Nakama Japanese Steak House and Sushi Bar

Server stole two credit cards, didn't even feel bad. Manager did nothing and still charged the meals on the cards even though there were no signatures! Super disappointing for a place that's supposed to be award-winning. Go at your own risk, but I'd rather have sushi or hibachi somewhere else. Cons: service more

Last Thursday night while eating at Nakama, I gave the server my credit card to close out my bill. After waiting for over 20 minutes I asked to please have my bill/credit card back. Approximatly another 20 minutes passed and the server came back to inform me that he did not know where my credit card was. My friend and I were shocked and asked to speak to the manager who said they would hopefully find it by the end of the night. Obviously they did not. Nakama comped the meal (which they had no choice b/c I had to CANCEL my bank card after it was stolen/lost by the restuarant) but did not offer any other sort of compensation or apology. The least I would expect is an apology from the owner or a gift card for the trouble of cancelling my account and having to change all of my automatic bill payments. Please be careful when using your credit or bank cards at this restaurant. more

Nakama is one of the best restaurants in the city...the food is wonderful, the atmosphere is great as is the service....i eat there at least once a week and am never disppointed. more

Sorry this is going to be a bit long winded. I was visiting family from out of town and had never been here. I pulled up the dinner menu online and looked at the great selection. I then called to make a reservation and they said that only the Hibachi tables could be reserved. When I looked back at the menu the dinner items I was looking at weren't designated at Hibachi so I didn't think I needed a reservation. We arrived and I asked the server to get on the list and she asked if we would be eating a Hibachi meal. I said no we would like one of the other menu items and wanted to sit at a regular table and order a non-Hibachi meal. She then proceeded to say that everything on the dinner menu was a served and cooked on the Hibachi and the wait would be an 1 to 1.5 hours. I then proceeded to ask her how is someone that has never eaten here to know that everything on the dinner page is served at the Hibachi. She proceeded to point out 3 of the roughly 20 meals on the page that had the word Hibachi in it and state that can't you tell that these are all served on the Hibachi. I said no, what about the other 20 meals that aren't designated with that term. She didn't have a response. The basic point to this is that if it was clear by some designation or by even proper labels or text on the menu that ""everything on this page is served at the Hibachi table"" I wouldn't have been so confused. The staff offered no explanation and couldn't see how I couldn't understand how their menu / restaurant works. I don't work there and was not familiar with the set up. So instead of treating me like I worked there they should treat customers as if they never experienced the Nakama restaurant and help us understand how it works. I will never recommend this place for that reason alone. And preferably over the phone not when the customer is going to have to wait an hour or more. more

While Nakama is the perfect place for a few cocktails and some 'okay' sushi and steak, don't come here expecting the world's greatest meal. You will leave unsatisfied. A few things to understand before making your reservation at nakama: it is expensive, it is crowded, it is loud, and it is filled with 20 and 30-somethings. So, if you are looking for a more upscale but still young scene, Nakama is a great place. If you are looking for SUSHI, walk about 8blocks up the street to Sushi Too. There you will find better prices and MUCH better sushi. The review below me said new to Pittsburgh, and I am happy to tell you, friend, that luckily that is NOT the best sushi in Pittsburgh. Try these places:\r Sushi Too (south side)\r Little Tokyo (Mt. Lebanon)\r the Fish Market (in the Westin Hotel)\r and surprisingly, the stand inside Wholey's is great if you get there when its open (i.e. lunchtime)\r \r \r Hope you find a place you like:)\r \r more

I made reservations at Nakama on a Friday night. It was very busy and valet parking was the only way of parking. We waited about 20 minutes past our reservation and were seated at large table where our chef performed ""tricks"" for us while cooking. He wasn't very good.\r \r One of the first things I noticed when entering the restaurant was all of the sushi chefs were black/hispanic. I thought this was slightly odd. My girlfriend and I ordered strictly from the sushi menu. The rolls were very small and the taste was less than mediocre. This place is not a place to go if you want a good Japanese/Sushi. I wouldn't recommend this place for anyone who wants good food. Pros: Trendy Cons: Expensive, poor service, subpar food more

I wrote my original review (below) and was wondering who these people were that were giving Nakama 5 star ratings. So I did a little exploring and found that most of the five hundred and sixty some reviews were given in a 1 to 2 month time period in 2006... all the users who gave these reviews only gave 1 review using their citysearch accounts... and that review was for Nakama. I'm sorry, but I have to call shananagans on this. Looks like 'someone' decided to get a good rating on citysearch and wrote themselves a whole mess of good reviews. I just couldn't believe that Pittsburghers have as poor a pallatte as these 5 star reviews led me to believe. Shananagans!\r \r \r I just moved to Pittsburgh recently and was hoping to find a decent place to get sushi. Everyone has been talking about Nakama, supposed to be a great place to eat. So, I took my wife to try it out. I actually enjoyed the atmosphere, which some people didn't like. It is loud, but isn't supposed to be a quiet suit-n-tie place. We ordered strictly from the sushi menu. First things first... ordered hot tea, which was cold. Asked for another, got it... still cold. Never got the miso soup we ordered. Got our sushi which was missing some of the order, which we had to ask for. The sushi itself was just ok... nothing spectacular. sushi should be fatty... this was not. Very lean... kind of bland. And the check was quite hefty for the low quality of the meal. This was a real dissappointment. Will not go back here. I hope this isn't the best sushi place in Pittsburgh. Pros: Atmosphere Cons: Food, Service more

Been there 3 times....shame on me but wanted to give it a chance....nothing good to say. Overpriced, terrible service and is way over packed/booked on Fridays and Saturdays!! Pros: nothing Cons: nice building...wippy more

SO expensive..try some of the other places for hibachi in pittsburgh and you will see they are so overpriced.\r \r Average food and the sauces are horrible. Pros: nice place Cons: price, food quality, attitude more

The only thing this place has going for it is it's atomsphere- and by that I mean the building and decor. It was noisy and over crowded as soon as we walked in. The place was completely packed and had a line around the restaurant waiting to be seated. Enough is enough- take a reservation or stop accepting walk-ins! I have never had such a bad server experience as well- unattentive and horrible! Our entrees came out before our apps... the food was horrible... our order was wrong... and the sushi was HORRIBLEEEEEEE. I have been to many sushi restaurants and restaurants in general... never again.. not recommendeddddddddd at ALL. Cons: long wait, over crowded, horrible service more

I am a regular at Nakama. I must say, delicious food ( I am addicted to the sushi Maki Platter ) However, service is dreadful. My last 5 times at Nakama the waiters had no idea what came with my meal ( I had to litterally tell him what came with it! ) and almost seamed as though he was high on some reefer. They all seem very untrained and lazy. Its a shame, but I keep going back because of the delicious food.\r \r If you decide to go to Nakama, dont expect great service, but expect some good sushi!\r Pros: Great Sushi ( depending on the chef of course ) Cons: Staff are morons. more

Nakama WAS my favorite restaurant...four years ago. Yes, it's been around that long but most of its current clientele won't be able to recall the days when the seating was ample, sushi was uniquely fresh, or when you could still find parking on the South Side.\r \r I've lived in the South Side for 5 years, and my, have I seen a dramatic shift. Nakama is a quintessential example of what can happen to a great restaurant or neighborhood. The establishment traded good food, fun and quality for martini's, bad (live?) music, and halter tops in January. Yin'zers go to Nakama so that they really feel like they are ""going aught, aught"" to the ""COOLEST!, HIPPEST!, EDGIEST!, HOT SPOT IN THE 'BURGH! "" Why? Because Nakama has done a phenomenal job of marketing itself as such. \r \r The bottom line? The food is lackluster, the crowd is obnoxious and the staff is over worked, (and occasionally rude...hey, they're not hurting for business so few ticked off customers are just a drop in the bucket). \r \r If you want to escape the monotony of suburban life and pretend like you're eating exotic (aren't we SO worldly with our saki-drinks and new duds from the SouthSide Works) then by all means go. Pay for the valet, otherwise you'll be circling around looking for parking for 20 minutes (yes, even on a Tuesday) but know that you'll be taking parking away from residents and run the risk getting side swiped by your fellow party pals since the valet simply huts for street parking so you don't have to.\r \r If you want to try REAL sushi, go to Kiku in the nearby (and equally trendy) Station Square (oodles of parking!) or try Wholey's for a less expensive (and less classy) option.\r \r Oh and a side note: \r \r Attn. Frat Boys: Please try to remember after your 8th Yager Bomb that there are tax-payers, elderly and families residing in your party central. PLEASE! Stop the unnecessary vandalism and violence! And call a cab for God's sake!\r Pros: Feel like a hipster, parties can be fun Cons: Crowded, noisy, no parking, unauthentic food, over worked staff more

had dinner htere last night on a reccomendation of a friends wife, really bad - sushi rice was overcooked and when we mentioned it the staff was less than concerned. Fish was obviously frozen and of poor quality to begin with. It really reminded us of sushi purchased in a grocery store or cafeteria lunch kiosk, really!\r The catchy menu items do not live up to thier descriptions, sublime service with no emotion or feeling. \r \r Overall I will not return - there are far too many places that offer good attempts at traditional sushi items around to have to put up with this typ of bad impression of classic japanese food.\r Pros: Trendy location which probably saves this place. Cons: Service, beat tired american versions of otherwise supposed good cuisine more

I have been to Nakama a few times. The food is SALTY. The bartenders ARE TERRIBLE. My bachlorette party started here. We had a reservation for one of the private rooms for 9 p. m. We showed up at 8 p.m. and were told that the room would be ready. At 10:15 the hostess finally told us that a table opened up and we could have it but we wouldn't be sitting in the private room. The waitress took 20 minutes to come over and take the drink order. Not friendly. The chef...not friendly. I have visited for drinks on seperate occasions and apparently I am not cool enough to get a refill on my cabernet. After sitting for about 10 minutes with an empty glass the bartender, after flirting with a bunch of women, walked by and I grabbed his attention and asked what I had to do to get another glass of wine. He replied, smuggly mind you, ""sorry, you don't have to get snippy"". I have never snubbed any person tip wise but that chump got zilch from me. I say....don't waste your time. Especially if you really enjoy Japanese food. If you are 22 and superficial, by all means have a ball. The first time I went to Nakama I met the owner. Boy would I like to see her again. Pros: They have electricity and running water Cons: Too many to list more

I didn't even have to read all the reviews to figure out that there are still people out there who appreciate good food. I have eaten here months ago and honestly it a young hip place to impress the girl or your group. That's about it. Yes it is busy, but the quality of the meal....yuck. Simplified sauces nothing unique. I could of stayed at home and cooked some chicken and vegetables with soy sauce and saved my *beep* 50.00. I did not have a good time, it almost seemed chaotic. People hustling everywhere, the floors getting wet and oily. Servers too busy to bring my hot sauce after asking seceral times. Don't try to ask for a refil,box or the check . That might take a little while. This was a celebratory dinner and instead I got semi uncooked veggies, already cooked fried rice. (Where is the freshness?), thirsty mouth, and no hot sauce. Well you have to try to see if you like it or not. Didn't like it and will not return. The only thing the restaurant has to show for is on the outside. I don't even want to know how the kitchen is. \r Not recommended Pros: Ambience Cons: Food,service,food,did I say food more

I have mixed feelings about this place. Firstly, it is amazingly successful with throngs of people visiting every time I have gone. The place is very popular with the ""In"" crowd. Lots of smartly dressed professional men and women are found there. From a first look, the place is looks good. And if your just having a drink or a hibachi steak, its OK.\r \r However, if authentic Japanese cuisine and preparation is your forte, skip this place. The sushi bar is abominable. The sushi fish is left sitting around in the open for extended, which is extremely dangerous. Often, the sushi chefs look more like bus-boys or dish washers than professional sushi chefs. Appearance tells you alot about the seriousness of the establishment.\r \r The main problem with this establishment is that it is working very well. Throngs of people go there. I think that this has more to do with the ""chicness"" of the place than the quality of the food. I also think that the customers are less sophisticated than they want to appear to be. If your out for sushi, skip it entirely. If you want good, authentic and healthy sushi, there are really only three places in Pittsburgh: Kiku in Station Square, Sushi Kim in the Strip, and Umi (which is a a fusion of art , western tastes and sushi, not authentic but definitely good and prepared using traditional safety techniques). Pros: Trendy, Chic People, In Crowd Cons: Sub-par sushi and prep. Not authentic Japanese sushi. more

The food is the best I've ever had. It's a fun nite out. I've been there many times and took my 7 year old there to celebrate a good report card. She had a blast. And no, I wasn't ""paid"" for this review. I just love Nakama. Those few bad reviews sound like sour grapes from jealous restaraunts. more

Terrible experience. I wanted to bring my wife and son (17 and had never been to a japanese steak restaurant before). It was to be a real treat. First, my wife is allergic to fish and we ordered appetizers after ensuring there would be no fish in the dish and of course, there was. The waiter even lied and said there was no fish (after he served it) (later to be corrected by the chef). I had two days before asked for a good showman to chop and grill the food and we got a guy who only wanted to go home quickly and refused to do almost any ""chef tricks""). We were not served for over and hour and 15 minutes after reservations and just sat till they filled the table. I was very dissappointed. If you are 22 years old and going there to simply get bombed and picked up, maybe this is your place. Not for anyone who expects more than basic rude service and overpriced food. Pros: My wife did not die from the fish they said they did not serve her Cons: horrible service more

The first time I went my party was forced to sit with a bunch of bimbos that marinated in their cheap perfume that actually gave me a migraine. (yep, we had to share the table with other people even though it wasn?t crowded AT ALL). We asked to be moved to a new table and even wait for the chef to be done with them and then cook at our table and the manager flat out refused. We had about 10 people and it was a company paid dinner so they definitely made a pretty penny off us and wouldn?t let us eat in comfort.\r \r Then at lunch another time they brought one person?s food about 40 minutes after he ordered (it was crowded, I?ll give them that). But they lost the rest of our order and didn't realize it until an hour after we placed it. Then it took them another 40 minutes to make it again for some reason, there was nothing special about the orders either. No manager came over, the guy that brought it out apologized but that's it....and I think in a situation like that where is takes over 2 hours to get lunch the manager should at the very least come and apologize. \r \r I will NEVER go there again. There are much better sushi places in and around town and they treat me like a customer. \r Pros: food is ok for the price Cons: Absolutely the worst service more

If you like Japanese food (and who doesn?t?), then this is the place for you. The food is absolutely outstanding. And the variety is overwhelming, to say the least! They have an extensive beer menu also, very important to a beer lover such as myself. I prefer quality over quantity and this restaurant shows quality in everything they do. The soups, the salads, the entrees, oh the entrees! All of it is done to perfection. Fortunately, the serving size of the beer does not match the serving size of the food. Be hungry! If you believe dining out should be a memorable experience every time, go to Nakama. Pros: Great food in an easy to get to spot. Cons: I don't have a big enough belly to eat as much as I'd like to when I go here! more