Yamato Japanese steak house — Restaurant in Scottsburg

My family and I absolutely love the Yamato in Madison and have never had a complaint; however, when it comes to the Scottsburg Yamato, it is no good. My daughter and I have given this restaurant a chance three times, and my husband twice. However, we have all come to the conclusion that it is not worth the pricy meals and we will never return. I will speak on the recent meal that we had yesterday evening. My husband ordered two egg rolls and a salad-He said the egg rolls were good and that his salad was watered down, so we drained it and he was able to eat it. My daughter ordered her usual that she always gets at any Yamato-a Chicken teriyaki bento box. She liked her egg roll, her salad was watered down-we drained it and she ate it, she definitely didn't like her usual favorite California roll-the white rice was soggy and had an odd taste, soup-she was handed an onion soup-she only eats Miso, and the rice was okay. As for my meal-I ordered the sushi bento box, which is supposed to come with soup ( I prefer Miso 100% of the time-I was handed onion soup), salad (watered down-I drained and ate), an egg roll-my husband ate, a bed of rice-I ate 1/3, California 8 pieces-I got 4 that were overcooked and tasted like perfume-inedible, and sushi-menu said 3, but I did ask if I could change it to a shrimp tempura roll, so I didn't get any sushi, but what I got was called shrimp temura, which came with 2 pieces of fried broccoli, 2 fried onion rings, 2 long fried shrimps, and 2 fried zucchinis-the shrimp was overcooked and the fried vegetables were hard and undercooked. My husband did eat my two pieces of shrimp, because I can't stand the taste of overcooked shrimp-which only took one small bite to notice. I took one bite out of each of the fried vegetables, I drained and ate my salad with Yum Yum sauce, and 1/3 of the bed of rice-that was good, I took one sip of my miso soup, and it had a nasty back taste. I agreed to pay for the 2 pieces of overcooked shrimp, egg roll, my salad, and my bed of rice, as well as my daughter and husband's meals, but I did ask if I could get some sort of discount, since I quite literally handed the young server the bento plate with the majority of the food still on it. They gave no discounts and did not apologize for the terrible food or not giving me what I actually ordered. They tried in no way to remedy the situation. It really saddens me, because we really looked forward to having a new restaurant in Scottsburg that catered to our Asian roots; however, it was extremely unsatisfactory. I really hate leaving bad reviews, but at the end of the day, Yamato needs to regroup, rethink,...

Just go to the location in Madison, on Clifty Drive. They are Not affiliated, but God it's so much better. Once you eat there, you'll be constantly making comparisons to this place, and not in Scottsburg's favor.

My family often orders gyoza (pan-fried dumplings/potstickers) and lobster rangoon for appetizers. The lobster rangoon is the only obvious difference between the two menus at first glance, Madison has crab rangoon. Both of these are, okay in quality. Consistent at least. The salads though? Are very sad. Mostly just chopped lettuce. :(

My biggest disdain lies for the miso soup- a favorite of mine anywhere else. I had to send it back the last time they brought it to me as it was acrid and musty. This is a telltale sign the soup base is sitting too long without being stirred, or worse it's gone sour/bad and they are serving it anyway.

Another is the sushi. Nothing spicy has any kick. I've complained about it before and was told that's just the way it is. Spicy crab? A lie. The fillings in these sushi rolls is also typically on the skimpier side, with more rice to make up for it. The dynamite roll is pretty decent though.

A less important complaint is the balance of veggi to meat ratio in most dishes. If I get say, a shrimp teriyaki shrimp bento box, I'll get anywhere from a half dozen to a dozen shrimp and like, two pieces of sad broccoli. Maybe a slice of squash if I'm lucky. Some people like this, but I do not and I'm disappointed erverytime.

Finally, the atmosphere is less than stellar. If it were me, I'd get rid of the TV constantly blaring the news or kids movies. Secondly, the employees need a uniform, something without holes in the knees and shirts without print on them. Rarely can I tell who is a customer and who is staff. Also- if you get seated in the back near the kitchen, you'll hear ringing ever few minutes from either a phone or microwave. It...

3/2/25: Tried again, and they gave me not warm, but HOT sushi AGAIN. When i called to speak with a manager, she said "well it was in with the hot soup and lobster rangoon." 😂😳 Well, common sense would have you put them in a different bag????? The owner then came out and made us excuses about how the rice has to be hot to make it stick together which is absolutely a lie. I HAVE NEVER in my entire life been served hot sushi anywhere but this restaurant, been eating it for 25+ years.

I actually requested my money back and took the food back up there this time, the first time ever. Also, their version of a salad is a bowl of iceburg lettuce. Literally nothing else in the bowl, and when i asked the owner, he mumbled something about shredded carrots... that were not in mine, nor have they ever been when I ordered a "salad" to go. Never had 1 to-go order be correct or made properly in the 6-7 I have ordered.

Dine-in is hit or miss.

2nd time: I called to place an order for a shrimp bento box to go, and they charged me $1.50 for sauce I didn't ask for and served me HOT sushi with no ginger or Wasabi. The miso tasted like water and went in the trash. They answered the phone with "hello," so i had to ask if it was Yamatos. The boy taking my order acted like he couldn't care less.

4th time eating here: (6 months between visits), ordered to-go. Sushi packaged in with my meal and was HOT! NO ONE WANTS TO EAT HOT SUSHI, it went into the trash!! No Wasabi or ginger. My spring roll was so spicy that I could barely finish it! I just will not rely on this place for to-go...