Yo! Sushi

Yo sushi is one of those places that you go to when you’re hungry, spend £25 and leave more hungry than when you entered their establishement.
The food is tiny and has become extremely tasteless over the years, the sushi is simply too mediocre, marks and spencer does it better.
At some point the same food was coming around over and over again… gah damn! No one wants pickled ginger!!! Switch the damn plates… *rips open shirt in frustration*
Ok maybe I didn’t need to ruin my clothes but you guys get the point. Give this place a miss, you can eat much better elsewhere.

I will never visit this Yo! Sushi again.
Having visited this restaurant chain I was surprised that the opportunity for a tiny plate of sushi was few and far between as it looked like the ‘cold’ chefs were simply making masses and setting them off to the side. Not to worry though as I was perfectly happy with some of the dishes coming around.
What was the major problem here is that I ate off of the little plates that pass you by while the person I was with ordered food and his food never arrived until we complained twice asking for it, and only once I was done and we decided we would go down the street to get him food was it slammed on the table.
My complaints:
–The Manager seemed to only welcome pretty young women and instead walked around looking slightly stressed
–We had to order the hot meal twice
–Once the hot meal did arrive the sauce was splashed across the table and dripping everywhere, obvious that the plate was FAR too small
–The ‘hot’ food was actually cold when it did finally arrive
–Hot food staff seemed to have some major internal issues that should have been sorted out in privacy and not in front of costumers
–Water tap broken meaning we had to reach into another area to give ourselves water
After we complained we were given a discount, but I was a bit confused as the bill said we were given a military discount?

As always, I’m a little skeptical about franchise restaurants as they feel less unique. Nonetheless, as a first timer at Yo! Sushi, I really enjoyed it (and I got free Miso soup with the O2 priority app).
I love the conveyor belt approach. Just grab anything that looks good, or order off the menu if you feel like something else. It’s a fun eating experience.
The only drawbacks are:
1– The price. Sushi is always pricey so there’s no sidestepping this one. I always feel like the portions are small and that I’m not getting my fill (should probably just eat more rice). Also, having food sail by in front of you is very tempting and you quickly forget how much you are spending.
2– The seats were uncomfortable and offered no back support. But to be fair, we had been walking around London all day so we were feeling fragile.
Will come again.

I imagine there was a time when Yo! Sushi was cool. That time was probably around about the turn of the millennium when looking back at old photos from then now reminds me of some era like the 80’s #dated
A lot has changed since then but after dining with a friend at the original branch in Poland Street the other night, it would seem Yo! hasn’t at all. It all seemed a bit tired to be honest, not futuristic and flashy like it wants to be and the atmosphere was lacking and a bit dull.
First off as you enter, there’s a big board saying «wait here to be seated» but with loads of room on the belts and no one coming up for at least 3 minutes, we thought we’d make a run for it and seat ourselves.
After a quick look through the menu (probably around 75 types of sushi available) it was safe to say we knew what we fancied eating but it quickly dawned on us that in order to get anything that wasn’t salmon nigiri or a kind of fried california roll, we would have to wait a very long time or go off the belt.
A lot of the sushi we ate was dry and lacking something that made it sparkle, the average cost of the plates was £3.50 for 2 pieces and I had a can of Saporo beer which was £6.40 — these prices put a dining experience ay Yo! at close to £25 per person for one drink and enough sushi to make you feel hungry an hour later on. For me — £25 could be much better spent on a nice meal somewhere else or checking out somewhere like Hi Sushi in Soho for a much more authentic experience.
I think Yo! still has a place in this world but it definitely fits more into the McDonalds and Starbucks leisure experience, than say somewhere you’d actually feel excited about dining at.

Ok, so you’re never going to have the best sushi of your life at a Yo! — but I’m not sushi snob.
With Yoobi being totally full we were forced to venture elsewhere since we wanted to sit down. Even at 1pm, Yo! wasn’t too busy and the welcome was warm.
Cliché as it might be, I’m a sucker for those moving belts, it still adds a certain element of fun to picking your lunch.
Miso was sound, salmon nigiri fresh (though it’s better to serve in threes I think) and the spicy chicken salad a winner. My lunch date was super happy with a cream cheese, cucumber and salmon concoction. So much she had it twice!
A filling meal in a nice location for £26. Can’t argue with that.

We were on Oxford street and looking for somewhere to eat. Having eaten at other Yo Sushi’s, I knew what I was getting into. I love trying new places to eat but when there’s kids involved it try to play it safe and don’t take any chances.
This particular branch is massive and almost full on a Saturday during lunchtime.
No, their sushi isn’t the best in the world but it works for me. We had two children with us and for them the novelty of choosing food off of a conveyor belt never gets old.
This is a large restaurant with plenty of friendly staff. I’d certainly come back.

Yo Sushi doesn’t have the best sushi in town, but it does the trick if you are looking for a quick lunch.
At times I get impatient waiting for the dish I want to come around (probably because it never does) the dishes are pretty much the same on the belt, so I always end up ordering everything I want (at least I know it’s then fresh).
The salt and pepper squid is nice, as is the vegetable hand roll.
They have a selection of booths and bar stools, head for a booth if there are any available they are much nicer.
I’ve been going to Yo Sushi for a long time and I have noticed that the prices have gone up and the portion size has gotten smaller, which is sad :(
Favorite dish: Pumpkin Karroke

Great Sushi! I loved the other dishes they offer too, the food is delicious, fresh and beautifully presented. The staff is kind and nice, lovely place!

UPDATE: One star! I don’t think I will ever go to a Yo! again. Their fish is just gross … I can eat pretty much anything and at times during my meal last night I wanted to spit out what I had in my mouth. It’s just a sad excuse for sushi. I feel like either the quality has gone downhill in the past year, or I have just started to realize how bad it actually was. Save your money (oh yeah, it’s pricey for what it is, too!) and eat elsewhere.
* * *
It’s between a one and a two. But I had to give it a two. The novelty and speed of a conveyor belt sushi place wears off after the first couple of visits. Then you realize that it’s overpriced and bland. The options are pretty limited, and aside from the handrolls (that you have to order off of the menu), nothing is really that great. The red bean mochi is good, too. And the tamago isn’t bad. But beyond that, it’s a lot of salmon nigiri rolling around. It’s around the corner from my office away from office (I made that up right now, I kind of like it) (I’m sure someone else had made that up first, but I hadn’t heard it, so for my purposes I made it up)(triple parentheses!) so that’s the only reason I’ve been here so much.
The one up the road, by Market Place, is better. But still, same limitations, really. They do have a cool toilet. But, that’s another review, another time.

I notice that other Unilocalers weren’t massive fans of this place! So maybe I was just lucky that on the day I went the food was great, cheap and the staff were SO LOVELY! They made me feel so welcome! It was also my first ever time at a revolving sushi place and I found it ever so charming! I had some tasty little numbers too. just such an exciting concept!

The other day I went to Yo! Sushi as the sushi place I was headed to (next door to this one) was too busy. I know what to expect with Yo! Sushi, I have had their food numerous places, they all have the same decoration, similar atmosphere, etc.
However, this visit was very dissapointing. The service was appalling, they were really short-​staffed and they were naturally busy in a warm eveninng prior to a Bank Holiday.
The seats where we were advised to sit were dirty, so we had to ask for them to be cleaned. Then the conveyor belt speed kept being changed, going so fast at times that it was making me dizzy! Other times so slow that I had to wait for ages for anything to come my way.
Also, we ordered a few dishes that, although we kept chasing for, never arrived. Instead, we apparently took someone else’s order that was placed on the conveyor belt. We were patient for almost half an hour, waiting for the dishes that we ordered. The couple next to us had been waiting for theirs for 40min by the time we left.
In hindsight, we were to patient!

Ich fand’s hier nicht so berauschend, war zu ‘nem Blue Monday (every dish only £2.20) da. Aber es war um etwa neun Uhr dreißig bereits tote Hose, fast keine Auswahl mehr. Der grüné Tee eines Kollegen schmeckte fischig, und man fühlte sich von dem eher gelangweilten Personal irgendwie nicht besonders willkommen, und dafür ist es dann doch zu teuer…

Our 12-​year old daughter decided we had to go to Yo Sushi on Poland because of the conveyor belt. So, she planned the whole day’s journey including Changing of the Guard (where we saw a mounted policeman grab a man’s hand and escort him away from the palace grounds) and a a trip to the British Museum.
I like the concept of the conveyor belt, but felt dizzy while looking at the sushi spinning by and trying to look it up in the decoder book (menu). We all left full and satisfied. While not as good a Godai’s sushi, it was quite good.

I have a particular soft spot for Poland Street anyway, but the fact this Yo is a tiny canter from most Soho screening rooms and right next to Lucky Voice adds even more points in its favour.
It’s a nice relaxing atmosphere with good staff and a brisk turnaround of food. Definitely one of the finer Yos in London.

As mediocre as YoSushi is, I am so glad they’re right around the corner from my office. Anyone who knows me can vouch for my random and insatiable sushi cravings at least once a week, so even though it isn’t spectacular, Yo will sell me the raw fish on rice that I so desperately need.
The sushi is of a quality just greater than the supermarket variety. Edible, sometimes quite yummy, but barely actually «sushi». The fish is ok, the rice is decent, and the variety is fine, but when compared to *nice* Japanese places with career sushi chefs who have been doing this all their lives, you can see that Yo is in a completely different ball-​park. Quite good for what it is, but you should be sure you know what it is before you get your hopes up too high. The hot food is a bit better than the sushi, with katsu, yakisoba, and various other cooked items available most of the time.
My main caveat for this branch of Yo would be the totally awkward waitstaff that serves the dinner rush. We sat through the most bizarre and confusing explanation of their hot-​food ordering policy that turned out to be a complete fabrication, and I’m still not even sure I understand what he was trying to say. A few minutes later, there seemed to be an extra dish of chicken teriyaki floating around that someone had ordered but not claimed, so the waiter came round and put it down in front of us.
«You want?»
«Um… no we’re ok with our noodles and nigiri, thanks.»
«You sure? You try and if you don’t like, I don’t charge you.»
«No, thanks very much but we’re just finishing up.»
«It’s nice chicken with sauce. You try it.» *walks away*
It was clear that they had made an extra order of the stuff and they were trying to get rid of it. I don’t know why they didn’t just put it on the conveyor belt because it did look nice and someone would have undoubtedly taken it.
My husband tried a bite and told the waiter it was too sweet for him. I said, «Dude, I would have eaten that!» and he confessed that it wasn’t actually half-​bad, he just didn’t want the aggressive salesman to win.
So, Yo is decent as long as you take it for what it is. The real thing that keeps me going back is the copious amounts of vouchers they keep emailing me; I would have a hard time justifying the expenditure for such a mediocre dining experience if it wasn’t for the 40% discount coupon they were kind enough to send me.
Keep it up with the vouchers, Yo, and this could be a lasting relationship. More out of need than out of want, you understand, but as long as I can have some raw fish on rice for less than the sticker price, I’ll be there.

The service here was really poor. I had to ask for green tea three times and a small plate for soy sauce twice. The sushi was pretty bland like the kind that’s been sitting around in the grocery store for a long time.
I’ve never paid that much for sushi before either. The only reason I have it two stars was novelty of the place. One second that didn’t do if for me I’m changing my rating to one star.

This is where the conveyor belt sushi revolution started in London. Depending on your view of conveyor sushi, it’s therefore either a place deserving of pilgrimage and a blue historic plaque on the wall outside or of attack by angry mobs bearing pitchforks!
It is perhaps a testament to the vision of SImon Woodroffe, the founder of the YO Sushi that the original restaurant has spawned so many franchises as well as imitators.
There is a sense of drama as you sit and watch the dishes go past you on the conveyor belt. The prices of the dishes are indicated by the colour on the rim of the plate. There is also waiter service for drinks and a small number of dishes available direct from the kitchen.
Having recently discovered some mom and pop hole in the wall sushi restaurants in Wimbledon, it has brought into stark contrast for me what proper sushi should taste like — fresh, sweet and made to order. In conveyor and shop-​bought sushi, the rice is usually hard and the flavour of the fish seems dulled. Unfortunately for YO Sushi, my expectations of sushi in London has gone up since my recent discoveries and in comparison, the sushi here only merits 2 stars.
Still, this branch at least has a bit of history.

We were drunk, you had seats, we took them.
The sushi was good, the Sapporo was giant, the price was fine. As Jill A. said, you can run up quite a bill before you know it… because you’re paying by plate color and I found that most of the food looks so good you want to try it. No matter what the plate color!
If you’re in the area and want sushi, go for it. Don’t expect the «best ever» sushi, but expect it to be tasty and not fishy.
I’d go back again. Maybe even sober.

I enjoy Japanese food for its freshness and interesting dishes. But I found this place to be a bit too commercial. What I mean is the food simply tasted ok but not great. The chefs make the food without much care or attention to detail.
The dishes are somewhat bland compared to some of the more traditional Japanese restaurants I have been to. There is no fresh surprises and nothing special in its quality. Just plain run of the mill. I guess this is reflected in the price which is very reasonable.
You get to choose from a running conveyor belt which displays the food before your eyes. This adds to the fun but before you know it, you have run up quite a bill. The food is priced according to the colour of the dish.
I enjoyed the firecracker rice which is very cheap at only 1.50 a bowl, and the sake which came in a bottle rather than a carafe. However, all in all this place is like the MacDonald’s of Japanese cuisine.

I remember going to this restaurant when it first opened — the first conveyor belt sushi I’d ever seen. There used to be a robot drinks trolley — not sure if that’s still there — it was so cool. Now they are ten a penny but YO is good for taking sushi virgins — there’s more cooked food than most sushi bars — better for western novices who are a bit scared of the whole raw fish thing.
It’s pricier than some — Kulu Kulu is better value in my opinion — and the food is all perfectly formed by machine — I prefer my sushi rice to have fingerprints on it (which sounds wierd but it’s more authentic). Always the first place I’d take a newbie. Great fun.

He de reconocer que flipé en colorines cuando entré por primera vez a un restaurante de esta cadena: cintas transportadoras que llevan la comida al lado de las mesas, un robot-​bar que se mueve sobre el suelo, el cocinero preparando todo en el medio del rastaurante, agua y té verde a volonté en grifitos en cada mesa
Pues resultó estar todo super rico! Sin necesidad de moverte de tu sitio coges los platos que quieres y, como cada uno está identificado con un color que indica su precio, más o menos puedes ir cuadrando lo que te estás gastando. Eso sí, que al ser todo tan llamativo a veces no puedes evitar coger otro platito, y otro, y se te puede acabar saliendo la cuenta del presupuesto, así que hay que estar atento! Si controlas, no resulta para nada caro
Gracias a este restaurante hice mi primer acercamiento a la comida japonesa y desde entonces soy una enamorada de los makis vegetales lo que me recuerda que, los platos aptos para vegetarianos, vienen indicados. Ya podían aprender aquí!
Una última recomendación: uno de los camareros (español) nos dijo una vez que los Yo! Sushi más céntricos son los que mejor están, que en otros se estropeaban las cintas transportadoras, el robot, etc, etc Así que ya sabeis!
(Además, nos atendió un camarero español y nos invitó a mazo platos de stranjis, jeje!
Ah! Y todo lo vegetariano señalado, para que no haya duda!

Bön et concept sympa
Le principe est assez étonnant mais pas déplaisant. On choisit les plats qui défilent devant nous et sont sans cesse renouvelés. Les mets proposé semble frais et son très bon. On peu s’en tirer avec une note pas trop lourde mais il est difficile de né pas craquer pour une nouvelle portion de sushi, surtout quand elle se présente devant notre nez.

This is where it all started more than 10 years ago. This branch of Yo! Sushi brought sushi to the masses, with the idea repeated throughout London (and the rest of the world?). I remember queuing outside (sometimes every lunchtime, it is addictive), nowadays waiting times are never that long.
The concept is easy and effective. Dishes are colour-​coded according to their price. You choose what you like from the temptations on the conveyor belt.
This is perfect for sushi lightweights like me who are happy to eat a California roll but shy away from more serious raw fish options.
The vegetarian options are great, as are the cooked chicken dishes.
Not as cool as in its heydey but still a healthy and interesting alternative to sandwiches or fish’n’chips.

Diese Filiale der Kette Yo! Sushi liegt etwas versteckt und deswegen bekommt man — wenn man nicht allzu spät eintrifft — meistens einen Platz. Es handelt sich um eine typische Sushi-​Bar mit Fließband, an dem man sehr gemütlich Platz nehmen kann. Man muss hier nicht wie die Hühner auf der Stange nebeneinander sitzen (was Gruppengespräche unmöglich macht), sondern sitzt an kleinen Tischchen, die rechtwinklig zum Band angeordnet sind.
Der Laden ist stylish eingerichtet und zieht so das junge, trendige Publikum Sohos an. Die Preise sind ziemlich happig, Spektakuläreres wie etwa Sashimi und California Rolls schlagen schon einmal mit 4 – 5 Pfund zu Buche (6 – 8 EUR). Alles gibt es auch zum Mitnehmen und einen Lieferservice mit putzigen Motorrollern gibt es auch.

Vraiment bon
Né vous attendez pas à manger que des sushis vous trouverez toutes sortes de plats asiatiques comme des testicules d’oursin, ce n’est pas une blague et c’est très bon. Ce plat comme d’autres sont assez chers mais ce sont vraiment des plats spécifiques car les sushis né sont pas chers tout comme le riz ou nouilles. Mais venez tôt car il y a du monde c’est très réputé à Londres et les Londoniens adorent.

Sympa
On pourrait presque comparer ce restaurant de sushi avec un restaurant de sushi au Japon mais il né faudrait pas avoir été au Japon. C’est très bon et pas trop cher. La déco est sympa et c’est plutôt jeune.

Bar à sushis
Le grand «plus» de cette chaîné de bar à sushis c’est de proposer une carte très variée; on est d’ailleurs parfois très loin du sushi. On peut y manger pour vraiment pas cher si on se débrouille bien, le riz rond sauté au légumes est à 1,5£ et l’eau (plate ou pétillante) est gratuite et à volonté. Voilà c’est une adresse sympa, à retenir.