Zama

I took my friend here for her birthday on Tuesday night. The food was phenomenal. And our server was friendly and knowledgeable but the hostess failed to mention to our server that it was my friend’s birthday so our server didn’t put a candle in our dessert. He promptly brought out another dessert with a candle in it once I mentioned it but it kinda ruined the night. It was even more frustrating because the hostess promised me a candle in the dessert when they called to confirm the reservation. Not sure if I’ll be back.

Worth every penny! I took my fiancé here for his birthday. Our server’s name was Katie, and she did an amazing job! She was super friendly and very knowledgable. We tried every one of her suggestions and loved all of them! Zama has amazing food — both hot at cold. My fiancé said it was the best meal he has ever eaten. Come prepared for a pricey meal, but it’s for high quality food and service. I highly recommend everyone trying Zama at least once!

We tried Zama for the first time tonight and for the most part, we were pleasantly surprised.
Food you should get: soft shell shrimp & shishito peppers. Tuna Usuzukuri, kurobuta pork dumplings
Skip on: grilled avocado (16 $ for half an avocado and little to no fish).
And get dessert — the banana spring roll is awesome. So is the yuzu crème brûlée

Serving is very nice and the lady is friendly, give us very warm welcome and help on the menu…
Starter dishes are good! BUT… the sushi and sashimi is disappointing… rice is cold and hard. Fish is not really high quality as we ordered «The Chief’s recommend special» more pricy but not what you can expect. Fish is NOT high quality at all.
Also we arrived at 5:30 on Friday. There are still many tables available. But we have only two so they gave us a small table. But we ordered a lot of food… even don’t have enough space to put our dishes… so they have to send back the sushi back to kitchen witch is really bad. Shush Should be freshly made and serve to the customer from he shied to table. Since their price is a high quality. Sushi, shahi should be as high quality too. But when the table is too small for out order we asked to change to bigger table … They told us it’s not possible causes there will be more ppl come in. But at the moment… there are still a lot of table available is empty. We are forced to sit in the small table. Our sushi sashimi was send back to the kitchen and wait in the kitchen. After we finished all, there are still lots of tables available no customer come in yet. It’s 6:30 PM. We were very disappointed. They should improve it. Serve the table to customer actually eat currently. Not let table empty but don’t let us change to large table. While we ordered food even can’t put on out small table. That’s the reason I gave one star. Thanks

Really nice little restaurant. Easy walking distance from Rittenhouse square and not horribly over priced. It is a nice spot for a date with low lighting and intimate seating. We sat near the bar and our bar tender made really excellent selections on drinks and was attentive to things we wanted to try.
The food here is really nice and you have the option of ordering off the regular menu or a specially selected menu of small dishes to try ranging with the biggest one being $ 75 if I recall correctly. We ended up just selecting off the menu and were happy with our choices. One unique thing about this place is it seems like all of the rice has a light wasabi flavoring to it giving it a little kick. Excellent choice on their part.
Will definitely go back when I’m in Philly again.

I have some great photos of the food and will try to update this at another time.
We visited on Saturday night for my partner’s birthday.
The service we had was exceptional — even though we researched the menu ahead of time, we chose to have our server guide us through the experience in terms of the pacing of the meal, the order of courses and the general dining experience. In that regard, our server was pristine and went above and beyond to give us a magical evening and the best experience possible (thanks Merci — you are really fabulous!).
Going to a Japanse restaurant is difficult as my partner is Japanese and he visits Japan twice yearly (I travel there at least once a year). For that reason, we have been exposed to the some of the best cuisine in Tokyo and Hokkaido among other cities.
For what we had and the pricepoint offered, we were not terribly disappointed. The beer and sake selections were a standout and fairly reasonable. The deserts were just sensational (three for $ 10 — the perfect size to keep your figure in check and still get a bite of something fantastic!). The sushi and small plates were artfully presented and the entrée we shared (black cod) was sublime.
My only issues were the rest rooms which were frankly not clean (there was a leak on the floor, paper in disarrray, etc.) and they are one at a time which can be burdesome on a busy night. If you’re ever been to Asia, this would come as a shock as a restaurant at this level would have a spotless restroom nicer than many apartments! Another disappointment was not having a hot towel or at least an option to wipe your hands with a pre-​packaged «wet wipe» between courses. I really miss Japan in that sense where these details are not overlooked.
All in all, I do recommend it provided you have the resources and the personality to try new things. There were no shortage of people on a busy Saturday night so they are doing very well. The energy was youthful and trendy so if that appeals to you, definitely give it a try!

Checked this place out for a quick work lunch down in philly. The menu looked great and I initially really enjoyed my sushi lunch set (premium). However as i progressed through the meal i found the fish cuts to be inconsistent and given the food was all served at once it was hard to eat through everything before the soup and rice cooled.
still the price is reasonable, service was fine, and it was easy to get a table during the work week so it has several things going for it.

The food here is pretty good (I’d rate it 4-​stars), but the service from the hostess and manager on duty were a bit off-​putting when I came in for lunch recently.
During Restaurant Week, we visited a number of restaurants near our offices during lunch. This was one of them. Restaurants in this area tend to be understandably busy during lunch, but this was the only place where we found absolutely no sense of urgency in taking care of customers. When we came in, a lot of tables were filled, but they were definitely not jam-​packed the way other places were. There was no one at the host stand, which was fine for the first 5 minutes, but after that, we were confused as to whether we should just seat ourselves at the bar. It seemed staff working near the entrance were actively avoiding our glance.
The restaurant is pretty small, so I could clearly see the hostess walking slowly back and forth between the tables. When she saw us, she continued to slowly walk back and forth between tables around the room. The manager, who was standing at the food window closer to the entrance, also saw us, but he stood perfectly still, looked away, and did not tell any member of his staff to go greet us. These folks really take the Zen concept to the next level!!!
Once we finally got seated at the sushi bar, the service was okay (it existed, but was not particularly remarkable). The RW lunch options were pretty decent, except for dessert. We got edamame, udon noodle soup (very tasty!), salads, and bento boxes containing shrimp/​veggie tempura and simple selections of maki rolls and sashimi, which tasted very fresh. For dessert, we had a piece of black sesame mochi ice cream and 2 small pieces of rice crispy treat rolled up like sushi, which can either be found in the frozen section of an Asian supermarket or be created cheaply at home.
I had been here before during HH, and I remember the food being tasty, but underwhelming when factoring in the price. In general, I like the concept, food quality, and atmosphere, but in order to justify the pricing, there has to be more than just good (but tiny) sushi and decent udon noodle soup.

Pricey but a cut above the competition. Quality here is paramount. I felt the subtle hints and flavors in each dish were deliberate and the result of careful coordination and execution. This is not the place to go if you want a $ 22 all you can eat or if your usual sushi night is a couple of California rolls. Didn’t have a bad thing, but my favorites included the tuna usuzukuri (which, despite being a generous portion, was still a tease) and the spicy crunchy scallop (had it as part of the rittenhouse three). The dessert menu (3 for $ 10) features banana spring rolls (crispy with a savory chocolate sauce enclosed) and mochi of the day, a personal favorite. The menu features so many items, that itd be worth going back with more people to sample it all. Won’t be a regular here since it would drain my bank account, but will certainly be back.

I was truly a regular at Zama. Absolutely the best Sushi and the most wonderful wait staff and bartenders.
So…you are wondering why just two stars???
The general manager Brian there is just an idiot with no judgement to retain customers.
He often looks like a fish out of water and I have never seen him help the staff when the place is packed.
Not sure what his credentials are but I’m guessing McDonalds.

Updating my review — and once again terrific food and service (by John).
The black belt sashimi plate (great for 3 to share) had Chu Toro, Kanpachi, Salmon-​toro, branzino, Saba and many other tasty fresh fish.
NY Strip Strips were amazing — especially the asparagus and «magic» mushrooms it is served with.
Calamari Salad and red miso soup are also good choices.
A winner!

It’s so gooood. It’s not a cheap night– I reserve it for special occasions. But, I also sometimes make-​up special occasions so I can go. My favorite things I’ve had here have been the Verti roll (truffled eel sauce, come on) and the Zahav roll (sushi grade albacore and edamame falafel?!). So creative and fun, but not over the top. I also had a live scallop appetizer once that I still think about sometimes, and the Surfer Roll is amazing.
Anyone would like this place: from sushi snobs to squeamish fish eaters. And, no matter what they’re doing: they do it well. The fish is super fresh and the flavor combos are so inventive.

Unstained wood is the order of the day, Zama is bedecked with the stuff. My fiancée and ordered: Ohitashi, one of the experimental rolls for charity, lettuce wrapped chicken and eggplant, John Dory Sashimi, Otoro, Uni-​nigiri, ikura rolls as well as the Japanese style crudo and brussel sprouts.
Service was attentive, and was kind enough to nix the lettuce wraps when the lettuce turned out to be desiccated and limp.
A glass of wine rounded out the meal well. The endless techno music was a little grating, but otherwise it was excellent.

I love Zama the food is always delicious. Tonight we had the most awful server and service. The order was completely wrong and she was aggressive when we were asking questions. I will come back to Zama again but I hope I get another get another server

I have a feeling I’m going to run out of synonyms for «awesome» while I write this review. Fair warning.
My sister and I came here during Restaurant Week, and had a marvelous experience, which is not always the case for Restaurant Week.
We started out with the salad, which was fine. A nice prelude to a phenomenal meal.
I ventured off the price fixe a bit and ordered the pan seared scallops as an appetizer. Best.things.ever. Seriously, they were some of the most delicious bites of food I’ve ever tasted. The same could be said for the pork dumplings as well.
For dinner I had the maki combination which was perfection. The sushi was hands down the best I’ve ever had. I can’t wait to go back and try more. Also, it was matched perfectly with a nice glass of Malbec… delightful.
After all this my sister and I shared the four mini desserts which were perfect. Little rice crispy treat sushi rolls? Hell yes. My favorite was the chocolate bread pudding though.
All of this fabulousness was matched by our awesome waiter Jonas. This was a perfect experience and I shall be back!

Now as a loyal Unilocal member, I try to find things to tell you guys that might be bad about this place. I tried and tried and I just couldn’t.
The food was absolutely amazing. We did the restaurant week menu and added a few things to it. I had the most amazing salad with avocado for starters, then we added scallops that were the most mouth watering scallops we ever tasted. Only 2 of them but they were still amazing. And then we had our sushi which exceeded all expectations. The spider roll is amazing! The entrees were phenomenal. I had the salmon. I was so full but I couldn’t stop eating it! It was so good. They gave us a sample dessert that was amazing too. The one was this chocolate bread pudding, one was a rice Krispy treat, and my favorite was this ginger cookie thing they made. It was like a ginger fondant wrapped around ice cream– best way I can explain it. They were amazing. Oh and there was like an apple crumb thing. But I don’t like warm apples. So there’s that! That was all washed down with sake sangria. Absolutely amazing.
The only reason they are getting 4 stars was because of how damn expensive it was. 2 scallops were 18 $! That’s crazy to me. But I wasn’t paying so I wasn’t too concerned lol
Definitely a place to check out

Generally speaking, this is a decent sushi joint.
I ordered several different types of hand rolls and I was happy with the quality of the food. The fish was fresh and overall it was a pleasant dining experience.
For me the one hiccup here was the inconsistent service. Our appetizers arrived in a very timely manner, but it took a very long time to get our entrees. I had to check in with two different servers to find out what happened to our food. Given that it was sushi, I was surprised that it took so long to get our orders out. Between the appetizers and entrees, it took about 40 minutes or so.
Fortunately I was with friends so it was easier to be patient with the long wait. Hopefully that long delay was a one-​time anomaly.

Zama was fantastic! I had never actually heard of or seen Zama before but a friend wanted to go, so that’s where we ended up. The place itself was very inviting with the décor and the layout of the restaurant. Our server was great and helpful at suggesting some dishes.
We got edamame for an appetizer — just the regular one. I would’ve liked to have tried the different salts but my dining partner was new to edamame so didn’t want it to be too overwhelming. Then we got a few rolls and split them — yellow jalapeño mango roll, rainbow roll, and spicy jumbo lump crab roll. Our server had also suggested the wasabi tuna roll so we got that one too, which was my favorite of the bunch! It was also the prettiest of the rolls as well, with the tuna tartare on top and the small dollops of sauce on the side.
My dining partner wasn’t really as adventurous as I am when it comes to trying new places and food so unfortunately, I didn’t pay enough attention to the overall experience as I normally would have going to a new place. Zama was great and I definitely want to come back especially to try some of the more adventurous things on the menu — those charity rolls look amazing.

I rarely eat sushi when I travel, since San Diego already overflows with outstanding sushi spots. Hence, I wasn’t too excited when a friend invited me out for dinner at Zama, a chic sushi restaurant just off of Rittenhouse Square.
I’m glad I didn’t talk him out of it, though, because Zama is a lovely spot.
First of all, the place is just beautiful. Lots of wood and sleek curves. There’s a bit of a Vegas vibe, but more understated. I like it a lot.
Our server came by and took drink orders. It seemed like a beer night, so I decided on a Yuengling (because I’m in Philly, natch), while my friend opted for an Asahi. Meanwhile, we browsed the menu, which is long and all the items sound mouthwatering. We ordered a selection of 4 items from the sushi bar, which was a good amount of food for 2 people to share:
– Yuzu miso salmon
– «Rittenhouse Three» hand rolls (S.S.T, Spicy Spider, and Spicy Crunchy Scallop)
– Hamachi ponzu
– Tuna usuzukuri
All of the sushi were fresh and packed with flavor. If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be the yuzu miso salmon, since the salmon was very thick and fatty (in a good way). The Rittenhouse Three is also a nice choice for indecisive people like me, who enjoy tasting lots of different items.
The one odd thing about all the sushi is that it was served too warm. Warm sushi is off-​putting to me, even if it’s fresh otherwise. That might be the only thing making me hesitate about coming back to Zama again.

So glad I found this spot! They have the most options I have ever seen for vegetarian sushi rolls! I love how creative their menu is in general but I totally loved their Kennet square mushroom roll. I
I also tried the spicy vegetable tempura roll which was also great. They have an option for a multigrain rice. Again a first that I have ever seen for sushi and I loved it. It made my meal much heartier and gave it a depth of flavor that I enjoyed. I tried a vodka based cocktail with yuzu juice. I can’t remember the name but I had two as a martini and they were so smooth!
Service was great and we went very early for a fri night happy hour. But I would definitely make a reservation. Overall, a great experience and can’t wait to go back!