmon sashimi was good, and the toro beef was my favorite. The pork belly was very tender but I'm pretty sure it+some other meats were marinated even though it wasn't specified as marinated. The interior of the restaurant is stunning and service was nice.

    Justin T.

    Social media got to me again! Yama Kitchen kept popping up on my feeds and the high ratings on here made me pull the trigger on visiting. It's located in Pasadena right off the Beltway. Easy to find and easy to park as it is in a large shopping strip. My date and I came on a Friday night. I made reservations online but noticed I probably could have gotten away with just walking in. Not that it was dead inside, but more like this place is massive and there is plenty of seating inside. It looks as if they combined 3 businesses and made a mega space. Not knocking Pasadena, but this place is fancy looking inside for the area. Cool lighting, comfortable seating and they even have robot waiters! You order with a waitress and then the robots bring alot of the items out. Valerie was our human waitress and she did a great job from start to finish. Yama is an all you can eat Japanese BBQ and Sushi buffet. I've seen all the combinations at this point like hot pot and bbq, sushi and hot pot, etc. I haven't been to one of these combinations yet though. Back in the day sushi buffets were not that great with the exception of a few spots, but we're starting to see them pop up more and more and I'm all for it. I'm especially happy to see more places like this on the southeast side of town. Pricing differs from lunch and dinner. Sushi OR Japanese BBQ will run you 20.99 for lunch and 30.99 for dinner. Sushi AND Japanese BBQ will run you an additional 6 bucks. They also have alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks for purchase. You have a 2 hour limit. Excess food waste will be charged. We came hungry and my date has never had Japanese BBQ so we opted for the sushi and bbq option. They have a variety of soups, salads, appetizers, grilled items, rice, noodles, and hibachi from the non sushi and bbq items. We started off with some spicy edamame (very good), crispy calamari (good), gyoza (very good), beef short ribs from the robata grill (very good), tonkotsu ramen (surprisingly good), and shrimp fred rice (good). For sushi we had three different types of rolls plus some sashimi. The rolls were presented nicely and made well. I do feel like it was more filler than any of the proteins but still tasty. The sashimi was ok, not as fresh tasting as I would have liked. As far as the bbq goes, we ordered quite a bit of different meat and veggie options. The grills were changed frequently and easy to cook with. They only provided tongs for cooking. I do wish they had scissors like more other establishments like this. Some of the meats were good on it's own and the flavored ones delivered as well. We asked for different sauces there wasn't many options. We finished off our meal with tempura bananas and Oreos, and green tea ice cream. The Oreos were great but the bananas were not very ripe which gave it a bland taste. Overall, this was a very solid spot of the southeast side of town. I will gladly make that drive over when the cravings hit again.

    Apps and tablets set up
    Alexa G.

    Only my 2nd time being here & I love it. Our server was Nell & she was the sweetest. Very attentive & had good recommendations. This place is very clean, restrooms are clean, great music playing and the food is so good. All you can eat sushi & Korean bbq. All the staff were really nice. Great place will be coming back.

    Briana W.

    Great for friend date night!! I would suggest to ask the process on how to order before you order. That way you know what menu to look at and options are available to you that is included your price. I chose the BBQ option and I felt like the menu options were just enough. Appetizers and food items to cook come out quickly and staff are very accommodating. I love how often they came to collect dirty plates. This place was a fun and interactive experience. Happy Yelping!

    Spicy cucumber
    Jarred F.

    Absolutely incredible experience for all you can eat sushi and Korean barbecue. The restaurant is fun and great for kids with robots delivering food and a vibrant atmosphere with fun music and cool vibes. Super traditional Korean side dishes and the food was ultra fresh. Wish we lived in Houston because we'd go to this place regularly!!

    Lunch all you can eat menu

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    4 months ago

    Bri was the best of the best love the service i would recommend anyone who is coming to Yama Kitchen and ask for Bri 10/10 recommend her

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    8 months ago

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    1 year ago

    Valerie was a sweetheart and the food was amazing. Always recommend the basil chicken.

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    11 months ago

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    1 year ago

    Better than expected $20 lunch sushi buffet! Great, fresh sushi. Thanks Valerie! Yes!

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    Food was delicious! Our favorite was the ramen, the chicken gyozas, and the shaggy dog sushi. Employees were really nice too :)

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    7 months ago

    This is the place to come too it's was very good the customer service was great. It's a lot to choose from

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    9 months ago

    Great food and ambiance! Service was also great and everyone was extremely nice and welcoming :)

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    11 months ago

    Great service. Fun place to eat. You have a big choice of meats, appetizers and deserts.

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    1 year ago

    Good service, fresh sushi, and great ambiance while eating at the restaurant. Their tempura ice cream was so good!

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    1 year ago

    Our waitress Valerie made my first experience here great and made me want to come back again!

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    Valarie was awesome first time here and she made it a breeze definitely will be coming back and asking for her

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    1 year ago

    Amazing food and service shout out to Meredith it was an awesome experience well worth the money

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    Ask the Community - Yama Kitchen

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    5.4 mi

    I've been wanting to try this place for a while, and I've driven by the food truck a few times…read moreduring its advertised "open" hours, but it was closed each time. It could have been due to the colder weather. However, we finally made it during a time when it was open. The food was quite good. I had the kimchi rice, and my husband ordered the bullhop beef. Next time, I'll definitely add a protein to the kimchi rice. Both dishes were very flavorful, with the rice mixed with kimchi cabbage. The beef dish included onions and broccoli, which were cooked to a nice consistency. We were greeted by a friendly staff member, and our food was prepared quickly; however, we were the only customers there, so I'm not sure if that's a fair gauge of the service..

    I visited the korean festival in Discovery Green and saw this food truck with lively music and a…read morebunch of people waiting in line so we went to check it out! We tried the spicy rice cake and sausages on a stick (I believe it is called sotteok?) which was so delightful with the sauce being sweet but had a good kick to it. We also ordered one of the beef and kimchi bowls and that SAUCE was to die for. We devoured it all in minutes and it was one of my favorite rice bowls I have had! Definitely going to try and check out more dishes next time!

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    Thank you We are making a lot of preparations to meet you now. I want to cook delicious food and give it to you.

    Bullbop - Bulgogi is a dish of fresh beef marinated in Korean-style bulgogi sauce, stir-fried, and eaten with rice.

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    Bullbop - Beef Japchea 
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    MaiAsianbox  THAI FOOD - Banh Mi

    MaiAsianbox THAI FOOD

    4.5(80 reviews)
    2.9 mi

    I ordered the green curry with tofu from the lunch menu and it was chef's kiss good. They brought…read moreout a little cup of vegetable soup before my entree and I enjoyed every spoonful. I also tried their vegetable egg rolls and they were nice and crispy. The place was a little warm but I like a warmer temps so it was no sweat off my back.

    My friends and I stumbled upon this place in our search to find somewhere to eat to celebrate our…read morebirthdays and I'm so glad we did! The restaurant was empty around 2PM when we got there. We walked in and were told to sit where we wanted and handed menus. They took our drink orders first and after bringing our drinks, they also brought us small bowls with a consume style chicken soup/broth. This was tasty, I enjoyed it. They took our orders a couple of minutes after as well. We started by getting 3 appetizers, the calamari, chicken satay and the dumplings. My friend ordered the Pad Thai (medium level spicy ness so maybe a 2-3?), and my other friend and I got the Maiasian fried rice box which comes with shrimp fried rice and a fried chicken cutlet on top. You can also choose your level of spice on this dish. My friend went with a 2 and I chose not to get it spicy as spicy food causes me stomach issues. After placing our order, our first appetizer came out in about 5 minutes and it was the calamari. I could see the seasoning on the breading, they looked tasty and some were fried crispier than others but nothing was overcooked. Upon first bite, the flavor was really good but the spice on them kicks in after you've ate it and they are HOT. I can handle a small amount of heat but these felt like a 5. Needless to say I only ate two. The chicken satay was my favorite of the appetizers, the dipping sauce is peanut butter forward which I loved because you get the saltiness right away along with that PB taste and the sweetness and mild spice come after. The cucumber provided with the satay was the cooling agent I needed to sedate the heat from the calamari. It was cool, refreshing and sweet. The dumplings were pork and shrimp and come with a soy dipping sauce. They were tasty as well, not the best I've had, but enjoyable. Seasoned perfectly. My dish, the Maiasian fried rice box was delicious! The shrimp are a nice size, fairly big, and my favorite vegetable in the rice was the broccoli. The chicken cutlet was fried perfectly too. I really enjoyed it and the one my friend got wasn't too spicy at a level 2. I'd say it was still pretty mild. I did get a taste of the Pad Thai and at a level 3 spice I'd say. It was sweet with that spice kicking in after. It was milder than I thought but over all still a good Pad Thai. After we finished eating, they brought us to go boxes since we all didn't really finish our plates. It was a lot of food and they also brought us these home made cookies with a chocolate frosting on them in the shape of a star. Not sure what kind of cookies these were, maybe sugar cookies I'd say, but they were DELICIOUS! If they would sell boxes of these to go I'd buy 2 or 3 of them hahaha. They were the best thing to end our meals with. I forgot to mention that our food came out pretty fast, and the kitchen is in the dining area so you can see, hear and smell the food being prepared. Aside from the sound of the chef cooking, the restaurant has a quiet ambience and I find it quite cozy. Definitely check this place out if you're in the area. It's really a hidden gem.

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    MaiAsianbox  THAI FOOD - Milk tea

    Milk tea

    MaiAsianbox  THAI FOOD - Chicken Egg Rolls

    Chicken Egg Rolls

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    4.7(255 reviews)
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    I recently tried this local shabu spot and had a really enjoyable experience. The restaurant was…read moreclean, well-organized, and the atmosphere felt comfortable for both small groups and solo diners. The broth was flavorful but not overly salty, which worked perfectly for cooking the meats and vegetables. The beef slices were thin and fresh, cooking quickly in the broth and staying tender. The vegetable platter was generous and included a nice variety like cabbage, mushrooms, tofu, and noodles. One thing I liked was the sauce bar--there were several options like ponzu, sesame sauce, garlic, and chili so you could customize the flavor exactly how you want. Service was friendly and attentive. The staff explained how to cook the ingredients properly, which is helpful if you're new to shabu-shabu. The only small downside was that it can get a bit busy during peak dinner hours, so you might have to wait for a table. Overall, it's a great spot if you're craving fresh hot pot and a casual dining experience. I'd definitely come back again.

    Great selection of meats! Very tasty! Very fresh vegetables and the seafood was fresh and taste…read morewonderful. My true favorite of hotpot is the fresh vegetables anyway! I did try all of the meats and it was a lot of food but every cut was great! Nice open restaurant with plenty of seating and arranged so you feel as if you have your own space. The only reason I dropped it by a star was that there was only one person waiting on a large portion of the guests. She really tried hard and this is not a knock on her. But even though it was a slow night she struggled to keep up at times. I would have given it 4.5 if I had the choice.

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