Yama Sushi & Bento — Restaurant in Florida

This is probably one of the best sushi places around the Fleming Island area. I’ve tried a few others nearby, and this one really stands out when it comes to freshness and quality. I ordered several tuna and eel dishes, and everything tasted super fresh and well-prepared. The eel, in particular, was impressive—not only was it flavorful and tender, but it also didn’t have any of those tiny bones that sometimes show up in lower-quality cuts. You can really tell they use high-quality ingredients, which I appreciated.

If I had to nitpick, I’d say the eel portion could be a little more generous. It wasn’t small exactly, but compared to other places, the portion size felt a bit modest. Slightly larger portions would definitely make the overall value feel more in line with the price point.

Speaking of price, the menu here is about 5–10% more expensive than other sushi spots in the area. That’s not a dealbreaker at all, especially given the quality of the food, but it’s worth noting if you’re used to more budget-friendly options. In my opinion, the quality justifies the slightly higher price.

The one thing that stood out more than anything else was the seating. The space inside is pretty limited, and the table layout makes things feel a bit cramped. There are no booths, and the way the tables are arranged means you’re often sitting very close to other diners—sometimes even directly across from strangers, which can feel a bit awkward. It’s not the most comfortable setup if you're looking for a relaxed or semi-private dining experience. I understand the space constraints, but even just swapping in a few booths or rearranging the layout might help improve the overall atmosphere.

That said, the food and service were both excellent. The staff was friendly, the food came out quickly, and the overall experience (aside from the tight seating) was really positive. If you’re in the area and craving good sushi, this place is definitely worth a visit. I’ll definitely be back—maybe just during a less busy time of day for a more comfortable...

We were in the mood for hibachi but the actual hibachi restaurant was closed so we decided to give the hibachi dinner at Yama a try. This is only a rating based on our food we got from them. We ordered the shrimp and steak hibachi dinners to go. It was ready on time and the staff was friendly. I will say, the clear soup was excellent. The ginger dressing on the salad was extremely sweet. I’m not sure if they make it in house or buy it but I love ginger dressing of all different variations and I struggled to eat the salad. The steak was good and tender but there were only 3 shrimp and the tails were left on which was annoying. I came with “vegetables” which was literally the entire to go container lined with onion, a few small pieces of broccoli, a few slivers of mushroom and carrots. I literally had an entire onion in my box. There should have been more if the other stuff and less if the onions, at least a 50/50 ration. We got the fried race and it tasted like straight oil. I’m guessing a sesame oil. It had zero flavor other than that and it was literally just rice. Fried rice generally has some onion, maybe carrots and some egg but this had nothing but the rice. I wouldn’t get it again. Because the steak and soup were good, I give this 3 stars but I’m hesitant on that. I hate to say it because we like to support small businesses but we likely won’t be back after that meal. We spent just a couple dollars less than the actual hibachi place and it wasn’t anything close...

After reading the great reviews, my wife and I were excited to try the place. We went there last Friday. First hiccup. The place is the size of a closet and it is packed. No problem, that just means it is good, right? Not exactly. We got seated fairly quickly and were brought water to drink. Then we waited, and waited, and waited. No one comes to see if we are ready to order for over 15 minutes. The place is small and we are the only new patrons! Not a single person would make eye contact with us! 30 seconds before we were getting ready to leave, our server walks up. She was very friendly, takes our order, (3 sushi rolls and Hibachi). We elected to add a salad and soup since only one comes with the hibachi. Soup and salad arrive. The soup is wonderful! The salad, not so much. A couple of iceberg lettuce leaves and some ginger dressing. Next our sushi arrives. presentation was nice, but again it ended there. They bring us some kind of gelatinous junk they call shrimp sauce. It was very unappealing. The sushi was only okay. A step up from supermarket sushi. Our Hibachi arrives next. VERY salty. both the fried rice and the main dish. So, all in all, a very disappointing night out. Then we find out we paid $2.50 for the salad? We will...