Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the most frequently asked questions about reservations, the menu, and A5 YAMA in Naarden Vesting.
Reservations & Visiting
How can I make a reservation at A5 YAMA?
Reservations are made through our booking system.
For groups of 8–10 guests (private dining), please contact us at info@a5yama.com.
Can you dine at A5 YAMA alone (solo dining)?
Yes, reservations for one person are possible.
Is A5 YAMA suitable for a private dinner or private group (private dining)?
Yes, private dinners for 8–10 guests are available upon request.
Please contact us at info@a5yama.com for availability.
How many seats does A5 YAMA have?
A5 YAMA has 8 seats, all arranged around Chef Yama. The restaurant is suitable for parties of 1 to 4 guests. Private dining for 8–10 guests is available upon request.
Does A5 YAMA have tables?
No, A5 YAMA does not have traditional tables. There are 8–10 seats at a Japanese chef’s counter, where Chef Yama prepares the dishes in front of the guests. Rather than a dining room with multiple tables, A5 YAMA offers one continuous Japanese counter experience for up to 8 guests at a time.
Is there a minimum age at A5 YAMA?
Yes, the minimum age is 12 years old.
What is A5 YAMA’s cancellation policy?
Cancellations made up to 72 hours in advance: full refund.
Cancellations within 72 hours: the €100 deposit per person is non-refundable.
The menu
How much does the omakase menu at A5 YAMA cost?
The omakase experience consists of 19 parts and lasts approximately 3.5 hours.
€250 per person.
What type of cuisine does A5 YAMA serve?
Japanese omakase cuisine. Chef Yama selects only the finest ingredients, with A5 Wagyu tenderloin, lobster, and a selection of Dutch fish woven throughout the menu. The omakase experience unfolds as a compelling 19-part culinary story, showcasing the different facets of Chef Yama’s Japanese cuisine.
More than twenty years of living and working in the Netherlands have become part of what comes to the table. Japanese cuisine remains his foundation, but his menu now tells a much broader story of the ingredients he chooses, the people he has met along the way, the influences he has embraced, and the place he has come to call home.
Japan is the foundation. The Netherlands is his home.
As the evening unfolds, you will discover that there is even more hidden within the menu.
Is A5 YAMA suitable for vegetarians or guests with allergies?
No. While the intimate format is unique, Chef Yama cooks alone, without a kitchen brigade. Due to the complexity of the menu, he is unable to accommodate vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, lactose-free, or fish-free dietary requirements.
A meat-free menu (fish only) is possible upon request. Please let us know when making your reservation. Once you arrive at the restaurant, major changes to the menu cannot be accommodated.
Chef & restaurant
Who is chef Yama
Chef Yama belongs to the first generation of Japanese chefs who helped shape Japanese fine dining in the Netherlands.
At the age of twenty, Chef Yama came to the Netherlands from Japan. At Yamazato in Hotel Okura Amsterdam, he became deshi (弟子) under Chef Akira Oshima. In Japanese tradition, a deshi is an apprentice who places himself under the guidance of a master, fully immersing himself in their craft, discipline, and way of working.
Yama spent eight years in Oshima’s kitchen, where he further developed his foundation in Japanese fine dining.
Under Oshima’s guidance, Yamazato became the first traditional Japanese restaurant in Europe to receive a Michelin star in 2002.
In 2013, Yama opened his own restaurant in Rotterdam. For ten years, he developed and refined his own cuisine there.
In 2023, his cuisine was awarded a Michelin star, making Yama, at the time, the only Japanese chef-owner in the Netherlands to hold a Michelin star for his own restaurant with just eight seats. This placed him in a unique position within the Dutch culinary landscape.
Following the closure of Japanese Cuisine Yama, he moved to Naarden-Vesting in January 2026. At A5 YAMA, he once again cooks at an eight-seat chef’s table, but now more personally than ever. He runs A5 YAMA in Naarden-Vesting together with Angela Oosterling. She leads the creative direction and is his sounding board, right hand, and confidante.
Does A5 YAMA have a Michelinstar?
In 2023, Chef Yama's former restaurant in Rotterdam was awarded a Michelin star where he also cooked alone for just eight guests.
Following its closure due to retirement of his previous partner, he opened his new restaurant, A5 YAMA, in Naarden-Vesting on January 16, 2026.
What is A5 DELI?
A5 DELI is the lunch and fine takeaway location of A5 YAMA, located at St. Vitusstraat 2A in Naarden-Vesting. The location is temporarily closed and will reopen in October 2026.
Message
+316 30 34 86 72
Due to language differences, we kindly ask that you contact us by message whenever possible. Thank you for your understanding.
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