Yokohama Japanese Restaurant

I love this place so much. Kenny makes the best sushi ever! It’s like the sushi melts in your mouth. People have their own opinions but I think you should give this place a try cause you shouldn’t miss out on REAL Japanese food :)

Let me start out by saying that the staff was very nice, our table was clean, prices aren’t terrible, and they do have good food. maybe just not good sushi? Or I just had bad luck…
I’m going back to try something else.
Honestly was super excited about this place and had been thinking about it for a week now.
Just tried it out and I was so upset with the quality of the food that it brought me to tears.
The salmon I had, seemed to have been the last of the night.
It still had skin on it and too much fat.
I’m used to salmon being almost satin in texture with a sweet buttery flavor.
This salmon had no flavor and had the texture of cream cheese… I couldn’t eat it.
I tried. I forced myself to try to enjoy it.
At first I thought they put cream cheese into my roll by accident.
I checked and nope, no cream cheese.
Then I thought it was the rice. Is it overcooked?
Is that what this creamy texture is?
Nope…
So I took a roll apart and tried it piece by piece.
IT’S THE FISH… =O
I’ve eaten ALOT of sushi. I’ve never had salmon with that texture, the texture of cream cheese??? =(
My bf had their udon noodles. He really enjoyed them.
He also got their «volcano roll» which honestly was just rice rolls (no filling inside) with fake crab meat ontop with a single drop of sriracha on each roll…
I was so confused when she put the plate down because I’ve never seen a volcano roll like that. It’s always been a pile and overloaded with toppings.
This literally just looked like rice rolls with little scoops of «palmetto cheese spread» ontop.
I tried one to see if I could eat his instead and they tasted like nothing.
Super bland. No filling. I’m so shocked that they called it a volcano roll.
I also got a salmon skin hand roll. Which is one of my top favorite things to eat in the world.
I poured some ponzu sauce over it, took a huge bite, chewed a couple times and instantly grabbed a napkin.
I’m sorry. Maybe it’s my tastebuds. but I like my salmon skin to be crunchy.
This wasn’t crunchy.
This had the same texture as the fatty part of a pork roast.
That oily, smushy, mouth coating, texture.
That’s when the deep sadness kicked in and I just wanted to leave.
So we paid, I went to the car trying not to cry and went home and ate PBnJ.
The night I had been looking forward to all week was a disaster…
So hopefully next time we go it’ll be a better experience. Just never getting their sushi again.
I want to try their ramen!

Broad Japanese menu, total family run restaurant in a central Brandon location, good prices and very good quality dishes make this a solid 4 stars. This is not one of the new trendy ramen shops that caters to hipsters and charges $ 30 a bowl or whatever. It’s a traditional old school, authentic family joint. I thought the Ramen was excellent: both the traditional with beef and the seafood version that comes with a side plate of tempura shrimp and veggies. Their sushi is unique as it’s basically sashimi sitting on a roll of rice. The butterfish was excellent and the first time I had tried such. I did not try any of the hibachi items but will next time.

I always enjoy these cozy, comforting mom-​and-​pop restaurants. This is located in the heart of Brandon and appears to have been here for many years. It’s run by a real Japanese family who prepare their meals the same way it is done in Japan. Their specialty of course is Japanese cuisine which predominately features sushi and Ramen dishes. I tried an assortment of their sushi (fish on top of rice). It consisted of butter fish, red tuna, white tuna. They each were very good cuts of meat which just melted in our mouth’s. The Ramen was exactly as I expected. Very good!
The wait staff is very friendly and informative. Our waitress made sure to be descriptive of the differences in the different meals asked. It appears to be a favorite amongst the locals.
I would recommend this to anyone who happens to be in this area and want to try real home down Japanese food.

Best sushi place in Brandon. We usually get the Teru, Catepillar & Spicy Tuna rolls. The Godzilla hand rolls are also awesome but very spicy.

Excellent sushi. We love the volcano roll. The owner is very nice. Have been a customer here for probably 10 years.

I shouldn’t even give them one star, hAd to wait to be seated so the lady can check someone out, which took 10 minutes, then she had to find us seating, 3 people, the restaurant was practically empty, we finally sat and then was never talked to again, after waiting 15 more minutes without even being served water we got up and left! the only reason I bothered coming to the place is because it’s the only place in Brandon Fl that serves ramen! I will never go there again. Very Unsatisfied

Loved it. Great sushi. Friendly staff. Nice atmosphere. Will definitely be coming back

My favorite Japanese place in town. The service is always friendly and the food is always delicious! I’ve only ever gotten take out, but I’ve tried multiple dishes. Sukiyaki and spicy salmon rolls are my favorites. Ignore the bad reviews and give the place a try, especially if you’re in the mood for take out. I like this place better than Osaka Sushi, and so does my boyfriend.

Me and my wife Nataliia’cim visited this place today at 5:30 pm and had a delightful sushi dinner. Over the years, We’ve eaten in a lot of other sushi places spanning from hawaii to california to all the way to florida and i strongly believe that Yokohama has offered us the freshest and best cut varieties of fish in a very affordable price and yet the place was very pleasent to be in. The japanese chef is very knowledgeable and has extensive experience in sushi restaurants .
We have tried the every single fish available for sushi and sashimi and except the grouper (which was ok) were top quality and tasted unbelievably good. Highly recommend it to all of you !!!

BAD dinner experience!
I ordered raman noodle soup. It took almost an hour before my meal came. It came with half of boiled egg and a small thin slice of pork. The noodles were sticking together like just overcook in the microwave. First bite of my hunger seem like ramen soup taste just fine, but a few bites later I felt my blood presser double because it was really SALTY! I ate only half bowl even though I was still hungry.
The service was no good, and the food was SLOW! We ordered gyoza and edamame for appetizer, it took 30 minutes for gyoza to come, and edamame never came!
The restaurant was okay, but loud! They also have a sushi bar, and I only saw one sushi chief there! So lucky, we didn’t order any sushi.
Food wasn’t worth waiting at all. I won’t go back this place again.

The food was terrible, the service was slow, the dining area was dingy & filthy. Worst meal I’ve had in a long time.
I’ve been here once before, but it had been so long I had completely forgot about it. As we spent more time in the restaurant, I started to remember my previous visit. I had forgotten about it because I tried to block this horrible experience from my memory. I didn’t write a review my first visit, because I thought it was a fluke. I’ll not be going back.
The smell is that of an old bowling alley mixed with ashtray, inside a city dump. I feel like I need a shower. I’m kicking myself for not immediately walking right back out the door. I stayed because I know really good food can come from odd establishments, but the food here was not good at all.
The service was slow! It took nearly 10 minutes before initial contact from our server. We ordered two appetizers, the gyoza and edamame. The gyoza took about 30 minutes to arrive, and the edamame never made it. They were unapologetic about our appetizer never arriving. Drinks were never refilled, and entrées were wrong when they finally arrived.
We shared the Ramen, yakisoba, and teriyaki salmon. The ramen was so salty, I couldn’t take more than one bite. It was not edible. The yakisoba was a pathetic little pile of terribly seasoned noodles. I added chicken for an additional $ 2 up charge, and received a miniscule amount. The salmon was like a block of cardboard. The salmon wasn’t fresh, and didn’t seem like it was cooked recently. It was hard as a rock, and had a bad smell, taste and flavor.
I feel ripped off, but it’s not about the money. I’ll make more money. But, I only have a limited amount of time on earth, & a limited number of meals to eat. They robbed me of my time and the opportunity to have a delicious meal. That’s what upsets me the most.

I have been there twice, 1^st time was great but second time service kinda slow. My husband order hibachi steak, it took forever to get his food. My food came out first and I already finished mine so my husband had to ask them to put in the box. Also my husband asking for 2^rd beer, it never come :(

Totally disgusting!!! Waste of money! DONT EAT HERE!!! If I could leave 0 stars I would !

By far the worst sushi I ever ate !
Spicy tuna was not fresh !
California roll was more like a poor mans roll with only a bit of cucumber and krab and a thin slice of Avocado.
Chicken teriyaki was like a kids meal for the price you pay might as well go get a steak dinner from Waffle House and it’s better!

Just a few words I checked google this resteraunt had 5 stars 3 years ago. Why its has 5 stars I seriously have no idea. If anyone has been there recently the quality is poor.
When I walked in the place was old. Tables old, everything including the food was old.
I love sushi gave the chef the chance to prove good food can come from an old resteraunt. The sushi was falling apart and the ingredients were less than palatable.
It was a shame I was disappointed.
Don’t go there save your money.

This place is truly fantastic. The customers that dined here while I was here? Not so much.
The food was fantastic. The sushi was delicious and meaty. The ramen was salty and flavorful. The service was slow, but was still fantastic.
Do yourself a favor. Spend quality time with your loved ones and eat here and take your time. People bitch about slow service, what do you expect from a family owned Japanese restaurant? Take your time.
Thumbs up.
To the two ladies asking if they had gluten-​free soy sauce, GO HOME!

I can’t rave about this place enough! I can’t wait to bring our daughter here once she is born just to show her to Kenny and Mazy! They are great and humble people! Your name will always be remembered even if you don’t stop by often!

I was at this end of town recently and after reading some of the other reviews I had to give it a try. Also a friend had been recently and he really liked it. For me it was more of a mixed bag. Some good things and some so so things.
The good:
I really liked the ramen. The broth was as «deep» as some I’ve had but it was pretty good. The pork was lovingly tender. Not sure about the tempura shrimp on top, would have liked more pork than instead, but I understand where they are coming from. Be sure to make the polite slurping sounds as well, while enjoying. They had a special the night we were there as well. Cherry stone clams. Get them spicy. These were tender yummy, spicy and the mixture of scallions and shitakes was really good. A very interesting and tasty combo.
We also had a little sushi. Just some tuna, a spicy roll and some unagi. I have to say I wasn’t thrilled. It was fine, but I’ve had better. One main issue is the spicy roll wasn’t, and it just had too much going on, so it sort of turned into a bit of a mess in your mouth, too many sauces, not much tuna, oddly large cucumbers in the middle. I just think it was over done and a simpler version that was actually spicy would be good. The tuna was fresh, but it was missing something. a bit of seasoning, the right balance of washabi, something but it was forgettable. The eel was fine but could have used about another 10 seconds under the broiler to really give it that great caramelization that makes this good, so a little disappointing as well.
Service was very friendly, up to the point where they kept wanting to take our plates before we were finished or even had food halfway to our lips. A bit of an issue with the bill at the end, but it was worked out eventually, but how to you suggest there is a mistake in the bill in a way that no one loses face?

There are only two places in Tampa Bay (that I know of) that serve the Japanese dishes that I am craving.
1. takoyaki (grittled, stored, then battered and deep fried to order)
2. okonomiyaki
3. ramen (don’t know for sure, but I think it is the Shio variety, egg not soft boiled, and pork heated to order)
While the three dishes mentioned are not the best I have ever had, they provide the comforting and familiar flavor that is dear to my heart.
Yakohama provides authentic dishes with a flair for perfection and customary attention to detail. While the atmosphere is slightly older looking and smells like a movie theater, the entire essence of the casual experience is emphasized. Once you block out the annoying radio music, things start getting better.
It is an ethereal experience to walk past a garden on my lunch break into a food paradise where food items are handled in a traditional way. While Japanese chatter is going on the background, I took a bite of the simple Tuna Roll, my closed eyes filled with visions of the chef toasting the nori over a griddle and fanning the rice with care. Where else can you get toasted nori in the area?
The short video:
Much different, in my opinion to «I Ai Sushi» of Tampa— a place that I would never order sushi from again, but like order their Izakaya and Tonkotsu Ramen.