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    Yamato 2

    3.2 (653 reviews)
    Closed 11:30 am - 10:00 pm

    Order Yamato 2 Takeout or Delivery

    Yamato 2 Photos

    Business Info

    YAMATO 2 ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Yamato 2

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    5/5 stars for the price point. Not going to knock your socks off but $26 for an all you can eat lunch is very reasonable and the quality was superb.

    Hursuong V.

    A staple since my college days. Great for quantity (not necessarily quality) and group gatherings. There is hot tea to accompany the sushi along the way and for dinner, fried ice cream to end the meal. The rolls were mostly rice and the food was quite average but if you're hungry it's the best thing in the world. The spicy salmon hand roll was one of my faves actually! Service was decently fast. Parking in Back Bay is a butt. The interior is decently bright despite it being in the basement.

    Jeffrey H.

    The trick is not to drink water and avoid filling foods and you'll have a great time here :) High quality sushi rolls made to order and servers are attentive to take your order before you are finished with your current plate! Lively atmosphere!

    Chrissy D.

    Great all-you-can-eat sushi for the price! The quality is good enough, but I wouldn't come here for anything other than their AYCE option. The menu is also fairly big and has lots of hot food options as well. They do a good job at doing their rounds!

    Simone P.

    My expectations for this place were quite low, considering it's all you can eat sushi, but I was still quite disappointed. The sushi was not very fresh, especially the tuna sashimi, which had a very fishy taste, and some of the salmon was a little too slimy. In edition, the agedashi, tofu that we were served, had a hair in it and had to be remade, which is obviously not a great sign of hygiene. Also, the crab ragoon tastes of pure cream cheese. The roll selection is small and there's is not much else going on. Overall I would say unless you're ordering a ton of sushi this isn't even really that great of a deal. It was quite pricey actually considering taste and service. I think you'd be better off going to another quality sushi restaurant and you would get a similar bang for your buck. Also, the place was quite rundown, especially the bathrooms.

    Katherine V.

    Sushi is decent and the best you can get for your dollar in the back bay area. Drinks are also pretty good. Soju is overpriced - $25 for the same bottle i get for $12 at total wine. Staff is friendly but super slow (understaffed.) Our waitress was so nice and attentive though! It always gets super hot in there for some reason though so be prepared in layers. Tables and floors are often sticky and the bathrooms always smell like chlorine. But dining ware is always clean and the food is fresh and clean as well.

    Brighton Maki | Tuna & Salmon | Salmon Skin
    Mark T.

    The Internet seems to have a very positive opinion about Yamato. After walking by and having a mental bookmark for over a decade, it was finally time to stop in. I blame Reddit - plus I had a nearby interview that got out just as lunch was starting. Off the bat: $24.50 for AYCE sushi lunch is a great deal, especially in downtown Boston. However, $25 can get you all sorts of delicious lunches, and I'm not sure Yamato has gone in my Rolodex of places to revisit. I do think it is worth a second chance though... only maybe for dinner. I had the opportunity to try: - Crab Rangoons - Brighton Maki - Volcano Maki - Salmon & Tuna Sushi - Salmon Skin Hand Roll The Crab Rangoons were alright. The filling was A-OK, however the fried wonton was on the thicker and chewier side for my taste. The Brighton Maki was a bit unsure. Rather than having a spicy tuna filling, in this case it was the exterior topping! Inside was avocado and white fish. Flavor-wise, this role wasn't much to write home about. I found the pieces a little inconsistent as well (more or less spicy tuna topping, smaller or larger bit of white fish, etc). Texture-wise, the large amount of spicy tuna, rice, and avocado led to a mouthfeel that hid the white fish. Overall though, pretty average: I'm glad I ordered it, but not necessarily something I'd order on future visits. Something I would skip on future visits is is the Volcano Maki. This one contained...cheese? I'm not sure, but it was a simple spicy tuna maki topped with a seemingly cheese-bound "torched scallop, tobiko, scallion, crab meat and mushroom mixture." Points for creativity, however seems like something I would make when trying to empty my fridge pre-vacation. It did not work here in my opinion. The salmon skin hand roll was very good. This one had balanced textures and ingredients, and allowed the quality of the rice to shine. While I deviation from my usual eel hand roll, this is something I would happily order again (though maybe in the eel variety). Also a favorite were the salmon and tuna sushi (nigiri, I suppose?). The simplicity is what works here. High quality rice and fresh fish, plus a little soy sauce makes for a winning combination. Finally, the service was friendly and attentive, no complaints there. The location was generally pleasant, but felt a little musty, and the mirrors could use a good wipe down. Thus, while the rice and fish are fresh and tasty, the execution could use some work overall. As such, I have the agree with Yelp's 3-star average, and disagree with those friends and Redditors who extol Yamato's virtues.

    Salmon, ikura, Spicy Tuna Roll
    Charles L.

    Great customer service, friendly staff! The spicy tuna cut and hand roll was SO good. My food experiences in Boston are usually just average or sub par but this place was actually really good I will be coming back.

    Bill

    We love coming to this place. We come at least couple times a month. Today we experienced an unacceptable event. We have a 6 year old son. As you can imagine he didn't eat anything but one piece of chicken. When the waitress brought the bill they had a charge for him for 18.99 This is ridiculous. And he mentioned it was the manager who imposed this addition. This is insane. He did not eat anything as he is 6 years old and doesn't understand from Japanese kitchen. It almost felt like a cover charge we paid for the kid. We didn't make a big deal but greediness like this cost them a regular customer today.

    AYCE lunch
    Mindy P.

    My team and I came to Yamato 2 for lunch the other day. We didn't make a reservation or anything, but when we got there a little after noon, we were pleased to see that there were plenty of tables available for walk in. They must have just cleaned the tables because we all noticed the strong smell of bleach. We opted for the lunch AYCE, which excludes sashimi and certain rolls. We could eat plenty of hot entrees and appetizers as well. We got a whole plate of sushi and then a whole plate of rolls. Food came out super quick! I didn't mention this in our lunch, but unfortunately one of my rolls had a piece of hair in it, which is why I can only give 3 stars. Aside from the hair, the food was fresh and tasty. Service was great too.

    SUSHI! we got salmon, tamago, unagi nigiri.
    Cynthia K.

    This was my absolute favorite place in college years ago so I was so glad to revisit. They have all you can eat sushi at a reasonable price. I don't even eat a lot, but I like that I'm able to order one piece at a time so that I can try a variety. My go-to items include salmon, tamago, and unagi nigiri. For sides/apps, I like to order the fried lotus roots, shrimp shumai, crab rangoons, tempura, and most importantly, their COLD TOFU. I don't know what's in their tofu but it's absolutely incredible. Service is always quick and easy, as you order using the pen and paper they give you. Usually full of college students. Always a 10/10

    Nelson L.

    Good sushi for ayce. Decent rice to fish ratio. Service is usually pretty good. Good amount of seating. Definitely my go to for ayce.

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    This place has ayce options but is just alright. I've had better sushi at other ayce sushi places.

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    4 months ago

    The all-you-can-eat sushi is good quality for the price. Extremely fast service, especially with the tablet ordering system.

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    4 months ago

    I love sushi, but the sushi here was not fresh at all.... it was expensive nonetheless.

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    Is this unlimited sushi?

    Yes! They have it available for lunch and dinner.

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    Yume Ga Arukara - Spicy hot udon

    Yume Ga Arukara

    (241 reviews)

    $$

    Waterfront, South Boston

    Best udon I've ever had. I didn't do any prior research for this spot and I ended up absolutely…read morepleased with the food quality and ambience. I got the Hot Niku Udon! The broth was so rich and balanced that I could taste every ingredient listed. The noodles weren't too soft like most places, they were perfect! My boyfriend and I loved the open-kitchen concept that made the food feel so much more authentic. I craved this meal the second we stepped out of the restaurant! I'd recommend this to everyone!

    I felt like Yume Ga Arukara didn't stand out to me. Not sure if I just ordered the wrong item? I…read moregot the hot spicy nikutama udon soup. Nikutama just basically comes with meat. I also added the onsen egg. My first initial thought: it's warm, soothing and heartwarming. But the more I ate it, it didn't really have much flavor and I don't know if it's because it's chicken based broth. The spiciness also didn't really have much of a kick. And in some bites, I bit into a Szechuan pepper. Not sure what kind of theme they're going for but definitely didn't expect it to have a Szechuan twist. I will say, I very much liked their udon noodles! It was really chewy and soft. I also felt that the onsen egg was slightly too undercooked. I love eggs and I can eat them cooked, runny, etc. but felt like the yolk was so runny it mixed into the soup and didn't really resurface after that. It's a really small shop with bar seating and a few small tables. Expect a wait if you're a big party or quite possibly coming around rush hour. Despite my review, it seems very popular. Service was quick and fast!

    Tora Japanese Restaurant - M1. Pinku Maki

    Tora Japanese Restaurant

    (939 reviews)

    $$

    Chinatown

    Came to Boston for a work trip and really wanted to eat something light and healthier. I loved it…read moreso much I came back twice! I came during lunchtime on a Monday. It was adequately busy but still had seats open. The lunch menu is very affordable! If you can, I'd highly recommend going for lunch instead of dinner. Service was really quick! Received my meal in like 5-7 mins after ordering. Fish was super fresh and I really liked the different textures in the Hoseki Don. I also added in negitoro. They gave me a big clump of it! The second time I went back, I ordered take out so I could eat it at the airport for dinner. I ordered the Sake Maguro Hamachi don, added ikura and negitoro. Again, so impressed with the quality of the fish and the size of it. They didn't skimp out and really enjoyed the thickness of the sashimi despite it only being 3 pieces. It was a very satiating bowl. Cant wait to come back next time again!

    absolutely adore tora! one of the few places i'd always recommend in boston! fish quality is pretty…read moregood and they have a good variety on the menu! i'd recommend the aburi waygu don but also something more interesting is the kani-yaki tama don however that's a bit more if u like imitation crab! resturant inside is pretty casual and service once seated is usually good and quick however resturant itself is very small so wait times on weekends are ALWAYS long but again it's a given for how popular the resturant is! (p.s. i've been here soooo many times times so i'd also say quality has always been consistent)

    Nagomi Izakaya - Wagyu beef tartar

    Nagomi Izakaya

    (147 reviews)

    Amazing Ramen near the University! Everything inside was clean and service was amazing. We started…read moreoff with gyoza and takoyaki. Both were insanely delicious and forecasted an amazing dinner. Each of us got different bowls of Ramen; the regular, the miso, and the wonton. All three were amazing with Rich stock and the noodles were insanely delicious as were the toppings. I loved the Chachu pork, thick cut, and perfectly smoked. Would recommend!

    The Best All-Around Izakaya in Boston Nagomi Izakaya in…read moreKenmore Square is easily one of the most well-rounded Japanese spots in the city. Whether you're here for high-end sushi, creative small plates, or comforting kitchen dishes, everything is executed at a very high level. We ordered a massive spread, and almost every single dish was a hit. The Raw Bar & Sushi: * Oysters: These were 10/10. Incredibly fresh, perfectly halved, and meticulously cleaned--not a single piece of shell in sight. We loved them so much we had to go for a second round. * 8pc Omakase & 6pc Aburi Set: Both sets were fantastic. The Aburi (torched) set is a must-try for that smoky melt-in-your-mouth texture. * Uni Nigiri: Even my wife, who usually avoids raw fish, was won over by how creamy and fresh the Uni was. * Tuna Tataki: This was the only "just okay" dish for me. It had good flavor, but I think it would have been elevated with some shredded daikon and a colder temperature. Kitchen & Family Favorites: * Foie Gras Appetizer: Rich, decadent, and a perfect way to start the meal. * Sea Bass: My son absolutely loved this; he finished the entire portion with rice. * Snow Crab Roll: An excellent option for those who prefer cooked rolls. * Tonkotsu Ramen: We finished off the meal with a hot bowl of ramen, which was the perfect savory "topper" to a great dinner. The Experience: The service is efficient and the wait times for food were surprisingly short given how much we ordered. One of the biggest takeaways was the value. The pricing is very fair for this level of quality; back home in Nashville, a meal like this would have easily cost significantly more. The Verdict: While I would love to see a few more small, refreshing salad dishes on the menu to balance out the richness, I left extremely happy. This is a top-tier dining experience and a definite "must-visit" whenever I'm back in town!

    Fuji at Ink Block - Miss Waldorf *(G) Prism Dream *(G) Mings Mango Maki *(G)

    Fuji at Ink Block

    (774 reviews)

    $$$

    South End

    The udon was absolutely delicious... I gave it five out of five without hesitation after just one…read morebite. XO Seafood Udon: The restaurant specifically labeled it "wok-tossed," and it truly had a wonderful wok-hei鑊氣 (wok aroma), with an irresistible fragrance as soon as it arrived at the table. The XO sauce was extremely rich, sweet and umami, and the udon noodles were soft on the outside and bouncy on the inside; the sauce was glossy, smooth, but not greasy, allowing it to coat the noodles evenly and infuse them with flavor. The shrimp, squid, and scallops were all fresh and large, making for a very satisfying meal. The shrimp, in particular, were coated with a thin layer of starch before being pan-fried, adding layers of texture and locking in the juices. This plate removed the scallions and onions to suit my taste, and if you like spicy food, adding a little chili oil would greatly enhance the flavor. The restaurant had an elegant and refined ambiance, and the service was attentive, making it a very relaxing place.

    WOW! An awesome experience!!! I went here for my birthday…read morewith my parents and boyfriend, and this had been on my want to go list for years, and I am so glad I can finally cross it off! When I made the reservation online I put that the occasion it was for was my birthday- I notice that most restaurants don't pay attention to this on OpenTable, but Fuji definitely did! We were seated quickly and with no issue at all, despite it being pretty crowded. The vibe was intimate and classy- a great spot for date night, or for dinner with your parents. At our table was a card (in the pictures) which was such a nice touch and was a great start to the meal. Our waitress was awesome, and it seemed like there was a floor manager too that was making sure everyone was happy. It felt like the staff truly cared and wanted to make sure everyone was having a good time and experience. Our waitress checked in on us multiple times, and was very helpful with the menu. Speaking of the menu, I was very pleased to see the amount of vegetarian dishes! You don't see that often at Japanese restaurants! For our appetizers we got the lobster Rangoon and spicy edamame. Technically the tofu is an app but you would never guess that from the portion size. The edamame were outstanding! They were spicy as expected and were so tasty. We demolished the whole bowl. The Rangoons were also amazing- the chunks of lobster were divine. I myself love lobster and crab Rangoons, so a combo?! Amazing. Both the edamame and lobster Rangoons are can't misses. For our entrees/ mains we got the crispy soy noodles, miss Waldorf roll, sweet potato roll, tofu, and fried rice. The miss Waldorf roll is amazing, and I can not wait to go back and get more sushi. Truly the best sushi I have had in boston. There are other upscale sushi restaurants I have been to that charge a pretty penny but taste like grocery store sushi. Fuji is not one of those- it was truly exceptional sushi. The sweet potato roll was also delicious! I am very picky about my sweet potato rolls and had one that I have dreamt about since I had it in 2022. I have finally found a sweet potato roll that matches my standards. The crispy soy noodles were also amazing! They reminded e of one of my favorite restaurants when I was a kid and it filled me with such joy to eat something with that flavor. The serving size was pretty big too, and they were not shy on the shrimp! Note though, they were a tad oily (I added a little bit of soy sauce to balance it out). The fried rice was also very good and tasted like a good bowl of comfort fried rice. My parents ate it with the tofu and liked it! The only dish I would want some change in is the tofu- it wasn't bad but compared to the other dishes it definitely lacked the flavor punch you get in the rest of the dishes. The sauce was okay with it. After dinner our waitress brought a slice of vanilla crepe cake and ice cream! This was such a nice touch and it was SO good!!!!! It was the first time I ever had crepe cake but I loved it! I'm not sure if they have a dessert menu or not (we weren't asked if we wanted to see one) but I would love to go back and get that cake again! Overall I am beyond happy that I picked this spot for my birthday- I had an amazing experience and amazing food. Will definitely be back!

    Shōjō-Boston - Popcorn Chicken

    Shōjō-Boston

    (1.1k reviews)

    $$

    Chinatown

    I was staying at the Ritz and had made a reservation at Legal down the block because it seemed like…read morea right of passage after being in Boston so often and never having hit it. When we walked into Legal, the place was dead, the music was awful, and the vibe was just not there. So we sat at the bar and grabbed a drink while searching for a place to get an actual dinner where we could find last-minute reservations. Shojo in Chinatown came up with great reviews and after looking at the menu and seeing that we could get a reservation, we headed over. It was a short walk from the Ritz and Chinatown is just such a fun place with great energy. When we walked in, we knew we had made the right call and were easily able to switch our reservation from a table to bar seats, which is always an added bonus. The place is low lit and the music is on the louder side, but nothing was excessive to the point that we didn't enjoy our time there. We ordered a variety of drinks while there - a Toki Highball draft, a spicy tequila drink with lemongrass, a few different types of Japanese whiskeys as well (they have a really extensive list). As far as food goes, they categorize their menu into Snacks, Baos, and Rice, Noodles, and Dumplings. There's a lot of vegetarian friendly options, which is always a plus for me. My highlights were the 7 vegetable stir fry, fried eggplant bao, edamame dumplings, and the Thai veggie spring rolls. The salt and pepper calamari was also really great. Everything was terrific and really unique. Service was good - not great, but they took notice of empty glasses and were quick to bring out food, so I have absolutely no complaints. Shojo is somewhere I'd absolutely return to when staying in the area, I'm really happy we all turned what would have been a very touristy, depressing experience into something with a WAY better vibe and time!

    I was here about a year ago, it's a cool place and the food is great. Last time I was here I was…read morenot impressed by the food, but we had truffle corn dumplings and bone marrow (cooked very well, this is difficult) and it was 5/5 delicious. I was very impressed. Their "Tea Garden" matcha whiskey drink is by far one of my FAVORITES in all of Boston. Incredible drink. Absolutely incredible. Service at the bar was not horribly attentive, but they got the job done and that drink is as perfect as ever. Ambience is dim (not too dim) with flattering lighting and is on the louder side. Cool and casual atmosphere, with food and drink that excels. This is going to be a spot I return to much more quickly now.

    Yume Ga Arukara - Signature Cold Niku Udon

    Yume Ga Arukara

    (846 reviews)

    $$

    Porter Square

    The hype is worth it. I've heard so much about this place and finally decided to try it and I was…read morenot disappointed. There was a huge line outside the restaurant but they gave you menus and took your order in line. Everything was pretty fast and efficient even though they were busy. The inside was bigger than expected, unsure if there's another restaurant connected or just one large area. But we were at bar seats, although it's not a bar just similar seating. They had music going and you can see all the workers vibing, it was good energy to see while eating. The menu isn't large but there is option for cold or hot and spicy. Pick the cold noodles!! They are so good, the soup was good too but the cold noodles are definitely the star of the show. The portion size is great, it was more than I expected and the portion with protein and everything was balanced well. The bowl came with beef, ginger, seaweed and I think tempura. The tempura was a perfect crisp to add into each bite. Unfortunately in the broth it did get pretty soggy.

    The hot niku beef udon had such a deep, rich, umami broth that was unforgettable. The spice that…read morecame through was a hint of Szechuan-mala which I really enjoyed. Udon noodles are made in-house and cooked very well, not overcooked and perfect chew. Ordered two bowls and the bill total was $47, quite steep but haven't found a comparable udon restaurant yet! This is their second location and it's quite small and their line forms outside. Definitely planning for a future visit to try their cold udon option!

    Yamato 2 - japanese - Updated May 2026

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