Yamato Steak House Of Japan — Restaurant in Carbondale

I always said I'd never try sushi in Southern Illinois. That'd I'd only try it if I went to a coastal city and had it from a restaurant known for good sushi. I should never have waited. I wasn't even looking for sushi when I found this place. My husband and I had had a hard time trying to find traditional ramen or udon in the area. Soba noodles are kinda in the neighborhood of both, so when I found that Yamato serve soba, we decided to try it. The yaki soba became our go to dish. The portions are enormous and the atmosphere is inviting and cool. After a couple visits I saw someone order sushi and that they prepare it at the bar right in front of you. I watched a woman prep the gentlemen's order using all the proper food safety rules and thought, "Next time I'll try it." With me knowing nothing about sushi, they prepped me a variety appetizer plate. I discovered I like some things and other's not so much, but it was all good. Last time I went I decided to try the eel. There are not enough stars available on this review to tell you how freaking awesome eel is. It has become my go to appetizer and I love it. I'm too much of a chicken to try the spicy options of the other dishes available, but if the soba and sushi are so dang good, I bet everything else is too. Get the lobster rangoon. Seriously, get it. You won't be sorry. Some of these other reviews say that the price point is a little much. Maybe, but we go to Yamato for special occasions. My husband and I can each order an appetizer and a meal (giant plate of food + soup) for under $60 and take home enough food for another two meals. $60 isn't a lot for a birthday or anniversary dinner. Not when you spend $80+ for a loud hibachi show and you're forced to sit with people you don't know. If you want good atmosphere, good service and amazing Japanese food,...

I had the Teriyaki Salmon Bento. Overall it was decent and I'd eat here again. I'd try something else probably. The prices are OK, but they've gone up because of COVID. This wasn't stated on the website. My meal was $2 more than what it told me on the website when I submitted my order. A minor inconvenience. I've given everything individual scores below.

Review Miso-9/10 Subtle taste. Not overly sted like I've had at other spots and just the right amount as an appetizer. I would have appreciated a few more green onions since I like them. Overall really good though!

Fried rice-7/10 This was a run of the mill fried rice. You can never go wrong with it!

Spring roll-0/10 It was placed on top of a wet Veggie mix and by the time I got home it was incredibly soggy. Horrible texture and salty taste (from the juices or the roll itself I'm not sure). It felt like mashed potatoes and I spit it back out.

Teriyaki Salmon- 7/10 It was a decent portion! It had moisture which was great. It's so easy to dry out Salmon. The sauce was good. It had kind of a charred taste to it,but still good.

California Roll-6/10 Basic California Roll. Nothing to write about. I did notice that the avocado looked a little aged and brownish. It didn't affect the taste however.

Tempura Veggie- 4/10 The website seemed to imply there'd be a few but I only got one. I'm not sure what it was. It had a meaty texture to it actually. It however wasn't as soggy as the spring roll. It was just "ok".

Salad- 1/10 It was iceberg lettuce and it looked like scraps. The dressing was good.

Service-9/10 The lady was nice. She got to me right away and gave me my food. I appreciate speed and smiling faces, but...

I had high expectations by what I read. I will list the good and the not so good; The food was just okay. The sauce on the table, tasted like Yum Yum sauce, and it's good that it was there, because the salad dressing was ginger, but dark, and like it was just crushed ginger - not good and very sparse on lettuce. We ordered 2 appetizers that arrived on wilted lettuce, and the vingegar sauce was tasty. The young waiter definitely needed to be in another profession - he seemed absent minded, and after we had an accidental spill which was quite large on our table, I asked him for extra napkins, and he did not offer to help us wipe up this very large spill of very sticky sauce - very strange. I got help from another waiter who had a wet rag, and he apologized stating that the waiter was new. We ordered the teriyaki chicken dinners, I thought they were over priced compared to most Japanese Bento boxes. They were brought out with no wasabi for the rolls, and previous to that, no plates were offered with our 2 appetizers. The meal was just ok...Miso soup was watered down with just a slight taste of Miso. As we love Japanese food and frequent this kind of establishment often, and eat Japanese food all over the U.S. and frequently, I was not impressed This was not the best food we have ever eaten, or the worst...but I would try another Japanese resteraunt instead of...