Totally disgusted. We ordered a Hibachi Chicken with mushrooms & broccoli and spring rolls. We were hungry so we pulled over in a parking lot to eat. As I took a few bites, I realized there was something in my food. Initially, I thought it was a weird looking piece of rice. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a maggot!! When we took it back, the lady at the window was argumentative & upset with us for bringing it back. She only refunded a portion of the order. Never going back! read more

Yamato Express - two yellow caters on a white cloth - Japanese Near Me - Shelby, North Carolina

I do not understand how a restaurant that had lines down the street for miles has messed up quite like this. Absolutely unimpressed. Big shrimp was good, broccoli came near a grill for a nanosecond maybe, chicken had to be pre-cooked because it was hard as nails and I really did not have a clue that you could mess up rice that bad. Funny thing is I went for the rice, what in the devil was I thinking? This used to be one of my most favorite restaurants in Shelby and I would sit for 40 minutes in that line. Please don't waste your time. I am so disappointed in myself for making this choice. It looks like the reviews tend to agree with me. read more

Was a little skeptical to try this place out due to lack of reviews from this year (2023), but it is always packed so I gave it a try. I went through the drive-thru , which was tricky to find but it was still pretty cool. Ordered the veggie entree which came with white rice that may have been lightly fried, and sweet carrots....it was so good: the service was quick, food was hot , and they gave a large serving of yum yum sauce. read more

Yamato Express - Vegetable Entree - Japanese Near Me - Shelby, North Carolina

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Was unfortunate enough to get take out from here last week. I guess you get what you pay for. Shame on me for not reading the reviews first. We ordered a mixture of "hibachi" steak and chicken - both were extremely tough, like they'd been cooked, reheated, cooked, reheated. The carrots were mushy and ridiculously sweet. The rice was way overcooked. The spring rolls were actually okay but the rest, not so much. Regret follows.... read more

Love getting takeout Japanese food here--but the drive-through is difficult to navigate because it's narrow and has a jagged incline. A plate of plentiful chicken teriyaki or hibachi is about $6 plus tax. Shrimp, steak and other meats are a bit more. They've got the classic shrimp sauce, and they have good sweet carrots, steamed broccoli and sautéed mushrooms. read more

You want some quick, tasteful and fulfilling Hibachi? Try it out! They're the absolute best. I recommend the hibachi chicken with broccoli!

There is no take out service - all drive thru - so calling in an order saves you no time.

The free nats that were in my takeout were disgusting. I was never greeted nor was I ever thanked at the window by a gentleman or the woman working it. When I gave the person at the window my credit card they did not return it until I had waited 15 minutes for my food. That is very concerning in this day and age of thief from credit card fraud. I would have liked to of have a detailed receipt as all other restaurant establishments do. I use to love this place. but I would only recommend that this place should be avoided. Unless you have an appetite for hibachi nats. read more

Yamato Express is definitely not my preferred place but I have some friends who eat here most Sunday evenings and I've taken to joining them. As others have mentioned, the restaurant is a bit warm, they don't have tap water as an option, the staff isn't particularly friendly, and there are quite a few "passive-agressive signs" around the building. On the positive side I haven't ever had any bad food here. It's not the best in Shelby (that would be Japanese Express) but it's good. The ginger sauce is pretty tasty, too. read more

Beware my family got sick after eating here and I had an allergic reaction to something in their food, I'm guessing cross contamination with shellfish even though my party's order had no shellfish. I have a very mild shellfish allergy but had a terrible reaction to their food. read more

I used to love this place and would eat here on a constant basis. Lately, they're portions have changed. They give little carrots and broccoli, when they used to give a good amount once upon a time. They even went cheap on the teriyaki sauce they cook the meal in. What used to be one of my favorite places, has now become a joke. I'm done! read more

This was my second and last time eating in this "restaurant". The food is bland and not worth the price, the staff all seem depressed and, unfriendly like they were taken hostage to work there, the venue is also very ugly. I know this is quick food but at least put some thought in the decor, right off a busy highway, and set up like an inner city underfunded public school cafeteria, or even a prison. The light from the outside is glaring, if I was a vampire, I would burst into flames eating there, you just felt depressed sitting there, and when I went to get a drink from the fountain machine, it smelled like a decomposing corpse was in the back. No Bueno!!! I even took my children to eat there and they hated it. Just an overall tacky, basic, bland "restaurant". read more

Fast, delicious and a lot of food for what you pay. Same price as a fast food meal except a lot more and food is done even faster. Inside is not very fancy but is always busy at lunchtime because it's so good read more

Very disappointing! I ordered the hibachi chicken and mushrooms. The portion for lunch was very small-very little chicken and very few mushrooms but a ton of rice which wasn't even tasty. Waste of $. read more

This place use to be so good! It's really gross now. They don't put any sauce on their food. You can only get bottled water or a soda. The ladies that work their are nice but the food is bad. read more

Second time here and the last time. Staff is rude. Right as we walked in the door she asked what we wanted, we didn't even have time to look at the menu. So from the get go we felt rushed. We ordered and the food was brought to our table. The portions were small, my husband went up to order just a side of steak and chicken due to the small portions and was told it would be 12 dollars. This place is expensive, the food is in small portions and bland. I do not recommend. read more

This place is a ridiculous and very inconvenient. Went on Sunday of last week they charged my card twice and informed me that I could come back if it's not back on my card within 48 hours and they would credit my money back. I legit waited a week after and my money wasn't on my card not to mention I don't reside in North Carolina at all so it was very inconvenient. I went back only for them to tell me they couldn't give me my money back when I had statements that showed they charged my card twice. Definitely wouldn't recommend anyone going to this place!! read more

I happen to love this place, and I also take it as it is. For one I have never eaten inside so that experience for me is lacking. To me Japanese express is just that something fast and cheap and good. With that being said, the food is always cooked fast, it's cheap so anyone expecting to get any red carpet type treatment may want to go to a Japanese steakhouse with the show and all that, and its well cooked. (Especially if it's the tall young man on the far right side of the cook stations....not too bad on the eyes either lol) If you want fast take out, something on the way to work, for lunch, or a quick "I'm not cooking tonight dinner. They have that. If you are looking for casual dining, comfort and a dinner experience with at your beck and call wait staff....try Shogun in Gastonia. read more

Over 10 years ago, I was eating take out from this place 2-3 times a week. It wasn't always good. Sometimes the chicken and shrimp were overcooked. Sometimes undercooked. I never complained. Then one night at a time when gas was almost at it highest cost and when I was rushing to get ready to leave town early the next morning for an extended period, I went through their drive through and picked up some Hibachi Chicken along with a side order of broccoli. When I got home and opened the styrofoam container, there was my rice and my carrots. The mushrooms were there too. And there was a separate container of broccoli. But there was no chicken at all. So I called back over there to tell them what had happened. I was looking for them to knock some fair amount off my total the next time I ordered from them. I not only did not have time to go back to their restaurant that night, but it was going to cost me more in gas than the chicken was worth to me. But the woman who answered the phone would have none of that. She wasn't giving me anything unless she saw it with her own eyes. So I drove back to their restaurant, waited in the line at the drive through again, and when I got to the window, handed the food to the same woman I had talked to on the phone. She opened the containers, saw that I couldn't possibly have been lying to her, slammed the food down on the counter and started yelling at people in a language that I don't speak or understand. They cooked me some chicken, put it on top of my cold rice next to my cold carrots and my cold mushrooms. Then they handed me that container of food along with my container of cold broccoli. The woman never apologized for anything. She never offered me anything for my expense or trouble. She was the rudest person to ever serve me food in my entire life, and I'm 58 years old. Needless to say, I have never been back. But I want to thank that rude, clueless woman for forcing me to look for better local alternatives for quick Japanese food. Believe me, there are better alternatives out there even in a small town like Shelby, NC. Not only is the food better elsewhere, but the people who run those restaurants also understand customer service and don't appear to hate everyone and everything in their lives. I'm amazed that Yamato Express has managed to stay in business here. They'll never get another dollar from me. read more

I don't understand why everyone in town likes this place. It's bland. It's expensive. It sucks. Also, I can't get water unless I want bottled water??? I'm essentially forced to buy a drink. Very annoying. They don't even fry their rice. Also I'm sure the meat is frozen Don't go here unless you want to pay 10$ for bland, lazy, dry food. read more

Incredible place! Food is incredible as is the perfect mix in the mountain dew selection in the drink machine. Their hibachi platter is one of the best I have ever had. Yum Yum sauce with some sweet and carrots... Amazing. Highly recommend! read more

The food was ok. The staff is a joke. I order the steak and shrimp and paid for it and when she brought my food it was chicken. I asked my friend if I ordered the wrong thing and she confirmed that I had ordered the correct thing. Instead of throwing the food away they simply picked off the chicken and used it in another order. The staff is laying all over the counters, picking different body parts and never washing their hands. As we are three other people brought their food back because the order was wrong. If the staff were to do there job the company probably wouldn't be losing as much money with the incorrect orders. read more

This place is a joke. Where do I begin? The customer service is AWFULLLLL!!!! They are so rude and in such a hurry (for no reason). its 100+ degrees outside and they didn't have any AC when I asked the girl about it she cocked the biggest attitude. The owners are rude and CHEAP. The girl that pretty much runs the place treats the other employees like complete crap, yells at them and bosses them around. They won't let you substitute anything but you can get MORE rice.... They only serve bottled water and will REFUSE to give you a cup for FREE water. Oh and we ordered 4 orders of teriyaki chicken and none of the orders is what we ordered. So I called and try to tell the sassy woman they were wrong and she INSISTED they were right. I was so shocked how she argued with me I literally said OK you are right and had to hang up the phone I was so irritated. And after all this trouble the food isn't even that great of quality. That will be the LAST time I ever go there and those people will never get my service again. read more

As a regularly custody at Yamato I agree that the staff is not particularly friendly. Plus, it's usually hot in there and their ventilation is lacking. When you leave you smell like the kitchen. Why do I keep going back? Well, the food is actually excellent (& I get it to go). read more

Bland atmosphere but the food is great and we usually go through the drive-thru anyway. Quick service, good prices and good portions. Probably our favorite Japanese place anywhere around here. read more