Yama Zakura — Restaurant in Northborough

On a Friday night, we found this place to be popular, with a sizable dining area, and a small but hopping bar scene.

The front of the house was well-managed, with an efficient / attentive dining area, and a couple very observant managers monitoring table flow. We got seated fast, an hour before our reservation!

The menu was big…menu 1 offers something for everyone, and quality was solid for higher-end asian-fusion date-night fare. Menu 2 was sushi/sashimi & maki. There is a great deal of attention paid to the food’s appearance; especially the elaborately decorated platters of maki. Some maki variants got way too cute, with a bias for color / height / intense flavors. One example was topping a decent roll with an overpowering raw onion and apple chutney, which we scraped off after the first bite. I didn’t see a lot of traditional sushi or sashimi in the room…looked like people mostly got the fancy rolls, and delivery was made with fanfare.

The service got dinged here only because the back of the house was not so great on our visit. Our particular server’s timing was way off: drinks missed, soups forgotten, excuses made, neighboring tables looking at their watches…that happens, but there was also no process to find & prevent those issues. A trip to the bathroom (a paper-thin wall away from the kitchen) revealed the kitchen, expeditors, and servers were super-chatty with each other and distracted at peak-time. Back-end manager to the rescue?

It’s a good menu, nice atmosphere, and did well on the staples - I’m excited to return on a weeknight date, to try their simpler food on a...

It's almost not fair to write a review for Yama Zakura. We had a bad experience which most likely was an anomaly. Here's our experience. We came in for our reservation at 6:00. We were greeted and seated promptly. But---It took 20 minutes for a server to take our drink order and another 15 minutes to get the drinks to our table. It took another several minutes to place our order for appetizers and sushi. After a long wait one of our party received his appetizer order. Then the real waiting occurred. We watched as people who came in after us had their orders delivered. They ate, paid and their table was occupied by new guests all while we waited for our order. No one even came to take another drink order while we waited so we had only one drink in all the time we were there. Finally, at about 8:00 our order was brought to our table. The owner, who was making her rounds greeting her guests, came to our table and we told her about our experience. She seemed rightfully appalled and did do her best to mitigate the problem. However, we were there for two and a half hours and there isn't much that could have been done to make us feel less angry and disappointed. The shame is that the food, when we got it, was excellent. I'd like to say it was worth the wait but nothing is that good. Would we go again? Yes. Our group discussed it and we all agreed to go again and see what the experience will be. Yama Zakura was featured on Phantom Gourmet and we have friends who told us that they really enjoyed the spot. So, we'll try it again, just not right now, and see how it goes. I'll...

When it comes to sushi, Yama Zakura is hands down my go-to spot. George did a phenomenal job waiting our table and creates a great experience. I find myself here at least once a month, and every visit is just as exceptional as the last. From the warm, inviting atmosphere to the top-notch service, it’s the kind of place that keeps you coming back.

The appetizers alone are worth the visit. The pork dumplings are perfectly crispy on the outside with a flavorful, juicy filling. The edamame is always fresh and seasoned just right, while the crab salad and squid salad are packed with bold flavors and the perfect balance of textures. Each dish is a great way to start the meal, setting the stage for the incredible sushi that follows.

When it comes to rolls, we have our favorites that we order time and time again. The Lobster Bomb Roll is an absolute must-try—generous portions of lobster with just the right touch of seasoning. The Spider Man Roll, with its crispy soft-shell crab, is a perfect mix of crunch and flavor. The Red Sox Roll is another standout, full of fresh, high-quality ingredients, and the Lemon Roll adds a twist that ties everything together beautifully.

Of course, no visit is complete without a great drink, and Yama Zakura delivers on that front as well. Their Lemon Drop Martini is absolutely amazing—smooth, perfectly balanced, and just the right amount of tartness to...