YOSHINO — Restaurant in London

Great anniversary dinner! Amazing food! Excellent service!

The first time we walked passed Yoshino was 6 months ago. The moment I checked out the menu, I knew that this is not another generic Japanese restaurant. This is authentic Japanese food. However, I still went online to check the reviews and photos of food. The moment I read some negative reviews, I laughed. Who would walk into an authentic Japanese restaurant in centre London and expect it to be cheap 🤷🏻‍♀️. So I still booked Yoshino for our 5 year anniversary.

The restaurant has a warm, cosy ambience, exactly that we’re looking for. We ordered everything through their website. The process is quick and easy. This was our first time in Yoshino and we were overwhelmed by the menu. We want to order EVERYTHING! The host was so friendly and so helpful. She answered all the questions I had about items on the menu. She was so patient and so kind. So we started with Tuna katsu, Tuna Toro Sashimi & Salmon Sashimi. We loved Tuna Toro so much we ended up ordering more. Tuna Toro is thinly sliced chutoro that has been marinated and it just melted in my mouth! We both agreed that the dish we like the most!

Then, the restaurant offered the Wagyu Tartare as a gift for our anniversary. We were so touched! Personally Tartare has never been on top of my list but I ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE with the Wagyu Tartare. The black garlic really elevate the dish!

Of course, what we were looking for the most is the Yakiniku. My husband (who couldn’t be more British) is not a fan of organs. However, he was willing to try new things. We listened to the recommendation from the host and ordered everything she recommended: ox tongue, chicken liver, honeycomb (hachino-su) and heart (hastu). We strongly recommend hachink-su! I’m Asian but I’m very very picky when it comes to organ meats, especially honeycomb. If it has the slightest smell or toughness, I won’t eat them. Same with chicken liver! Outstanding quality! Not to mention their homemade BBQ sauce! I can eat anything with it!

We were so full at this point but my husband still have Houji Cha Ice-cream. I was too full but I had a bite and it was amazing! Nice gelato texture and delicate flavour. I will definitely have some next time.

The food was so good, we didn’t take much photos. We just focused on the eating 👌🏻 and thinking about what to order next time and who to bring with us! I only took 2 photos to tease my friends. I wish I took more photos for the review. I don’t write reviews often but I truly enjoyed the meal so much that I feel the need to do so. My only advice to you if you’re considering to visit Yoshino: come with an open mind, an open heart and a will to try authentic Japanese food. You’ll love it!

I would also like to thank the chef and the host for such a wonderful experience. We’ll definitely come back with our friends and family...

I am from NYC and my wife is from Kobe, Japan. We have great sushi in NYC and have obviously had good sushi in Japan. We went to Yoshino based on the reviews here while I was working in London for the week. I don't think I am being a sushi snob by saying our "fish" at Yoshino was terrible. For example, I had adequate take-out lunch grade sushi from Itsu during the week I was here and it was fine (for the price and expectation). The fish we had at Yoshino was well below that. The seared O-toro (fatty tuna) was inedible - though searing O-toro is a bit odd - nobody does that. We each took a bite and could eat no more. The rolls were day-old supermarket quality (really! not exaggerating!) - we did grudgingly finish this. The wagyu carpaccio was not wagyu - another item that we could only take a bite of and pass. They did take the O-toro and the wagyu off the bill though.

One red flag was that the menu ONLY had salmon, tuna, and Ikura (Salmon Roe) as sushi/sashimi choices. The salmon was adequate. The ikura was adequate - the tuna not so much. The rice for the sushi was not good - the rice is actually very important and (difficult!) to get right. I would have let that pass if the fish was good though.

I also had some sushi at a trendy Japanese/Peruvian spot near Piccadilly Circus while in London - The price was right and fish was of decent quality (not top top, but the price didn't require it to be top top). We did not check out a top quality sushi venue while in London, but I expect it is there which does make me wonder how Yoshino could stay in business. In NYC or Japan, this restauarant would shut down in a month. Perhaps the chef was sick the day we went and they had to scramble for a replacement?!

A shame - I thought it was nice...

This evening after dining at Yoshino, my immediate thought was about writing in this review. Considering how highly I think of the restaurant with its fantastic location and food, 2 stars very much does the place justice. For £25, my meal contained enough beef to fit into one hand, sliced into many pieces. I have to admit however, the beef was absolutely excellent, but the extortionate price bittered the taste, leaving me cautious not to eat too much in one go. Considering that the person I was there with bought a meal worth £8 and got exactly the same quantity of meat as me (admittedly mine was of greater quality), I think this is poor.

This is almost taking the piss.

The other reason that drove me to rate Yoshino at such a poor rating, is the fact that when we were there, only one chef was making our food, so considering the size of our meals they took a long time. On top of this, although admittedly our server was a lovely guy, one of the others seemed quasi-hostile in her manner, giving me quite a harsh look when I asked to check the battery on my phone which was charging in a restricted area. All in all, this place was amazing. If only the portions were large enough to properly suffice even the least hungry of customers, then the rating would be...