Yokozuna

Very authentic Japanese restaurant. If you’re experienced with Japanese food, I highly recommend the menu that is only listed in Japanese such as the namero (similar to carpaccio).

Cute little hole in the wall mom and pop shop nestled amongst the gay clubs and sketchy massage places on Oxford Street.
Loved: the fact that it’s BYO, the clearly home-​made gyoza, and the bento box option
Did-​Not-​Love: the slow service. Appreciate that it’s family owned and operated, but we started dinner on a Wednesday night at 7:45 and it probably took 15 minutes for someone to take our order, another 30 for the starter to come out, then 10 more for mains… didn’t get out of there until 9:30!
I liked it and I would eat here again, but mos likely only on a Tuesday night when My Zakaya around the corner is closed.

Well there’s nothing eye-​catching about the décor and you will probably have to remind your waitress of what you ordered, but the food is fantastic! And great value! Diners range from Japanese hipsters, to after-​work execs, rowdy gay guys and low-​key couples. They all come here ‘cos they know how fab the food is. Fresh, authentic and at times intriguing. Yum. Order the gyoza for an Instagram-​worthy picture.

Was just walking down Oxford street on my way home and wanted a healthy salad for dinner. Saw this place and they had a Tofu Salad on the menu for only 9 bucks. So I went in and placed a take away order. The place is really small — there were two girls in their waiting for their order as well.
It looks like a family owned joint with the mom cooking and the daughter waitressing. Put my order in and waited. Since they were filling the other girls orders, took about 10 minutes. But the salad was really nice, had lots of pieces of tofu and yummy seaweed, tomatoes and cucumber. The dressing was really nice. Would definitely come back and try some proper sushi and other things on the menu.

I wouldn’t have known about Yokozuna if my friend, Viv (shout out!), hadn’t pointed it out to me. It’s definitely a hidden gem and easy to miss as you head towards Taylor Square down Oxford.
Ambiance:
–Yokozuna’s a small, sort of hole-​in-​the wall sort of place. No thrills — just a long corridor of a restaurant with the kitchen at the back
–Next to a porn shop — make sure you enter the restaurant and not the shop upstairs. Talk about awkward.
–Authentic — when we arrived, there were a couple of tables with Japanese patrons. It’s always a good sign when people who know the food are eating it.
Food:
–First off, this place is BYOB. So, already good.
–We started with Gyoza — cooked and plated in a way I’ve never seen before. The gyoza are still connected by their skin and you have to break them apart. Delicious crispy morsels.
–We then followed up with salmon avocado rolls, fresh salmon sashimi (they ran out of the other fish by the time we arrived — I took this as a good thing. I’m glad they want to keep things fresh), this amazing tempura mushroom dish, lemon chicken, and a toro kama.
–The tempura mushroom dish was definitely yum. Crispy, chewy, and juicy all at once, drenched is amazing ponzu sauce and fresh cut onion.
–I’ve had the privilege to try kama (fish neck/​collar) at a few places in Japan and San Francisco. Yokozuna was able to deliver here with their toro (tuna) version. This one dish was what pushed them over to 5 stars for me. Succulent, flavorful, fleshy fish. Grilled through to perfection. A must try — esp. for those who have never tried kama before :)
Need-​to-​know:
–Yokozuna is family run. So you literally have the father, mom, and son working in the kitchen and giving full TLC to the food you order. Their daughter is the waitress. Due to this, service is low on resources and slow.
–Do not come here if you’re hangry (hungry + angry) or in a rush. Rather, enjoy your BOYB and relax. Dishes will come.
Let’s just say, we were so happy with our meal, we tipped. I can’t wait to come back and try more assortment of fresh sashimi — bought straight from the fish market.

A hidden gem. Authentic Japanese food right in the heart of oxford st. Fantastic food fantastic service