Yamagata
“BYOB, so we brought our favorite sparkling champagne to pair with our sushi.”
“*****3/28/15 update ******
I just heard that my favorite chef Yama san has retired and sold the business to a Korean person.”
“I loved Chef Sammy when he was working at Tatsumi in Edgewater, so when a friend told me he was now working here, I had to pay a visit.”
Yamagata
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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My husband and I went in around 9pm on a Friday night, it's a small restaurant but it was still packed. When we walked in, I felt like I was somewhere in a rural Japanese city. Tables were packed in to seat as many patrons as they could, Japanese languages all around the dining area and on the wall.. I felt relieved when I saw the English written menu. Okay I'm still in Fort Lee.
Small Sushi bar was packed. It looks like only it can accommodate 5-6 people. Saw sign says minimum $50 per person @ sushi bar. I didn't like two television on the wall, I'm sure it's different to some other people. BYOB, so we brought our favorite sparkling champagne to pair with our sushi. One of staff member came over with a hot wet towel lets and a ice bucket to chill the wine. Sushi omakase has a price on the menu for $55 but sashimi omakase doesn't. Depend on what they have for that day, price can be changed. My husband ordered sushi and sashimi platter($45) and I ordered sashimi omakase. There are a lot reviews complaining about the high prices for their sushi. After we received our meal the price was well worth it. I would give this place 5 stars just for the freshness and the high quality of the fish. Its also a bonus to have a skilled sushi chef to make your order.
As soon as we sat down, they served us roasted peanuts. It was a good start. We ordered fresh oysters for appetizer. It was small but delicious. I was curious where this oyster came from. If we were seated on sushi bar, I'm sure we were able to hear the explanation of how to enjoy fresh seafoods.
Whenever they served fresh seafood, they decorated platter with fresh seaweed. I thought that was good idea. It's edible, Koreans eats them in various way.
My sashimi Omakase was good. Got toro, abalone, mackerel, uni….etc. Everything was fresh and delicious. My husband's sushi/sashimi platter was good also. They were all fresh and delicious. I even forgot to take pictures before I took my first bite.
After our sushi/sashimi meal, we shared one order of Inaniwa udon. Inaniwa udon is one of the 3 udon noodle representing Japan. It is hand made skinny noodle, it's history goes back up to 17 century in Japan. They served Inaniwa udon with very intense broth, little garnish of scallions and seaweed as it suppose to be. They divided udon into two bowl. It was so delicious. Also got simple history lesson from server related with Inaniwa udon. It was one of the best udon I've ever tasted. But if you expect it with fancy topping or garnishment, you'll get disappointed. Price is bit high also. But It was well worth it.
Late evening at this restaurant reminded me of a Japanese TV series, shinya shokudo. Service was fast and efficient. Some of staffs are Korean. One waitress helped us so much on what to order. Because of her we had very relaxing and satisfying dinner. I wanna go back there and try other stuff in the menu and seat at the sushi bar. Price is bit high, but you can taste good authentic taste of japan.
Went in for omakase since we heard Sam who used to be at Tatsumi in Edgewater is now there. It was one of the most delightful omekase I've had in a while! Piece by piece, sushi is made to perfection. Various fish, uni and scallop were from Hokkaido, Japan. An absolute delight that sweetens your mouth.
I heart Yamagata's Wednesday sushi lunch special!!! For $17, you get to choose 7 sushi plus a roll of your choice, salad, miso soup, and a small scoop of red bean ice cream. This unassuming no frills Japanese restaurant makes the best sushi I've had so far in the East Coast. I prefer Yamagata's sushi way more than many of the shi-shi restaurants like Nobu and Morimoto! Their sushi neta is always fresh and high quality, and they serve straight up authentic Japanese sushi unlike those Americanized watered down sushi restaurants for gaijin. I grew up around sushi chefs in Japan so I know what's a legit authentic sushi is like. If you are looking for a good sushi place in NJ, look no further….. Yamagata is hands down the best!!
If you feel like splurging, try their $75 omakase dinner…… soooooooo worth it!!!! HIghly recommended!!
*****3/28/15 update ******
I just heard that my favorite chef Yama san has retired and sold the business to a Korean person. I'm not sure if the quality will be the same anymore….. Le sigh.
I really cannot argue with people who insist that this is the best sushi place in NJ because this is only place I went to in NJ. So my comparison of opponent could be sushi place in Manhattan where has similar price range, which could be Kanoyama, Hasaki, Yuba, Yasaka or Sushi Dojo. They have $45 – $65 for omakase at sushi bar.
Place is small which is pretty usual thing for sushi places. They have like 5-6 tables and sushi bar. It was very crowded on Saturday night thus reservation should be placed as place gets filled up within 2-3 groups.
I did omakase 10pc. I'd say that their fish was pretty fresh, not very fresh yet it was ok quality for its price. I enjoyed all pieces with any problem yet there were few things that I didn't like about. First thing was about how they cook and prep their rice. It was bit too sticky and hard for sushi rice. When it comes with nori, you feel nori gets stickier in your mouth because of it. It could be just my personal preference, as I don't like rice being too sticky on sushi- Not refreshing taste to me. Another thing I want to mention is that I don't see much specialty from their arrangement. I've seen the photo from other people got omakase and they were having exact same pieces even though it was 6 month, or a year before my visit. omakase meant to be chef's recommendation by season of ingredient and freshness. When I see that it is always being with same arrangement, I think it would be harder to be called as omakase. I think it can be always worked out giving some more effort. Like Jiro always had been looking for better path for better taste.
They also gave 2 appetizer dishes and ice cream for desert. Which was generous.
Owner of location seems to be really nice person. I could see that he really care about his customer. If there's going to be a day that I return to this place, it will be probably because of him.
Overall, I think they are mediocre and compare to other places which I've mentioned earlier that has similar price range, I'd say they have better arrangement and fresh food.
It's been 6 months since my last review of this place. I've probably frequented Yamagata about twice a month on the weekends for dinners. I wanted to update this in light of having visited Hon Tei and Hiura (again) during those 6 months. Sure, it's not Yasuda.. it's not Nakizawa.. it's not Azabu. But guess what? You want the best of the best in NJ? Let this serve as a reminder: YAMAGATA IS THE BEST SUSHI JOINT IN NJ.
Awesome sushi at a fraction of the price and saving a trip to the city? DON'T MIND IF I DO. I can eat this everyday! I mean.. I work right next to numerous Japanese restaurants (Grand Central area), and I have to tell you.. I know my sushi – I've had it all my life more frequently than many others… I may not be FULL Japanese but when you have a mom who is, and who tells you that it's decent AF.. I have all the support I need in making this statement to you all. You won't be disappointed.
Their sushi deluxe is a pretty good deal, too, but I'll opt for the omakase.
Jin is the bomb diggity – the whole waitstaff is, but a special shoutout to him – always keen on details. Chef Sammy – shoutout to you: you're hands are made of gold.
The year's coming to an end, so I'm here to tell ya'll that this place is consistently spectacular. Thank you, Yamagata, for bringing a peace of heaven across the street.
was driving around looking for a small place to try out, and boy was i a bit surprised.
this place is extremely small and over priced. i ordered a few things, the portions were small and not worth the price.
the place was crammed like fucking sardines in a little can.
i had a salmon roll which was like $6, altho the salmon was super fresh and great..it was nothing special.
the soup i had was a dark miso-clam soup. it was served in what was basically a small cup. $6 for two little clams and broth. the broth was amazing though, i never had dark miso soup like this. deff. great but not wirth the price.
i also had a yam noodle salad. i cant remember what it was called. just a small, very small bowl of sliced up yams in some type of marinade, which was good but i was surprised at the amount. yes this is an app. but it was so small and not worth the $6
flavors were good, but the portions sucked for the price.
my boyfriend got a pork and rice type of box, very small, the box was very shallow and mostly white rice. it came with miso soup and salad. $14–he was pissed the fuck off.
save your money, you can find another asian themed place in the area serving, if not the same menu —something similar—same price and loads of food.
deff not a bang for the buck at this bitch right here.
I was pleasantly surprised to find a decent sushi place in Jersey, and while there are a few sushi restaurants around, this has become one of my favorite around the area.
The atmosphere isn't crazy out of the ordinary, seems like a typical sushi restaurant. But if you want some good sushi, then this is the place to try out.
We started off with the eggplant appetizer and even if you're not much of an eggplant fan, then you will be once you try their Nasu Denkatgu. It was sweet, warm and toasty with almost pudding like texture. I'm definitely a fan!
I ordered their sushi regular with 7 pieces of assorted sushi with tuna roll. While it seems like a typical order, their fish selection was definitely not typical. Their fish seemed to have been marinated in salt water, because the texture of the fish was soft and tender and did not have any kind of chewiness. Once in my mouth, I felt it melt away (along with my soul).
So would I go back? Heck Yes!
Thankfully my group made a reservation beforehand, especially because it was a Friday night, but the customer that did walk in, didn't have to wait too long before being seated.
The only downfall? Not the best place to sit down chit chat away with your friends for too long, unless you're ordering. They tend to keep the customers moving in and out along.
One the few solid sushi places around Fort Lee. They have a parking lot directly in front so it's pretty convenient. It's not a very big place, so would definitely recommend calling ahead.
Have been here a couples time and quality has always been consistent. Another huge plus is that they are BYOB.
Ordered a couple of rolls on this latest visit and everything was good as usual. My favorite was probably spider roll and the tsunami roll from this last meal.
Price point is still a slight bit expensive for the portion. However, it's still an awesome deal compared to most sushi places that you're going to find in the city.
Also noticed some specials on a little white board. Perhaps I will try more of those next time.