Our Final Verdict
We give the Yamazaki Pet Food Bowl a rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars.
Quality: 5/5
Sizes: 4.5/5
Durability: 5/5
Value: 5/5
Welcome to 2023, where interior design and aesthetics have infiltrated the pet care market. I know that I am constantly looking for my dog Lorelei’s belongings to match the style of my home! I want guests to come in and be impressed by how much the pet products don’t resemble the stereotypes. This is where the Yamazaki Pet Food Bowl transformed my dog’s eating and drinking spot into something attractive for the eye.
About Yamakazi
Yamakazi Home was founded over a century ago and specializes in modern small-space housewares and home goods. While the company found early success in Japan, Yamakazi now has locations in the United States and Europe.
Inspired by Japanese minimalist design, the Yamazaki Pet Food Bowl is a two-bowl-and-stand set for your smaller pup or feline companion. It is simple and to-the-point with its offerings, available in two heights and colors. These bowls are ceramic with a sturdy frame, keeping plastics and other not-very-healthy materials away from your four-legged best friend.
Yamazaki has a history of chic and sleek (that rhymes!) designs for your home, from tables to storage. Each piece seems simple at the surface but is cleverly constructed with features you didn’t even know you wanted. The company also tried to keep small spaces in mind, keeping everything a reasonable size that can fit into compact rooms and apartments.
The pet bowl set perfectly matches these creative philosophies (meaning that anything else you buy from Yamazaki would match, too).
Yamazaki Pet Food Bowl Overview
Sizing
There are two options for the Yamazaki Pet Food Bowl: Short and Tall. The bowls themselves remain the same size; it’s the height of the stand legs that differs.
The bowls are 5.25” x 5.25” with a depth of 1.5”. The frame that holds the bowls is 6” x 11.36”.
The Short option has legs 2” in height, while the Tall option is 4” in height.
Price
The Short option is a flat $38.00 while the Tall option is only $5 more at $43.00. Many comparable ceramic dog bowls (with the stand included) range from $40 to a shocking $130, so this price is very reasonable.
It’s also worth noting that the bowl itself (if you need a replacement bowl) is $38, so the Short option feels like you’re getting the stand for free!
Packaging
The beautiful packaging is the first thing that caught my eye. Everything was carefully wrapped in bubble wrap with cardboard placed between, ensuring that the rougher treatment during shipping didn’t break the bowls. Unpacking was a breeze, and I’ve kept the box because traveling with the bowls and stand is easiest in the original box.
Warranty and Returns
Although I’m thrilled with the set, should you find that the size doesn’t work for your pet, Yamazaki has a generous return policy. There is no return fee, and you have 90 days to send the bowl set back. Exchanges are just as easy should you receive the wrong color or height!
In Summary
Key Features
Design
The material and design are the most prominent characteristics you first notice about the Yamazaki Pet Food Bowl. However, within these are a few additional clever features to what would initially seem like a simple offering. The minimalist design matches most home decor. The bowls sit close to flush (with just enough lip to pick them up). Easy.
The weight of the stand paired with non-scratch and non-slip legs make sure that your pet isn’t going to move the bowls around while eating. We all know some animals are a bit rough (with excitement!) when eating, so this keeps everything well in place.
The size is very comfortable for smaller pets, holding just enough food and water for them.
Colors
Black or white are the options available for the Yamazaki Pet Food Bowl, both of which can match a variety of home designs. Because the bowls are made to look very modern, these colors match that vibe.
Easy Cleaning
For starters, the durable ceramic is dishwasher safe, and has that nice ceramic sheen and weight. You can feel that this is a high-quality product from the moment you pick it up.
Shape
I also wanted to mention the fact that these bowls are squares instead of being round—this helped my dog finish her food with ease. Instead of frustratingly chasing food around a round bowl with her tongue, pushing food into the corners helped her eat it up.
Is the Yamazaki Pet Food Bowl a Good Value?
For the quality of these bowls, the price is very reasonable! At $38.00 and $43.00 respectively, they fall right into the lower end of the ceramic pet bowl price point. Add in the durable frame and non-slip legs, and it’s definitely bang for your buck.
The design elevates them far beyond the classic round bowls with tall edges. On that note, the design makes the bowls look far more expensive than they actually are!
FAQ
How much food and water can the bowls hold?
Each bowl can hold 1.25 cups or 300 milliliters.
How easy are the bowls to clean?
Ceramic bowls are very easy to clean! You can wash them with soap and water in the sink or use the dishwasher.
How durable is the frame?
The frame is very well designed—a drop won’t break it. Equally, the weight and non-scratch padding of the legs prevent your pet from being able to push the frame around when eating.
Our Experience With the Yamazaki Pet Food Bowl
To preface my review, I’ve always used ceramic bowls for my dog. With the health implications of plastic, I don’t even use plastic products for myself! So I certainly wouldn’t make my dog use them either. With this bowl set being ceramic, it immediately got a thumbs up from me.
To start, the Yamazaki Pet Food Bowl shipped very quickly. I was surprised that the postman delivered them to my door within a day—the order was confirmed on September 29th and arrived on September 30th. Considering we’ve all become a wee bit excited (a nicer word than impatient) for new toys to come fast, this was really nice!
As I mentioned above, the packaging was gorgeous. Although Lorelei certainly doesn’t care about the box, I’m a very visual person (having worked in marketing for so long), so lovely design is something that sticks with me. Not only was the package itself excellent, but the way each bowl and the stand was wrapped was really clever.
Shipping can be brutal on fragile items, so it was nice to see that everything remained intact. The wrapping material doesn’t seem too padded—a clever and strategic design. With some bubble wrap and well-placed cardboard, unpacking was easy. This could also be a testament to the durability of the bowls for surviving shipping.
After unwrapping and placing the bowls onto the stand, I liked the sleek design. The bowls sit pretty flat, so there isn’t much of a lip hanging over. This is definitely just a visual preference, but it’s a nice touch! I always put my bowls on a rubber mat because my dog can be a messy eater, and that paired with the non-slip legs, ensured the bowls and stand weren’t going anywhere. I’ve experienced flimsy stands in the past, and I don’t want my dog scared by a toppling bowl while she is eating.
Once everything was set, it was time for the ultimate critique: my pup Lorelei!
For a bit of backstory, Lorelei is a rescue pup; found starving on a downtown street. Because of the condition she came to me in, she’s always had a tumultuous relationship with food. It first began with food aggression and being ravenous (for understandable reasons), and evolved into loss of appetite due to GI issues due to the terrible condition the first year of her life was.
Once she was a healthy weight and the GI issues were resolved, she continued to be unmotivated for food. Sometimes, I swear that she would find any excuse not to eat, whether she randomly decided that the dog bowls are evil or the food didn’t strike her fancy anymore.
Ultimately, and much to my surprise, the Yamazaki Pet Food Bowl was an immediate hit! I feel like it must be something about the simple appearance, maybe the flat layout of the bowls in the stand, or it could even be the comfortable height for her. She happily ate her food with little protest, which is as big a compliment as one could receive from this dog.
Afterward, washing the bowls was no problem at all. A quick rinse in the sink and right into the dishwasher the food bowl went—coming out spotless and with no damage whatsoever. I definitely look exclusively for dishwasher-safe products because I don’t have a whole lot of time in the day to hand wash, so this is a significant selling point for me.
Conclusion
It’s simpler than ever to elevate the design of your pet products, and the Yamazaki Pet Food Bowl is a great way to start. I’m planning on ordering a second set in white for my dog room (yes, my pup has her own “room”!) and replacing the bowls I currently have there!