Went to Yamato on Wednesday for lunch. The restaurant was not crowded at all. My husband and I had the all-you-can-eat option I had looked at the menu online and brought a list with me of everything we wanted to order. You can order either from a paper menu that you can mark the choices you want and how many of each or you can use their tablet. We ordered the following menu items, including spring roll, tempura, pork gyoza, fried shumai, yakitori chicken, miso soup, and cold noodle The food came out of the kitchen shortly and everything was delicious The next order was chicken teriyaki, beef yaki udon and beef fried rice. My husband had sushi and it was fresh and beautiful There were a few items on menu that are only available at dinner The service was wonderful. read more

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This is one of the best dinners I've had in a while, We were welcomed with wonderfully calm service, the food was the perfect amount for two people and I can't say enough how nice it was to enjoy the complete experience in person The value is also perfect, you leave feeling like you got more than what you paid for... Excited to come back! read more

Yamato Restaurant - D6, D7, Sweet Potato Maki - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

Came here for dinner on a Sunday evening and there was no wait for a party of 4 which was great. The tables and layout were cleaner than I had expected which made the ambiance feel pretty nice. Menu was standard for any AYCE sushi spot - you fill out pieces of paper indicating how much of every food item you want and repeat however many times you'd like. Food came out pretty quickly and it tasted fine - solid for a buffet! Waters were filled as requested which led to a decent experience. Overall, solid AYCE meal and I wouldn't mind coming back in the future. Price was standard for Boston area and it was yummy in the end - thanks, Yamato! read more

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Overall: AYCE sushi that is fairly understandable for being in Boston. However the net experience is lackluster. Food: sushi quality was as you'd expect, below average. The selection was very subpar though. I would have hoped for maybe yellowtail or albacore or something else that's in that similar range given the price $35. Ambience/Decor/Service: the redeeming factor was that the people were nice and timely to my surprise. The decor was your typical Japanese restaurant that could use a little bit of love but is well maintained. read more

Yamato is a solid all-you-can-eat sushi spot located near the Boston College area. Along with a wide range of sushi, they also serve other Japanese dishes like tonkatsu, ramen, and appetizers, which makes it a good option for groups where not everyone wants just raw fish. The service setup is modern and efficient. Pretty much everything is handled by your own party using tablets at the table to browse the menu and send orders directly to the kitchen. The staff's main role is just to bring the food out when it's ready, which keeps things moving. For the price, the sushi is good. It's the kind of place where you go to eat a satisfying volume, and it delivers on that. The rice-to-fish ratio is alright, it could be a bit better, but that's a common trade-off with all-you-can-eat spots, and you get what you expect. Considering you can try a bit of everything, from nigiri to kitchen dishes, it's overall a very good value for what you pay and a fun, straightforward dinner. read more

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When I came here in 2023, my review was 4/5 because the tables, chairs, and rug were a bit old and felt run down. Because the price here for AYCE is lower than the downtown location, I decided to give it another try tonight and was pleasantly surprised upon entering that the dining room had been updated! The chairs, tables, and floor felt incredibly clean, which gave the atmosphere a huge bump from last time. Another improvement is that the AYCE menu comes with a laminated version with photos of everything. There were several items I had steered away from ordering because I didn't know what they were (deep fried eel, deep fried salmon) or didn't know the portion size (rice dishes, noodle dishes), but the photos really help set expectations and made it a lot easier to order. On top of that, the food was great! Sashimi: The salmon and tuna probably taste a little less fresh than the downtown location, but they still taste good for a normal sushi restaurant. No complaints on those, and the squid here is MUCH better than the downtown location - it comes in large pieces rather than thin slivers and has a really nice texture and flavor. We'll definitely order more squid next time. Appetizers: The tempura is pretty standard and decent, and the fried shumai were tasty as well with a sweet and tangy sauce. I'm not sure if I'd get them again since I'd want to save space for fish, but they were a nice change of pace to avoid flavor fatigue. Rolls: The spicy salmon has big chunks of salmon and the spicy tuna is minced tuna with tempura flakes. Both were delicious and worth getting next time we come back. Nigiri: The eel was nice and didn't have any chewy bits, the squid was nice and thick, and the salmon eggs were large and delicious. I don't think the salmon eggs were on the menu before, but they're much tastier than the small roe in my opinion. The tamago was also custardy and sweet - better than the downtown location's! Dessert: The fried ice cream was so good. It was not too sweet and the ice cream was so soft inside the crispy exterior. The chocolate sauce and whipped cream rounded it out for a perfect dessert. On top of this, I accidentally checked off the small roe nigiri on one of my orders but the staff took no hesitation in replacing it with the larger roe even though the mistake was my own. It was very appreciated! My water glass was also frequently filled, so it felt like the service was really great. Since the last time I've been here, there were a lot of improvements. The salmon and tuna sashimi are still not as good as downtown, but the squid, ice cream, and tamago surpass the other location. Plus, it's about $2/person cheaper - overall a huge win and an easy 5/5 stars! read more

Yamato Restaurant - Newly renovated dining room! - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

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They have pretty decent all you can eat sushi. Their lunch specials is also a good deal. The sushi seems like it's fresh and service is good just slower during busy times. read more

I was craving maki and in the area. Went in not knowing it was all you can eat menu only. I treated myself to a delicious meal - crab rangoon, salmon teriyaki, and salmon sushi, and 3 maki rolls. Drink nor included but they let you take the soda bottle home with you. Soda was $4. It was a tasty pleasant surprise. I believe $23 for the food because it was a weekday lunch. Table was near the TV playing mid day news (then Judge Judy as I was leaving). read more

The place was sparsely decorated with just the bare minimum to open the door to call it a restaurant. The are two choices; a la cart or AYCE (35.00). I had to choose up front so I decided to do a a la cart. If I did ayce there was an extra 1.50 per item for specialty rolls. I compared and I did not see where ayce was any savings other than a ploy to fill the seats. The serving size was rather small. Three pieces of sashimi for 6.00 with an extra 1.50 I just felt I was hustled the whole meal with them out to make a buck. I ended up having a spicy seafood udon soup after a serving on sashimi bass. I paid a surcharge because it was sashimi rather than sushi. I think the ayce is just a ploy to get people through the door. There are just to many caveats for ayce. I am not sure there is any real cost savings after factoring the surcharges. So much for going there on a holiday when the prices are jacked up and just limited street parking. I am glad I went so now i understand. If it seems to good to be true, it is. I would not return because i think it was not such a good deal. read more

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As the waiter brought us toward our table, my mom was almost slipped on a puddle. Towards the end of our meal, we saw another waitress, clean the floor with a paper towel with her foot. Without any instructions, the waiter threw at us an iPad. No mention of price or how ordering worked. It turns out that it's an all you can eat from the menu. However, we only ate half of all we could eat because the food took so long for it to get to us. The portions were meager. The sushi were packed with rice and minimal fish. We asked for a beer which we didn't get until the end of our meal and reminding them multiple times. They brought glasses out for the beer which were dripping and filthy. We had to drink straight from the beer can. The waiters were all dismissive and curt. The quality has decreased drastically since the last time we were there a few months before. At the end, we were left, desiring a dessert, and there were none to be found. It turns out that despite the fact that it's on the menu, you can't order it during lunch on a Sunday. The iPad was sticky and no wonder when they came to drop off the food they left it on top of the iPad. read more

Yamato Restaurant - All rice, no fish. - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

Yamato has been the only AYCE sushi place I have been able to find in Boston and hits the spot when I am hungry! Yamato is very casual and great place for a lunch with friends. I have never had that great of customer service at this location - it can be a bit slow even when there's not many people. A lot of the menu just seems like variations of a California roll which is understandable for the price. Not the best sushi in the world (which is expected with AYCE) but still yummy and you will leave full ! read more

Yamato Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

There is quite a variety to order from the all you can eat menu. The pork katsu was crispy and had a sweet sauce on top. The steamed gyoza, miso soup, and sashimi were pretty standard. Most of the rolls were filled with shrimp tempura and had less fillings than usual. The spicy salmon hand roll was mainly just rice. Service was a bit slow even though the restaurant was quite empty for a Monday dinner. There is a small koi pond inside the place, which was pretty cute! read more

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We came here pretty late on a Friday night and the place was still packed. Luckily we got seated right away. They have an all you can eat sushi bar & kitchen special which is what we got. Be prepared to leave stuffed! They give you two pieces of paper for you to check off the things you want to order. We ordered a variety of different things from the fried calamari to eel to vegetable fried rice to shrimp tempura rolls. I enjoyed all of them very much. Also the fried ice cream was so good. I will say the service was quite slow, and a few of the things we ordered never made it to our table. We had to order the same dish a couple of times in order to receive it. It was also quite difficult to get a servers attention. However it was packed and they seemed understaffed so we had patience. Overall the food was great so this made up for the service. read more

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They updated the dining chairs and the food was better than last experience. Bathroom still needs improvement on cleanliness and hygiene. read more

A long standing AYCE sushi in Brighton. This has been a go to place for lunches and dinner with friends and families. The prices have increased over the years, but the quality has been pretty consistent. I recently came here for lunch, but ordered from the dinner menu to get sashimi. The service was great as we came during the weekday when there weren't too many other parties. They have a variety of appetizers from shu mai to edamame as well as other hot foods including ramen and fried rice. The sashimi was a bit on the cold side, but probably because they usually don't expect lunch customers to order from the dinner menu, but after letting it warm up a bit it was good. A great place for sushi, but they will be temporarily closed for renovations and have s second location in Copley Square in Boston. read more

Yamato Restaurant - Hand rolls, eel avocado, spicy salmon, tuna, avocado cucumber, sashimi salmon, tuna, squid - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

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Came on a Saturday night for all you can eat AYCE sushi. I was impressed - sashimi and sushi was fresh, selection of usual faves and nice variety. Apps, hot food, sushi, sashimi and rolls, all were good. I think the salmon sashimi was incredible - thick, luscious cuts, all fresh-tasting. Note - some premium rolls have a $1.50 additional surcharge. Re-ordering was prompt and food came out quickly. Restaurant filled up around 7p as we were leaving, and there looked like a short wait. read more

Yamato Restaurant - Fried Ice Cream - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

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For years, my family would stop here for AYCE sushi. Back in the early 2010s, it was $17.99 for lunch, which would be around $20 with tip per person. It is now $25.99 per person for lunch, which is a big increase when the menu has not changed whatsoever. I stopped by here for lunch recently to give it one last hoorah before moving away from the area, and it's definitely gone downhill. There were a couple other tables there during lunch on a weekday, which felt like a change to what it used to be. We got our usual appetizers and sushi/sashimi, but everything felt really mid. The nigiri wasn't good at all and the sushi rice was flavorless. The fish on the nigiri felt old and not fresh, but still edible, I suppose. The hand rolls were packed with rice rather than toppings and covered in sauce which made it unappetizing. The rolls itself were okay, I guess, as they were pretty standard. They kept forgetting my miso soup, which was really frustrating. I'd mark it each time on the sheet, but it'd go ignored. I'm moving from the area, but I don't think I'd return whatsoever. It's also silly that the location in Back Bay costs more for the same things. This is a big pass and I don't suggest this spot at all and you're better off getting sushi at Whole Foods. read more

Yamato is decent AYCE sushi with appetizers, entrees, and dessert. Since it's a buffet, don't expect the best quality. I usually go here for their dinner service and order mostly sashimi, especially the tuna, white tuna, salmon, and mackerel. For appetizers, I love their shumai (fried or steamed), crab rangoon, agedashi tofu, and fried tempera. I would skip the fried calamari and spring rolls since they are frozen supermarket quality. I would also pass on their soups (udon and ramen). I like their salmon teriyaki and steak. For rolls, the rainbow, dragon, yellowtail & scallion, salmon & avocado, philly, and spicy salmon are some of my favorites. For dessert, I would pass on the fried banana and get the fried ice cream (only comes in vanilla) and regular ice cream (comes in green tea, red bean, or vanilla). The sashimi is good quality for a buffet. Their sushi rolls are padded with a fair amount of rice so I wouldn't order too many. I recommend ordering the most with the first round because they tend to drop items or give you less pieces with future rounds. I've also noticed that the food takes longer to come after the first two rounds so re-order early. The service is typical for an Asian restaurant and you will need to flag your server down from time to time. As fast as food waste goes, as long as it's reasonable, you won't be charged, but I have seen them charge items a la carta pricing if alot of sashimi or rolls are left uneaten. There is a 2 hour seating limit after you sit down. Currently, lunch (till 3pm) is $23.00 M-F and $26 on Saturday, Sunday, and holidays. Dinner is $31.99 Sunday to Thursday and $33.99 on Friday, Saturday, and holidays. There are some dinner exclusive items such as sashimi, sushi combos, dessert, and a few entree items. read more

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the food is the best part of this place, most days I go here it is fantastic. if you do an all you can eat, they might try to short you on the food they give. If you catch it, definitely let them know. don't over order read more

I had visited the Yamato 2 location in Back Bay before I came to the original Yamato in Brighton. My family and I came here on a Thursday evening (around 5:30pm) and we were pleased to find free street parking close to the restaurant and we were one of the only diners there. Just like Yamato 2, you fill out a AYCE menu and select the sushi and entrees you want. Food came out super fast.. like almost too fast. The rolls we got first tasted a little old, so we were a little concerned about the rest of the food items we ordered, but everything else that came out were fresh and tasty. We loved how we could order appetizers all the way to dessert for a very reasonable price for any buffet/AYCE. It's not a fancy restaurant by no means, but large groups can also be accommodated, which is a huge plus! read more

While I was planning to visit Boston, one of my Boston friends told me to check this place out. The mixture of All You Can Eat Sushi and a decently affordable price was the perfect combo to bring me in. It was initially hard to find at first since it's below street level, but I walked into a spacious restaurant with lots of seating and friendly staff. Unfortunately this was a meal for one since I couldn't convince any of my friends to go, but that wasn't going to stop me from their AYCE menu. I had to be conscious not to overorder and pay for leftovers, but everything was decently portioned and still better than a gas station. Obviously I wasn't expecting top quality sushi, but I definitely got what I paid for which is as much average sushi and Japanese dishes that I wanted to eat for a reasonable price. The presentation was also nice considering they could just slap everything onto a plate and hand it to me. I also had to pay a little extra for their specialty rolls not included in AYCE, but it was still worth the small up-charge. Cheaper than what's available in California, quality was about average for the local Japanese cuisine available in Boston, but still an experience I enjoyed for what it was. read more

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The hostess at the Chiswick location has always been rude and unfriendly. Tonight was so awful that my family and I left the restaurant without taking our table. read more

Yamato Restaurant - This is the hostess who was so rude to me and my family. - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

I've been going here with my best friend since we were in high school and something about this place is nostalgic for us. Sushi is okay, but we do come back here semiannually for the nostalgia. Experience 3/5 The décor is very outdated, and probably has not been updated since its grand opening. This restaurant is always understaffed and so service is a bit slow. Each time I come here and place an order on the piece of paper they give you for the in person AYCE option, they always seem to forget a few items when our food comes. However, it is really the only place in Boston for decent AYCE sushi accessible by T so you can't complain. Food 3.5/5 Since this spot is AYCE you can order as much as you like but keep in mind they charge more if you don't finish your food to avoid waste. Quality is mediocre, but you get what you get going in with the expectations that this will be average sushi. It does the job though, and we always stuff ourselves until content which is why we keep coming back every once in a while. Overall I prefer this location over the Back Bay location since the quality of food, service, and prices are better! The wait time is always less here too. read more

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Beware. Bait and switch price on line $30.99. But it's actually $34.99. They said they havent updated their website read more

AYCE + average sushi for when you are craving this. I liked the hand rolls the best. Pros: - Seated immediately Sat 5pm. Don't think the wait is ever too long. - Dinner menu actually offers additional items from the lunch menu and explains the difference in price - Service is super fast. We didn't have to wait long for our food. - Wait staff are efficient, although didn't go out of their way to be warm and friendly - Food (from Kitchen menu, not Sushi Bar) items were pretty small which is good for trying a little bit and still saving space for sushi Cons: - The fried food options were all sort of lackluster... - Costs extra for hot tea but I did enjoy the barley tea - Sushi Boat for One was not in a boat :( - Loud radio playing above which was not that calming read more

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Food was great, the ambiance was really nice as it wasn't too noisy, and the service was a bit stretched because there were a lot of tables but our food came out pretty fast. read more

Posting my Google review on Yelp as well to let them know of my experience: I ordered the spicy salmon combo through Doordash after a long shift at work to treat myself. I was excited to try the Brighton location since the reviews looked promising. I ate half of my set, and the sushi tasted great... up until I was chewing on a spicy salmon roll & ended up spitting out a piece of plastic with black paint/ink on it. I immediately didn't feel safe to eat the rest of the sushi set, appetite gone. If plastic was found in their maki, who knows how they're preparing their fish? I tried calling them immediately -- while they were still open -- hoping to file a complaint, but my calls went straight to voicemail, saying they were too busy to take my call. Plastic in sushi & sending calls straight to voicemail when there is no other way to make a complaint just leaves me feeling very uneasy about what I ate from this place. Avoid going here. read more

Yamato Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

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Fairly decent sushi, but amazing prices and service! 30$ for AYCE dinner, and 20$ for lunch!!

Too much rice in nigris. 1/4 bowl of rice in each nigri piece with paper thin fish. The appetizer size is huge that you will be full with one order of potstickers which comes in 8 pieces. This is worst sushi restaurant I have ever been to. read more

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Yamato in Brighton is one of the few ayce sushi restaurants in the Boston area. I went the other day for ayce and it costs around $31-$33 per person. When we were sat down they told us last call us 9:00 but they still let us order past night and were seating people after 9:00 which was a little confusing and stressful trying to place orders without ordering too much before last call. We got shrimp tempura/vegetable tempura, spicy scallop roll (costs extra), then spicy salmon/tuna roll, tuna avo/salmon avo, salmon nigiri, then the yaki udon. There were also some other basic rolls we ordered but I forget which ones. Shrimp tempura and vegetable tempura was surprisingly really good but it was pretty gross to see that they do not devein their shrimp. Spicy scallop roll was okay but loaded with mayo which was also kind of gross. The spicy rolls were good but the rolls with tuna and avocado were terrible quality and chewy. The fish was pretty low quality and when the salmon nigiri came out there was some little black speck on it like a bug or dirt. Yaki udon was probably a waste of space even though it tasted decent because it was so greasy and heavy and we didn't want to get charged for not finishing. After eating 7 rolls, shrimp tempura, and yaki udon between two people we were extremely full. I really wanted to get all you can eat sushi but I feel like forcing yourself to eat mediocre sushi to get your moneys worth is not always worth it. It wasn't great but wasn't extremely terrible so I probably will not be back anytime soon. read more

Yamato Restaurant - Spicy Scallop Maki - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

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Amazing selection for all you can eat! Has never disappointed. It's not nobu but if you want great unlimited sushi and appetizers, you cannot go wrong with this! 100% recommend, especially during lunch! Location is great, local to students in the area. Service is always good and quick! read more

Yamato Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

They have quite a few things on the menu but we mostly go for sushi and sashimi. Great value as we can really put down a lot of fish. When we are visiting our kids in Boston and in the mood for lots of fish, this is our go to restaurant. read more

I saw the 3 star rating on Yelp and was hoping it was just an exaggeration. Staff was nice and fast. To be fair, the sushi rolls were average. Why the 2 star review? They overload everything with rice. I've talked to many sushi chefs who say they intentionally put a lot of rice so that their customers would eat less. It was really difficult to eat. I was only able to finish all of the rice bc I had the sashimi to eat it with. I also wish they would have put more effort into their handroll. If it's on the menu, perhaps they should produce something more attractive... I ordered the salmon roe sushi expecting ikura, but masago (smelt roe) came out... :-( The house salad dressing was different. It wasnt good but it also wasn't bad... Probably won't be coming back... read more

Yamato Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

Been here multiple times for lunch and dinner. Decent food and price. Servers never had a smile though.

Yamatos is a great restaurant. The food is delicious, and the waitstaff are very polite.

Yamato is great for a group gathering either for lunch or dinner. AYCE sushi, you can't go wrong with that. The quality sushi here is about 3/5. Not the greatest but it'll satisfy your cravings. Sashimi only included for dinner, not lunch. For $30 a person I think, you cant complain . Sort of a downfall is that, for each specialty roll it's $1 additional charge. Not bad I guess. Unagi and Snow mountain is usually our go to but... this is part of the 3 star rating. The tempura they used for our snow mountain was still warm. Normally cold or room temperature. It made both the rice and the imitation crab soggy. Fried ice cream flavors consisted of, green tea, red bean and vanilla . You can either get it fried or not. They also have fried banana. And it's part of the buffet! read more

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This is the second time I've gone to Yamato. Both times I've gotten the all you can eat sushi and it's been great both times. My favorites are always the different eel rolls. The waiters are always there making sure you are ready for your next set of rolls and it's never taken super long for my next plate of sushi to be prepared. The one thing is that dinner is more pricey than lunch so definitely try to make it earlier in the day. Also make sure to order what you can eat as you have to pay extra for uneaten sushi. read more

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We came in pretty close to closing time, but we got our food very quickly. Food was amazing! We had the dinner boxes, and it's definitely a good value with how much food you're getting. read more

A pleasant and quiet place (no background music (meaning you can talk). The food is of reasonable quality. The price is very fair, especially the eat as you can deal. The service is excellent. I give the food a score of 4, but thanks to the exceptional value for money, the final score is 5 read more

Never will I ever....return to this restaurant...unless I win the lottery! The service has tanked and the prices have inhumanely skyrocketed. My girlfriend and I just went here to top off an otherwise amazing day. I don't have indigestion (yet), but I have buyers remorse for spending almost $100 on one round of AYCE ordering (I had to flag a waitress down for another order sheet....that's not how you do business!...that's how you bilk!) The cherry on top of this day was rancid! As we were walking out, she ACCURATELY stated that we could have had prime rib for these prices....she's not wrong, and neither of us are happy. Yamato: come hungry, leave broke (and still hungry). Bad form! read more