YAMA Waverly — Restaurant in Weddington

I’ve been twice now for lunch and dinner and the sourcing for sushi is fantastic for the area. Service has been great in that they’re quick to re-do nigiri orders ruined by torching, not sure why they try to sneak that in on customers as opposed to being up front on the menu. Serving the bloodline in nigiri is also a surprising choice and probably a training issue. But the suppliers are rockstars.

The bourbon selection is actually better than Porters House in terms of hard to source bourbons and their prices are really good. Management seems unprepared for service. The waitstaff has to carry around handwritten lists of inventory that doesn’t include many bottles clearly on the shelf. Seems very sketchy not to print whiskey lists, (and fish lists for that matter) with prices. It would save servers from having to run back and forth to answer basic questions. Three stars is because of the management decision to not be upfront with customers and have staff serve neat drinks at 1.5oz instead of the long-standing industry standard of 2oz. What’s really surprising is being sneaky about it instead of just disclosing an up charge for a few dollars for neat drink.

The service and suppliers are really great. Really hoping management gets out of their own way soon and doesn’t completely ruin a...

New to the Charlotte area and my second time to YAMA. The first time was a business meeting so it was a light meal and food and service were good. We had several friends rave about this restaurant so with family in town for Thanksgiving who love sushi we gave it a another try. The food was ok but we all agreed we have had better sushi. The reason for the review is for the poor service. Our waiter seemed distracted and was not very attentive. After appetizers he delivered the fried rice and said "they are just starting your sushi". Why deliver the rice before the sushi? Asked several times for soy sauce and shrimp sauce and after delivering it in bulk there were no small dishes to divide it among the 4 of us. Had to ask for our soup and salad. Had to ask for a second round of drinks. Waited 25 minutes for the bill after the table was cleared and we were asked if we needed anything else. We were on the patio and could observe the waiter inside talking with other servers and the bar tender. It was not that he was too busy it was obvious he was lazy. No plans to go back. Will let my friends know that we were...

-1 star overall for slow service and value for money

Food: 5/5 Everything was delicious. If you’re looking for legit, amazing sushi/sashimi, this is it. Quality fish and fantastic execution. Tuna totoro was definitely the star of dinner.

Service: 4/5 We were seated promptly even on a busy Saturday night, and our server was amazing! Her recommendations were great, and she was very attentive and friendly. However, this is the longest meal of sushi ever - 2.5 hours for 1 appetizer, 1 small dish, and 2 rolls. We did order another roll in the middle of the meal, but waiting a whole hour for 1 more roll seems excessive.

Ambiance: 5/5 Feels nice enough so if you dress up you won’t stand out, but casual enough to wear a t shirt and basketball shorts. Perfect for a date night or if you just want to treat yourself to a nice dining experience. The bar is beautiful if you wanted to sit there.

Value: 4/5 This place is overpriced. Anything with sashimi was TINY, the smallest portion sizes I’ve ever seen from a sushi restaurant, even upscale ones! Yes, the quality is there, but it’s on par / more expensive than...