Yozora Japanese Kissa Restaurant — Restaurant in San Antonio

Google isn't allowing me to upload photos, but I'll check back in to try again. I debated whether or not to post this review because I absolutely want to gatekeep Yozora. However, I also want Chef Emanuel and his team to succeed, so whatever. Just as long as you leave me a table, I’ll let you in on the secret. The interior is mid-century modern with a chill vibe. The clean lines and no-frills interior didn’t feel sparse but instead gave me Mad Men vibes. The vinyl set up to the left of our table screamed 70s basement party in all the right ways. The music was kept at an acceptable level—not too loud that it kept us from hearing our conversation but loud enough to tempt me into shaking my hips when a slammin’ Bossa Nova came on. Be advised: we ordered damn near everything on the menu, and our bill reflected as much. Don’t think too hard; just donate some plasma next month. It’s not hard to go a little menu crazy with the izakaya-inspired menu. Lucky Chicken is a red ale IPA from Kyoto, Japan. I had the yuzu sake high ball, which was crisp and refreshing. The Asian pear cucumber salad was addicting. The floral pear and the mildly sweet cucumber cleansed the palate in anticipation of the meal. The Shiro Wrap (which I assume is named for Yozora’s predecessor) is a spicy avocado and panko-fried soft-shell crab filling surrounded by a soy wrap, masago, and chives. It’s one of those dishes you think of occasionally and wonder if it misses you as much as you miss it. The Charcoal Grilled Chasu had a unique combination of fatty braised pork belly scented with charcoal that highlighted the salty creaminess of Reggiano cheese. The scallion kimchi that accompanied it mixed spicy with the herbaceous punch of the scallion tops. The Garlic Edamame is like a toxic relationship: it hurts you but is so addictive and lovely that you can’t help but keep coming back to it. I spent the rest of the meal slurping soybeans from their pods while I conquered the rest of our meal. These have moderate spiciness, so if you’re sensitive to heat, I would skip them. Hot Line Crispy Gyoza is a fried pork dumpling tossed in 911 sauce (it was more urgent care to us) and topped with parm-Reggiano cheese. These weren’t our favorite, but we’d demolish them after a night of drinking. We moved on to the Yakitori section of the menu and enjoyed the Negima (chicken thigh and Japanese leek) and Waygu. Both were grilled exceptionally and remained juicy and tender. We chugged on over to the “Crudo and Battera” section and ordered the Toro Tartare (I wished the lotus chip was thicker to accommodate the weight of the rich tartare), the Pepper Fin (I could drink the citrus soy/chili oil situation), and the Crispy Toro (we loved the juxtaposition of the creamy, fatty toro and the hidden crispy rice). You might think we were ready to tap out by now… and we were, but we had ordered the Waygu Teriyaki, and we’re no quitters. The Wagyu was cooked perfectly, a gorgeous medium-rare, and the soy beurre blanc sat in was nothing short of seductive. Our final push was the Yuzu Japanese Citrus Pie. I don’t know if they have an in-house pastry chef, but whoever created this dessert knows what the hell they’re doing. The yuzu offered the right amount of pucker factor, and the crisp, buttery crust added just enough sweetness to balance it. Our server (I want to say his name was Ray or Roy) was exceptional in his attentiveness, engagement, and hospitality. I wholeheartedly recommend Yozora as I think it should be on everyone’s list of must-eat places in the San...

We celebrated my husband's birthday here with our adult children. We were so impressed by our server Jaime as he remembered us from our visit 3 weeks prior. He even remembered my husband's order (sea bass which was the BEST he'd ever had) along with our vinyl request of Ella Fitzgerald. He queued it up for us after he took our appetizer & drink orders.

He served us complimentary iced barley tea which is very common (sans ice) in Korean restaurants. Makes sense as the owner of Yozora (according to Jaime is half Japanese & half Korean). I happen to be a Korean-American who's lived in Japan for 6 years and Korea for over a decade. He also brought my husband an elegant glass of bubbly for his birthday which was a nice touch.

While the food is undoubtedly innovative & SUPERB, Jaime & his penchant for the service industry is a welcome & surprising scene-stealer. He is nothing short of stellar & Yozora is very fortunate to have him on staff. Jaime is friendly, professional, knowledgeable, has incredible memory & admirable attention to detail. Interacting with him is what elevated our dining experience to the next level. He is definitely the type of ambassador you’d want on the frontlines of your business.

You cannot go wrong with anything you order as our family had a huge sampling of what was on offer. Jaime made wonderful recommendations according to our personal preferences and EVERY SINGLE BITE was an umami bomb. I have that experience on loop as I write. Sigh...

We ordered: garlic edamame (not overpowering & perfectly seasoned); Asian pear cucumber salad (refreshing with a satisfying crunch); truffle creamy miso soup (now addicted as Jaime had warned us); hotline crispy gyoza (has thick Chinese egg roll skin which we really liked); aburi machi; pepper fin (a standout for their crudo); teriyaki wagyu (WOW); karai octopus in gochujang glaze (loved the nod to Korean heritage); mochi gnocchi (brilliant use of Korean rice cake!); and the adorable teddy bear macaroons. Sadly their yuzu citrus pie was unavailable yet again...

Tidy accessible bathroom with toto hand dryer, quality hand soap & believe it or not quality toilet paper (you know the fluffy kind you use at home). Just fyi for parents with little ones, they do not have a baby changing station. Probably not a huge deal as this type of venue appeals to a different demographic but I did see an infant while we were there so I thought I'd mention it.

We thoroughly enjoyed every single bite & morsel. Flavorful yet well balanced, artful presentation, cozy & sophisticated ambiance. Audiophiles will surely appreciate the exquisite sound experience. Service was impeccable - thank you Jaime! Yozora has now become one of our absolute favorite places to dine and yes, we'd...

My husband and I tried this restaurant for the first time during restaurant week. I really wanted to like it. It started off well. Though, they really like their sauces. Everything was nearly drenched in a sauce. Their hotline gyoza was recommended by our server, and it was covered in sweet chili sauce. Less is more. The flavor of the gyoza was good, but the chili sauce was just too much. We got the aburi machi and pepper fin crudo, both drenched in a sauce. Again, less is more. For our main course, I got the octopus as I like to try it when available. It’s hard to get right. And this wasn’t it for me. It was a little too rubbery and fishy. And then there was the gochujang sauce and cilantro aioli. This time, I think it could’ve used more of the sauces! Also, the onigiri is a cute touch, but they’re normally meant to be eaten with your hands. So it was a little strange to see plated with the octopus. I only ate about a quarter of the octopus because the texture wasn’t as I hoped. But again, I know cooking octopus can be challenging. My husband got the wagyu teriyaki. The teriyaki sauce was abundant (less is more) and the meat was actually tougher than we anticipated.. Which we found interesting considering it was cooked perfectly. The wagyu came out in a kaiseki like fashion..

I really liked their version of the sunomono which we ordered off their menu. The yuzu is very refreshing but again, way too much dressing. It was a generous portion. Overall, I’m glad we...