Yo Yo's — Restaurant in San Francisco

Yo Yo's is a Japanese-inspired lunch spot in a very quiet part of town that you have to find by map or be guided by a local, and it is a Very economical spot.

I've seen the spot highlighted on a few "cheap eats of SF" lists and it's not too far from me, so I decided to try it one day with a friend. We took the bus then walked a few blocks to build up the appetite.

The place is to-go only, the menu choices are very simple. Udon or soba, in broth, plus 1 or 2 of seasonings/ toppings. Optional togarashi (spice). You can go for half or whole order ($5 or $9). You can also get teriyaki chicken over rice (optional brown rice) which comes with a wedge of orange and a little bit of salad. There's also some sushi in the fridge, and bottled soft drinks.

Among us, we ordered 2 half udons, one with additional dumplings (4x), a teriyaki chicken over rice (with mini salad), and a bottled soda... Total of $21.

Udon is cooked "Al dente" without being mushy, and the flavorings, with no meat, is surprisingly tasty. Broth is excellent.

However, chicken teriyaki feels under-flavored, as I tasted mostly (bland) chicken, with just a little sweet teriyaki flavor. The brown rice is earthy, but with nothing else to accompany it, it's not exactly pleasant.

For cheap lunch, this does hit the spot, just wish the teriyaki chicken was better so there's a bit more choice of protein, else this place is...

Just randomly bumped into the tiny restaurant / takeaway shop and tried their Monday lunch special. It is Beef Curry in Indonesian style. Only 13 bucks. Last night I was at ChinaLive, a fancy Chinese restaurant which was highly rated by Times in 2018. But I think this beef curry beats them for sure. The owner knows almost every customer and their preference. Jokes around and really relaxed feeling. The casual conversation makes you wonder it is a Yo Yo Family or something. This is a role model for small family run food business. As I was writing this comment, it has been a relatively long queue all the way to the street. Unfortunately I live in Sweden so I wouldn't have chance to come here often as my workday lunch go-to places. But I will definitely visit it again next...

Second experience was much better I've gotten chicken curry twice and it was good. TY! Updated rating to 4 stars.

First experience 0 stars - I want to start off by saying that the service and atmosphere is 5/5 stars.

But the food on the other hand was a diff story, I got the "one order chicken teriyaki plate white rice" it was a 2 star at best, If not 1.

Chicken had an alarming taste, I would describe it as "old" or "plastic" taste, as well as the look of it, dark spots, definitely not seem fresh. The rice was slimy and also had a strange taste that I could only describe as "plastic" or something. Super unenjoyable, idk if I got a bad plate because I do see people line up like crazy for this spot. Nonetheless this was my experience I'm just hoping I...