yellowfish sushi — Restaurant in San Antonio

3.5 stars

yellowfish is a sushi joint in an unexpected place -- it's where that random little drive-thru fruit cup place that i passed by so often used to be. from the outside it doesn't look like much, but the inside is surprisingly roomy for how tiny the building looks. it definitely doesn't look like the typical sushi place either and has no inkling of any japanese feel to it. there were no asians in the entire restaurant and half the people there had other food (starbucks, taco bell??). my expectations weren't too high but based on the handful of previous yelp reviews, i was hopeful! as a sushi-loving med student, confined to life mostly in a 2-mile radius bubble of school/library/home, i was heartbroken to find that there were no good sushi restaurants in the area. it doesn't help that san antonio in general has pretty terrible sushi, but all the decent places are at least a 20 min drive from the med center. so when yellowish popped up, i was excited to try it out!

and i was pleasantly surprised. :) the quality of the fish is pretty good for the tiny little place that this is. and the rice mix isn't bad either. definitely not top notch or anything, but good enough that it didn't distract from the fish. the menu items all have a "mexican twist" which i was pretty weary of when ordering, but really what it mostly means is that most sushi rolls have spicy mayo (japanese mayo + sriracha) -- they call this "picante". they renamed hand rolls as "tacos" and threw in some more mexican ingredients like jalapenos and salsa onto certain rolls. from what we ordered, it was still mostly japanese with mexican embellishments and it seemed to work pretty well. we aren't fans of cream cheese in our rolls so our menu choices were narrowed down for us. we ended up getting the salmon tower ($12), c-roll, marmol roll, and spring roll ($11 each).

the salmon tower was yummy! it was a pretty generous amount of spicy-mayo'd chunks of salmon on sushi rice, and whatever sauces they had on there complimented the fish very well. the presentation wasn't great. at first, it looked like it was throwing up on itself, and after you started digging in, it looked like a roll that was mauled. if you just ignored that though, it tasted awesome! since everything sounded kinda spicy, we asked for the wasabi cream on the side. it turned out to be really light & creamy and although i can't quite describe the flavor, it was a great addition! the menu said something about habanero caviar, but they were those teeny tiny caviar things that don't taste like anything and they didn't really taste habanero-y to me.

our rolls were good too, and small-average sized (usually 8pcs). they tasted pretty much how they sounded, with the exception of the spring roll which was a disappointment. the ikura on top ruined the roll. it was fishy, but not in a good way.. reminded me of rotting fish/fish market on a hot day. yuckk. we took it all off and what was left was a tiny, plain roll. although the other two rolls we got were just "like they sounded" and not crazy amazing, yellowfish amps it all up with their housemade sauces and most of all, their citrus-infused soy sauce. they take light sodium soy sauce and add a bunch of ingredients so it end up mildly sweet and citrus-y. instead of heavy, dark, soy sauce that can easily drown out the natural flavors of the fish, this sauce reminds me of ceviche and brings out the flavor that much more. i wish they would bottle & sell it so i could take it with me whenever i go out for sushi! :)

the verdict is that yellowfish sushi is pretty good, but their prices could definitely be lower for the amount of sushi you get. their menu pretty much only has sushi (no entrees like udon or rice dishes) so if you're hungry, the $11-13 rolls add up quick. on top of that, there's no happy hour ever. it's great that they offer online ordering and delivery AND they're open relatively late! if they ever started a happy hour, i would definitely bump...

One of the points of contention in communities is authenticity, a superfluous word if there ever was one, where people make efforts to rate a place based on preconceived notions and expectations.

Yellowfish Sushi, with a location close to Wurzbach & I-10 and it's second location at Blanco @ Loop 410, has changed the concept of sushi in San Antonio from a traditionally gated and pricey dinner option to a casual affair meant for sharing and with little to no fuss.

The first and smaller Wurzbach storefront, located near the Medical Center, started it all. Brenda & Alex Sarmiento, the talent behind the popular El Señor Es Mi Pastor Taco (which opened after Yellowfispot just down the street, wanted to find the same sushi environment to San Antonio from their hometown of CDMX, where sushi is a much more casual and less imposing scene. Where sushi has been seen in San Antonio as a "special" type of dinner usually reserved for date nights, graduations, or an exotic night out in the town, the Sarmiento siblings decided to bring the informal dining option, remove the prohibitive pricing, and create unique offerings fusing Mexican flavors and ingredients with Japanese led rolls. Hi

The rolls are authentic representations and an evolution of the rolls in the streets of CDMX, from the unique citrus based soy sauce freshly made every week to the Gansitos roll which combines a traditional with yes, a Gansitos roll, the ubiquitous pastelito treat you can find at any tiendita in Mexico and now in any Latino grocery store.

I've had several rolls and offerings at both locations. Some of my faves:

Tocino Roll - yes, the bacon tempura is dope but the thinly sliced lemon peel gives this roll an incredible kick that you’ll remember.

El Dorado Roll - the Tampico and Anguila sauce is a standout and the shrimp and cream cheese provide this roll with the base for that punch of a sauce. A great example of the fusion that is going on here at Yellowfish.

Summer Roll - your classic prepared summer roll that is perfect for a lite bite of sushi offering; you can really taste the freshness and is a prefect take home meal to pair with a crisp cider. I really thought that through for some reason.

Cevichimi - Sashimi style sushi in a more traditional ceviche style taste profile and serving, I really think this is a game changer even though once you try it it’s pretty obvious how this concoction hasn’t been made before. It’s a wonderful combo of flavors that really pop.

Gansito Roll

Salmon Japarrito - innovation doesn’t mean everything always hits at 100. this “burrito” is a mouthful for sure and when you drench it in their homemade citrus based soy sauce it’s a winner; I just wanted a bit more salmon but otherwise it’s good.

Yellowfish Roll - the namesake roll lives up to its bestowed honor with its flavored packed combo of picante shrimp, cilantro, habanero infused caviar, and their signature Salsa Roja, it’s a great introduction to JapaMex cuisine here!

Gansito Roll - the intro hits but the finale shuts it down… a Gansito is wrapped in rice and prepared with fresh strawberries and chocolate syrup. It’s delicious and shows a more whimsical approach for desert.

I’m not even a quarter of the way in trying the rolls but you can tell much of the menu has been carefully thought out and the pairings aren’t gimmicks or creations for the sake of creation; instead, Yellowfish, in adopting two culturas to make a new one, have created something amazing that frankly is a better experience than either cuisine on its own. Additionally, the reasonable pricing and causal environment is an exciting opportunity for San Antonio folks to approach sushi from a different perspective. I highly recommend you head out there and get some.

Pro Tip: the Gansito Roll is (sometimes) not a menu item but can be made by request. I’m not sure how Brenda or Alex are gonna feel about me posting about it but hopefully they went to La Michocana and picked up a few...

I always have an unpleasant experience at the drive thru whenever it’s the young lady at the window. Whenever it’s the gentleman at the window I have no issues. I use to love this place. Not so sure anymore. In the past I’ve asked for the soy sauce to be substituted with anguila sauce. (I really don’t like soy sauce.) The young lady told me that it wasn’t possible to substitute it. Hadn’t had trouble asking about it before but okay, fine. I started paying for it. No big deal. It’s just a waste of soy sauce because I throw it away. Today, however, I asked for a cup of water. She said they’re not serving water there because it’s not filtered. Since when?! I KNOW it’s tap water. I buy sushi here frequently and I’ve always asked for a cup of water, before and after the pandemic started. So I don’t understand why suddenly today I couldn’t get water. Then I asked if she could charge a bottled water to my card. (I didn’t have my wallet with me being that I ordered and paid in advance, which I THOUGHT was convenient.) She “checked” to see if I could be charged for it, came back and said the system wouldn’t let her because I didn’t order through the app... but I did order through the app. And the only reason I knew it was possible to charge a card from an existing order was because SHE told me that in the past that it could be done. As a matter of fact, that’s how I paid for the anguila sauce the first time when she didn’t let me substitute the soy sauce. It’s just ridiculous. And I drive quite a distance to get sushi there. Now, I don’t think I care to get it from...