Yama Izakaya & Sushi

Beautiful and tasty sushi. Melts in your mouth. Extremely diverse menu. Service is a bit slow but when the food is this good they could slap me every time they bring me a roll.

Okay, so maybe we should have tried a hot dish, but wanted sushi and decided to try something other than our usual-​Densetsu. Have to say the 3 of us were greatly disappointed. So chewy and just not good-​at all. Densetsu, Sake Toro, Kotta, and Tomo so much better.
Might go back to try something hot, but not sure.

I love this place. It’s one of the best Japanese izakaya I have found in the Dallas area. Absolutely fantastic ramen. I’ve tried a few different dishes and they’ve all been exceedingly good. I love the interior décor as well with the open kitchen. I’ll definitely be coming back.

This place is incredible! Quite the experience. From the food, right down to the heated Asian toilets! I seriously went to the bathroom 3 times because it was so amazing! My husband was sad the men’s didn’t have one! Ha!
But really, the food was amazing! We ordered lots of different specials and desserts. Everything was an explosion in my mouth!
If we didn’t live an hour away, we’d be here every week

Expect the unexpected. At Yama one of the most outstanding dishes is the pasta. Yup, Italian influenced with a twist of Japanese precision and love. Keep in mind Monday is pasta day, and all other days pasta is only available at lunch. The only down side and reason for the 4 star rating is that the service is a bit slow and not all of the wait staff have the best English; however, the sincere attitude of the waitstaff is enough to trump out the language barrier.
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So on to the review and how I came to find Yama.
I was running errands in the area and was looking for lunch but had no idea where to eat so I turned to Unilocal and saw Yama. Unfortunately, this was at the bottom of the list of choices but after a series of terrible service and no food around the Frisco/​Plano border I went to Yama.
By far this is one of the most outstanding places for Japanese food, and the pasta is by far one of the best things I have ever eaten PERIOD. The Japanese food is authentic, fresh, and the pasta is of Michelin caliber at an EXTREMELY reasonable price. My compliments to Chef Kurumi. Some times they have a squid ink available off the menu but stick with the crème based seafood pasta and you cannot go wrong.
All in all there are not enough good things to say about the food here other than if you haven’t tried had it you should come try for yourself. Be warned though that the service can be slow and the entire wait staff is Japanese who do not have the best English. I am hoping that this place remains a bit of a secret but all bets are off once the Toyota complex opens up down the street, which I am hoping the service will get kicked into shape as more patrons come through.

Very disappointed. The first and only time we (my husband and I) have been there turned out to be a big let down. It wasn’t very busy so there is no excuse for the lack of service and they were staffed appropriately, too. We were seated right away but no one took our drink order for a every long time and we had to flag someone down to place both our drinks and meal together. No on checked on us to see if we were doing ok and we had to flag someone down again for our bill and to go box.
We orders a few sushi rolls and yakitori. The sushi was good overall. The Louisiana roll was a little too spicy for my taste. All you could taste was the heat of the sauce so the roll was drowned out by it. The yakitori quail eggs were good. But I was very disappointed with the chicken skins and chicken with green onion. The chicken skins texture was great but lacked flavor and needed yakitori sauce, imo. And the chicken and onion yakitori lacked flavor and yakitori sauce, too.
I have had yakitori at other Japanese restaurants so I had certain expectations. I think they need a lesson from Yakitori Boy in Philadelphia. But we will try it again. Maybe it was just a bad first time experience.

After a terrible six hour flight delay this is the first Japanese restaurant I found that was still open at such a late time. The food is amazing and great quality for its price.
Ordered salmon sashimi, sweet shrimp, flounder sushi, ikura sushi, and oyster in half shell. The seafoods are fresh and taste amazing. Also ordered buta-​kakuni (pork belly) and wagyu beef tataki. The pork belly is cooked till it’s all soft but still a little bit hard after chewing a huge chunk. The beef tataki is great! Slightly cooked on the outside and raw inside, on top is onions and seasoned with sauce. Very satisfied dining experience!

This is probably the most authentic Japanese restaurant I have been to in the burbs. Lots of Japanese patrons proved that and it was packed on Sunday night. They had me when I saw Takoyaki and Spam Musubi in the menu, two things I discovered while on vacation.
The lychee saketini was delish. I could have drank it in one gulp! Hubby was happy they had Asahi Black since it is a bit difficult to find in DFW. The udon was really good especially on a cold night and probably the tastiest broth I’ve had. The Tear Drop and Crunchy Spicy Tuna rolls were a nice change from the usual offerings. I really liked that the rolls weren’t massive and the price was reasonable so you could get several and share. We will definitely return!

Food is great, but the service is something that can be improved.
You’ve probably read about the authenticity of the izakaya style here at Yama, and I’ll skip directly to the meat of the review (no pun intended): my favorite small dishes are the sunagimo kara-​age (fried chicken gizzards) and the fried gobo (try it — an exotic fried root vegetable!!). My favorite «large» plate would have to be the curry katsu rice. In all of the aforementioned dishes, the spices blend well with the crispy texture, which makes it all the more delightful to pop them into your mouth.
Other things we’ve tried that are also decent include the chicken kara-​age (Japanese fried chicken), Yama ramen, and their salmon & tuna sushi. Since this Yama location specializes in izakaya dishes, I usually get that over their sushi though the sushi is also pretty good.
Now about the service — the staff are friendly but can sometimes aren’t as attentive. They only stopped by our table once after all the dishes were delivered to refill water though some dishes were on the saltier side of things. On multiple occasions, they had to check the menu when we ordered since it didn’t seem they knew exactly what was on the menu, and how to shorthand it when taking our orders. Perhaps their training can be improved, but it’s just a minor detail that detracts from what have otherwise been some great meals.

Yama will always be my go to when it comes to late night munching. Being open till 2 am really caters to the younger demographics, so kudos to them for staying open so late.
In terms of food; I usually order off the actual menu rather than their sushi menu. The cuts of fish I’ve had at Yama, such as Salmon, Yellowtail and Tuna Toro, aren’t bad however aren’t a defining aspect of my dining experience. They can be compared to any average sushi restaurant in the area. This is just my personal opinion, but give it a try for yourself as well!
The hot entrees/​sides are outstanding. I always order Buta Kakuni (Japenese braised pork belly literally melts in the mouth), Pork cheek (Next best thing after bacon), and Kawa ebi (Flash fried Shrimp).
The Nabeyaki Udon is great as well. Perfect when the temperature takes a dip because it’s always bought out very hot!
If you feel like further extending your culinary pallet and like the gamy taste of liver, give the Ankimo a try. I really doubt any other restaurant in the area serves Ankimo (Monkfish liver).
The service is very personal and I enjoy that. I’m always greeted and quickly seated. At times service may run slow, but still no complaints.
All in all Yama Izakaya is one of my favorite restaurants in the Plano/​Frisco area for Japanese food (with the exception of their sushi however haha). This place hits all the right spots when it comes to Japenese cuisine, so if you’re ever in the area give this place a try!

One of the best sushi spots in the DFW, great atmosphere, friendly staff, great food.

TLDR: get the cod roe pasta. I’m making it my mission to try all their pasta lunch specials!
I’ve always enjoyed the original Yama location in Dallas, but this location is even better! Every time I go I see real Japanese people here so this makes me confident we are eating legit Japanese. I have found my ramen spot in DFW! Best tonkotsu ramen in DFW! Better than Monta, Wabi, Ten, Hakata, Tei An, Sushi Robata, Hanabi, and Shinjuku Station. The egg isn’t perfect but the broth is.
Uni is super fresh and cheap! $ 9 for two sushi pieces. Katsudon is pretty damn good. Tempura udon is perfect. Green tea panna cotta is just ok. This place is super convenient for late night munchies because it’s open til 2am every night except until 10 on Sundays. Found my new sushi and ramen spot and the price is alright!

Such a cute and friendly place! Sushi is VERY fresh, and the udon is delicious. Coming back soon

My sister and brother in law had raved about how good the Cod Roe Pasta was at this place. Apparently it’s only served m-​f lunch and Monday dinner.
My first couple bites of the pasta were good. but not to the hype that my sister had raved about. However, the more I ate, the more I wanted and realized how good this dish really was. It’s a definite must try.
The salmon sushi was alright. Nothing too special. just average. There was a dish that had cooked salmon inside the sushi rice (I forgot the name). That wasn’t very good. #1 the menu didn’t mention that the salmon would be cooked. #2 there was barely any salmon inside.
Service was great. Next time I come here will be for the cod roe pasta and potentially other sushi.

So, I’m going to be honest. This review is based on a visit in which I was pretty intoxicated. With that being said, I PROMISE I will go back with somewhat of a sound mind, so that I can give this establishment the appropriate recognition.
I came here for a date; we had some moonshine down the street and subsequently got the munchies. First of all, I’m excited for the fact that they are open until 2 am AND reverse happy hour starting at 10 pm. That, in itself, deserves two stars.
Sushi & sake size was small, from what I remember. Then again, as the waiter graciously reminded us, it IS happy hour. We played it safe and stuck with the california and spicy tuna roll. We asked for a recommendation, so he told us the «double pleasure» roll was a favorite. It had a double wasabi kick to it. I hated it, but the date enjoyed it.
The ladies restroom is clean and comes complete with a BIDET. nbd. It’s only the only restaurant that has a bidet within a 100 mile radius. (Sorry guys, it’s only in the girls restroom.)
There are a couple of TV’s scattered throughout the restaurant. The sushi bar is the most prominent, I think. It extends well into the dining area, making the restaurant seem smaller than it really is.
We were there at 11 pm or so, but the service was fast and really nice! He handled us with grace, especially when my date and I fought for the bill. (amateur hour, i know)

I liked Sushi Yama. It was sad when they closed. I was excited again when they reopened as Yama sushi. :-) They have always been a nice hang out for those late nite cravings.
I was excited to try this new location:-) since it’s located off the tollway, it’s much easier and faster to get to. It’s hidden though, my Maps app couldn’t exactly locate it. It’s in a nice shopping center. Much nicer than the other location, looks safer:-) the restaurant is clean and modern. With nice Japanese décor. The restrooms are super nice too.
We tried a bunch of small sharing plates. We had fried chicken gizzards, those were really good. The grilled chicken skins were also good too. Our Tako wasabi was another favorite:-) there’s nothing I could complain about.
We also ordered entrees of the Katsu curry and the ramen. Both were delicious:-) I love curry, so I can be really picky about the sauce. This curry was rich and meaty. :-) I loved it, tastes just like other location’s. The ramen was huge to me, we were able to split it 3 ways. Really good as well. The soup was creamy and flavorful. Had egg and chashu:-)
For desert, we ordered the green tea Panna cotta. I’ve never had Panna cotta before, so it something new to me. I’m glad I tried it because it was super delicious:-) light and not too sweet as with most Asian deserts.
Glad I stopped by this location, now I know where it is! It’s nice and the staff were super friendly to our large party. There’s a private room I think you could reserve. They’re open till 2 on Fridays and Saturdays so it’ll definitely be one of my regular hang out spots when I’m hungry at nite:-)

Came here on a Friday night. Surprisingly it wasn’t as busy as I expected it to be. However, don’t assume that it’s a bad place because the low amount of customer. The décor, worker, and ambience of the place makes me feel like I was in Japan again. Even the restroom has features of Japanese restroom: the bidet.
Food for sure is a 5. My boyfriend and I had salmon onigiri, curry Udon, my favorite: fried chicken gizzards, his favorite: spicy yama ramen. I wouldn’t get the onigiri again because it’s mainly rice and the salmon was dry with no flavor. I don’t blame them because it is probably the same everywhere else. I would recommend them to expand their onigiri menu. Their spicy yama ramen is probably the best ramen I’ve had so far in Dallas. And when they say spicy, they mean it. The spiciness tasted like it came from the actually fresh chili pepper. It was heavenly. Service was great. The waitress was very nice and helpful. I’ll be back

Really good sushi served till 2 AM? Green tea and red bean panna cotta? Yes please!
Yama Izakaya and Sushi is a great spot to eat delicious Japanese food while drinking and hanging out with friends. My friends and I spent a long time trying to decide what to order and eat. We ended up with the takoyakii (yum), mixed tempura (fried fresh), and ordered the double pleasure roll, spicy tuna and Caterpillar roll. All of the sushi rolls we VERY good and everything tasted very fresh.
The green tea & red bean panna cotta is one of the best desserts I have ever tasted. Green tea and red bean is a classic combination in Asian desserts. The texture of the panna cotta was so rich and velvety that I almost ordered another one after finishing my first one.
Service was good, my water was never empty, and the restrooms are very cool. Will return soon to try out lunch bento boxes.

It’s about time that Frisco got their own yakitori restaurant! They have gizzards to pig skin to your everyday sushi roll and hot kitchen items!
My friends and I ordered a ton of food and split it family style. Try the octopus if you’re adventurous. (personally too slimy for me.) but I like the taroyaki and curry pork cutlet the most!
They advertise for their hh but haven’t tried it. Hopefully next time!

Great place for late night drinks/​sushi! I wish I caught our waitress name, she had this awesome Japanese accent and gave us excellenttt service.
They are fairly new, so definitely BYOB if you want to drink!
Food was great quality, I especially love the salmon and yellowtail sashimi I tried, very fresh. And the food came out fairly quick! Considering we were a large party, and there was also another large party next to us.
Their menu is extensive! I would definitely come back to try more!