Went here on a date night. My partner and I both got the $120 chef tasting menu, which includes 7 dishes of whatever the chef is feeling + dessert. (There is a cheaper tasting menu option, but our waitress told us that is a fixed menu of the popular dishes, and we were feeling adventurous.) The dishes and portion sizes were perfect. They gave us a good amount of food per dish, and we both felt extremely full at the end. We also liked every single dish as well as the bottle of sake we shared. I highly recommend Zama if you are looking for a sushi restaurant to try! read more

Working in Center City provides its lunch challenges that Zama solves. And by challenge, I mean, the $20 lunch. Either you're eating a quick bite from a food truck and have to take the lunch somewhere to eat it or you're paying for a very overpriced lunch that might not be as filling. Or, you're stuck with the fastest of fast food that may still be $20 once you check out but what are you really eating? Zama is my hidden gem, go-to lunch that solves all of these problems. Tucked away before Rittenhouse Square, this Japanese restaurant has it what you're looking for. It's sleek, with wood slats and accents throughout to warm up the dining area. Bar seating by their storefront window is my typical place to sit since I'm normally alone but the bar staff is always nice and attentive. Although I have tried other items in the menu, the Maki Lunch Set has made it quite difficult to move to other items on the menu. I'm a sucker for a colorful plate and this dish has all the color from the house salad to the edamame. But you also get texture and contrast from the tempura vegetables and udon noodle soup. Lastly, you get to choose a 6 piece maki that comes with a mushroom maki. I typically go back and forth between the spicy tuna and the spicy salmon. Can't go wrong either way! Zama provides an incredible lunch for an excellent price. It's my favorite center city lunch spot! read more

Zama - Maki Lunch Set - Sushi Bars Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Clean restaurant, fast service. Food was good and fresh. Have heard good things about Zama and will be back to try more. read more

Zama - Salmon Avocado Maki Roll, Tuna Avocado Maki Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Good value for lunch! Zama has an awesome "lunch bento box" with a main dish, tempura, salad, and soup for under $20. However, there were only a couple vegetarian options - and the miso soup was not vegetarian, so I had to double up on edamame. I would have liked another veggie option! Food was overall fine, although the tempura was a bit oily and the salad was pretty much just blah. Veggie sushi was pretty good and for the price it was a good value. I did appreciate that our server let me know the dashi soy had fish sauce and she got me regular soy sauce instead. read more

Zama - Bento Box Lunch - Veggie - Sushi Bars Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This has definitely been one of our favorite sushi places during our first time in Philly! The resturant was a little compact, but nicely decorated and had a great ambiance. The salmon on salmon was by far one of favorites! It had a great texture and the salmon ball on top was amazing! read more

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Came here on a Friday night with 4 other friends. We had a reservation and good thing because it was packed and very loud. Loved the decorations and our waitress was nice. Food: we ordered about 7 rolls. Some were of course better than others but they took forever to come out. They kept bringing one roll and then we'd finish it and wait for 10-15 minutes for the next. I thought the sushi was fresh but the rolls were so small and the prices were reflective of us being in Rittenhouse. You could definitely get the same if not better rolls elsewhere for less money. read more

Highly recommend this restaurant. 3 of us went after work and had a great meal. Sashimi, sushi, cooked food, everything was fantastic. It has been a couple of weeks since so I can't remember all of the various rolls we had but they were all very good read more

Made a reservation for my husband birthday and everything we ordered was delicious! The service was phenomenal, much husband even called out how much he liked our server, and everything came out quickly! The interior and vibe was very nice but chill. Great for after work drinks or dinner with friends. read more

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I don't understand the low ratings from the reviews. I ordered the sushi and nigiri combo for lunch. The fish was fresh and a well balanced variety. The upgraded fish was definitely worth it. It wasnt anything fancy. The chef didn't add any enhancements but its $25 for 7 pieces of sashimi and maki... I wasn't expecting omakase. Overall, solid and pleasant lunch! Good quality fish! Will say the seaweed salad with octopus was a let down. The octopus was sour. Ambiance is well decorated, but also well lit and not too noisy, not too quiet. read more

If you're looking for an exceptional sushi spot, Zama Sushi near Rittenhouse Square is a fantastic choice! My friend and I dined there on May 3rd. He found the restaurant while searching for a late-night sushi place and managed to snag a 9:15 pm reservation. From the moment we arrived, the restaurant manager, Travis, greeted us warmly and ensured throughout the evening that we were having a great time and enjoying our food. Our server was incredibly attentive and knowledgeable, offering such great recommendations that my friend chose dishes based on her suggestions. Every item we ordered was flavorful, fresh, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious! The sashimi was so good that we ended up ordering more. The rolls were a fantastic fusion of flavors that burst in my mouth. To top off our fantastic experience, Travis treated us to a trio of their best desserts! Each one was so good! That date held significant meaning for my friend, and the wonderful experience at Zama Sushi made it a fun, positive, and unforgettable evening. To this day, we still rave about the place! read more

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cozy homey spot with warm ambiance! i've been here twice and got the $65 tasting menu both times. i was very disappointed to find out that menu does not change, i definitely won't be coming back for the tasting menu. the food was fine, but nothing to write home about. for the price, you get a decent amount of food, and my friend and i left feeling satisfied. however, there are so many other japanese restaurants in philly that i would much rather go to. nothing really stood out in the tasting menu. the service was fast, but our server felt a little pretentious. he brought us our food and left so swiftly that we had no chance to ask any questions. we were also told we were being too loud when i was showing my friend a video on my phone -- which i would be more understanding about if there wasn't a crying baby wailing its lungs out at the table directly adjacent to us. just seems a little hypocritical and targeted. read more

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OK, so yelp came to the rescue again for me last night. I'm in Philly for a business trip, and staying in the Rittenhouse Square area, which I know can be somewhat pricey, and I'm always skeptical about higher end sushi places when I'm not in my home city. So I did what I usually do and pulled out my phone and did a search - even though I really like Yelp, a lot, nothing could've prepared me for what a great experience I would have at Zama. The reviews were mostly positive, but overall, I feel that this place is even better than many of them make it out to be. I can sum it up with these two statements: 1) The quality of fish at Zama is SUPERB. It's not just "super fresh" like you'll read and other generic reviews, but the quality of fish at this restaurant is outstanding - that is the epicenter of what a great sushi place must be and Zama knocks it out of the park. To me, I think their Nigiri was particularly awesome. The only thing that I would change would be to possibly have freshly grated wasabi on the side, I know how hard it is to come by these days. I do not mean that as a criticism, but more as an illustration of just how wonderful the quality of fish was. If you're picking on a place because of their wasabi in the USA, you pretty much have nothing else left to critique on! If you are interested in what I chose to have, here you go: - Kurobuta dumplings - Nigiri - king yellowtail, salmon, ikura, bluefin tuna, and chutoro. - Philadelphia roll and dragon roll - Draft Asahi "Super Dry" 2) Their service is SUPERB!!!! I was astounded that I could even find a wonderful sushi place on a Sunday night to enjoy, and the staff at Zama, provided, flawless, friendly, and knowledgeable service. Everyone knew how to help each other out, and I genuinely felt that they cared about each and every diner throughout the evening. This highlighted the pleasant ambience and made my evening extremely enjoyable, and set me in a great mood for the work I have to do this week. The nice young lady, who was bartending, and helping out with Service was very kind to all of the customers, and really made my evening an enjoyable dining experience. I will most certainly return the next time I come to Philadelphia and look forward to trying out more dishes and experience their restaurant even fuller!!! どうもありがとうございます!! とても美味しいです!!! read more

Zama - Sushi bar!! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The food was delicious. Service was great. Even the dessert was amazing. Food was fresh. Can't wait to come back! read more

Zama - The dessert. YUMMY - Sushi Bars Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

On the last day of my business trip, I visited this sushi restaurant. I was a bit tired but the Japanese dishes revived me! The miso soup contained enoki, scallion, tofu, and it was the same with the miso soup I have had in Japan. Black belt is the word which is used for the person with advanced skills of judo, and when I added this "black belt" option to the sushi, toro was served instead of akami. The shari was a bit tight but overall the sushi was fresh and delicious. In the U.S., I often see tempura with thick coating in a sushi roll, but the sushi roll here looked healthier than such rolls. The owner of the restaurant seems to pay attention to the details of each dish so much. The interior design was the fusion of modern and classical Japanese styles and I liked the clean and tidy counter. Generally, sushi is expensive, but this restaurant seems to try to keep the price within the appropriate range. The person who served me and another person who made the sushi were tidy and attentive. I would like to come back to this restaurant again! read more

Zama - Sushi & Maki combination (black belt) - Sushi Bars Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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So yummy! The food is so fresh and so tasty. I love the look of the place and the service was great! Will definitely be coming back read more

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So good! We went here for dinner on a Saturday night and had a great experience. The food and drinks were delicious and the service was excellent. We had the edamame, Bao Bao Bao, and pork dumplings to start. Everything was delicious, but I highly recommend the Bao Bao Bao, which is a sampling of 3 different Bao buns (Pork, Shrimp Tempura, and spicy tuna). We then shared 4 sushi rolls- Red Dragon, Salmon on Salmon, Spicy Lump Crab, and a Philadelphia Roll. They were all excellent, but the Red Dragon and Salmon on Salmon were especially good. The restaurant is pretty small and fills up so you will want a reservation. Overall, I highly recommend Zama! read more

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We had a fantastic experience at Zama. I called the day of to try and make a reservation for a group of 14 for a work dinner--during one of the busiest weeks in Philly with graduations and weddings happening all over the city. The gentleman on the phone sounded understandably hesitant at first, but ultimately said they could accommodate us. I was so grateful, especially since we had already been turned away by more than a dozen other restaurants that were at capacity. When we arrived, they had thoughtfully set aside an area of the restaurant for us. We really hoped to sit together at one long table--even though it was outside of their usual setup--and they kindly obliged and rearranged the tables to make it happen. On top of that, we ended up with an extra guest or two, and again, they went above and beyond to fit us all in, even though it meant exceeding the typical limits for that space. The dinner was excellent and the staff was outstanding--attentive, kind, and incredibly accommodating throughout the entire evening. I know we pushed the boundaries of our reservation and I'm truly grateful to the Zama team for making it all work so smoothly. Highly recommend this place--not just for the great food, but for their top-notch hospitality. read more

It's just ok. The fish wasn't fresh and I had gastro-issues after, but I appreciated that there were some more "authentic" options. I would recommend those over the rolls, e.g. the lobster wasabi roll was just confusing to eat. read more

Zama - Sushi Bars Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Tasteful, bustling sushi spot off of Rittenhouse Square. Food was swimmingly fresh, with interesting a La cart critters and clever apps. Service was brisk and friendly; our waitress joined us in waxing enthusiastic about the glories of the blue claw crab. It's a quaint and busy spot, so if you seek a brisk and breezy experience, you'll love Zama. We sure did. read more

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Haute Japanese. Extraordinary Haute Japanese. * * * Haute Japanese is an almost non-existent restaurant category. Japanese restaurants come in any one of a number of traditional formats - Most of which do not appear in the United States. For example, you rarely see an all-tofu restaurant in the United States. In Japan, these come in two formats, traditional and contemporary. We take all the Japanese formats and throw them together, Not unlike a Jersey diner that will serve you whatever you want to eat. I have no complaints about getting whatever I want to eat all in one place. We also get Japanese fusion, which is Japanese and Chinese all in one place. Whoop-de-doo - although to be fair, some of the restaurants are actually good on both the Japanese and Chinese sides. * * * But the Haute part ... What you need for Haute is 1) Massive creativity 2) Extraordinary raw ingredients 3) Extraordinary execution 4) Extraordinary creativity. (Yeah - the creativity part counts double.) * * * Zama simply blew me away. That's all there is to it. Menu list Yelp reviews are boring - and I am not going to do that to you. We ate a lot of stuff. I will simply say three things. a) Chirashi in most Japanese restaurants is whatever sashimi they got at the sushi stand dumped on rice. It is typically expensive and for no good reason. Zama's chirashi is a very elaborately composed, complex and carefully designed salad. There are many kinds of fish. There are many other things. I have never eaten anything like it. b) Salmon skin is one of the most seductive ingredients on the planet. Zama's salmon skin salad is to die for. c) Zama's yuzu creme brulee is the finest "orange-family" dessert on the planet. No other orange dessert comes close. "How good was the yuzu creme brulee, Samuel C.?" Funny you should ask. Well, technically, the pre-existing number one orange dessert was chocolate-orange. It comes in a number of wonderful forms ranging from the historic Marshall Fields orange frango mints, to my own dumping orange juice concentrate in a homemade chocolate blancmange. (I have only invented four or five good dishes in my life, That is one of them.) Even with chocolate orange being as good as it is - Zama's yuzu creme brulee gets WORSE if you steal chocolate sauce from one of the other desserts and put it on the yuzu. That is how good the yuzu creme brulee is. * * * Which is better as an extraordinary Philadelphia haute cuisine experience? Zama or Vedge? Yelp ought to have an "Infinity Number of Stars" rating for both of them. *************** If you read the other Yelp reviews, You see opinions on Zama range from "wonderful" to "meh". There is an issue with most of the other reviews - both positive and negative. They treat Zama as a sushi place. They just order straight sushi and judge on the quality of the fish. The fish here is first rate - But other cities have home town restaurants that also have excellent sushi. Very few of the reviewers are looking at the more creative dishes on the menu. Leave that sushi bar alone. Let the cook actually cook for you. read more

Amazing! One of the best sushi spots I've been to in this city! You will definitely want to save room for dessert here...you're welcome. Try the specials if they strike your fancy because they are fresh and tasty. Love love love! Will be back here again and again. Oh, and Jonas gave us the best service! read more

After doing extensive research to find a Japanese owned sushi place near my hotel, I landed at Zama and spoiler alert...I made the right choice. "Black belt" sashimi sampler featured 9 cuts of sashimi and the fish was very fresh with nice flavor. Rittenhouse Trio was a sampler of three hand rolls and each one provided a unique flavor with an emphasis on the freshness of the fish and a quality presentation. Lindsey the server was on point and did a great job on all fronts. Elusive fifth star not granted because no interaction by sushi chefs as they just kinda stared at me when I tried to initiate conversation, so I assume it was a language barrier thing, but still staring is kinda awkward, sorry just being honest. Overall, food was definitely solid, service was very good and the atmosphere was nice, so well done Zama, just work on the sushi chef customer engagement training and that elusive fifth star could no doubt be in store down the road. read more

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Lunch with a work colleague to celebrate the end of the year. Top notch service,presentation and quality. Ordered the Black Belt sashimi and the taste and quality was out of this world. Huge difference in taste and quality compared to the day to day sushi restaurants. Twice the price but worth it it to upgrade your sushi experience . I will indulge once a month! read more

i used to love this place. but after the latest order, my advice: do not order. garbage food. expensive garbage. never again.

I was here on a business trip and a colleague brought me to this restaurant -- it was very good. We both ordered the tasting menu ($65 version with a $10 addition of the Uni on the sushi). I thought all of the courses were quite interesting -- some of course better than others. Overall, the food wasn't outstanding but very good. Moreover, in this location and for the quality of the meal, the food was an incredible value. The ambience is quite nice and although the service started off a bit standoffish but it improved as the night wore on. read more

This is some of the best sushi I've ever had. Period. And I've been to Asia! The rolls are flavorful, fresh, and beautifully presented. The service was excellent and very kind. Highly recommend, I will be coming back here! read more

This is a delicious sushi spot. It was empty when we arrived at 6:30 pm a Tuesday but really full when we left at 8:30. Close to Rittenhouse so easy to get to. Sushi was delicious - surf and turf special and spicy shrimp special roll were delicious as well as pork dumplings and California salad. Highly recommend! read more

Zama - Shrimp signature roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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The manager in suit is a joke. Poor, unfriendly attitude. I'm not sure if the restaurant owner is even aware of it. The server is nice. Food takes forever to come out. read more

Enjoyed the Chirashi Lunch Set at a business lunch this afternoon, which included edamame, house salad, udon noodle soup with shrimp tempura. The chirashi was absolutely delicious--the vegetables were incredibly flavorful as was the seasoned rice. The tuna and yellowtail were solid. I would've appreciated the soup a bit hotter, but overall it was a good meal and service was great. read more

Not gonna lie the waiter was just straight up strange. Like he was openly acting too cool to be our waiter while literally being our waiter. We asked about menu options and he was like annoyed that we had questions. A bit too openly hostile for my taste. I will say the food was actually outstanding. Delicious and fresh, and I could have ate so much more. Their prices are on the higher side but for a nice night out it's well worth it. I'm hoping our waiter was just having an off night, and we are considering returning and hoping to get a different section. The place gets booked up quick, bar seating is available first come first serve. It's a little noisy but decently sized overall. read more

I can't speak for dinner here, or even inside-dining... but outside on a sunny day this is a good place to eat, soak up some sun and watch Philadelphians and tourists go by. It's very near Rittenhouse Park so there is a lot of foot traffic. I was on a bike ride and decided the day was so beautiful that I wanted to drink a refreshing cocktail and have a light mid-day meal. I parked my bike and got a table for one outside at Zama. The bento box lunches are delightful. I ordered the veggie with tofu. It comes with a delicious miso soup, salad, edamame and the veggie stir fry. It was really good. The soup was SURPRISINGLY good with seaweed and mushrooms added. I ordered up a special Negroni and had myself an afternoon. As I said, I don't know much about the other stuff, but the bento was a perfect light lunch. read more

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Tried the Zama tasting menu (the one that is not omakase) and had a great meal! Great flavors with a variety and sushi + non-sushi items. The staff was great at timing the various courses and providing descriptions. Top tier sit down sushi in rittenhouse! read more

Zama - Sushi Bar Sashimi Sampler - Sushi Bars Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Loved this place! Tried the 7 course tasting menu. My favorites were probably the sashimi and thinly sliced tuna with truffle. The fish quality was incredible. Great ambience and very friendly/responsive service. Would highly recommend! read more

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On Friday night my boyfriend and I tried the chefs tasting menu consisting of 7 courses. Everything was delicious and fresh. I really enjoyed the steak and wanted 8 ounces to eat but unfortunately they don't have that on their regular menus. Sadness :( the fish melts in your mouth and is perfectly paired with the sauces and sides. The presentation was an A+ read more

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Came here for a surprise date, and boy was I surprised. Everything we had was delicious. Food, knowledge, and service were excellent! Lindsey was a fantastic server. I highly recommend the $100 tasting menu, the sea bass was divine and the surf and turf was impeccable. The photos don't do the restaurant justice. A must see for yourself experience. read more

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One of my very favorite Japanese sushi restaurants in Philly, run & supervised by a Japanese chef from Japan. I felt as if I were back in Tokyo. If you want fake greasy cheap sushi that overuses mayonnaise & tenkasu, this is not a place for you. Chic Japanese sushi lovers only. read more

Zama - Sushi & Sashimi combo. Chic. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In a search for quality Japanese restaurants, I stumbled upon Zama. Upon walking in I was greeted with beautiful scents that soothed any reservations I had that flavor may be a concern. I ordered the pan-seared Salmon and I was more than happy with my choice of entrees. The soy glaze was spectacular! If you're looking for a quality Japanese restaurant that doesn't damage your bank account I would highly consider this spot. read more

Zama - Pan Seared Salmon - Sushi Bars Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

First time here yesterday and the staff was friendly and kept up good spirits even though it was clear that they were understaffed. There was a bit of a wait for the food, but I didn't mind. We got our food before the table next to us and they had been sitting for about 30-45 mins already. Within that 30-45 minute time frame, they received 2 pieces of sushi. We ordered 1 rainbow roll, spicy tuna roll, 2 pieces of uni ($18 each piece. It was good but not worth the price for the uni. I've had better) and there were other rolls that we ordered, but I don't recall the name. Overall, the sushi was okay. It wasn't the best sushi I've ever had and it definitely wasn't the worse. However, I would not return because there are better sushi spots in the city. read more

Zama - Sushi Bars Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Came here for dinner. Good vibe inside the restaurant and the waiters were all friendly. For apps we tried edmame (average), crispy avocado with tuna (ok), short rib (best out of apps) and dumplings (ok). For main I tried the sushi combination black belt which is the higher quality and it costs about $50. For me it was pretty poor sushi. The rice was cold and hard which is cardinal sin for sushi. The quality and freshness of the fish was ok as well. The toro was the best as expected. Overall it's priced too high for what it is. The drinks were good. read more

Zama - Sushi Bars Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Zama has a nice location and is walking distance from just about everything in the area. I had a lunch reservation for 3 people here for my first experience. What struck me was the service. Our waitress couldn't have been homier or more helpful. She was diner waitress level familiar and offered a lot of guidance on the menu. A few times she stopped us from ordering something unnecessarily OR if there was an option that came with a side or something similar. That's pretty amazing. The sushi was good. I wasn't blown away if I'm being honest. Being in Philly where Morimoto's is based must be humbling for a sushi joint but Zama's basic rolls were pretty tasty. We ordered dumplings as an appetizer. A few entrees came with soup. We had edamame as well. I ordered the spicy and crunchy tuna. It wasn't very spicy but I may crave a bit more zing than the average bear. Our server was really helpful when pointing out what came as a "full" order and whether I'd need something more. That was amazing and she was spot on each time. Everyone seemed satisfied with their choices. We even ordered coffee and she was quick to point out that they just offered garden variety coffee but the place a few doors down had more exotic choices. I could more see myself returning here for the service than for the sushi which again -- was GOOD but didn't blow me away. Seating here is comfortable. The front betrays your eyesight since there are booths further back. It looks much smaller than it actually is. Once ordered, our food came out pretty quickly. If we were in a rush we could have been out the door in less than 35 minutes. Nice place. Moderate prices. read more