Yojimbo — Restaurant in Alameda

Update:

Yojimbo has opened a new branch just a few steps away from its original. 2139 Santa Clara Ave, former space of American Oak.

Check it out!!!

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We certainly love going to this place! Yojimbo is one of our favorite ramen and Japanese food restaurants around the Bay Area! We have been coming here for several years and have invited friends. All of the people we invited to eat here were very impressed and others kept coming back, some drove from Vallejo and Fremont.

Our frequent visits was stopped due to the pandemic, in that two years of pause my wife managed to be nearby and got me some ramen to-go but as best as it was packaged, we know that ramen is best eaten right away after serving. Well, we visited last week and we came back yesterday to make up for lost time! haha

The ramen is still as good as we remembered it, the only change is that it now comes in two sizes, regular and large. It used to be just one size which was LARGE and you needed to use a big soup spoon. We used to have more than enough for two meals. On both recent visits, we ordered the regular size which is still a generous portion. The broth is delicious, noodles are nice, the chasu is delicious also. People who come here regularly will agree that they are consistent with the taste and good quality of the ramen.

Wait, there's more! For non-ramen lovers, there is also quite good selections of japanese dishes and as others have complimented, it is fresh! I rarely order sushi here because I usually come for ramen, but when I do, it has always been fresh! There are also a good selection of appetizers to enjoy. I tried the pork bun last week and it was very good! I wanted to try the spicy tuna bun yesterday, but it was out. Oh well, more reasons for my wife and I to go back next week .. hehe.

Lastly, as shown on my photos, Yojimbo has some very cool Japanese anime inspired art work throughout the place drawn by the owner himself! There are also some action figures on display for fans of Japanese anime. I wanted to ask the owner if he will be able to make one for me one day as I do love his Samurai warriors art works.

Go, go, go to this place! You have to try it at least once and you will not regret it! Oh - really last thing! At some point they opened up more space on the side of the building but it was closed and we were told that it has been closed for quite some time BUT they are planning to open a bigger location not too far from its current location. From what we were told they do not have plans to close the current location, I do hope that they don't because it does have...

The absolute worst I've ever been treated at a restaurant. Ever.

Walked in the door and got 2 people seated quickly. After that everything went absolutely downhill.

At the front it looks somewhat normal, but as you go further in the space gets more and more narrow and shoddily built. If you get uncomfortable in crowded places, this is not the place for you. If you're a big guy, this probably isn't the place for you. I can't even say I feel confident about the fire safety, so if you worry about that sort of thing, this also probably isn't the place for you.

Took 5 minutes to get a cup of water, 7 minutes of sitting there with our menus closed and staring at the (pretty cool, no matter how pissed I am) artwork. Finally The waitress came to take orders from us and the table next to us. If she said a single word past 'Can I take your order?', neither of us heard it.

So after a while, a couple who came after us sat down and received their food before us and the table next to us. One of the people from that table asked for another bowl to share an order of Ramen, after which the waitress sheepishly admitted they had no clean bowls.

After about 40 minutes, a waitress came out and sheepishly admitted she needed to take their order again. "Well surely they have our order, or else they would have asked us too, right?"

After 50 minutes of grumbling stomachs and not a single thing we ordered, another waitress came out and confusedly asked "Have we taken your order?"

Now I'm the type of person that will quietly let myself get screwed over in a lot of cases. If a restaurant serves me bad food I'll complain to myself but probably end up paying for it and leaving quietly. I've never stood up and left a restaurant like that.

Truly atrocious. A nice lunch with my boyfriend turned into a trip to KFC just so we could get a damn meal and go on with our day.

Pros: Cool Art - Seriously whoever does the paintings deserves some props. It takes a lot for someone to come out of such an atrocious experience and STILL want to compliment your paintings.

Cool Music - They played a lot of Jpop. At one point they played a song a recognized from when I was younger, so that was probably the best part of the whole visit.

Cons: Eh water - I literally never got handed another food item while I was here, so this is all I can comment on. The cup of water they gave me tasted like tap, so I took one sip and then put it down, deciding to just wait for the Ramune I ordered. I still really want a Ramune.

Completely incompetent service - Read the review. Got seated,...

I've been coming here on and off for the past five plus years as I'm originally from Alameda and live not too far away (East Oakland).

Yojimbo is like many other "Japanese" restaurants in that it is run by Koreans, and their chefs are Latino.

The decor, though, would make you feel otherwise - a lot of Japanese popular culture from Samurai films to Anime adorn the wall.

One thing that this Japanese restaurant lacks is the greeting from chefs (Iraishaimase!), alerting the restaurant of new customers. The chefs just stare at you when you arrive with frightened eyes as if ICE is coming to raid the place - a little off-putting.

Sushi is good, Ramen is decent; however, the salads need a bit of work. Food comes out in a timely fashion, and nobody is left waiting for their food.

There is only one bathroom. Oftentimes, this leads to people standing around waiting to use it. It's a bit annoying to try to use the restroom with a bunch of people knocking on the door. Also, the restroom apparently had a leak as there is some patchwork near the sink wall. It's not something I like to look at while taking care of business!

Alameda has a bunch of sushi options. This place is way better than getting food poisoning from Sushi House near the beach!

If you're considering Yojimbo, do it. It's a safe option, and you won't get food poisoning, unlike...