Yadoya - Restaurante Japonês — Restaurant in Vila Nova de Gaia

My visit at Yadoya or "A gustatory journey".

It all started on a warm summer evening just at the time when the sun began to settle over Douro river.

After a day full of adventures and activities my company and me were initially planning to get Italian food. Something more in the centre. The general mood was established that this evening would hold a classic dine-in situation for the two of us.

Just when we were about to get ready for the likes of Pizza and Pasta, a feeling of tiredness started to linger. Not of physical but more of social nature. It was at this very moment, when the hurdles of climbing the Piedmont hills equivalents of social conventions seemed to much of an effort to be payed off by the mere gustatory pleasure of dining Italian this night.

Torn between options and hunger my company had the epiphany of visiting Yadoya to our rescue. At this point I have to confess ashamedly that yes, I had my doubts! In guilt I acknowledge that at some point we are all victims of distrust and weak believes.

I was happy and lucky to have a helping hand to guide me through the menu. Like being pulled forward by an invisible rope, the right decisions were made with me.

Not knowing what will await me, I choose Glass noodles with chicken and fried chicken. Swiftly the kitchen prepared everything and handed over the steaming boxes of Cantonese treasures. Overwhelmed by my own senses, I dared to ask if I could add some fizzy, sparkling excitement to the carbohydrate base of my dinner. Gladly the friendly staff added a can of ice cold coke zero to my order.

We proceeded home with a feeling of joy and satisfaction but - at least for my part - also curiosity. I didn't take long to unwrap the goodies and start our dinner.

The fried chicken was crispy, tender and flavoured just right as a starter. It came with some teriyaki -style sauce, which blended in perfectly to form a rich body of flavours.

Completely astonished I moved on to the glass noodles. Perfectly in texture and nicely seasoned those were yet another delight to add to my Yadoya experience. I was so baffled that I almost forgot about the cold sparkling refreshment still in the package.

After burning off a firework of flavours and emotions I concluded the evening making a promise to myself to undoubtedly come back. No matter what hurdles and efforts it would take this time. Nothing will stop me!

As we all know that the end of a story is the part which stays in memory best, I would like to use this special place for my company this evening. Thank you to carry me through all doubts and fears, thank you for being there in the hours I was lost, thank you for providing me a helping hand. I will never forget the moments we shared and the happiness you brought me. I promised to come back to Yadoya and I promise that I will come back with...

Great range of menu from sushi to asian ala carte. Sushi was made to order so this ensured that food was safe. However, upon sitting on the table, my friend decided to buy drinks from the outside instead and we weren’t told at the start that it’s not BYO. We were then approached by two of the waiters who mentioned it is not allowed politely however, a Chinese lady working in this restaurant came up to us after 10mins who then mentioned the same exact thing we were told in a very unpolite and unprofessional manner who also decided to put away the drinks from our table. It also seemed that she was telling the same thing with the other co workers and kept staring at our table which made us uncomfortable. We just wished we were told nicely and calmly however this wasn’t the case. Upon paying, we were also told that they couldn’t accept visa travel card and can only use Portugese cards to pay (we are travelling in Portugal) or cash. It wasn’t incovenient for us however it would be helpful to have this information put on a sign for future customers. We also ordered beef steak and tuna which was dry and overcooked enough for us to not finish the servings. Overall, customer service was poor and would not kindly recommend if the customer service remains up to...

I hesitated after reading the reviews, but in fact this place is golden. It's not the finest sushi, maki, sashimi you will taste. This is sort of comfort-Asian food, and I mean that in a good way because the quality is much better than I expected.

The more expensive buffet is worth it for sure. 15 euros gets you the usual sushi and sashimi, though limited in selection, but also grilled meats and fish. The deep-fried maki were excellent, but the roast duck was perhaps the highlight of the meal. Quality all round was unimpeachable.

There are indeed some funny things on the menu (strawberry sushi anyone?) but I did try a few items for interest, and the salmon and cheese was excellent, as unlikely as that sounds.

The waiting staff was attentive and quick, very friendly, and they spoke enough English to get us through. The sake was rather nice too.

If you're a human with a life, and not a boring foodie purist, then this place is very highly...