Yamazato Sushi & Spice

This is the go to Thai Place in the Landmark area. Very good Thai food & sushi. The restaurant was voted the best Sushi Restaurant in DC in 2006. However, I go there mostly for Thai. My favorites are the classics Pad Thai, Drunken Noodles, and Curries. This isn’t like normal Thai carry out places. This restaurant is more upscale meaning that they use higher quality ingredients (meaning tastier food). If you like soups this place is great. Their Tom Ka Gai is amazing. They also have great fresh squeezed lemonade.
The restaurant itself is very hip and nice. It would make a good place for a date. Fancy enough to impress but their prices won’t hurt your pockets too much. They have a full bar and can make pretty good cocktails as well.

Yamazato continues to deliver fresh sushi rolls, most affordable AND delicious lunch menu items. Please keep up the good work!

Met some friends here for lunch on a recent Saturday — everything was quite wonderful, the rolls — miso, etc — super clean — friendly staff. Recommended.

Yamazato is a great sushi restaurant and I’m sure you won’t leave disappointed. It’s definitely on par with the best sushi restaurants in the DMV area, and I’ve been to a lottt. What I love most is that they’re unique with their sushi roll combinations — not the generic spicy tuna this or crab filling that. Each one is different.
Onto their service and staff! Each time I come, the service is outstanding. You can be seated within 25 minutes on their busiest night. My glass was never empty and waiters were at my table before I even asked for one. I’ve also sat at the sushi bar before and the chefs will often times talk to you and give you their recommendations for sushi.
Overall, yes the prices are a little more steep but you get what you pay for. Fresh fish, unique and tasty rolls done extremely well, great staff with a lovely and clean décor. Love this place, I’ll make a trip any day!

Love the sushi here – so fresh and flavorful. I try and visit whenever I’m home on a visit. Prices are reasonable and service is fast and friendly. Quiet, nice atmosphere, and I really enjoy the food.

One of the most decent japanese/​asian restaurant in my area. They have wide variety of sushi rolls and my faves are the volcano and the dragon rolls. They also offer chinese and thai dishes in their menu. Food is just okay but good enough for me to come back.

One of the worst things that happened to me in the year 2011 was the release of the documentary «Jiro Dreams of Sushi». I also made the regrettable decision to submit applications to a number of different graduate programs that year, one of which I would later attend/​regret, but I digress.
Now, I don’t know a whole lot about sushi, but I knew – as I was watching the documentary, slobbering and biting down so fiercely on my knuckles – that I would forever be chasing a tantalizing sushi rainbow high.
It seems like one should try to eat nigiri that is served omakase-​style (which I have yet to do), rather than just made to order. I had the salmon, tuna, and fatty yellowtail nigiri. The rice was wonderfully flavored, but the cut of each fish was overwhelmingly large compared to the little ball of rice on which they were wrapped. Too much fish! But maybe I’m just griping, right? Like, who goes to a diner to eat a steak? Who goes to a regular sushi restaurant for nigiri?
Tell you what though, I had the Potomac Roll, one of the Chef Special Rolls, and it was GREAT. Shrimp tempura? I’m in. Avocado? Yes, plz. Kewpie mayo? Say. No. More. Tobiko? Stop, I can only get so erect.
In the end, Yamazato is good enough, the rolls are totally worth it, and I’m probably just a pretentious pain-​in-​the-​ass. The rolls average about $ 12-​$ 13 each, so get a group of friends, split some rolls over Sapporo and be happy. There’s a pretty diverse menu, including some Korean and vegetarian options, and a drink menu with items for everyone, so everyone SHOULD be happy.
No Japanese whiskey, though.
/​pretentiousness

So great to have a good sushi place so close. Everything here has been solid, although we haven’t really delved into the Thai options very much. But the rolls are good, and the fish is fresh, to my meagre palatte.

Sashimi is decent in quality and size. Ordering duck wonton was a shame — dry, flavorless and tasted like wet cardboard without duck sauce. A pain to get too but worth a trip if you want to feast on quality fish.

The best drunken noodles. Ever! Amazing food! The rest of the group had sushi & loved every bite! We will be back! I’m already craving the drunken noodles the next day!

After seeing a sign on the window near the door saying the Yamazato was voted «Best Sushi in DC,» I said to myself… Damn! How have never heard of this place? I need to go here immediately!
Little did I know the sign was almost 10 years old.
All kidding aside, I actually had a pretty good meal here. For starters the wine and sake list is actually pretty respectable. They had a bottle of Momokawa, I can’t remember if it was the Gold or Silver, but it was quite reasonably priced. They also had a number of wines on the list that were less than $ 10, which is quite cheap in Alexandria… although maybe I eat out too often in Old Town and Del Ray.
Now for the sushi. I do like the fact that they post the fresh catches of the day near the door. On the night we went in they had fatty salmon, fatty hamachi, uni and toro as the fresh catch. While the toro was much too expensive for my blood at $ 18 for two pieces, I tried the fatty hamachi, which was quite good. It tasted very fresh and although I have had better hamachi and to yours and my chagrin I had just had dinner at Sushi Taro a few nights earlier, I was not disappointed by the hamachi. My only criticism was that they had left a bit of the skin on and for a fatty, tender cut like this, I would think you would want the entire experience of the nigiri to highlight the subtle flavors and soft mouthfeel of the Yellow Tail, especially an expensive cut like this. Just my thoughts, but aside from the skin part it was quite good.
We also tried the Three Amigos roll, which was tasty as well. A very large serving with salmon and hamachi in the center with heaps of avocado and a slice of jalapeño (but seeds removed) on top. A lot going on with this roll, but I must say that the avocado, was actually fresh and flavorful and added a nice dimension to this roll.
Aside from sushi we also tried the panang curry. Although this was a blatantly americanized version of Thai curry, I can’t say I expected anything different and it was enjoyable nonetheless. They did add a nice peanut oil to the coconut milk that was interesting. I usually expect panang curry to be hot, and they had three pepper symbols on the menu, but this was about as mild as milk, and not what I expected. I did like the fact that they served it with brown rice, but I don’t think I would order this again.
Overall I think Yamazato has probably seen better days, and those were most likely a decade ago, but I think they run a good business. The service was fast and efficient, prices reasonable, and the interior basic and clean. If you don’t come here with too high of expectations and stick to the sushi menu, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Food:
My girlfriend and I both agree that this is the best sushi spot in the whole DMV area. The sushi rolls are both CREATIVE and SUPER TASTY. Our favorites here are Godzilla roll, and if you prefer vegetarian, definitely go for the Garden roll. We’ve both been to the most fancy sushi places in DC, VA, and MD, but none of them come close to the flavorful rolls at Yamazato.
Service: Very Consistent. Always good, non-​invasive, professional, quick… never a single complaint. And we come here once every 1 – 3 months.
Location: The only reason we don’t come here more often is the location. We live in Arlington and would prefer to go to a more lively part of the area, yet again, for sushi, Yamazato holds our #1 place in the whole area. The only place that came close to the quality and creativeness was Fujimar at Lima Lounge, which is now closed… but even then, Yamazato would win because of price.
Place: Small yet private. I never see anyone sitting at the sushi bar. You’ll probably be sitted at a booth which is always very spacious. Most importantly of all, the entire place is always EXTREMELY CLEAN.
Every dinner we have here is ALWAYS very memorable, and it mostly has to do with the quality of the sushi. Amazing place. Hidden DMV gem.

This place gets 4 stars, due to the fact that it’s pretty hard to find good Japanese food in this area. It’s a relative rating.

I came in for carryout because I was in the area and heard from Unilocalers they had excellent sushi here. I decided to try a variety of rolls, 2 chef special rolls and 1 tuna crunchy. The 2 chef special rolls I tried were: Dragon Fire & X.O. They sounded interesting. And I liked that you could choose the option of brown rice with any of the rolls, that actually is not a common thing at sushi restaurants. The décor inside looked nice and service was friendly.
Of the 2 rolls, the X.O. was definitely my favorite: lots of flavors and textures. The Dragon Fire was fine, but nothing that stood out. They had large fish to rice ratios, which I appreciated, especially for $ 36. A little on the pricier side, but I think for the area, the creativity and the posh appeal of Yamazato makes it a solid option for sushi.

Yamazato Sushi & Spice is the place to go if you can’t decide between having Japanese or Thai cuisine.
Ambiance: Clean and simple. Chatter was light when we went; however, the place is somewhat small so you could hear or be heard some of the discussions from other tables if they sit you booth across booth.
Service: Excellent, was very attentive and checked up on us regularly.
Food:
–We ordered an assortment of nigiri and rolls. Nigiri was fresh and the pieces were a generous portion. The rolls were bit on the bland side (compared to Kyoto Sushi). I would definitely come back for the Nigiri but not for the other rolls.
–Shrimp tempura Udon was delicious. Served in a large bowl with a variety of mixed vegetables with 2 pieces of shrimp tempura on the side. Broth was delicious and full of flavor.
–Pork Katsu was tender and crispy. They give a generous portion, enough to have some leftover. Served with sauce on the side.

Glad we checked out this little gem in Alexandria. We were hungry for sushi and this place was pretty impressive, and we’ve frequented QUITE a few sushi restaurants. Our server was courteous and patient despite it being only an hour before closing on a Sunday night, and the restaurant itself is charming and has a calm and almost romantic ambience.
The sashimi deluxe was pricey at $ 28, but when we saw the plate each slice of fish was HUGE, the hugest I’ve ever seen. Every piece had to be cut in half, so we basically paid for double. Fish was fresh and buttery;no complaints. The menu had a colorful variety of special rolls and the ones we tried (Tiger Fur, California Sunset, Super Dragon, Snowmen) were all delicious and generously sized, and the restaurant offers brown rice which is always a nice option. All in all a very filling, satisfying experience; highly recommended.

I can’t say I’ve ever gotten a sashimi bowl to go before, but there’s a first time for everything! I did precisely that when I recently visited Yamazato Sushi & Spice. I wish I lived closer so I could take advantage of their delivery option! But alas, I had to drive out to pick up my food. I called ahead and they said it would be ready in about 20 – 25 minutes. It was ready by the time I arrived. I ordered the Sashimi Special, which came with 14 assorted pieces of fish for $ 24. It also came with a side of rice (white or brown — I opted for white), miso soup, and a delicious ginger salad. Very worth it! The sushi was very fresh, despite sitting in my car for about 15 – 20 minutes before I got home.
I really enjoyed my meal. Was it the best sushi ever? No. And I’ve been to numerous sushi places where I’ve proclaimed that it was «the best sushi I’ve ever had!» This is, sadly, not one of them. A couple of my fish were really, really salty. To the point where I felt like I was tasting seawater. Really not good. But the rest of my sashimi was tasty and I felt like it was a generous portion for the price.
There is plenty of parking in the strip mall where this place is located, but note that it’s slightly confusing to find this place when you’re on Little River Turnpike.
In all, I was impressed and I would certainly visit again for more sushi. Again, I wish I lived within delivery range of this restaurant!

Please do not pay attention to the host, she might have had a bad day. though I’d fire a host with an attitude like that. not a smile, no greeting. not an attractive behavior.
The food quality is rather good on the other hand, thys the positive rating! Miso soup is hot and yami, sushi rolls are nice and fresh, pretty fast, and the plum wine is just awesome!!!
So, don’t mind the service, just eat on and enjoy your time.

This place is the holy grail for sashimi and sushi. Hands down the best I have had in the DC Metro area.
I got the firecracker and spider roll. The presentation alone is so beautiful. The roll itself stayed together, so compact. That alone impressed me! The roll had a burst of flavors and the quality of all the ingredients was phenomenal.
We also go sashimi. The quality of all the meat was an amazing grade. My fiancé literally was in food heaven. It came with a salad and miso soup (also delicious!)
We got edamame, it was good. Pretty standard. And we got shumai, my fiancé said it was really good.
We finished up with the tempura ice cream. They bring it out and light it on fire. It was okay. I do not think the liquor burned off enough.
The wait staff is respectful, attentive and the restaurant it self is very nice inside. We sat at the bar and watch the guys make the sushi, very impressive.
We love this place and will make the trip to come out again!

About a 1 – 1.5: I was excited to try this place out since my husband and I usually pass by it off of Little River Turnpike. It’s located in a small plaza, adjacent from the Grand Mart plaza across the street. We were seated after about 15 minutes since it was literally a packed house — a good sign! The menu is pretty extensive, offering soup, salads, sushi, sashimi, noodle and rice dishes, vegetarian options, desserts, as well as lunch specials. We ordered the Chicken Curry Puffs (filled with curry, chicken, and potato, served with cucumber relish), a Spicy Crunch Scallop, Spicy Crunch Shrimp, Supreme Tuna (a chef’s special; tuna, tempura, scallion, avocado, and spicy sauce), and ‘Steak’ Teriyaki (grilled rib eye steak, glazed with teriyaki sauce, served with miso soup and house salad). The curry puffs were okay, as the fillings were comparable to other curry puffs we’ve tried in the past. I wasn’t really much of a fan of the peanut dipping sauce, as the taste was slightly off — it had more of a vinegary taste rather than a creamy/​crunchy taste to it. The cucumber salad that it came with was watered down, and not as fresh as I thought it would be. I was surprised that the appetizer dish came with 4 instead of 1, so I liked that it was generous in portions! The Supreme Tuna was good, but the avocado was a little old as it was slightly brown (we slide those slices right off: P The Spicy Crunch rolls were both okay, but the rice was a little undercooked. We both were not fans of the steak, as the cut of the meat was of very low quality and extremely thin, and the glaze was not thick enough to coat it. In addition, there was a huge pile of mushrooms, Chinese broccoli, and tiny scallops on top of the meat, and the presentation wasn’t the most appetizing in terms of aesthetics (in addition to the dish being extremely bland). Service was a hit-​or-​miss, as our server was MIA, and some of our dishes (like the teriyaki) did not come out until 1 hour into our dining experience. I’m glad that I was able to check this place out, but will not return!
+offers lunch specials
+located inside the small plaza adjacent to the Grand Mart plaza
+service was hit-​or-​miss
+entrees were bland/​underseasoned/​not aesthetically-​pleasing
+old avocado T_​_​_​T