Yamazaru is one of the rare Charlotte restaurants that is still packed at 9:30 or 10 at night, often with people waiting at the door to get in. Perhaps this is because it is one of the more reasonably priced Japanese restaurants in town, or within an easy walk of all the South End apartments and in the trendy former industrial area just west of the Lynx tracks and south of Tremont. The food here is not fantastic, but it is very good. It's fairly consistent and the flavors are pretty authentic. A bar runs down the right side of the restaurant with two TVs, one for the Japanese NHK station and one for sports or whatever. The sushi bar is on the back left side of the restaurant. Booths run down the center and tables surround. There's also limited patio seating for tête-à-tête dining. One drawback to Yamazaru is that the sushi chefs (and I believe there were 3 or 4) cannot keep up with the sushi orders. If you arrive early in the evening, you're ok. But if you arrive after 8pm, the sushi orders get bogged down. If you order sushi and your companions order other food, they'll be long done with theirs before you get your sushi. They can't really add any more chefs to that small sushi prep area. So just plan on staying a while and being hungry as you watch your friends eat! The other downer is that they offer many interesting sakes, but the prices are pretty stiff. I would love to order a nice chilled Junmai Ginjo, but a 3 oz serving is $15 and I'd want more than 3 oz!