Knocking up half an hour before closing on a Sunday at 10pm is not cool and many restaurants would have closed off their kitchens by then. However we were both greeted with a smile to our seats whilst the happy satisfied faces of leaving diners walk pass us. Service was persistently friendly and attentive throughout. We were even reassured that everything was fine and the restaurant will only close when no more customers are present.
The decor although quite dated was very traditional with it's sushi bar at front, varnished wooden tables and Japanese paintings. There was even a private room for a larger groups that requires you to take your shoes off like traditional Japanese seating.
So we were very surprised to find out that the menu was a fusion between korean and Japanese although the focus was still the latter with mainly a page at the back of the menu that was devoted to the typical korean cuisine like bibimbap.
Miso soup
We started with some soups to warm us up. The miso soup was perfect, garnished nicely with tofu and wakame, full bodied without being salty.
Dobinmushi
A very traditional seafood and vegetable soup steamed in a pot that is not often found in Japanese restaurants in London. It is usually composed of vegetables, mushrooms and shrimps that are placed in a pot with water containing mainly soy, dashi and sake and then steamed to let the flavours infuse. As a result you get a very clear fragrant broth which is what we had. It was served traditionally too with a quarter of a lemon slice to add a little citrus zest to the flavour. A very warm and soothing start to the meal.
Horenso Gomaae
Boiled spinach in roasted sesame sauce. The sesame sauce was extremely fragrant, rich, thick in texture and tasted homemade with the addition of fresh roasted sesame seeds. It all clung well on to the rolled up spinach that held a lot of its own moisture, adding a lovely nuttiness to each bite. Flavours were very balanced and delicious although would have been a lot better if it wasn't so cold as if it was just taken out the fridge. Brain freeze!
Tempura mori
Vegetable and prawn tempura was mediocre. I've had lighter and crispier additions although it was still very reasonable being greaseless. The prawns were not the sweetness but fresh and bouncy enough and vegetables sweet and cooked to tender.
Yakibuta niku
Thin slices of pork belly grilled with a lovely sweet savoury sauce that held a slight kick of spice to give it an edge and flavour although the sauce itself seemed quite generic. The fat was almost grilled off and so it resulted in a dish of lovely tenderised smokey pieces of juicy pork served on a hot plate to keep its warmth and flavour. Great with rice!
Kabeyaki
Usually 'kabeyaki' is the name of the preparation method of butterflied, deboning and then grilled in a sweet soy sauce and in this case it was eel. There were no imperfections as the eel was perfectly tender, smokey, savoury and sweet then sliced into thin slices just slightly bigger than 1cm. This doesn't come with rice so make sure you order it separately.
Sukiyaki
My favourite dish of the evening. It was amazing presentation just to have your own portable gas hob on your table and a sizzling pot on top of mushrooms and vegetables in a fragrant sweet soy base sauce allowing you to cook the fresh slices of beef to your liking. A bowl of raw egg was provided to dip your pieces of beef after they are cooked to add a extra layer of creaminess against the beautiful succulent beef that has already taken on the flavours of the sweet soy broth. It was deliciously tender and comforting!
Nabayaki udon.
Udon cooked in a traditional pot with a prawn tempura, fish cake and vegetables. The soup itself lacked complexity. For £11.00 which can get you a decent tonkotsu in London that requires an 8 hour broth, I did expect some more vegetables, mushrooms and maybe even some meat too. Looked and taste a bit plain to me. But the broth still carried enough flavour to enjoy and the udon was al dente and bouncy.
Yoshi sushi definitely offers a traditional Japanese experience in terms of decor, excellent service and even dishes that you might not always find at your local Japanese restaurant. Food might not be exquisite and the highest of quality but still very reliable and authentic. Prices on the other hand is more on the mid range side charging more for Korean dishes like £12.00 for a bibimbap. I can definitely see myself returning though after a lovely memorable evening and maybe next time to try some of their sushi. read more