Yojimbo and Gallery — Restaurant in Alameda

This is the 2nd Yojimbo in Alameda as the original is still on Park Street. It is a massive space in the former Black Oak space across from Stones Cyclery. Like the smaller Yojimbo, Japanese popular culture features throughout the space. Outside there is seating under the awning / roof exterior.

It was a Saturday evening. There was an overflow of waiting customers and only two waitresses when I attended for my 51st birthday. The line was chaotic and multiple staff kept informing us of the wait time. I noticed we weren’t the only ones waiting as many customers seemed tired waiting for the meals.

It took a good 15 minutes to be seated followed by another 15 minutes for the waitress to actually take our order. When our food came it wasn’t together. So out of respect I didn’t touch my curry ramen with gyoza topping until my friend received her bento. The sushi came, also my order, and she still didn’t receive her food. Simple questions as to where her food was - were met with clueless helplessness. I felt bad for the wait staff.

The manager just walked around with cool Buddhist detachment and didn’t seem to delegate any responsibility as if he didn’t know how to save a sinking ship!

There was a robot to take orders that just moved around the floor and to my knowledge didn’t take orders which would’ve helped the overwhelmed staff.

My friend finally received her food and then I began to eat my curry. Bad choice. This was unlike any curry ramen I had before - super lazy Japanese curry rice. Sauce as a broth(??!!) with a cold hard boiled egg and gyoza thrown inside. It was pretty upsetting to eat what was considered “ramen” for this price. It reminded me of food one would make out of desparation when one is drunk or high.

To add insult to injury all tables in our area received donuts (one per customer) as a weird passive aggressive “thank you” for a chaotic and confusing evening.

My friend was so hesitant to leave a 15% tip because the entire experience sucked. Not a good birthday experience.

So if you go here, expect to wait not just for a seat, but for service and your order all coming out at odd times and then wait again for your check.

In the end all flash (the environment and ambiance) and...

Just found out that they had relocated to a new location a few blocks away from the original location.

Came in during lunch, it wasn't very busy, may be some people was having a hard time locating the new location. Probably did not bother reading the notice posted at the door at the old location like I did.

The new place was more spacious, seem very clean, and bright, but some what under staff may be.

I ordered only nigiri. What stood out first was actually the sushi rice, it was aldente texture, and taste just right amount of seasoning, or just very enjoyable, not too vinegary or sweet.

Next was the fish and sushi ratio was much better than the old place, wider cut of fish, but still bite size for me.

The fish was fresh. The squid nigiri especially had a nice crunch, and sweet taste, i would say that I love this the most.

The Tai or snapper wasn't as crunchy in texture as I was hoping for, but it was still good, and tasty.

Hamachi was buttery, and tasty as always.

The salmon came with a small piece of lemon that made it so refreshing when bite in to, but not over powering.

The octopus got good texture, and mild sweetness.

The Ikura or salmon role was good, not overly salty, and overpowering like some place, and it didnt taste fishy either, I like it.

Finally, the scallop, was meatty, sweet, nutty, and good. It also came with a creamy sauce that was supposed to be spicy, but it was not spicy, it wasn't overly overpowering, but I did not care for the fatty flavor on my scallop. If I every order scallop again, I am going to ask them to not add any fatty sauce on them, not a good combination for me. Thankfully they didn't added too much of the sauce, I just want a simple scallop nigiri.

The miso soup was hot, good amount of salt to wash my taste bud, and I enjoyed it.

The staff also gave me a complimentary salad with a miso sauce that was quite enjoyable, and a fried donut with a buttery cream filling, the donut was fluffy, and pair so well with the buttery cream.

I probably wont ever drive far for sushi every again, ill just have to walk a little farther from my laundry place to get my sushi fix from now on since their quality seem to be much better...

Restaurant Review - Yojimbo, April 4th, 2024

I'm sad to say that my recent visit to Yojimbo on April 4th, 2024, was the worst dining experience I've ever had. I used to be a big fan of this place, but now I'm questioning everything. The wait staff and manager were completely incompetent, and that's saying something, coming from someone who used to work as a server.

Our first waitress was 15 minutes late to take our order, and it wasn't even a busy night. What gives?

My food finally arrived after another 15 minutes, but my wife's order was nowhere to be found. We asked two different waitresses about it, but they were clueless.

When they brought us the check, my wife still hadn't gotten her food. It had been over an hour since we ordered! We tried to cancel her order, but our waitress disappeared without a word.

Another waitress brought us the wrong meal for my wife. She ordered a spicy pork ramen with no bean sprouts, but she got a cold ramen with bean sprouts. Seriously?

And to top it all off, a homeless woman covered in vomit barged into the restaurant, and the waitresses just ignored her. It was left to the manager to deal with the situation. Unbelievable.

Overall, my experience at Yojimbo on April 4th was an absolute disaster. The wait staff and management need to seriously get their act together. I used to love this place, but after this experience, I can't recommend...