Yoshio Sushi — Restaurant in Richmond

Very nice Japanese sushi restaurant with a cozy warm atmosphere. The restaurant is not very big and only holds a few tables but the waiting didn't take too long. We went on a Saturday night at about 8:30 closer to 9pm and it wasn't that busy. We waited perhaps 15 minutes before we got a table for a party of five. The menu had all your standards plus some others so it's never going to be boring, as you can always come back and order something different. We ordered the signature Yoshio roll, The El Cerrito roll, a Natto Maki roll, kaarage chicken, dinner combo set with california rolls and sahimi, and beef udon soup. The rolls were good and very fresh. I liked that the rice was not hard and had that fresh taste and seasoning. I loved the chicken kaarage. It was super crunchy and soft with tons of flavor. I highly recommend getting this. The beef Udon was good too but I only took a small sampling of a vegetable since my son doesn't like to eat it. The prices on the food were pretty fair and much better than buying our usual small trays of sushi from yaoya-san, which aren't as fresh and are much smaller in size and quantity.

One of the great things about this restaurant is that they open until midnight, so you can get a great bite to eat in the middle of the night. We did experience one negative which was the easier forgot my order as I watched everyone getting theirs and almost finishing I asked the what if my order was coming soon and he went to check and said it wasn't put in the check.... but the good thing is that within 5 minutes he brought me my roll that he asked the sushi chef to expedite for me.

Overall, we will be coming back again to eat here. So far, this is one of our favorite spots for sushi.

9/30/23 update. Went here at 9pm for late night Saturday dinner. Only waited a few minutes while the staff cleaned a table for us. The waiter was very nice and attentive. We ordered our usual chicken Kaarage, teriyaki beef udon, dinner set, Yoshio signature roll, sukiyaki, and s California rolls. Good was good and going. Happy to keep coming back here.

12/16/23 Came here to have dinner at our favorite local sushi place. This place is great as always. Tonight, we waited less than 10 minutes to get a seat. Service was fast and the dishes were coming in fast as well. Food was tasty and fresh .

2/23/24 update: End of Presidents' holiday week treat for the kids and a day of hard yard work. Ordered a White Tiger sushi roll and the rest of the family ordered the same stuff as before. The White Tiger took was really good and came in a bit warm since the tuna was grilled. The rice was fresh and the shrimp tempura in the middle was crunchy and delicious. The whole thing was delicious with the sauce they put on.

One thing to add as a precaution. When we received our bill, we noticed that they automatically added a 15% service charge to the bill. If we didn't notice it, we would have paid another 15% on top, not knowing that it was already added. They should put up notices telling people of the optional charge. This automatic charge put a sour taste...

When we arrived the waitress asked us if sitting at the bar would be okay; it was just me and my BF so we said yes. Little did we know that meant we wouldn't be checked on, not once, by the waitress nor sushi chefs. We ordered a Sprite, some tea, and chicken teriyaki bento boxes: his with a California roll, & mine with tuna nigiri.

The miso soup came out first. Okay, (1) in my experience... miso soup does not have mushrooms, (2) the fish flakes were still in the broth and they were too dark of a brown--meaning the fish broth was overcooked, and (3) they used soft tofu. Overall, I didn't like it.

Then his Sprite was delivered with a cup of water... no tea. We waited for 15 minutes, no one came by to check on us. When our bento boxes arrived, we were unpleasantly surprised to get lunch sized portions with dinner prices. The chicken had cartilage, the spring salad didn't have a miso dressing, the rice was overcooked to the point of being mush. My tuna nigiri was warm and had a weird after taste; it also smelled fishy and was chewy. The orange slice was the equivalent of one half of one slice... and it was dry.

The ginger slices were fresh, the teriyaki flavor was a nice balance of sweet and savory, and the California roll was good. But I had yet to get my tea. My BF had to grab our waitress's attention to remind her for my tea.

Now, I realize that you can't control the kind of patrons you get, but the entire time we were there, one family was obnoxiously loud... much more than the rest of the full restaurant combined. Meanwhile, the one Asian customer sitting literally one seat right of me was given a hot towel to clean her hands; no one else, not one other customer, was given this courtesy. And she was checked on regularly.

I eventually got my tea and it was extremely hot but lacked deep flavor. The chopsticks were cheap and had splinters, even after I discreetly rubbed them under the counter. It's sad indeed when the highlight of your meal is the mint they give you with the check.

By no means is this place anywhere near comparable to Manpuku. For the price that you're paying, the food is not worth it; they charge special rolls far too expensive but they cook their...

Ordered a take out order. Was given an ETA of 40 minutes. Showed up 5 minutes after the ETA. Waited about 5 minutes until I was able to ask for my order and was told it would be another 5 minutes. 15 minutes later I was told that one item in my order was given to another person and that's why it was taking so long. Another 15 and I finally had my order. Overall about 80 minutes from order placed to receiving the order.

Food ordered:

Miso Soup Shrimp Tempura Roll Tuna Avocado Maki A's Roll Tikka Maki Snow Crab Nigiri 49ers Roll

The Miso Soup was Miso soup. Nothing special except mushrooms in it for looks? The Tuna Avocado Maki and Tikka Maki were also alright. The Snow Crab Nigiri was dry and rubbery, might as well of sat in a dehydrater for a few hours. 49ers Roll was just mush, lemons on top looked sad and some had seeds in them. A'S Roll and Shrimp Tempura Roll both had mushy and soft tempura, maybe for sititting out for 30 minutes?

While sitting inside waiting I got to experience the atmosphere for a bit. They have a few tvs playing sports, 1 large table and a few small tables. The outside is very cute and the inside reflect that. This is probably the only plus here.

Overall, don't go here, look at it from the outside and say "oh how cute" and keep driving to...