Japanese Omakase in The Netherlands
Chef Yama belongs to the first generation of Japanese chefs who helped shape Japanese fine dining in the Netherlands.
At twenty, he came from Japan to the Netherlands. At Yamazato in Hotel Okura Amsterdam, he became a deshi (弟子) of Chef Akira Oshima in Japanese tradition, a chosen student who places himself under a master, fully learning his craft, discipline, and way of working.
Chef Yama spent eight years in Chef Oshima's kitchen, where he further developed his foundation in Japanese fine dining.
Under Chef Oshima's guidance, Yamazato became the first traditional Japanese restaurant in Europe to receive a Michelin star, in 2002.
In 2013, Chef Yama opened his own restaurant in Rotterdam. Over ten years, he built his own kitchen there, where Japanese tradition and technique were increasingly shaped by his life and work in the Netherlands. In 2023, his kitchen was awarded a Michelin star, making Yama the only Japanese chef-owner in the Netherlands at the time to hold a Michelin star for his own eight-seat restaurant. A distinctive position within Dutch gastronomy.
After the closing of Japanese Cuisine Yama, he moved to Naarden-Vesting in January 2026. At A5 YAMA, he once again cooks at a chef's table, but now more personal than ever.
More than twenty years of living and working in the Netherlands have become part of what arrives at the table. His Japanese cuisine remains the foundation, but his menu now tells a much larger story, about the ingredients he chooses, the people he met along the way, the influences he carried with him, and the place he has come to call home.
Japan is the foundation. The Netherlands is his home.
Throughout the evening, guests discover there is even more hidden within the menu.
Hidden within a monumental building in Naarden-Vesting
In his house
Literally Chef Yama’s home, hidden within a monumental building in the heart of Naarden-Vesting (UNESCO).
From the street, there is no indication of what lies behind the façade. Inside, under a glass roof, Yama & Angela have created an intimate chef’s table with just eight seats.
Around the fire, you sit close to the chef. No grand dining room, no distance between the kitchen and the table. Just eight guests, the chef, and a kitchen unfolding right in front of you.
A place you could easily walk past without ever knowing what lies behind it.
Eight guests. One chef. 19 moments. Around the fire.
Chef Yama prepares the entire menu himself, for just eight guests seated at his chef’s table.
It consists of 19 moments, built from numerous individual preparations and details. From refined Japanese techniques to complex preparations around the fire, using binchotan, konro, kamado and warayaki.
No kitchen brigade behind him. No large kitchen between you and the chef. Yama does it himself.
The exact composition of the menu follows the season, the produce, and what Yama wants to express at that moment.
Omakase, by one chef
Omakase comes from the Japanese verb makaseru: to entrust, to leave something in someone’s hands.
It is a Japanese way of dining in which you leave the choice of dishes to the chef, an expression of trust and respect for the craft.
At A5 YAMA, that trust takes on a very personal form.
Chef Yama has an exceptionally broad repertoire of Japanese techniques.
This is not a sushi omakase, but a complete menu where diverse Japanese techniques, seasonal produce, fire and Yama’s personal cuisine come together.
The Omakase Menu
A complete Japanese omakase menu, prepared entirely by Chef Yama himself, as a 3.5-hour experience at his chef’s table.
At A5 YAMA, we go to great lengths in our choice of ingredients and in what we serve alongside them.
We seek out exceptional ingredients and deliberately choose products that add something meaningful to the menu.
The pairings are part of that same pursuit. Wine, sake, tea and botanicals are not simply served alongside the menu, but carefully chosen to enhance each moment.
And throughout the experience, the menu reveals more.
19 moments. One story, discovered only at the table.