Yamato Japanese Steak & Seafood House

Decent hibachi, but limited menu, unimpressive setting, and small portions for the money. Especially the sushi — very small portions for what you’re paying. Try Luli Sushi instead, much better quality & larger portions.

As others have noted, Yamato isn’t exactly killing it with respect to cleanliness and presentation. I wouldn’t describe it as dirty, but the restaurant itself has seen better days and badly needs to be updated.
The food is mediocre. My wife and I had ordered Hibachi, and I ordered a side of Tempura vegetables. Both dishes were on the bland side. I felt the needed to ask for extra Yum Yum sauce to give some flavoring. The tempura vegetables were a bit soggy. However, the shrimp dumplings we had as an appetizer were excellent.
Yamato is just … average. When combined with the inside of the restaurant starting to fall apart, there are better options even in a small town like Sanford.

I always get take out, it’s so handy that they have a drive through. I love the yaki steak, hibachi chicken and terriyaki chicken. I have not tried any sushi from here but I hear it’s good. Staff has always been nice.

Love the friendly staff here, just wish the sushi was available 7 days a week instead of just Tues-​Sat only. Miso soup has improved since my prior review! today’s menu is starting with sashimi appetizer served on radish, then steamed shumai (not made in house but still tasty), Eastern roll (eel, cream cheese, masago & cucumber), V-​3 roll (steamed asparagus, avocado, cucumber and added Tuna for a extra $ 1.00), squid salad which was awesome

My husband and I enjoyed it immensely! Their grilled calamari appetizer was AMAZING! I could eat just that… but we got hibachi for dinner as well. The ginger dressing for the salad was perfect and not watered down at all. Miso soup was also really good. We enjoyed our dinner fully. Wine was a really nice Riesling from the Biltmore estate, great price too. Only thing to note, they do sushi only on Tuesday, which was a bummer but we will go back to try their sushi and review it afterwards. We are a sushi loving couple, so hopefully it is prepared the traditional way and not Americanized. End thought: highly worth going back again.

This location is the best of them. I like the way the slice their onions for the habachi chicken. It is banging by the way! I love how they have a drive thru so it is quick and easy to call in and pick up.

This place is really hit or miss with the quality of the food. Hibachi is never of good quality and sushi is so so but as I write this, this is the only sushi restaurant in sanford. I recommend rolls, not sashimi and they do not offer nigiri at all.

Definitely the best Japanese you can get in Sanford. Had the hibachi steak with salad and sweet carrots last night and it was delicious.

I came to Sanford to visit family and wanted Japanese for dinner and found this Yamato. This place is not the traditional Japanese reataurant that cook the hibachi in front of you, they cook it in the back and bring it to you at your seat. The waitress was attentive and nice. The salad was watery and the soup tasted like it came out of a can. I ordered the Imperial Dinner which included chicken, shrimp and steak. The shrimp were obviously the frozen type out of a bag. The chicken was dry, the steak was good. The rice had no moisture, there wasn’t enough sauce to help it better. Overall, it was ok but I wouldn’t eat here again unless it was a last resort.

Ok spot for lunch. Hibachi is a little better than New Tokyo Express. Sushi is ok considering it is cheap and rolled by a non asian guy. They can be slow getting your food out at lunch busy or not. The 3 stars is relative to other places nearby. If this place wasnin Raleigh i would give it one star.

We saw the mixed reviews but, being optimists, gave this place a try on a Sunday evening. Sadly, we won’t be back.
Food in general, and sushi in particular, should be served in a clean environment. From the entryway to the restrooms, this place was not clean, with dust, crumbs and debris on the window ledges, under the tables and other areas not trafficked. We did not see the kitchen, but with such little care given to maintenance of the dining area, one can only imagine. Building maintenance was poor. There was plaster coming off walls and the trim paint (several coats) looked like it was applied without any care or pride.
To start things off, my green tea came in a severely chipped, plastic cup. Tableware consisted of a small paper napkin wrapped around a single fork (nothing else). Chopsticks here apparently are an afterthought (I had to request them). She had soup (not miso — no tofu) which was basically thin broth that was too salty and made with what appeared and tasted like freeze-​dried mushroom pieces.
I ordered hibachi filet (medium rare), which came with grilled mushroom pieces and «fried» rice. By the amount gristle and toughness, I am confident my meat was not cut from the tenderloin. The bigger pieces were raw and cold on the inside. The mushrooms were rubbery, and the rice appeared to be simply rewarmed from earlier preparation. The meal also came with «sweet carrots» which reminded me of why I never liked carrots until after I left my childhood home (mom thought carrots needed to be baked to death in a bath of marshmallows); too sugary and too mushy to be edible.
She ordered teriyaki chicken, with yaki noodles and grilled broccoli. The noodles were OK. The chicken was overcooked, tough and with little flavor. The broccoli had grill marks, but was limp, not crisp.
Our waiter was friendly enough and helpful but, overall, the extremely casual dress (tees and jeans) and demeanor of staff gave the place the feel of a campus pizzeria after game day, not a serious Japanese restaurant.

Nice environment with great service. A fine spot to take a date– quiet and a nice arrangement provides a superb atmosphere. I always do the hibachi style meal with the soup and salad. The house sauce is quite delectable and their steak taste great. Make sure to enjoy the meal with an authentic japanese green tea– really tops off the experience. The restaurant also offers a sushi bar. I have not tried the sushi but I have a feeling it would be nice. Dare I say it, but yes, this is one of my favorite restaurants

Our server was kind. The food needs a lot if improvement. I ordered the chicken hibachi dish. The meat had no flavor, the veggies were greasy, and the «fried rice» tasted like steamed white rice. The onions included seemed like the only attempt at adding flavor to the dish. I will not be returning.

Great food. Young wait staff of young locals is iffy… some great, some not. Big portions. Good sushi rolls, but sometimes the rolls dont make it until dessert time. Dont get a table near the center dining waiter work room or you will get to see the filthy floor in there while eating.
UPDATE: Great food. Staff much improved. Sushi and tempura apps get to table fast now. Salad is akways crisp and fresh. Restaurant is clean and organized. We eat here at keadt onxe a month. Good night out always. The ONLY place in Sanford to even consider for Japanese food.

This place really surprised me. I am from Hawaii and love my sushi and seafood. I had the grilled calamari with the ginger dipping sauce (don’t forget to ask about the sauce because only sometimes they bring it out). It is my favorite (sometimes I go just for that). The sushi isn’t bad either. It seemed relatively fresh, but the main issue I have in this area is trusting the freshness of fish. I trust this fish, even though you can drive-​thru to get your sushi. But word of caution, they only serve sushi Wen-​Sun.

This restaurant sits halfway between our house and our in-​laws and is a nice surprise in the otherwise fast food filled Sanford. We tend toward the Hibachi dishes and haven’t tried the sushi (and likely won’t based on the other reviews we see here). The food has always been fresh, cooked properly and served in nice portions. The combos are a touch pricey for what you get and there seems to be a lot of turnover with the wait staff, but we’ve always gotten reasonable service.

You know, I really tried to enjoy this place. We’ve now visited twice; neither visit felt like it was worth the money. Unfortunately, here in Sanford, our boutique sushi joint was mercilessly smashed by a tornado, Yamato is the only other place in town offering routine sushi, so inevitably we broke down and went.
When we came in the front door we saw a number of teenagers presumably working and were seated after a few minutes (we’re not cranky old people [ok, we’re cranky, just not old], two of them were seriously sitting on their duffs during a dinner service). Our drink order took much longer than I appreciated, though I felt bad for the one guy who seemed to be earnestly putting in an effort.
To start, we ordered miso soup. Unfortunately, it was saltier than instant ramen noodle broth, to which it bore a *distinct* resemblance down to the powdery remnants of a mix with no evidence of actual tofu. I sent mine back while my husband choked his down, not wanting to be a complainer.
Next came the shumai, which tasted oddly of dried shrimp wrapped in dough. Edible enough, I guess, but the frozen shumai from Trader Joe’s would have been better.
Finally, our four rolls came out. They were very basic, dressed with a garnish and the usual wasabi and pickled ginger. Our low sodium soy sauce proved to be empty when I reached for it, dead dry. The spicy tuna roll was probably the best of the four, the sauce was delicious and the highlight of the meal. However, the soft shelled crab in the spider roll was unchewable causing my husband to do something I’ve never before witnessed: spit out a piece of sushi. It seems Trader Joe’s yet again bests them. with their take out sushi.
In the future we’ll either hope that Umami finds a new location to reopen or bite the bullet and drive to Southern Pines or Cary/​Apex for sushi.
As an addendum, we did previously try their hibachi and saw no evidence that it was superior to the take out place around the corner. But if you’re looking for table service and a giant plate of rice and little morsels of meat with overly sweetened carrots, go for it!

I had my first taste of sushi last night. It was amazing the waiter was very helpful. I had explained to him that it was not only my first time trying sushi but also trying seafood at all. He them told me what he thought what I would like the best. The he explained that the tempura sushi that I had order would be warm because they fried it first. He was very helpful and I will be going back. But they could update the tables and chairs but that was not the main purpose of going there. Can’t wait to go back :)

Tried the habachi steak with Japanese sweet carrots (too sweet) and fried rice. Steak is yummy and service is good except the waiter SAt diwn across from me (in a booth) while he took my order. Either he is very tired or maybe it’s a southern thing ?! He was very nice except for that.
Tip — they only have sushi Wed thru Sat. They also have a drive thru.

Yamato’s may not be the most authentic of Japanese restaurants, but it is still yummy in my tummy.
The place is pretty tiny and can get crowded quickly, especially on the weekend. Also, the wait staff has always been pleasant and accommodating to substitutions requests. For instance, I hate mushrooms (it’s a texture thing). The staff recommended I substitute the mushrooms for broccoli. Now, I do that every time.