Yama Sushi & Izakaya

I regularly go to 10^th st. Location. Was not happy with Clinton st. Location. Called before coming in to confirm patio is open. No answer. Multiple calls. Finally parked 6 blocks away (there was lil parking available) to find out there patio is closed. It’s a beautiful day out I might add. i decided to order to go. they were completely dead only one table
took 25 minutes to receive food. I immediately took outside to eat on bench. Well my 40 dollars in torched rolls were cold to the touch. less than a minute later from receiving order. The help was rude and the portions were way, way smaller than I’m use to from yama. I see the owner regularly at other location and that restaurant runs flawless! With a always amazing staff. For years! Never a issue. I won’t be returning.

We stopped by the restaurant for lunch today. Food was good and great service. We had the grill salmon and chicken teriyaki lunch box. We couldn’t finish them all. The place has nice Japanese decorations. Will come back to try other food at a later time.

I’ve only really had the rolls and ramen here but the sushi looked really good especially the salmon platter.
I always get the Tuna tower and it is delicious. It has spicy tuna in the middle and ahi tuna on top covered in sauces and fish egg. You are suppose to eat it mashed up which destroys the artistry of the tower, but man it is so good.
The baked volcano roll was really good.
I had the salmon scallop roll with salmon on top and scallop inside and it was good but not mind blowingly good like the tuna tower.
The ramen was honestly too salty and I still think Yuzu or Umai is way better.

Fresh. Delicious. Clean. From tapas to rolls, and everything in between, the food is tasty! The fish are fresh, so you really can’t go wrong with any nigiri or sashimi you order. My favorite rolls here are the Salmon & Scallop, Sake Bomb, Orange Blossom, and Crazy Monkey — all have salmon in them. I also love the Kumamoto Oysters with Uni, Kinoko Butter, and Scallop Asparagus Bacon.
We tried their Honey Sriracha Karaage for the first time this weekend, and it was really good! The outside of the karaage was sweet, lightly spicy, and crunchy. The inside was tender. It was a nice blend of flavors and texture.
I definitely recommend the Italian Ramen, not only because it’s good, but because it’s unique and I don’t think you’ll find it anywhere else. It kind of has a tomato & cheesy flavor, which might sound weird, but it’s actually a really good combo. I was pleasantly surprised with this dish.
The Panna Cotta and Japanese Coffee Gelee desserts are delicious too! Make sure you mix the Coffee Gelee before eating so that you get the sweet coffee flavor it is intended to have.
I am always impressed with the presentation of the plates here. The atmosphere and décor are trendy, clean, and modern. The staff is friendly and service is great. The prices are actually very decent too, considering the quality of the food. Definitely one of my favorite Izakaya/​Sushi places to go to!

We were looking for a good Japanese restaurant downtown before a show at Keller Auditorium. We were looking for something casual/​not super pricey but also different from the Javanese restaurants that just serve traditional dishes.
I was excited to find Yama on Unilocal!It offers unique Japanese tapas and rolls, and everything was delicious. All raw fish was fresh, and the plating and presentation was gorgeous. An additional plus, the service is attentive and quick. Will definitely be back to try everything we didn’t get today!
Ordered the:
Yama Roll
Popcorn Scallops
Yakitori
White Fish Carpaccio

I ate here recently for a friends birthday and had a pleasant (but not mind blowing) experience. We were the only table at 8pm on a Sunday which is unusual in Portland. I can think of a few reasons why.
The table was booked for 15 but only 9 showed up. Although the waitress did let us know that an 18% gratuity would automatically be added to the check for the group of 15, but with a smaller group than expected I felt the tip was quite high for the service. I had one roll in particular so the forced tip added quite a bit to my bill. I think I might have tipped better if I didn’t feel ripped off.
Although the service was acceptable it wasn’t amazing. We had to ask for extra ginger, wasabi and water multiple times. The server just seemed a little spaced out-​maybe because it was the end of her shift. The benefit of all this is that I did enjoy the food. The Sake Bomb roll was unique and the presentation was delightful. A friend purchased the coconut sake which was served in a champagne ice bucket at the far end of the table and they brought us several glasses to share. Coconut has become my new favorite flavor for sake! I may be back for happy hour but otherwise the prices are just a dollar or two higher than expected for the experience. I’m okay paying more for quality, but only if the whole package warrants the prices-​not just the food.

Décor: Clean and very spacious with high vaulted ceilings. Nice and clean and very Japanese modern-​contemporary desig.
Staff: Pleasant
Food:
Everything I had was great!
— Salmon Collar
–Tako Wasa (bi) — double yum.
— deep fried baby tako
— poke
— Hamachi shiso roll — double yum.
— Not great: spicy tuna roll on the happy hour menu. its deep fried and the rice was squeezed too much so the rice was gummy.
They had a lot of appetizers to choose from which is very traditional Japanese.
Food presentation: Yes as the other Unilocalers mentioned, they do take extra effort to make sure the plate is pretty and presentable. *two thumbs up!!!*

Not sure how to rate this place. The ramen tasted really good, but it gave me the shits. So, 1 star?

This just won my personal «best sushi place in Portland» vote. Everything we had was DELICIOUS from the Gyoza to the Sake Bomb roll. Amazing. Well worth the price.
They even had Orion beer! It totally brought me back to my days of living in Japan. I will be back with friends!

I was a little surprised they didn’t have more vegetarian options… I missed out on the miso soup and one tofu dish but the tofu mushroom dish was purely vegetarian and quite good.

Yes, it’s getting the coveted «Merlin Five.» I love this place, and I’ll be coming back again the next time I’m in PDX. That’s a big deal for me, since I rarely like to go to places more than once. It’s more important that I rack up more Unilocal reviews rather than repeatedly go to places I know are good.
We had the dumplings, tuna ahi tower (looks aesthetically amazing), sashimi, and some roll I forget the name of but that was good. Everything was just terrific. Décor is very Portland (a garage door was the wall behind us.) The staff is also very nice and efficient. When things felt a little too cold, they turned off the A/​C after we alerted them!
My only suggestion is they beef up the ice cream menu. Throw in some tempura ice cream will ya!

Food:
The sushi here is good, but I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite. They have a good variety of rolls, which is something I look for when I’m craving sushi. If you’re a fan of salmon, I think you’ll find a lot of things that you like here. Since I enjoy tuna more than salmon, I had a harder time picking items to order. My boyfriend ordered the salmon flight and said it was pretty good. They give you two pieces of 3 types of salmon nigiri. We also ordered takoyaki, which was also pretty good. The crunchy spicy tuna was more soggy than crunchy so I wish I had ordered a regular spicy tuna roll instead.
Service:
We had reservations, but when we showed up 5 minutes before our reservation time they couldn’t find our name. The hostess said she remembers seeing our name earlier and wasn’t sure why she could no longer find it. Did they give our reservation away? We’ll never know.
It took a while to get our servers attention for us to place an order. The workers here don’t seem to have a dress code so for the longest time I thought our waitress was a busser/​dishwasher. It also took a while for us to just get glasses of water.
Ambiance:
It’s a very lighted restaurant that is pretty spacious. However, we were placed on a really tiny table that was very close to the table next to us. I’m not sure if we were stuck here because they lost our reservation, but it wasn’t the most comfortable seating.
Parking:
Street parking only, but there’s so many spots on Clinton St and the surrounding streets.
Price:
The price is very reasonable for the quality and quantity of food

Lovely restaurant with a beautiful Sushi bar. We went during their Happy Hour. I almost wished we could would have stayed a little longer and tried more dishes.
We shared the Sashimi Appetizer from regular menu), few happy hour rolls, happy hour draft beer and sake. We enjoyed the sashimi. It was fresh and I believe had 5 plus different fish. The tempura fried happy hour half rolls were nothing impressive, however. We were glad to get a deal on the beer and sake though.
The service was fast. We hope to linger longer next time and have more at the sushi bar.

I haven’t had sushi this good in Portland in ages! I ordered a few rolls along with a bowl of the Kimchee Ramen.
The ramen was legit! They used the traditional thin, squiggly noodles in a thick broth with a few veggies and meat. I thought the portion could have been bigger, but since I ordered the sushi rolls it was ok.
–Just a warning that the ramen alone is probably not enough for a dinner meal.–
The rolls we ordered were beautiful, fresh fish and amazing mind-​numbing flavors. They are pricey but totally amazing.

Delicious tapas-​style Japanese cuisine, cozy and clean atmosphere, fun and modern Japanese décor, friendly service. We had such a blast at Yama Sushi and Izakaya!
I came with reservations for a group of 4 on a Saturday night. The restaurant is pretty easy to find located in a complex that looked relatively new. The hostess was friendly and seated us promptly.
Takoyaki: Warm balls of grilled octopus drizzled in delicious sauces. This classic Izakaya plate was definitely a craving satisfied.
Spicy Hamachi Poke: this was a straightforward option. It was executed well with fresh hamachi and tasty spicy sauce.
Pickle appetizer plate: A fun and delicious assortment of different Japanese style pickles. I loved the sweet and tangy crunch it added to the flavor palate.
Yama Roll: I loved the combination of flavors in this roll. The sushi topped with sauce and crispness was heaven in my mouth.
Spinach gomae: a refreshing and melt in your mouth spinach salad with a light savory flavor. This added a nice smooth veggie option.
Pacific razor clam: So delicious! Served with radish sprout, wasabi Yuzu dressing, lemon juice, shichimi, green onion.
Braised pork (buta kakuni): Tasty and soft slow cooked Berkshire pork shoulder with Ibsen egg. The pork tasted a little dry for my liking.
Gyu tongue: magnolia wagyu beef tongue, shichimi, citrus. I was expecting this dish to be better being wagyu, but found it just very chewy and lacking in flavor. My least favorite dish.
Black cod (gindara): Wild Alaskan black cod marinated in miso. I love miso black cod. It is one of my favorite dishes to order when I see it, and Yama did an excellent job! Super soft melt in your mouth with a sweet and savory favor. Delish with the garnish.
Uni nigiri: Sea urchin has become one of my favorites! So delicious and melt in your mouth decadent. I loved the uni at Yama. Yum!
Tonkotsu Ramen Original: Wow! This ramen was amazing! The broth was creamy and well flavored, and the noodles were cooked perfectly. I am so glad I ordered this dish.
The service was okay. We had to wait a bit until a waitress came to take our orders. She seemed a little frazzled. Fortunately the food came out pretty quickly after we ordered. Reasonable prices. Free street parking.
Overall, delicious food exceeded my expectations, friendly service, fun place to share Japanese dishes with a group of friends. I can’t wait to come back next time to get my Izakaya and ramen fix :)

Spicy Tuna Roll. Tako Yaki. Raspberry lemon drop. Were excellent, however the Buta Kimchee was the star of the show! The flavors could not have been more spot-​on if they tried! This, coupled with a friendly, knowledgable server, made for a wonderful return from my trip to San Francisco, to food-​heaven, aka, Portland, Oregon!
VIVA LA PORTLANDIA!

Let me start by saying that our server, Alisa, was fantastic! She helped with our order choices and was on top of things. She also gave us a surprise 10% discount, for a small snafu that was beyond anyone’s control.
Alisa warned that the sushi orders would be slow (the restaurant was packed) so the 20 minute wait was not a a shock.
Alisa also knew my friends order when my friend asked for «My usual». That was impressive. I did not know this location had turned into a sushi restaurant but my friend did and she trekked from Sellwood often to eat here. Apparently really often!
I did not know what I wanted, but did not want to spend $ 14 on something large, since I’d eaten a bit earlier, so I was advised to get the spider roll and was brought extra spicy mayo and a hot sauce (probably Sriracha). That was fantastic! She also did not charge extra for another small dish of ginger. I thought I did not like the green seaweed it was wrapped in and pulled it off 2 — which my friends ate — but then tried it and realized it wasn’t salty like I thought it’d be. That meant gobbling the other 3 rolls down with the wrapping on.
The décor is modern and the place is spotless. It is also near numerous other little bars and restaurants and parking is free and has no time limit. That makes it soo much better than if they were in the Pearl or NW.
It’s really nice to know that my neighborhood (this neighborhood) is part of the reason Portland is rated so highly for restaurants.

I’ve tried their sashimi, their nigri, their rolls, and now that I’ve tried their ramen I’m happy to announce that this place is the shizz-​nit!
I’ve ordered rolls and sushi off the menu. Delicious. I’ve gone with the chef’s tuna sashimi plate. Delicious. I’ve ordered non sushi small plates. Delicious. And during my last visit I ate their Kakuni ramen. Life changing! It may be my new #1 ramen choice in town, overtaking Yuzu. *gasp*
I could go on in detail about all the flavors but that would take novels and too much reading time that you could be spending on your way to Yama. Just trust me, go here, eat here, repeat often. I have a feeling I’ll be spending a lot of time with their ramen this winter.
Are you still here? Go!
note: remember this is the east side location. the pearl location does not serve ramen.

I always drive by this place and have been meaning to check it out. That happened today, FINALLY!
The interior décor is of Japanese murals and lanterns but very modern. The bubbly hostess greeted us immediately and seated us right away, there was no rush to have us order. She also informed us that there was a free sake tasting-​FREE!
Menu has a lot of roll options with things like crawfish and lobster, I got the roll that gets lit on fire which was pretty delicious! I also got the grilled whole squid, wasn’t bad but 7.95 was a bit steep for one squid.
I liked that they were very attentive, fish was definitely fresh and well presented and prepared. I don’t know why I ever overlooked this location!
Will definitely come here again.

Last labor day I was craving Izakaya and most of the Japanese places I’d go to in Beaverton were closed. We decided to give this place a try.
We got here about 6:30 pm and waited around 20 minutes to get a table for 2. Not too bad on a holiday during peak hours. Tip: If you’re on a waiting list, get your butt over to Night Light Lounge across the street for some apéritifs.
It can take awhile until your table gets served. The couple next to us wasn’t patient enough and left. The waitress was very friendly and totally quirky. As we were ordering beer (Sapporo) and sake (Sayuri Hakutsuru Nigori) she checked on our ids and complimented me on my skin because of my age. Never had that one before. She asked what kind of face lotion I’d use. I lol’ed and replied: having natural oily skin and drinking beer helps.
From the special menu we ordered
— the Sashimi platter: tuna and salmon very fresh, yum
— Oyster Karaage: interesting, kinda melts in your mouth
— Sriracha Chicken: i thought it had too much Sriracha, hence too much vinegar
In addition we had from the standard tapas selection
— Gyoza: not too soft, texture was just perfect
— Spinach Gomae: well-​balanced seasoned, very filling
— Iidako Karaage: delicious, fried, luscious octopus
— Chicken Karaage: was ok, the meat was a little dry
This place is a hidden gem, the fact that it’s located on Clinton makes it a sweet alternative to the much more busier Yataimura Maru on Division.