Shay Ernisse
4 months ago
My absolute favorite sushi spot in all of Portland—truly miles better than the ever-popular Bamboo Sushi, in my opinion.
I especially prefer this location over the SE one. Even though it’s smaller, I’ve almost never had trouble getting a table, and the atmosphere feels more relaxed and welcoming. The staff is always friendly, attentive, and quick to make you feel taken care of.
My go-to order is the Baked Lobster Roll, without question. It might actually be my favorite roll from any sushi restaurant, ever. Perfectly rich, flavorful, and consistently delicious.
My dining partner is obsessed with the Chirashi Bowl here. He swears it’s one of the best he’s ever had—packed with a generous variety of fish, all incredibly fresh and beautifully prepared.
If you haven’t tried Yama yet, you’re seriously missing out. This place is a gem!
It is a smaller restaurant with many fresh offerings. The hamachi yuzu roll and Waikiki rolls were the two favorites this trip, but basically everything on the menu sounds good. They have a small list of appetizers and salads, endless nigiri and sashimi options, and daily specials. On nice days, they have a ton of sidewalk seating as well. Highly recomend.
Yama Sushi & Sake Bar — A Must-Visit Sushi Spot in Portland!
We had an amazing lunch here today and everything about the experience was spot-on. Let’s start with the food — every piece of sushi was beautifully presented and incredibly fresh.
• Uni Gunkan (Sea Urchin Sushi): Creamy, sweet, and melts in your mouth. The freshness was top-tier — no fishy taste, just pure ocean goodness.
• Salmon & Red Tuna Nigiri: Perfectly sliced and served at the right temperature. You can tell they take care in how they handle their fish.
• Fatty Tuna & Yellowtail Nigiri: Rich and buttery — legit melt-in-your-mouth texture. A real treat!
• Signature Sushi Rolls: We tried the Yama Roll — loaded with eel, shrimp tempura, avocado, and topped with tobiko. Flavor bomb!
• And of course, everything paired beautifully with a cold Asahi beer 🍺
The ambience was cozy but classy, and sitting at the counter gave us a front-row seat to the chefs preparing everything with precision and care. Staff were friendly and welcoming too!
Prices were very reasonable for the quality, and guess what? No sales tax in Portland! 🙌 That alone made me extra happy — high quality without the usual sting of tax.
Highly recommend this place if you’re visiting Portland and craving premium sushi in a relaxed setting. Would definitely come back next time 💕
Good sushi, salmon roll rice was too thick and somewhat hard. I had better sushi at Yama sushi previously. Tuna tower is highly recommended. Toro tuna was my favorite amongst the 3 different items in the sampler (salmon and yellowtail)
My friend and I ordered the Chirashi sushi, baked lobster roll, and sweet shrimp. While the baked lobster roll and sweet shrimp were passable, the Chirashi sushi unfortunately resulted in severe gastrointestinal distress for both of us -- including intense diarrhea and stomach pain that persisted into the following morning.
Concerned that something may have been off -- particularly the escolar, which seemed questionable -- I reached out to the restaurant. Unfortunately, the staff showed little interest in my concerns and hung up on me. This experience was especially disappointing, as I had been a regular customer and had never encountered issues here before. Needless to say, I won't be going back.
