Yamato II

**Pro tip: they add graduate to their receipt, but then when you pay they ask for tip! Don’t be fooled. **Pro tip: if you’re having all you can eat, they wouldn’t tell you about the dessert on the menu, make sure you ask for desserts it’s included! The best maki roll would be dragon roll! A good all you can eat option! Like all the all you can eat options the servants try to ignore you so you can order as much and as often. The food quality was good. I would not personally go for any hand hold sushi because there’s too much rice in them, we asked for sashimi we didn’t get any. The sake was good and we drinks it will come down to $60 per person.

I got the All you can eat sushi for lunch. I was very surprised by the size of the place, much larger than expected. Overall not surprised by the quality, you get what you pay for. The white fish was good and rolls were good. Very typical ordering system for an all you can eat sushi place. Definitely coming back for lunch again.

The hosts are a little bit aggressive. From the moment you sit, they make it clear to you that you only have 2 hours to eat. Which is more than enough time. The food was really yummy and fresh! However, the fried rice was not so good. The sushi was great though ! If you go during dinner, it gets so loud and full that you can’t even hear your own thought because it gets so so loud. If you want to take food to go, it will be an extra $8 charge.

I went with 5 other people for dinner and this review is based off of that experience. We went in for the all you can eat sushi. For these establishments, I tend to prioritize sashimi because it’s less filling and my something I rarely treat myself to. I would say the food quality was good. It’s not the best sashimi I’ve had but for the price to portion ratio, I would say it’s definitely worth it. I felt the interior was ok inside. I waited at the bar for my friends and there wasn’t a server so I’m not sure if they were short staffed but to be honest, I don’t think people usually come for the drinks. Basic wooden furniture but I wish there was more wall decor to add more to the ambiance. The servers were professional and efficient. We made three orders and they were able to come out with food in a timely manner. We were seated quite quickly which is a plus as we had to wait a little longer for more of our party members to trickle in. Overall, if you’re looking to binge on sushi and sashimi, I would recommend!

Disappointing Delivery We ordered sushi, and the experience was quite disappointing. The salad consisted of a few wilted pieces of lettuce and one tomato in a styrofoam container. The sushi was placed in the same container as the wasabi, so my young daughter couldn't eat any of it because the wasabi had spread to the sushi during delivery. The sashimi was okay, but the sushi had too much rice. Additionally, the bag was dripping wet with liquid. We will never visit or order from them again. There are too many other options to try this place again.

Yamato II Sushi Buffet is a great place to go if you're looking for high-quality sushi at an affordable price. The fish is fresh and flavorful, and the made-to-order sushi is a standout feature. I tried the spicy salmon and eel avocado rolls, and they were both delicious. The chefs are skilled and take pride in their work, and it shows in the quality of the sushi. One of the standout dishes for me was the lotus root deep fry. It was the best I've ever had - crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. It was a great complement to the sushi, and I would definitely recommend trying it. Another dish that I enjoyed was the miso tofu. It was elegant and flavorful, and it added a nice touch to the meal. The texture was perfect, and the flavor was just right - not too salty or overpowering. Overall, I would highly recommend Yamato II Sushi Buffet. The quality of the sushi is impressive, especially considering the affordable price. The made-to-order sushi is a standout feature, and the lotus root deep fry and miso tofu are both delicious. The atmosphere is comfortable and welcoming, and the service is attentive and friendly. If you're a sushi lover, this is definitely a place you won't want to miss.

Staff were unfriendly and their service was poor. Atmosphere was somewhat uncomfortable seating, dirty toilet. I got “All you can eat sushi” Overall, miso soup and shrimp & vegetables tempura for appetizers, miso soup and rolls were yuummy and so good 😋 Price was reasonable for quality and quantity. Not the best place to eat Sushi in Boston, but i’ll come back again just because of the food 🤷🏻‍♀️

Came here for dinner with a group, for the buffet. We were seated very quickly. You order by marking the order slip with what you want, and get a new one if you want to order more later. Good value for your money if you are hungry and order more than once. The sushi rolls themselves came out fairly fast for the standard ones. The more specialty rolls did take longer. There was not an overt amount of rice padding on the rolls, unlike other sushi buffets. We finished off the night with the ice cream which was decent. Great place to eat, food was tasty enough, and had good value for the money. Bring a group out to eat here. Just make sure you eat everything as wasted food will be charged since its a buffet.

This was my absolute favorite place in college years ago so I was so glad to revisit. They have all you can eat sushi at a reasonable price. I don't even eat a lot, but I like that I'm able to order one piece at a time so that I can try a variety. My go-to items include salmon, tamago, and unagi nigiri. For sides/apps, I like to order the fried lotus roots, shrimp shumai, crab rangoons, tempura, and most importantly, their COLD TOFU. I don't know what's in their tofu but it's absolutely incredible. Service is always quick and easy, as you order using the pen and paper they give you. Usually full of college students. Always a 10/10

Recently I was in Copley square and after a long day of shopping my friend and I were craving sushi so we decided to try Yamato. According to last Yelp reviews this is a pretty popular spot in the are that offers all you can eat sushi and hot plate selections. The prices of the all you can eat varies for lunch and dinner; for the dinner the price for the AYCE was around 40$. We dined at around 6pm in the evening, the restaurant is one floor and it's pretty big but very minimally decorated. The server immediately sat us at our table and brought us the menu (a reservation is not needed). She immediately asked us what we would like as beverages and we opted for ginger ale. I would like to specify that drinks unfortunately are not included in the AYCE menu price. When it comes to the actual food, as shown in the picture below, they have a very large selection of sushi and various hot dishes. We began by ordering appetizers. We opted for the shrimp tempura, fried calamari and lotus root chips. Truthfully these two dishes were not that flavorful as the taste of the fried batter overpowered the actual taste. We also decided to order their chicken fried rice and seafood fried rice. The fried rice dish was definitely better than the appetizer but it was nothing spectacular. When it came to the sushi we ordered an assorted variety that ranged from popular California roll to tempura roll, Philadelphia roll and dragon roll. The sushi was definitely the star of the night. Each other of roll comes with 6 pieces of sushi. My favorite roll was surprisingly the Philadelphia roll. My only complaint about the sushi was that it had too much rice so it filled you up rather too quickly. The AYCE doesn't not allow let ofter or take home so it's important to order what you know you are able to finish. Overall, Yamato offers an average dining experience average quality sushi, the service was good and the ambiance was great. I recommend this spot if you are looking for an AYCE sushi spot in the Boston area, but if you are looking for high quality sushi and dining experience I'll recommend looking for other nearby sushi restaurants.

If I could give zero stars, I would. This was hands-down the worst sushi buffet experience I've ever had. Service: Astronomically slow doesn't even begin to describe it. We waited an eternity for our orders to arrive. When they finally did, they either got it wrong or forgot entire items. How do you run a buffet with this level of inefficiency? It wasn't even busy at all. Staff: Rude and completely unprofessional. Food: The sushi cuts were pathetically tiny--like they were rationing fish during a famine. It was mostly rice with barely a sliver of fish on top. Not to mention, the quality was mediocre at best. A buffet is supposed to be indulgent, not a stingy experience where you leave hungry and disappointed. Avoid this place at all costs. There are far better sushi spots out there that actually care about their customers and serve decent portions. This was a complete waste of time and money. Never again.

My expectations for this place were quite low, considering it's all you can eat sushi, but I was still quite disappointed. The sushi was not very fresh, especially the tuna sashimi, which had a very fishy taste, and some of the salmon was a little too slimy. In edition, the agedashi, tofu that we were served, had a hair in it and had to be remade, which is obviously not a great sign of hygiene. Also, the crab ragoon tastes of pure cream cheese. The roll selection is small and there's is not much else going on. Overall I would say unless you're ordering a ton of sushi this isn't even really that great of a deal. It was quite pricey actually considering taste and service. I think you'd be better off going to another quality sushi restaurant and you would get a similar bang for your buck. Also, the place was quite rundown, especially the bathrooms.

Sushi is decent and the best you can get for your dollar in the back bay area. Drinks are also pretty good. Soju is overpriced - $25 for the same bottle i get for $12 at total wine. Staff is friendly but super slow (understaffed.) Our waitress was so nice and attentive though! It always gets super hot in there for some reason though so be prepared in layers. Tables and floors are often sticky and the bathrooms always smell like chlorine. But dining ware is always clean and the food is fresh and clean as well.

How is this place still open with all the health violations? I wish I never ate at this filthy place! If there are rat droppings on the shelf the size of tootsie rolls it just goes to show they never cleaned. Imagine just never cleaning! Disgusting place from the bathroom to the dining room

An overall OK experience! Nothing to write home about, not sure I will be back but fills the craving for an AYCE sushi experience when it hits. Price: ~$27, ~$33 after tip and tax for lunch for a Sunday. Decently priced for an AYCE. Sushi: OK sushi. I felt like there was a lot of rice per fish, and the fish was ok quality. Not the worst, not the best. Sashimi was only on the dinner menu so we didn't try it. Other: I actually really liked the shumai (steamed) as well as edamame and the seaweed salad. The ice cream was unfortunately dinner only :( so didn't get to try the ice cream either! I wish they would serve ice cream at lunch, especially on a hot day like today. Service: Good! Sometimes can be a bit of a longer wait between plates but overall servers very responsive.

The Internet seems to have a very positive opinion about Yamato. After walking by and having a mental bookmark for over a decade, it was finally time to stop in. I blame Reddit - plus I had a nearby interview that got out just as lunch was starting. Off the bat: $24.50 for AYCE sushi lunch is a great deal, especially in downtown Boston. However, $25 can get you all sorts of delicious lunches, and I'm not sure Yamato has gone in my Rolodex of places to revisit. I do think it is worth a second chance though... only maybe for dinner. I had the opportunity to try: - Crab Rangoons - Brighton Maki - Volcano Maki - Salmon & Tuna Sushi - Salmon Skin Hand Roll The Crab Rangoons were alright. The filling was A-OK, however the fried wonton was on the thicker and chewier side for my taste. The Brighton Maki was a bit unsure. Rather than having a spicy tuna filling, in this case it was the exterior topping! Inside was avocado and white fish. Flavor-wise, this role wasn't much to write home about. I found the pieces a little inconsistent as well (more or less spicy tuna topping, smaller or larger bit of white fish, etc). Texture-wise, the large amount of spicy tuna, rice, and avocado led to a mouthfeel that hid the white fish. Overall though, pretty average: I'm glad I ordered it, but not necessarily something I'd order on future visits. Something I would skip on future visits is is the Volcano Maki. This one contained...cheese? I'm not sure, but it was a simple spicy tuna maki topped with a seemingly cheese-bound "torched scallop, tobiko, scallion, crab meat and mushroom mixture." Points for creativity, however seems like something I would make when trying to empty my fridge pre-vacation. It did not work here in my opinion. The salmon skin hand roll was very good. This one had balanced textures and ingredients, and allowed the quality of the rice to shine. While I deviation from my usual eel hand roll, this is something I would happily order again (though maybe in the eel variety). Also a favorite were the salmon and tuna sushi (nigiri, I suppose?). The simplicity is what works here. High quality rice and fresh fish, plus a little soy sauce makes for a winning combination. Finally, the service was friendly and attentive, no complaints there. The location was generally pleasant, but felt a little musty, and the mirrors could use a good wipe down. Thus, while the rice and fish are fresh and tasty, the execution could use some work overall. As such, I have the agree with Yelp's 3-star average, and disagree with those friends and Redditors who extol Yamato's virtues.

My team and I came to Yamato 2 for lunch the other day. We didn't make a reservation or anything, but when we got there a little after noon, we were pleased to see that there were plenty of tables available for walk in. They must have just cleaned the tables because we all noticed the strong smell of bleach. We opted for the lunch AYCE, which excludes sashimi and certain rolls. We could eat plenty of hot entrees and appetizers as well. We got a whole plate of sushi and then a whole plate of rolls. Food came out super quick! I didn't mention this in our lunch, but unfortunately one of my rolls had a piece of hair in it, which is why I can only give 3 stars. Aside from the hair, the food was fresh and tasty. Service was great too.

Yamato was super tasty but it was in a lowkey sketchy basement. I think it's on boyleston street but then we had to walk intho these weird steps and went into the restaurant but we got all you can eat and ate probs about a gazillion dollars worth of food. The apps were delicious and the fish was mid but still super tasty! Oh boy I'd go back here to have a good full tummy with the boys

Solid as always! Had a lot of the salmon sushi and my favorite special roll- the volcano

Came here with a large group (20+) for a birthday party and it was really fun! I was amazed that they could handle such a big group smoothly. Don't expect to be getting omakase-level treatment here, but if you come hungry, I think it's a great deal. The AYCE sushi comes with a huge selection and includes a lot of types of food in addition to sushi (fried rice, noodles, smaller dishes like agedashi tofu), which I really appreciated. You order by marking up a paper copy of the menu, and they bring it out. Service was very efficient. They even had ice cream at the end! Would def come again when in the mood for large quantities of sushi!

I am a huge sashimi and seafood fiend, but I haven't been able to find spots where I can just eat sashimi (a lot) with reasonable prices. Yamatos II is a good spot if you just crave sushi/sashimi because the quality is solid (especially if you go early before dinner) and the kitchen food is also really good like the fried rice (highly recommend). The major downside is that it is pricey ~$40 for dinner option/sashimi, but once in a while the splurge is okay :) The servers there are also very attentive and quick to get your orders, which is really great for AYCE since you have a time limit. This place has a lot of seatings and also bar seat options if you want to see the chefs make the food (or eat alone). I like how clean it is as well. It is definitely better than Yamatos I just better quality and seats and service.

Good sushi for ayce. Decent rice to fish ratio. Service is usually pretty good. Good amount of seating. Definitely my go to for ayce.

Food was ok. Service was ok as well until the end. Was told til finish the sushi left (5 pieces to be exact) or we would be charged extra. They didn't even mention that on the menu and or to us directly! Nice try dumb bitches. Anyways I hate 3 and then the waitress came over and said it's ok no need for more. Fuck you!! Rude.

Some of the fish pieces were suspiciously chewy, but overall the quality was okay. Way too much rice on the rolls. The avocados were fresh. The tempura had too much breading. The fried rice was nice, but the chicken was dried. Overall, the food was okay. The restaurant was understaffed, our waitress basically forgot about us when we were trying to put in our order. Definitely not the waitress's fault, but be prepared to wait a bit during busy dinner times (especially if you order a large batch like we did).

"You get what you pay for applies" here, with $30-ish for AYCE sushi. The menu has a decent variety, However, the rolls were about 1/3 smaller than normal, and the nigiri sushi's raw fish slices were insultingly thing. I would have been happier not ordering it at all. Also, the sashimi "slices" came out as cubes. I'm not looking for anything amazing here, but I don't want to be actively reminded that this place is cheap.

Came here on a Saturday around noon and was immediately seated (also we did AYCE). We ordered hot teas (perfect taste), agedashi tofu which was crispy with a delicious sauce, and fried calamari which I thought was greasy with too thick of a batter. The seaweed salad was very fresh. We ordered different types of nigiri, rolls, and hand rolls. The rice to fish ratio of the nigiri is very rice heavy, and I would definitely not order too many of them. The maki rolls were decent, but the hand rolls were the best in my opinion! Also the tobika and ikura fish eggs were great!! Definitely recommend trying those as well. The main complaint I have is that they add crispy tempera flakes to all of the rolls, which I don't enjoy eating. My guest thought the spicy tuna and salmon rolls she got were mayo heavy and not spicy enough. Also the wasabi was very mild in comparison to other types I've tried. Overall, not the fanciest, best sushi you'll get in Boston but a great bang for your buck if you order smart.

Pretty nice maybe Spot. There aren't a ton in the area that do a good job of that. The sushi quality is decent, perfect for an AYCE kind of spot. The service is fairly quick as well. Highly recommend the spicy crispy special roll. The fried ice cream is definitely a nice little touch as well to cap off a good lunch after inhaling all that sushi

There are so much better all you can eat places than this. I had this place saved to try so, I didn't fight it when our friend suggested it. First of all, there's no descriptions at all on the menu, only pictures, so you really have no idea what's in the specialty rolls. You also pay extra for those. We ordered one that I thought was topped with seafood and it was actually mushrooms, which was odd and my husband hates them. Atmosphere was very cold. Waitress was pretty unhelpful and barely helped us. I wasn't overly impressed with anything we ordered. I certainly wouldn't go back. If you truly want an AYCE experience, go to Maki Maki in Woburn or even better, endless sushi in Peabody!

Yamato 2 is one of our favorite places to eat a TON of sushi at a great value. While the lunch option seems decent, we really prefer to go for dinner because it includes sashimi. The concept is pretty simple - they give you two menus: one for sushi and one for hot food. We normally only order the sushi, but the hot menu has appetizers (like crab rangoons, agadashi tofu, dumplings, calamari, shumai, edamame, etc.), soup, udon, soup noodles, fried rice, teriyaki, katsu, and dessert. We just feel like even though those items are not too large, we don't want to use up valuable stomach real estate when we really go here for sushi, but the hot menu is a nice option for people who don't eat much sushi for sure! The main attraction for us if the dinner sashimi - we order a bunch of tuna and salmon (and sometimes squid) and then eat it with the rolls. We also order some nigiri and break up the rice into smaller portions to eat with sashimi, essentially creating mini nigiri pieces since we like to eat rice with our fish but want to maximize the fish we are eating as well. Eel nigiri is a great option for this because you can't get eel on its own without rice. The sashimi has always been really fresh, though the specific cut you get may depend on whatever is being cut when you order. We've had larger and smaller cuts, but they are all decent. When it comes to sushi, there are a lot of rolls, but we mainly stick to the basic ones. Keep in mind that while sashimi comes pretty quickly, you may have to wait some time for rolls to be made especially if it is a busy evening: Salmon avocado: Pretty basic but fresh and delicious. We like avocado with our sushi so we get this and eat 1-2 pieces of salmon sashimi with it. Yellowtail scallion: I love yellowtail, but there is a good amount of rice in this roll compared to the fish. It's the only order where you can get yellowtail though. Spicy tuna: This is a great roll, but because it has tempura in the fish it can be a little heavy. We usually like to eat a bite of this with 1-2 pieces of tuna sashimi to even out the freshness a bit. Miso tuna: We tried this one for the first time on this visit and it wasn't great. It has tuna, cucumber, and a miso sauce, but I think we prefer just the tuna nigiri or sashimi instead. For dessert, the ice cream and fried ice cream are great ways to top off the night. While you can get different flavors of the ice cream, the fried ice cream always comes as vanilla. We haven't tried asking for a different fried flavor, but the option wasn't given outright. Like I said, because dinner offers sashimi, it is 100% worth the price, and we will be back over and over again! However, lunch, while cheaper, does not include sashimi, and it can be pretty easy to fill up on rice with only nigiri and rolls. I'd give a 5/5 for dinner but maybe a 3.5/5 for lunch because of this. We really only go for dinner now, but we go probably once month.

Food quality went down badly. Service is slow during dinner time and still slow during non crowded time. They gave us the menu after 10 minutes of sitting. The restaurant has lots of seating.

Bottomless menus are the way to go! The sushi isn't the highest quality in the world, but absolutely settles the cravings and is budget-friendly. We ordered what would've been over $150 worth of sushi and other raw items and only paid $36 each. The staff was also so attentive that they provided another order sheet as we were nearing our final bites without hesitation. They were also incredibly diligent with refilling drinks, bringing the orders to the table, and dealing with the check. For being in the heart of back-bay, this was a steal that would be hard to come by even in the suburbs. The fifth star wasn't achieved in my opinion due to the cleanliness of the restrooms, specifically the women's. One of the stalls was actively flooding from the wall, but not labeled out of order. With only two women's stalls operating, one person always inevitably (and reluctantly) had the endure the puddle of mystery fluid. I will definitely be returning with friends in the future and taking a restroom pit stop in the nearby public library instead!

I came here with a group of 50 for AYCE during lunch. Shout-out to Yamato for accommodating our group and coordinating between each table's orders! For $25 pp pre-tax and tip, I thought this was a great deal. There's a wide variety of appetizers, sushi, entrees, and desserts to choose from. The quality of food served was pretty standard, tasty but nothing out of this world. Be prepared for long wait times, though. I would recommend placing a large order upfront instead of smaller consecutive ones, as it took almost an hour for some of our tables to get their initial orders.

Came here after a night of drinking and this place was the perfect spot to fulfill our appetite! We sat at the bar and the service staff immediately gave us the all you can eat menu. We arrived around 9pm and last call was at 9:30pm and after knowing that we ordered two plates of fried rice: beef and seafood - along with 8 sushi rolls. I still remember when we placed the order the waitress stated "if you cannot finish the food it will be an extra charge". I told here "oh don't worry we will finish all of this". Unfortunately I didn't snap a pic of the sushi rolls and beef fried rice because we were hungry LOL! All I have to say is that Yamato 2 food hit the spot! We cleaned off all of our plates and left full and happy. Yamato 2 is delicious!!!

WARNING DO NOT GET THE PHILLY ROLL Everything was pretty decent, I would recommend the sashimi(tuna and salmon I got) and the sushi. I also liked the California roll, avocado and cucumber roll, shrimp tempura, and gyoza. the service was really fast and pleasant. but seriously do not get the Philly roll it was lowkey an abomination... so much cream cheese and fried to the gods . i would go here again for sure, just don't get the philly roll. Wanted to rate a 3 bc of it but that was would be rude.

A great place to come with friends and satisfy a sushi craving! Yamato II does have a large selection of sushi and other foods - highly recommend getting combination of sashimi and other rolls since they tend to be rice heavy. The hand rolls are also great but are pretty large. The non sushi foods are decent, including crab rangoons, edamame, tempura etc. The deserts round out the meal - the fried ice cream is pretty melted but tastes alright and the fried bananas are pretty solid. The staff is pretty nice but you sometimes have to get their attention or order more.

I was really excited to check out Yamato 2 because I always went to the other location in college. This place didn't disappoint! In fact, I found the interior to be nicer at this location. Yamato is about quantity, not quality. For the price, you really can't argue with the amount of sushi you're getting... just don't expect anything too fancy. Some of my favorites are the caterpillar roll and the dragon roll, but I also like some of the simpler ones like the salmon avocado and the various tuna rolls. My pro tip would be go with a big group and put in more orders as you make your way through the first round. The service is pretty quick and is good about checking in. I've never had an issue with the two hour limit. Come for a fun time with some sushi-loving friends!

Very much enjoy the value proposition of this place: particularly the "All you can eat" (AYCE) sushi. My wife ordered off the menu, and I went for the AYCE option. First tip: if you go for the AYCE, pick and submit the order for the main stuff first, then the appetizers. Why? There will be a wait for the guys to prepare the main stuff and you want to get your order in ASAP. After the order is in, when you submit the app order, it comes quickly. My wife's order was served relatively quickly but mine took awhile (despite 5 guys making sushi). I suspect they prioritize orders off the menu to volume guys like me . Tip 2: place a small order when you sit down to get something to eat (after the apps). Then when the order arrives, place the 2nd half of the order. Waiting for a single order will be frustrating when the place is slammed. Tip 3: sit at the bar. They have a full bar, but the bartender is the one taking orders. Hence your order will get in quicker . What I liked: - the food quality is quite good for a buffet place - They allow you to order sashimi. Granted they are small pieces, but what place allows AYCE sashimi? It allowed me to order a piece of varieties I had not tried. - I like the fact they make it clear that wasting food will not be tolerated and there will be a charge for wasting.

I visited Yamato 2 with my girlfriend after coming here previously for a good meal. The decor and ambiance are very cafe-style with a no frills atmosphere. It is not fancy, elegant, or romantic by any means and more so a just place to hang out away from the elements and to grab a quick casual bite. But the location is amazing and food is pretty good. Service we received is 5 stars, I would also say the food is 4 stars. For me the price is what takes the overall rating down quite a bit. Convenient and again good food, but not super cost efficient unless you can eat a LOT of sushi. The dinner cost for AYCE sushi is now $34.99 so 1 person would need to order/eat about 4-5 regular maki rolls (or 2-3 special rolls) each to make it worth the price. For us sadly this is way more than we usually eat so we are better off not doing AYCE. I am not sure if Yamato 2 offers the ability to buy a la carte but next time we are considering coming here we will probably call and ask first. Online you can totally seemingly order a la carte which seems like a better value. Overall, would come here again in a bind, but beware that unless you're a sushiholic it may be easier on the wallet to order elsewhere or order a la carte, not AYCE.

Decent quality sushi for AYCE. A bit pricey, but it'll definitely satisfy your sushi cravings. Pretty quick service and okay ambiance. Our favorites were the mixed tempura and squid sashimi. Also recommend ending with ice cream... it really does open your second stomach.

Yamato is pretty nice! The sushi isn't the greatest you'll ever taste but it's pretty good, and you can get all you can eat of it at a very reasonable price. The service is the biggest low point. It's pretty inconsistent and slow and not super friendly. Sort of arbitrarily critical too. They refused to seat me until the other person arrived, despite just asking for a table for 2 (so the same I would get if I were eating alone) and the place being 90% empty. I think the best thing here is by far the nigiri and so I would recommend getting a large share of that--I've made the mistake or ordering too many rolls and come to regret it, particularly with the spicy tuna which I did not like at all. But the nigiri is excellent!

This is one of those places where you really have to read the reviews to get a good idea about the place. The stars really don't tell the full story. Usually I'd see a 3 star and keep moving but I would pretty much tell anyone to check out Yamato 2. If I could, 3.5 stars is actually more appropriate. Is it great sushi, no. Is the sushi so bad that you're not going to like it or it's going to make you sick, also no. For a very reasonable price you can get all you can eat sushi and appetizers. None of it is going to blow you away but you also won't be disappointed. To be fair I can't speak for some of the other things on the all you can eat menu like chicken teriyaki or fried rice, I'm mostly there to crush sushi and appetizers and between those two everything they make is pretty good.

Nice AYCE Sushi spot in the heart of Boston/ off of Newbury Street. Popped in for dinner last night and got some sushi, some other food items and a drink. Service was quick and efficient and the staff were super nice. And the food was standard fare for All you can eat sushi restaurants - decent quality but nothing to rant and rave about. For my first AYCE experience after the pandemic I was very happy .... My stomach has definitely shrunk though. Would definitely stop by here again the next time I'm in town 4/5

Went in here for lunch buffet. The hostess who seated us seemed like she didn't want to be there. Usually at an Asian restaurant, that's a good sign. But unfortunately it was the last good sign. The quality of the appetizers was lacking. The tempura still had some uncooked batter. Rolls with the shrimp tempura had more batter than shrimp. The rolls in general were not well wrapped. Falling apart. The rice was also a little dry, even Krispy if may add. Now I am hoping I don't get sick.

While the food is a "good deal" with AYCE including basically anything from a large variety of rolls to ramen and other combos, the quality kind of balances it out. I've noticed quality come down a bit since the last time I've been here, i.e less baked scallop on the baked scallop sushi but either way where rolls come out to be 15-20$ a pop at a typical sushi place you'll def get your money's worth. Nice variety and fun for a group. Service is not bad, chill folks, and location is fine, kinda fun going downstairs and all despite the semi-sticky tables.

I had a terrible experience at the restaurant. I placed my order, I started feeling unwell. but still hungry. I asked for the bill and was fined for not finishing my meal. Despite this, the service was awful, so I didn't leave a tip. However, they altered my receipt by adding a tip without my consent. I had to contact my credit card company to get a refund. I don't think this is a trustworthy place, and the service is horrendous.

Used to be my favorite, then became a disappointment in 2022. I gave it another chance one year later and decided it would be the last one. Sushi come with way thinner slides of fish. Rice is dry. Seaweed is so chewy I had to spit out. Seafood ramen is burning spicy. Even the wasabi... I used to work in a restaurant so I know it won't dry out like this if kept in a cooler. Such a waste of $100. Good luck with running a restaurant like that.

The food isn't the best for all you can eat, its okay the mirrors and the place looks uncapped and dirty.

We were sat at our table with soy sauce marks still needing to be wiped down, along with eel sauce staining my plate. I'm pretty big on interior decor and this definitely gives off cafeteria/slightly run-down vibes. The price is steep at $35 AYCE for adults on Sunday dinner, and I personally felt that it wasn't worth. The salmon sashimi was delicious along with the eel makimonos, but a lot of the sashimi pieces weren't even fully cut-through. Our all-sashimi plate also had a tiny piece of ikura on it--while not a big deal I would've preferred the presentation to not be as sloppy and lackluster. There was also a mouse that scrambled into its pit on my way to the bathroom which is a maze to get to anyways. I would've loved for the place to feel cleaner and more well-kept personally. Special rolls are also additional charge as well.

I would agree with the 3 star review on Yelp. We stopped here for lunch while attending a conference. We were seated and served right away. It's all you can eat so the sushi pieces were small but that's the norm. Where the stars are lost is the service. I got and ate my order before my wife even got here order. She only ordered 2 rolls. No doubt they forgot. I would return here but keep my expectations low.

Get your money's worth here! Food is great for the price. One of the best traditional sushi place around back bay. Waiters are friendly and check on us often. Not exactly fancy in terms of the environment but it's clean.

Was really busy on the weekend, but we made a res. It takes a long time for the sushi to come out, but also the sushi wasn't that good. Especially the plain maki rolls, for example like salmon maki or tuna maki, I thought they were not great quality. But the special rolls were made well and tasted good. It's also disappointing there's no ayce sashimi during lunch, and some of the special rolls cost extra.

My husband and I dined in here for Valentines Day. This location is over an hour away from us, but for all you can eat sushi we took the trip. The food was pretty good, the restaurant was packed, the table was very small. Service was my biggest issue, our waitress only came to our table to take the order, bring the food, then bring the bill. She never came back to ask if anything else was needed like drink refill. Then when we went to pay she demanded a tip, the bill was $65 for everything we ordered which was a good price, and typically I do tip but with poor service I didn't plan to. When our waitress said something about a tip, I did try to add a tip but she wasn't pleased with the amount and demanded 20% and tried to keep my card in her hand until I tipped more. My husband said no, took the card back from her and she proceeded to tell us that if we aren't going to tip next time then order takeout or go somewhere else. I did enjoy the food, but the service is not the greatest.

The sashimi had sushi was really good and plenty of choices for all you eat. The fried chicken was delicious as well and it's all included. The drinks were tasty as well

Would come to this sushi AYCE spot if I'm really craving sushi and cannot make it out to the Brighton location since this location is a lot busier, has longer wait times, and is more pricey especially on the weekends! Experience 3.5/5 This location's ambiance and décor is slightly more updated and modern than the Brighton location since it is right in the center of Boston and it is also a newer version of Yamato I in Brighton. You have to go down sets of outdoor steps to get to the front door. Service is okay, and sometimes pretty slow on busy nights. It would often take a while for our food to come out and certain items would be missing as well. Since this location is a bit more cramped and louder, I do not enjoy it as much. Food 3/5 Food quality is fine, okay at best. We typically order a bit of each: sashimi (dinner only), nigiri, maki rolls. Though be aware they add a lot of rice to each item to fill you up. Rolls don't have much flavor so I typically have to use more soy sauce or spicy mayo on the side.

Great place for all you can eat sushi. service was spot on with the waiters coming by every 10-15 minutes. recommend the spicy salmon and tuna. very cute little place would come again

Title: AYCE rice, not AYCE sushi. Unfortunately, this was a pretty bad experience. The rice to fish ratio was very off. For most of our rolls, there was more seaweed than fish. Our group opted not to eat half of the rice from our nigiri because there was only a sliver of fish included in all of our sushi pieces. The waitress told us we needed to finish all the rice or else they would charge us more. After speaking to the manager and showing the amount of fish they gave (close to none in comparison to the rice), he agreed and apologized. Thankfully, he was very professional and wanted to address the issue, but nothing changed on our next order. We got mostly rice again. When comparing to previous pictures from other Yelp reviews of the sushi rolls compared to now, there was a clear discrepancy. The waitress mentioned two points: 1) The rice amount is standardized. This is valid, but when the fish that you provide is not standardized, the amount of rice you include does not matter. 2) She said this is AYCE, which is different from regular menu portions. Again, this is valid, but when we pay for AYCE sushi, we hoped to get some fish. Instead, we got AYCE rice. I would not recommend anyone to come here, unless you want to pay to eat rice. Again, we do appreciate the manager's kindness and willingness to listen, but we were sad nothing had changed and the waitress was still ready to talk about us under her breath. Check out the pictures of some of the for reference.

Would probably rate this place closer to 3.5/5 for an AYCE sushi restaurant. I thought the quality of the fish was okay for an AYCE style menu, but unfortunately you get full on rice pretty quickly. For lunch, you are really only limited to rolls and nigiri so you're unable to eat a lot of the sushi itself due to how much rice each bite has. Out of all the sushi orders, I actually really enjoyed the spicy tuna hand roll (pretty filling but I liked the flavor and crunch added to the handroll). Also, as an FYI they may have adjusted their menu slightly because they do not have salmon roe on their menu anymore. Appetizers were not terrible. We tried to limit on appetizers but notable shout outs include the crab rangoon, shrimp tempura, and seaweed. If you are serious about maximizing on AYCE, I would come for dinner which opens up the menu to sashimi for a little more expense ~$34 (dinner) vs. ~24 (lunch). You do have to pay an additional dollar or so for certain weekend days.