Yama Sushi & Grill

Yama Sushi just earned its place as my favorite restaurant in Kona! BY FAR, the BEST food and service in the area. I dropped in to place an order for takeout, and a sweet young lady immediately met me at the door, seated me, and presented me with menus and a tumbler of ice water. The menu was exciting with a great variety of Asian specialties and beautiful looking desserts. The vibe was casual, yet classy. My order was ready in under 15 minutes and the young lady even held the door for me on the way out. I got the Spicy Garlic Shrimp lunch special. This was the tastiest shrimp dish I've ever eaten! Shrimps were fluffy and moist. They were seared in a spicy, tangy, sweet sauce that made the flavor and texture perfect. It came with a finely shredded cabbage salad that had a delightfully sweet dressing. The miso soup was very authentic with deep, rich flavors. Even the white rice had me wondering how they cooked it so perfectly! Mahalo, Yama Sushi for serving me a meal that deserves way more than five stars and for treating me like a VIP. I will definitely be back soon!

Very great service!! The staff is friendly and the food is amazing! I havent had a bad meal here.
And i like that the to-go Bento's i picked up were just as good as if we had them in the restaurant.

Lovely sushi, really delicate. The waitress was supernice. The place is cozy and cool. Definitely recommended.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The flavor and freshness of the sushi was phenomenal. The staff was very polite and friendly.

I had mixed experiences at Yama Sushi. The garlic spicy shrimp was absolutely delicious and the spicy cashew chicken was really good. Unfortunately, the roast duck ramen was very disappointing. The duck tasted strange, almost like the meat was old and it was quite rubbery and difficult to chew. Based on the other dishes, I know the kitchen can make great food, but the ramen was a major letdown. I would come back for the shrimp and cashew chicken, but I would not order the duck ramen again.

Good food but service was annoyingly slow

Service was very good. Waitresses were kind and attentive.
Food ordered:
Shrimp tempura: very crispy, light and flavorful tempura. The oil tasted clean and shrimp fresh
Unagi Bento Box: Goyza were a little greasy but flavorful; Miso was very strong, lots of tofu pieces; Unagi was large, good flavor, cooked well
Jasmine Iced Tea: Very good flavor

Cons: They DO NOT serve alcohol. No wine or beer

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Bento

Unfortunately, the service and fish quality was very poor.
All tables were taken when we first entered. We waited near the front to see if we needed to be put on a waitlist. After a couple minutes of awkwardly standing around, a waitress ushered us outside saying there were no tables. So we waited 10-15 minutes before being seated. Waited another 10-15 minutes for someone to take our order. After 20 minutes, our nigiri came out but they never brought our drinks. The nigiri was poor quality, dry and had an odd odor. The maguro was gray, the salmon was dry and the hamachi was covered in oil. We did not feel comfortable eating the fish.
My husband went to talk to the staff and explain we were leaving, and one of the chefs in the back started yelling at him.
Definitely never coming back. Sushi Sam's is absolutely superior in every way.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 1

The mongoose roll was spectacular. The Yama roll was also very good.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Unbelievably good. Perfect. Presentation is spot on. Sushi temp elevated the flavors. This is award worthy sushi. Best I’ve had on the island. Really really impressed.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

This place deserves much more love… what a hidden 💎 inside a strip mall. We are big foodies who have been to Tokyo, I was shocked when this no frills sushi spot had Unagi Don on par with what we had in Japan. Also, all of the fish we had was excellent. I would not listen to any of these clowns that gave 1 star reviews and said that everything was frozen haha… they don’t know what they’re talking about. Highly recommend trying it out!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

A hidden BYOB gem. Not fancy. Excellent sushi, reasonable prices. Highly recommend.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

This was some of the most delicious sushi I’ve ever had. The portions were great, presentation was beautiful, food was amazing, and the staff were so kind and helpful.
Absolutely would recommend Yama Sushi and Grill to everyone 👏🏼

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The food was amazing!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great sushi!! The mongoose roll was very delicious! No bathroom except the dirty public restroom in the strep mall.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5