Yokozuna — Restaurant in Tulsa

3.8 - October 2023 - In need of a different cuisine we chose to eat at this restaurant named for grand champions in Sumo wrestling. We were easily able to walk here from the Tulsa Club Hotel where we were staying. Art and photographs on the walls give homage to Sumo wrestlers. A framed ad for Suntory whiskey in the reception area made me think of the film "Lost in Translation." Arriving just after 5PM the large crowd of young adults were just finishing up their happy hour priced drinks and food at the bar.

Our two "Flying Lotus" drinks with Brokers gin had good pours while we looked over the menu. We decided to get the Pupu platter for two, not being able to make up our minds which included everything we were thinking of getting: gyoza, sweet potato tempura, edamame, spring rolls and pork steamed buns. None of these stood out but if I had to pick one I'd take the spring rolls.

Our main dishes were grilled salmon, my classic spider roll and Sumo fried rice. Hard to go wrong with soy braised salmon so this was a nice dinner. My spider roll did have a good amount of crab though the nori was a little tough. A fried rice fan, their version did not do much for me. I ordered it because it listed bean sprouts as an ingredient, something common in CA but rare to find back on the East Coast. Little egg, shrimp, and shitake mushroom in the mix. There were three or four snow pea pods, a couple of carrot slices and a decent portion of chicken. The sprouts turned out to be a garnish on the top of the bowl. No soup or salads come with mains.

Remembering forgoing two well-recommended barbecue joints in Houston so I could visit a nearby Benihana restaurant, a chain I loved in Las Vegas, Marina del Rey, Ca, NYC and at one time, Farmington, CT, I learned not every city has the same caliber experience. Some of my earliest Google Map Local Guide review photos show our dinner there. Quite surprising and unimpressive.

Here at Yokozuna, I passed on the sushi rolls because so many of them had cream cheese as an ingredient. This is new to me as I've never seen this before anywhere. Maybe it's a thing here but not mine. The only fish and cream cheese combo I eat on special occasions is lox on a bagel with red onion and capers. The spider roll I ordered was what it should be.

For Tulsa area residents, if this is where you need to eat Asian cuisine of this style, especially in the Art Deco District, then enjoy. Happy hour is probably the best way to go for some good bites and a fun time with friends. Knowing the menu as with any place is probably a...

This was my family's first time eating here and as we drive home we are already talking about what we will get next time we go back.

It was that GOOD! The atosphomere & vibe of the restaurant is so cool and cozy! I really love the area of downtown as well. So pretty, especially at night.

It was AMAZING, 5 stars, 10/10 recommend. Everything we had was fabulous and our waitress was super sweet & knowledgeable/informative about the menu. We had fried calamari, chicken & pork steam buns(which are a 1$ on mondays) and edamame for appetizers, all of which were delicious! We all preferred the chicken steam buns to the pork. The pork had alot of fat on them and we just liked the chickens flavor better. The edamame was soo yummy & salty(how we love it!), we ate every last piece! The portion of calamari is HUGE, every last piece was gone. My son treated it as his meal so we ate the most of it but we all got to eat some.

My husband had the chef's choice sushi roll, I had the general tso's chicken(omit the peppers), and our daughter had the kids California roll with sesame seeds. Everything was so good and fresh! I've never had general tso's chicken before and I'm so glad our waitress recommended it, so so good- portion was also HUGE. My daughter shared it with me and we STILL had leftovers.

We had the cameralized banana spilt and cheesecake bites for dessert-- we really enjoyed all of it!! The cheesecake bites had this lemon sauce on the bottom with fresh homemade real type whipped cream that my husband and I literally wiped the plate with our fingers to get every bit. It was too die for! I could just eat a bowl of it!! The cameralized banana spilt is made with coconut ice cream and has fresh strawberries on it (which the menu didn't mention) we will definitely be getting it next time again!

We will definitely be back soon! Soo soo good and worth the money. Priced well, not...

Rating seem bought after the experience I had- because their ratings do not reflect the experience I had today. I sent me food back and walked over to JINYA. Food: All of our food was so bad, I asked for extra crispy pan fried gyoza, and they came out black. The dumpling portion didn’t seem authentic at all. It actually hurt my mouth to eat these. My bf got the nigiri salmon and it was not good at all- he said it was hard and scaly textured instead of soft and smooth- He also ordered the Philly sushi roll and it was the tiniest portion we’ve ever seen for the price we paid. I also got their “ramen” and it was just over cooked non-authentic noodles and some soy sauce water. I was EXTREMELY dissatisfied. The chicken also came out charred black, over cooked and not tender at all.

Service: our wait time to sit wasn’t bad about 10 mins. But once we sat down we didn’t get our food for about 45 minutes. It felt like we really were seen all that much, maybe once every 15 mins or so. Our server was nice but didn’t know the menu at all and very unknowable about anything to do with Asian cuisine in general.

Atmosphere: The place was cool looking I guess, nothing that amazed me or would go back for. So much space they have to utilize for you to just feel like you’re being squeezed into a can of sardines. We were shoved in the the corner table behind two other big tables cornering us in making it so we have to squeeze between people to go to the restroom.

I ended up sending my ramen back and not eating. I went and walked two minutes down the road to JINYA which I didn’t realize was there and had the most AMZING delicious Chicken ramen I’ve had in a year. I will never go back to this place ever again....