Jazzy Japanese
Written: Apr 05 '03 (Updated Aug 04 '05)
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Pros: Fancy, Moderately priced, and good Japanese food at Yoshi's.
Cons: You might get sent to tatami seating.
The Bottom Line: Yoshi's Jazz and Sushi
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| megugrrrl's Full Review: Yoshi's at Jack London Square |
I resisted going to Yoshi's for a long time because it's a world class jazz venue, and for some reason I thought there'd be loud music while you ate, and you'd have to pay a $20 cover just for dinner. For some reason, I also thought this place was super expensive.
Well, Yoshi's is indeed a jazz house, but the restaurant is seperate, and the food (which is quite good) is moderately priced.
Interior
As soon as you step in, you realize you're in one of "those" restaurants. It's very slick, sleek, and modern, designed by Morimoto Architects. Soft jazz is piped through the speakers. It's quite large and airy, with several seating options - "tatami seating" (which isn't really truly tatami seating because it has this sunken floor for your legs, so it's like your sitting in a chair, but not really), regular tables, and at the long sushi bar.
Of course we opted for "tatami seating" and quickly realized that noone can gracefully get in or out of their seats, and kept visits to the bathroom to a minimum
Appetizers/Bar Food
Since these are also served at the bar and in the jazz house, the appetizers are top-notch. We had grilled calamari (a mere $6) - the calamari was fresh, marinated in a whisper of a mirin-soy mixture, and charred in all the right spots. It came with a rather boring aioli but that didn't matter because it was delicious plain. Plain food says a lot about a place.
The other notable appetizer was the Agedashi Tofu ($5), a dish I always order and use as a barometer, oftentimes for authenticity. The agedashi was outstanding, despite its distance from classic agedashi. The sauce sweet soy-based sauce in comes in was thicker than traditional, and while the typical mound of shaved bonito was present, it hid slivers of green and red peppers. I liked what they did with this dish.
Another highlight of the appetizers arrived with our water glasses and these mysterious little plates. The busboy quietly left a business card that read "Hi Ji Ki" and explained what the black tidbits in the little plates were. That was smart because I'm sure the waitstaff have explained and described it way too many times. "Hijiki" is a type of seaweed, and was marinated in a mirin/soy mix. Nothing exciting, just the business card left behind was noteworthy.
Entrees and Sushi
Yoshi's has traditional and novel dishes, and like their appetizers, everything we tried was top-notch.
The sushi combinations, given musical names like Septet or Nonet were gorgeous and delicious - lively colors and textures arranged on plates. Our table had the Sextet which came with a huge inside-out roll of avocado, papaya (yum, papaya) and tobiko topped with slabs of fresh tuna, salmon, unagi, ebi, halibut and yellowtail. ($ 17) Rolls and makis were around $5-7. A little pricey, but worth it.
Even non-traditional dinners like Sesame Chicken, were top-notch. Prepared deep fried in panko crumbs and topped with a sweet sesame sauce. The outside was crispy crunchy, and the chicken was moist. My only gripe about some of the entrees was that they came with a green salad and fruit slices all on the same plate, causing the flavors to mingle overlap. Cantaloupe with sesame sauce is not very good.
There are also many teriyaki dinners, seafood, and udon noodle options. Bentos and combos are also available, and the Shokado Bento ($25) is a massive two-tiered special that changes monthly.
Oh, and Yoshi's has many vegetarian options, so you can drag your vegetarian friends here.
Verdict
Yoshi's is wonderful. The service is a little absent-minded, but nothing problematic. I recommend it, go.
Recommended:
Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Best Suited For: Friends
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Epinions.com ID:
megugrrrl
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 - Top 500 |
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Location: Oakland
Reviews written: 147
Trusted by: 321 members
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