Yoko Dining — Restaurant in Brisbane City

Review: Yoko is a perfect place for a date or a celebration, but doesn’t make the cut for the will-return list.

I battled with this one for a while. I wanted to like it and there were so many things to like so let’s start with the amazing view.

Yoko runs along the riverside and I guess that’s where they’ve derived their name (yoko:horizontal/side to side). Other than the average colour of the Brisbane river, the city view under the Story Bridge makes for a stunning spot. With some cleverly installed mirrors on the far wall, and the architecture in the ceiling it makes the restaurant appear longer and larger than it actually is for a nice inviting lunch with a view.

We’re normally pretty on time for reservations but that day Lady Luck was on her day off. Even though we were late for our lunch reservation, the Yoko crew were gracious and sat us at a great table facing the river. Our host gave good recommendations and the wait for the food was in good time. They were late with one of our cocktails (but it came quickly when we reminded them albeit towards the end of the meal). It was busy, but a little more attention during the meal to check in would have been nice.

The sashimi was fresh, and presented nicely, and there was some gastronomic experimentation with the layers in the tofu and scallops. The deep fried prawns were cooked well and an edible head tells you it’s crisp as a mf.

I think where I got confused was whether I was in a fine dining establishment or not, because the prices were pretty up there for the size of serving when you compare with other Japanese establishments (like that famous one on the Northside also next to the river) but the experience was very casual. It was loud and rowdy, the music was pumped to a drinking crowd and I’m not sure that added to the simplicity of Japanese dining, which involves all senses to enjoy the freshness of something as beautiful as sashimi. Nothing in the end stood out for me but how loud everything was.

So yeah, great for that “remember that one time we went to that date and everything was really nice” but it’s not for return trips for those who seek a foodie trail.

Notes: Went as a couple on a weekday Friday. Lunch after 1pm but still filled with lots of city folk hanging around for drinks. Bailed on dessert menu and went to west end to satisfy a...

Yoko dining is very expensive and it’s not worth it . On Sunday Mother’s Day we got a booking for 5 people for 4pm and when we arrived we got there a little bit late , we rang to let them know we’re late. And when we arrived the waitresses let us in with an attitude (‘ You need to be quick you have until 6 oclock because we had so many bookings for Mother’s Day bookings😢) so we sat down and waited for someone to come for our order.. 20 minutes later the staff came and took our order and we ordered the best deal $95 per head. The food arrived at 20 minutes after that . We got the beans and it was very small. And in 15 minutes we got some sushi for 5 people very small amount. Then the gyoza arrived in 20 minutes 2 pcs each. Then the king fish arrived it was two tiny slices with a small bowl of rice for 5 people…. We’re looking at each other and said what is this??? So we have 2 table spoons of rice each and The waitresses said your main meal is coming. At least 1 hour the main meal arrived , it’s the Serloin steaks and it’s so small only two small plates of Serloin and only good for 2 people😓 so we complain to the manager to say we’re not happy we been here before twice and it’s not like this we’ve got plenty of food for the $65 per head deal and we we’re so hungry and the manager said I’m so sorry can I get you something I can make it quicker what ever you like. So we said can we get soft shell crab sushi and she said of course’…. Then the waitress come back to us and said I’m sorry we can only give you chicken caragi . So it’s really upsetting for Mother’s Day for me because I have to pay for more than $600. The dessert arrived only 2 little bowl for 5 people very small. I said to the waitress we’re not happy. So the manager comes and said I’m really sorry I will have a look , i can give you a discount and she come back and changed the invoice to $441😭 The whole meal supplied to 5 people was only $150 worth for the food for what they gave us. I will never recommended Yoko nor visit their restaurant ever again . The Japanese restaurant across the river under the bridge is far better value for money . We all left there hungry and had to go somewhere else to get something else to eat . Absolutely...

Lovely staff, but very slow food service from kitchen, and we weren’t quite as wowed by the food as I would’ve expected from the other reviews. Certainly wasn’t bad but will probably try other venues in the area before coming back.

Staff - fantastic, I am only rating service a 3 due to the very disappointing wait times

Value - pretty good considering all you get in a banquet plus the lovely staff

Food - I’ve been to Japan many times and have worked at a Japanese ペンション in Niigata and I don’t know if I would really call this Japanese cuisine. There are definitely Japanese elements, but it doesn’t feel Japanese somehow. Most of the small dishes/entrees were quite good, especially the wagyu skewers (flavour fantastic and so tender) but the clay pot cod main was disappointing - the cod didn’t really taste like misozuke, and there was far too much (oily) rice. I think clay pot rice is Chinese rather than Japanese? And I think misozuke fish should be paired with something clean like fluffy steamed rice and maybe a simple miso soup. It’s not supposed to be oily and everything was oily.

Waiting times - not great, we finished each round of the Mother’s Day banquet quickly and probably waited 20-30mins between each set (after our plates were cleared) - it took more than the full two hours of our allotted seating time to get through the food and we ate quickly - the wait didn’t feel deliberate (received first round of entrees almost immediately, finished quickly then waited ~40mins for second round of entrees, we received the miso eggplant with the first round by mistake and they almost mistakenly served us another, then we received the main after another 20-30mins of waiting, then dessert after maybe 10mins of waiting) - the mistaken entree and long waits were just awkward and embarrassing for me as the inviter on what was supposed to be a special day. It was a very busy day to be fair, but the table next to ours for example was seated well after we were and they wrapped up 20 minutes before we did. It was a group of 5-6. Just awkward. We watched them get seated and served while waiting for our second round of entrees and I thought we’d been...