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Don’t let the long lines of cool kids fool you: Yama’s sushi is nothing to wait around for. There are better, cheaper, funkier raw-fish joints mere blocks away from this chainlet’s four locations. This is not to say Yama doesn’t give it a shot—the appetizer list includes some adventurous specials, but once you’re past the starters, you’re in a dead zone of teriyaki meals and boring sushi and sashimi arrangements, whose tasteless, oversize portions and reliance on artificial crab stick mean that even potentially creative maki rolls will inevitably disappoint. — Matt Gross