Yamato Steak, Seafood & Sushi Bar

This restaurant is the worst and false japanese restaurant I’ve visited ever!!! Not fresh rice and terrible seafood. To make matters worse, all of their staff are sucks. Don’t visit this one, you will waste your money!!!

We were excited to possible have good Japanese food near us since we recently moved to Apex, but not so much. The service was odd… only way I know how to describe it. Our server was very awkward and slow with everything she did. She had a huge table space to fill and insisted on putting everything that was burning hot right in front of our baby’s highchair. It took forever for our food to come out. When it did, the steak was VERY well done and the zucchinis tasted rancid. This all for the low price of $ 18. Ridiculous.

I know lots of people talk about the hibachi but really it’s the sushi you should be ordering. We come on the regular and the nigiri is always very fresh. The Negi Hamachi roll is one of my favorites (I order it every time) but we have lots of go-​tos: salmon and white tuna nigiri and the eel roll is really good too! The service can be a little slow at times but everyone is super nice and the food more then makes up for it.

The food was ok. Rice was dry. Broccoli was limp and a bit yellow. Chicken needed more soy sauce for flavor. Better than a mall shop.
My wife said her shrimp was really good and the flavor was seared in. I admit as a non seafood eater it was good.
The place was dirty. There was a buck of rain water in the middle of the floor. The ceiling tiles were stained brown. The AC vents were rusty. The walls looked greasy.
Waitress was helpful and gave good recommendations.

3 stars for food
2.5 stars for restaurant ambiance, cleanliness, etc.
1 star for bad communication
When Yamato first opened years ago I tried it out and found it to be mediocre hibachi and okay sushi. It’s in a really odd place — not really in Apex and not really in Holly Springs and at a crossroads of sorts. The surrounding area is not appealing. It used to be a diner a long time ago. But I did like talking to the owner — Van? and he made me a nice rainbow roll way back when. Today, my little one had a bday party near by and we had a GOPLAYSAVE coupon so we thought we’d give it a go. The coupons say on the back one per PERSON, not one per table. Most of the restaurants have no problems honoring that. But just in case I always call. So I called and a young man answered. I read the back of the coupon to him and he said, «Yeah that will be fine». I repeated that we would be ordering 4 entrees and I had two BOGO coupons. He again stressed that would be fine. We get there and of course the story has changed. Oooh that irks me. We would have gone somewhere else. The guy that had the same voice claimed the «new guy» answered the phone and «he has no idea what he is talking about». Wow — way to throw a coworker under the bus. I can’t prove it was he who answered my call but it sure sounded just like the guy from 3 minutes ago. Three teenagers were running the dining room — I should have just left then. But, we were already there so we decided to use one coupon. No big deal, right. In hindsight why do we do this to ourselves? Life it too short to eat at bad restaurants. The poor waitress was nervous and I reassured her she did nothing wrong and that we were content to order. Instead of her making ME feel better I ended up calming her nerves. LOL The flaming hibachi shrimp was tiny but tasty. I really liked how it was kind of crispy on the outside but tender on the inside. The rice was flavorless and really really dry bordering on hard. The sweet carrots were like any other but there was plenty. The broccoli was yellow — which tells me it was not fresh and it seemed steamed instead of being cooked on the hibachi grill. No seasoning at all. But I asked for a side of Siracha and dunked it in that. I tried to be chipper and tried to be positive about it all. My hubby was quiet as he ate the chicken. He said it was MEH. He added soy sauce to everything which he does not do. My kiddo liked her shrimp but did not eat the veggies (and she loves the hibachi veggies usually). Once she drowned her rice in the «white» sauce she ate that. The lemonade was the pink HFC syrupy fountain junk. She sipped it a little. In the end, even with the coupon I left feeling like I had wasted my time and money. The waitress was sweet albeit timid. To add salt to the wound there was a bucket of dirty rain water on the floor where the ceiling had been leaking. The AC vents were rusty/​dirty? and made the place seem unclean. You are much better off driving a bit farther and eating at Sushi Iwa in Apex. I won’t be returning.

My co-​workers and I get food from Yamato about twice a week for our lunches and we LOVE it. It’s the best hibachi in the area and they are super fast and affordable. The people who have left bad reviews here must be super picky.

This place must be a joke., We should have listened to these Unilocalers, oh well live and learn. Let me just start this off with how we were so confused if this is actually a diner or a Japanese restaurant. Certainly doesn’t give that feel as we enter. A musty odor emanates something that you do not want esp. for a place that serves raw fish.
As this kid ushers us to our table., he stopped and apologized right away because the table is not yet cleaned, though the table looks clean to us, the seat covers however were all disgustingly stained., we think that is why he was apologizing.
Next, our food since we’re new to the place and didn’t want to order crazy., we started with two rolls and a sushi, and hubby ordered the combination of beef/​scallops hibachi. The beef is cut into cubes as supposed to thin slices no wonder it’s so bland, the rice taste so flat as well as the veges., people don’t cheap out on seasoning on the side dishes esp. If the featured meat has no taste., the scallops though tasted good and fresh.
My salmon skin roll is meh., the supposed fried salmon skin feels like fried bones that were so hard to chew I was scared that it will stab and my gums would start bleeding. The tempura roll my daughter said was ok., Here’s a tip for the sushi chef; cut down on vinegar in your sushi rice., it’s too sour, overpowering and taking so much from the fish. And you may want to start listening to customers when they try to tell you how they prefer their sushi, also renovate the place., it stinks, it’s dirty, and try to make it look like an actual Japanese restaurant.
And here’s what’s odd., I ordered a bottle of cold sake., it arrived with the seal already broken., poured and tasted like it’s been out and not freshly opened. I know my sake when they are freshly opened hence I asked the girl why the cap and seal was already broken and she just said oh I just opened it for you because sometimes it’s hard to open. Ok I get that., but at least show the process to me., instead of just putting it on my table already opened.
That being said., there’s no second visit from us.

Came here for lunch (until 2:30). A great choice was the lunch box special. Love how it comes out in a sectional plate with sauces for the hot and crispy spring roll and the rice. The grilled salmon was seasoned well and had a nice crispy teriyaki flavored top. Broccoli was tender but not mushy. The Calif. roll sushi tasted fresh. Very filling meal. Seated right away. Not sure why this restaurant isn’t busier.

Overall a quality experience from service to food. Sushi and sashimi were good in flavor, nothing elaborate but quantity and quality up to par with pricing. Makayla our waitress was very good and not over hovering. Bento Boxes are the way to go for sure.

Great service! Very attentive. Sashimi was fresh & not overpriced! My mom enjoyed her C-​Roll & California roll.

I work in the area, and coworkers have picked up lunch from here a few times (not sushi) so me and my friends went here one friday night.
I would not recommend eating here for sushi. Maybe they have better regular entrees, but me and my friends (4 people) got probably 6 rolls all together. It all tasted pretty bad, worse than grocery store quality. Couldn’t finish eating it.
Service wasn’t great, a bunch of younger teenagers working there (not discriminating on age) but they didn’t seem to know what they were doing. Little things, like not bringing napkins, not being very courteous, not explaining the sushi options. Sounds nitpicky, but they just weren’t paying attention to customers, not really doing their jobs fully.
We didn’t complain or make a fuss, it seemed the quality of the place was how it was going to be, just paid the bill and left after. We will not be going again, I don’t recommend this place.

I have been to Yamato a few times in the past. The food here is terrible, and their sushi tastes old, not fresh. This is just another fast food restaurant I can do without.
But what bothers me most is their rudeness. They never say «thank you». When I say «thank you», all they say is «no problem». Hello? Who is the customer here?

Again on the return of my daughter from a snowy ski weekend in New Hampshire The choice of where to eat fell at Yamatos. Every meal is epic the sushi fresh and truly delectable with every bite.
The whole family can find faire that is just perfect for the occasion. I loved the Yaki chicken with sweet carrots this time along with their signature salad with ginger dressing. Yummy for the tummy.

Delicious and quick hibachi and sushi. The spring rolls weren’t anything special, but the rest of the food was great. The hibachi does come with mushrooms, not advertised, and not a fan. Chicken hibachi, candied carrots, california roll, spicy tuna roll all were tasty. Good portion sizes.

Stopped here for sushi tonight with some friends and were quite pleasantly surprised. The fried dumplings were fantastic. Large salads with delicious ginger dressing, good miso soup and wonderful sushi. The owner came and talked to us and was very personable. For dessert, we had green tea ice cream (a very generous portion) and fried ice cream (delicious).
This place is very unassuming on the outside and we have driven by here numerous times without stopping. The inside has a very nice atmosphere with comfortable booths and attractive lanterns hanging over each table.
The service was excellent and prices very reasonable. Give Yamato a try! We’ll be back!

We went here a few days ago for the first time. The food was alright, but I got the steak and shrimp and the shrimp was not cleaned AT ALL. Every single one had the waste line intact. Disgusting! Also, there is something going on with their water or ice machine because we left to-​go cups of WATER from there in the car, and they are now completely moldy inside which is totally scary.
I would not go back here at all!

Best Japanese restaurant in Apex NC. I love the soba noodles. The owner and staff are very friendly. Don’t let the outside of the restaurant fool you. The inside is very clean and has warm atmosphere.

Have been here multiple times and the hibachi has been consistently good-​think Kanki minus the show. Sushi should not be missed either. Order the Yamato roll!

At first the prices appeared reasonable. However the food is unremarkable and not worth the seemingly reasonable prices. I had the steak and it was overcooked and tough. Very obviously a cheap cut of meat.
I got the idea that most of the food was not cooked to order but waiting in the back in a warmer.
It’s a great location. My only hope is that a better restaurant will take it over when this one eventually folds.

This place was such a disappointment. I expected my food to be at least decent. I ordered hibachi chicken and shrimp, thinking that’s pretty basic (you can’t go wrong with chicken and rice. Or so I thought.
The chicken and shrimp was served with zucchini and onions (it also came with mushrooms which I wasn’t aware of from the description). The veggies tasted old and were mushy. The shrimp was extremely overdone and had an «odd» taste. The chicken was actually «ok» but by the time I tasted the chicken my taste buds were disgusted!
The service was nice and friendly but a little slow. Just overall not a good experience.
Will not be back!!!