- Popular restaurant serving Japanese cuisine.
- Sizeable portions.
- Central location.
- Can be cramped and loud.
- Service coordination could be improved.
- Authentic Japanese cuisine in the heart of Dublin.
- A wide variety of meals is on offer, with some nods to Western palates.
- Prices are still within the "reasonable" range.
The best Japanese eateries I know either use the system of meals passing you by on a conveyor belt or long, communal tables where you slurp your miso soup while rubbing shoulders with strangers. Yamamori is more conventional, with real tables and real table service. Pity that this was exactly the area where the restaurant let us down.
When we arrived with a medium-sized party, our reserved tables were somehow cramped and other guests as well as waiting staff had some difficulty navigating the room without minor bumps and bruises. We also had the impression that a maximum number of guests were crammed into the existing room. Tokyo-style, you might say, but this is a restaurant, not the subway-train.
After our orders were taken we were in for further surprises. Coordination seemed to lack totally, starters and main courses were served in a drawn-out and seemingly haphazard way. While some members were still waiting for the appetizer, others were polishing off the entree already. Somehow this spoils the party atmosphere ...
In a nutshell: good food at reasonable prices, but not a congenial place.
