Yojimbo

Even as I stepped into the store there was a fragrance of soy sauce and sushi. It smelled great, but the line/​wait was pretty long. The rock n roll sushi roll was really good. I was thrown off when I found out it was eel, but it tasted bomb af. I wish I ordered more. The chicken katsu was also pretty good, especially with the sauce they give you! It was so cute; it was like in this little bento box along with some salad and rice. The spicy ramen was alright, maybe because it didn’t suit my taste much. The interior of the restaurant was extremely cool though. They had these paintings and action figures that exuded an authentic Japanese vibe. They were also playing animé on the tv, so it was entertaining to watch while eating. Basically, the food and everything was worth the wait. I would definitely come here again!

The outside is a blink and you miss it kind of place. But when my daughter and I walked past it, saw the line and smelled the goodness, we knew we had to try it. It looks like a tiny place, but it actually goes back into a nice space with animé and action figures on the walls and videos playing on the screen.
The food is amazing. Being our first time there, my daughter ordered ramen, I ordered chicken teriyaki and we ordered a sushi roll. It was so much food! She loved the ramen and had about half of it left for day two. I kid you not, it didn’t even look like I had eaten any of my chicken, they give you so much! I had enough left over for 4 more meals! The sushi roll was yummy and we want to order just their sushi next time.
Great atmosphere, amazing food and so much for the price, highly recommend.

Exterior can be easily missed because they don’t have a huge banner that says «yojimbo» outside. Buts on the door. Look for animé themed door.
Interior is cramped, kinda like walking into someone’s closet, low ceiling, heavily animé themed décor.
Food: they don’t kid you on the size of the bowls ND serving. Noodles, thumbs up. I love that they give a huge portion of sides and veggies in the bowl (they all hide under the noodles!) on the two occasion that I’ve been here… I haven’t been able to finish everything in the ramen bowl. Careful! Don’t over order! They give tons on the tempura order. Trust me (or not) They aren’t shy on their portion size. Water available upon request.
Currently my goto ramen place on East Bay!

Best. Sushi. Hands down.
Little hole in the wall that’s easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. Great décor, a lot of original paintings on the walls and miniature figurines of Bruce Lee. Reasonably priced for sushi, huge portions (as seen from our table neighbors) and really great service.
We ordered miso soups, 49er roll, just basic roll, and the red dragon.
Miso — huge bowl, generous amount of tofu, hot and fresh. You really can’t go wrong with a great miso.
49er roll — salmon over California roll, with lemon slices. WHAT. Most refreshing ever and my favorite of the bunch. Lemon is a great addition.
Just basic — their take on a rainbow roll, with what id dub as «schmack sauce» aka teriyaki glaze of glory. Salmon, tuna and eel. Perfectly balanced. Addictive.
Red dragon — spicy tuna. SUPERB. Freshest tuna and a minor bite. Would like a bit more kick, but add some ginger to your soyu/​wasabi mix and you’re gold.
5 stars for great/​quick service, cool vibe and décor, and super schmaaack food!

Hubby and I discovered this place from a weekly Unilocal newsletter highlighting ramen shops in the east bay.
Do not be deceived. This is not a ramen place.
This is a hole in the wall that serves absurdly large portions of bento boxes, suspicious sushi rolls, and bowls of noodle soup.
Ramen in the vein of places in San Mateo and Santa Clara this is not.
You come here for huge portions and relatively cheap food.
You come here if you are ok with sticky floors, a giant jug of industrial cleaner sitting on a wire frame shelf in the dining room, or an aerosol can of wound cleaner with some bloody fingerprints sitting on the ledge next to your table, staring you in the face.
When we left, my husband and I just hoped that we wouldn’t get food poisoning. We won’t be back. Eat at your own risk.

This place used to be the location for cheesesteak.
Ordered chicken ramen in spicy chicken broth and chicken ramen in pork broth with California roll combo. The portions are HUGE but broth was salty for our taste. The table next to us ordered the bento box and it looked great also with huge portions. Will order that next time.
The service was decent although I ordered hot tea and since they had to boil the water, I didn’t get the tea until I was about finished eating. I also asked for an extra bowl and the server responded by saying she needed to ask if she could give me one. That was interesting!

The outside of the restaurant looked like something from an animé its small and decorated with famous animé art pieces on the door and window. Upon entering inside its extremely long which i wasn’t expecting looking at the outside of the restaurant. It was roomy yet, cozy if that makes sense. The walls are filled with amazing art pieces and tv’s that shows non stop popular animé. The service was great and the staff were very attentive. I cant get over the amazing décor inside. Okay, the food. We ordered the «youdontwannaknowme» it tastes like a more flavorful lion king you and it was presented very well and full of flavor. The pokke we ordered looked more like a chirashi bowl then pokke salad. The tuna was not sliced like regular pokke but laid out like sashimi but it was really good regardless. I also ordered the pork miso ramen as many Unilocalers have suggested. The noodles and broth were good along with the tender and large amount of pork belly but, the egg was over boiled where the yolk was dry and a little chalky but marinated very well. Also, i like how the broth was not too rich like most ramen places that spring up everywhere in the past year. The portions you get are huge as if every dish is a food challenge. The price is very low. To be honest this is more of a quantity over quality though there are some dishes that do have that quality taste it just doesn’t spread through the whole menu.

Come here hungry. Excellent food, nice service, fair prices. We were 9 people and tried a lot of different things. Bento boxes can feed 3 people if you order any sushi with it.

The price for the amount of food they give here is amazing! This place can get packed pretty fast. They don’t take reservations anymore either. My boyfriend and our friend ordered a bento box and I ordered ramen and sushi.
The two bento boxes were Salmon & Chicken Katsu.
–Salmon bento box was a great size portion.
–The chicken katsu bento box came with A LOT of chicken.
We were all amazed when we saw the order. The ramen was delicious and it came with a lot of chasu. The sushi had hints of wasabi, but overall it was tasted good and the fish is pretty fresh.
I would definitely come back to this restaurant, but definitely with a bigger appetite!

I really like the pork Ramen soup, Is really big, I think it taste better than the chicken Ramen soup, there is carrot, sprout, green onion, seaweed, marinated eggs, mushrooms, meat, Ramen egg noodles.
The place is nice but small, you will see all the Japanese cartoon picture everywhere in that place

Saw many positive reviews and decided to give it a try, got here at 11:02am where they suppose open at 11am… I walked in and the guy (maybe the cook) told me he’s not open yet, then I asked your sign said 11, then he replied back… Well today is at 11:30 bc we are not ready yet. At this moment 2 more guys walk in after me also got «booted» out … Oh well, maybe they have their regulars and do not care so much for new walk in. Will I return? Prob not since I already lost my appetite … So check or call them and find out what time they «really» open before you go there. For the business point of view, he should let me and other group of people sit in and have some hot tea and ask us if we want to wait instead of «booting» us out!

If you haven’t been to Yojimbo before, I recommend you come here at least once. This place is definitely one of my favorites for ramen.
I ordered the Shoyu Pork Ramen with the combo with two rolls, the Dragon Roll and the Yojimbo Roll. They were all very good and totaled $ 38.12 before tip.
Pros:
The portion size is extremely generous. The ramen alone can easily feed two people. Not only is it large, but it is very good. The pork had a smokey flavor to it, which I did not expect since pork in ramen typically do not have that.
It’s hard to find a Japanese restaurant that has both great ramen and great rolls. The sushi rice was cooked very nicely, not being too mushy nor dry. The ratio of rice to actually filling in the rolls were on point. Order the Yojimbo roll, that is what they are known for. The Dragon Roll is good, but not necessarily worth trying here. I’d say try a different roll.
Cons:
Be careful when ordering, make sure to read the fine print. I was so hungry that all I read was Combo which was a ramen and two special rolls of up to $ 11.95 value each roll. Next to it said about 20 dollars. We didn’t realize that it said that it meant 20 dollars on top of the ramen. Not reading the fine print was probably my fault, but marking it down a dollar or two from 40 dollars and calling it. Combo isn’t really much of a deal. They should really either make it a better deal or stop calling it a combo. However, I do not regret my decision in ordering everything.
The giant bowl for the ramen was pleasant, but the ladle they call a spoon is a bit excessive for my liking. It’s awkward flat platform makes easy to pile food on it, but difficult to eat what’s on it.
The part of the ramen I also look forward to is the egg. I love how the chef is able to perfectly cook the soft boiled egg to get the whites cooked while still having the yoke runny. Having been to Japan the week prior to visiting this place and getting all hyped up from eating all the soft boiled eggs there, I was looking forward to this egg. Sad to say, it was just a hard boiled egg. If you’re into that then great, if not, don’t get the extra egg.
The amount of Brussels sprouts were a bit excessive for my liking, but that is probably just a preference. I would personally get a smaller portion of Brussels sprouts next time.
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Overall, I would definitely come back here again. The structure will definitely take you by surprise. It’s amazing how deep a building can go when it is only about ten feet wide. The paintings on the walls are very nice too. It looks like they paint frequently and change up the pictures now and then. Very interesting to see the difference every time I come!

Pros
Chicken Katsu: The breading was crispy and the chicken was moist; however, the overall taste was alright. The ginormous bento box came with entire garden of greens, at least 3 cups of rice, and a side of miso soup.
Portions: One of the most notable things about Yojimbo is their portion sizes for all their entrees. The other reviews weren’t exaggerating on how big the portions are. For the chicken Katsu bento, I had enough leftovers for lunch and dinner.
Interior: all their walls are plastered with Japanese animation paintings. They obviously represent one of my favorite Hayao Miyazaki characters Totoro cause Totoro is a BAMF.
Cons
Ramen: the pork soup base was very bland and could have used more hours cooking. Sometimes less is more, the seafood toppings included a huge assortments of fish, shrimp, and some muscles that were either overcooked or under-​seasoned. There was also too much vegetable toppings hovering over the ramen.

This hole in the wall is a hard one to find unless you look for the beautiful large paintings outside. Don’t pay any attention to the old red awening g with the names of the previous business peeling. Right outside are amazing drawings of characters from Miayaki’s movies. As you enter the restaurant is quite narrow, low but deep. Walking all the way to the back, I counted 3 flat screens, showing different animated features at once, with at least one of a Miayaki’s film.
Someone who is claustrophobic may not like it here but they may forget they even have the fear of closed spaces by the amazing paintings all over the wall! I think it is the owner and someone else who painted the amazing characters from various Japanese movies. It’s quite impressive!
My aunt told me that her kids would behave and not move around and squirm because of the movies being shown. You just need to remind them to eat ;)
The staff here are all super friendly and I love supporting any mom and pops food places! Speaking of food, let’s get right to it! Here’s what I had:
MISO SOUP — $ 1.50
This is the heartiest miso soup I’ve ever had! It’s like any other miso soup, but more of the ingredients: tofu, green onions, and wake me seaweed. I was already close to being full after finishing this!
POKI SALAD — $ 9.95
Tuna with Spicy House Sauce
This is a spicy one! I still enjoyed it! There’s fresh cut pieces of tuna mixed with chopped iceberg lettuce, onions and some fish eggs. It’s pretty cheap for the amount this is. I’m not big on the spicy side but it was so tasty I couldn’t stop – until my ears started burning and my nose starting running hehe.
DEEP FRIED CALIFORNIA ROLL — $ 7.95
It’s pretty straight forward to what it is. It’s decent and tasty enough and very well priced!
AVOCADO MAKI — $ 5.95
Avocado Roll
So yeah I only had this because my aunt doesn’t eat fish. I know, right?! Anywho, I love avocado so you really can’t go wrong with this roll.
Yeah, after writing this I realized I seriously need to come back to order a «real» sushi roll ;P

Excellent hole in the wall ramen place, owner is nice, food is great, I highly recommend this place specially for people who love to eat ramen.
So happy that we have a little variety of resto in Alameda.

Introduced to this by a friend and its a very small, unassuming Japanese restaurant that’s small with big portions. Review for sushi rolls… ordered the spicy tuna and Yojimbo roll which is shrimp tempura with spicy sauce… i thought both were yummy but the hot sauce used was like a korean style paste on top vs mixed in… different but dont order these at the same time or will basically taste the same.
Friends ordered ramen which were huge bowls with lots of pork… the other table ordered chicken teriayaki and it was monstrously big! Enough for 2 people… taste wise ill have to try for next time.
Great hole-​in-​the wall place which lots of kitschy animé, Bruce Lee action figures, and interesting artwork… you won’t be bored here! :)

I never actually noticed this place even though I’ve always walked by it. I’ve always heard people rave about it so I decided to give it a try when my boyfriend and I were craving some ramen. We both got ramen and basic california rolls so my review probably won’t apply to other menu items.
RAMEN:
*love that they have many broth options; I got spicy pork and it wasn’t that spicy but still good
*someone complained on Unilocal about having too much vegetables but I actually loved that! It added more flavors to ramen. It still had a good portion of everything else too so definitely not complaining about some extra vegetables
*they were really accommodating to some of our diet restrictions
**my only complaint was that their broth was a bit too salty. They said their miso broth is on the salty side but that’s not even what we got so I can’t imagine how salty the miso broth would be.
I think it’s best if you come here with one other person only because it’s a small cramped place so a party of 2 seems the most appropriate.

Massive portions are given here for the teriyaki chicken!
It’s too bad that they don’t serve udon here. But I enjoyed their sushi rolls and bento choices.
All in all, a very yummy place to eat. I’ve only been here for lunch with the bf so far.
Super nice staff, interesting artwork, nice Korean pop music in the background, and delicious food.

When you arrive and go through the restaurant, its like a tunnel where you feel connected to everyone around you. There’s a mission and your integrated in something heroic or defensive. The cartoon character drawings on the walls help develop this other world feel.
I ordered the seafood ramen spicy style soup and my friend got the salmon teriyaki shioyaki bento box.
My soup came with lots of noodles, plenty of variable content along with the seafood. There was enough seasoning to make the broth worthwhile. I was full after the soup. They included chicken which was a surprise so I left it since I was more for the seafood etc. Next time, I would like to go the sushi route.
The miso soup from the bento box had tofu, seaweed, etc. More importantly, it had the taste of being homemade. The size of the fish was more than sufficient, nicely grilled, and flavorful seasoning. They provided plenty of salad and rice. My friend was satisfied.
Service was very fast, courteous, aimed to please. Thumbs up for value!

What a surprising find in Alameda on Park Avenue not too far from Encinal. From the outside, it looks deserted but inside, there’s a world of cooking going on in here. I strongly recommend that you have the 49er Roll. It is out of this world delicious and well prepared here.
I also recommend the Spicy Pork Ramen. However, be prepared to only eat half of it as the portion size is huge. Service is fast and reliable and the wait when you enter isn’t too long either (10 mins or less).
There’s also an interesting array of organic art throughout the walls. The only downside might be that it’s a little narrow inside so claustrophobics might not be comfortable in here. However, it’s a great place to converse and socialize quietly.
Will definitely come here again sometime.

Exquisito y abundante. El precio es muy rasonable. Muy recommendable. Exquisite and abundant. The price is very reasonable. Highly recommend.