Yo Sushi

I really really wanted to like the strawberry tapioca. I had been away from the bay for a while and missing boba but this was not the answer. I knew it wasn’t tea but I was expecting something kind of smoothie. Sadly this was not only the color of Pepto-​Bismol, it also tasted like it.
The rest of the food was pretty solid, but the strawberry tapioca left a bad taste in my mouth and knocked off a star.

We’ve been to Yo Sushi a few times now, it’s in my general neighborhood and offers inexpensive options with a good quality of sushi. They also have a decent selection of Japanese beer and sake.
I’m more into sashimi than rolls, bentos or tempura. I like that the sashimi dinners are around $ 12 – 15, because at other places it would be twice that. The menu is large and didn’t even realize all of the rolls are posted throughout the whole restaurant. It would take months to try them all.
I’m just happy with a sashimi combo dinner and a miso soup. Yo Sushi, that’s what’s up!

I’ve been here half a dozen times now and I have yet to be disappointed but I’m not sure how much I can vouch for because I’ve only had their lunch specials because they’re quick and I can get them on my lunch break (hence the name). I’ve yet to try their beautiful rolls that I see others order or their giant soups that I see others enjoy on cold days. Maybe it’s because I hate rushing my soups and rolls so I’d rather go back after work hours. Any who, It’s a very clean establishment, the women’s restroom is always clean (can’t speak for the men’s room, heehee).
The last couple of times I went they weren’t using the «buzzer» system to let you know when your food was ready and I’m not sure if they only do that when the place gets really busy.
One of my favorite elements about this place is their TV and the fact that they always play Japanese pop videos. I’m fascinated by the foreign NSYNC’ness of these Asian boy bands that aren’t too common anymore in western culture. AKA Justin Timberlake in his Ramen hair days.
Speaking of ramen… The only reason I can’t give them 5 stars is because I haven’t tried their noodles but other than that this place is a winner!
My go to:
2 item SPECIAL w/​Gyoza and Salmon. yum yum!

Lunch yesterday was good — the restaurant is clean, open and fairly priced, and the counter staff is cheerful and quite helpful.
Our gyoza were good, and the sushi/​sashimi combo well-​presented and generous. This food is unlikely to prevail in a competition, but it is fresh, plentiful, and not without a bit of style. This is not a bad formula, right?
Plus, that K-​Pop soundtrack! Yesterday, we were treated to three videos from girl group Sistar. So Cool! I Swear!

I like this spot a lot. The quality of the rolls for the price is hard to beat. I’ve come here twice now, and was impressed with the food, though the service has some kinks and I’m not a fan of the tv’s.
Pro’s
— Specialty rolls are great, most are much less than $ 10. The rolls with salmon and lemon are awesome, as are the deep-​fried rolls.
— Pretty fast service for made-​to-​order sushi, though our food came out later than our friends’ order and our Yo Nacho’s came out much later than our main order.
Con’s
— seating was hard to come by on a Friday night, and the spot we got for a group of 5 was right by the cold door.
— the differently-​paced food items, ending with the yo nacho’s coming out right as we were finishing our rolls. They also weren’t that good. Just like, shredded mixed fish stuff in a crispy wonton taco
I think if you like sushi and don’t care too much about ambiance and like not paying a ton of $ for sushi, this is a good spot for you. Also, $ 6 large beers all the time.

Not your typical sushi/​sashimi place. You order at the counter, they give you a buzzer, you sit down, buzzer goes off and you pick up the food.
For what you pay for you get a decent amount of food, but it’s a little too MSG heavy for me.

Typical sushi joint. Reasonable prices, quick service, brightly-​lit and clean shop with ample of spaces! Not a lot of parking available, but its a short wait if no spaces are available, since people come and go quickly. Sushi is mediocre and nothing fancy. It is a spot for quick sushi fix.

This review IS ONLY for the new ramen menu.
I ordered the tontoktsu soup base ramen ($ 10.45 with tax) that came with chasu, bamboo shoots, pickled veggie on the side, etc. It was not a good bowl of ramen. The broth, the heart and soul of a bowl of ramen, was disappointing. Not flavorful, not aromatic, and thin. In addition, 20% of the ramen noodles were still stuck together (obviously not properly drained properly) and over cooked), and THERE WAS NO BOILED EGG with the bowl. Upside, the two slices of chasu was okay. So for $ 10.45, this bowl of ramen was overpriced and not satisfying at all.
Yo sushi, i like your other offerings. please bring this recipe back to the drawing board!

The service was good nice people… The rolls we order were angry lion king… That roll was not so good… It was so salty and It was kind of nasty… The churchy roll was good and yummy… The solano roll was ok. We also order the bento box with beef and salmon teriyaki. It was good! They charge for teA! Is not free… But all in all it was a ok place for cheap sushi…

This place is delicious– ate so much had to unbutton my jeans :) ahhh my bellie

They are not Japanese. At least 3 – 4 guys I saw in the front.
The people were nice and the place was fairly busy.
The spider roll said it has an entire softshell crab. I barely tasted any. The breading was jumbo and crab was barely seen. Please check it out yourself if you don’t believe me.
Food was underwhelming overall. I love quick and cheap, but I have no desire to go back.
***I called ahead but for some reason, they didn’t know about my order. I jokingly said, «i’ll wait, but can you get me something extra, like a seaweed salad?» A guy said, «maybe a soup…»
They never got me anything extra. They didn’t lose any points over it, but they didn’t gain any points either. It’s ok to make a mistake, and some businesses deal with it better than others after the mistake.

FYI. You get what you pay for.
I got the uni nigiri and although it was only $ 5.99. Most of you reading this are probably thinking. what an idiot to have ordered uni here (felt like an idiot but I wanted it!). I had to force it down because I didn’t want to waste food. So salty, so fishy, SO DISGUSTING! The sashimi combo was okay but the width of the slices were way too skinny and the thickness wasn’t helping either. You might think yeah $ 14.99 is pretty cheap and a steal right? No! It’s actually pricier. I’d rather pay more and have thicker and wider slices of fish somewhere else. The fish isn’t «fresh» either. It’s average but it’s edible and I didn’t get sick from it. Quality wise, it’s probably one step above prepackaged sushi that you can get from grocery stores. However, I did have a piece of my friend’s teriyaki chicken and that was pretty tasty.
Maybe if I got basic stuff and/​or regular rolls, I wouldn’t have mind this place as much. However, this review is solely based on the sashimi combo and uni nigiri I had. But if I wanted basic stuff, I’d rather go to Gyoza express to get their basic rolls 3 for $ 8.88.

After the demise of Zaki Kabob House in Albany — the first restaurant in that location to confound its formerly cursed status — came Yo Sushi, a casual, order-at-the-front-and-pick-up-your-food-when-it’s ready, brightly-​colored and youthful Japanese place focusing on sushi and sashimi, but offering many of the other usual suspects, like tempura and udon.
Oddball things that I tend to stay away from, too. You know, strange and/​or deep-​fried sushi-​like concoctions.
Case in point, the Yo Nacho ($ 6.95), which my son and I took a chance on this past Thursday. Here’s the menu description:
«Yo Nacho deep fried wonton cups stuffed w/​crabmeat chopped Tataki Tuna, onion, Avocado, orange Top w/​Tobiko & special sauce.»
We loved it. It was not only delicious, but complex. Lots of tataki tuna, which is seared on the edges but raw in the middle, green onion and tobiko. Plenty of avocado, too. It was a loose filling, because it had very little mayo, if any, and there was a tartness about it, too. There was also a bit of heat. Nice.
Cycle to today, when I took my husband there to have the same appetizer.
Now, I hate to open this essay with the one problem we had at Yo Sushi after a good half-​dozen visits, but I’m plenty riled up about it, and it can be a real downer if it happens often. Consistency.
What we received today, Saturday, was heavy faux crab salad loaded with mayo. It was sweet and had mango chunks. There was no avocado, and if there was any onion or tataki tuna, I could not taste or see either. Ditto real crabmeat. If it was there, it was lost in a sea of one-​dimernsional mush.
See the difference for yourself in the photo below.
When I pointed this out, one of the staff took it away and brought it back, telling me there was tuna in it. He pointed to some tiny shred in one I had taken a bite out of, saying that that was tuna. I could not see it. I could not taste it. No fix oferred. Just some kind of statement about a «new chef.»
I am seriously annoyed right now, because I wound up subjecting Steven to something blah after having given it a buildup.
Never again. It reinforces my general rule to steer clear of stuff like that altogether.
The nacho issue aside, this is a good place. A very good place.
We latched on since it opened, which was a few months ago, and make the short drive to 1107 San Pablo Avenue once a week, at least. Who doesn’t like good, affordable sushi on a regular basis?
The Yo Sashimi Combo ($ 16.95) is excellent. You get 16 pieces of sashimi (4 each of tuna, white tuna, salmon and hamachi), miso soup, rice and pickles. The generous slices of perfectly fresh fish sit atop bales of spiraled daikon and nestle a few slices of lemon.
If you want only tuna and salmon you save a couple of bucks — it’s $ 14.95.
The Deluxe Sushi Special is a good choice, too. A spicy tuna roll and 7 pieces of nigiri for $ 11.95. Included are salmon, tuna, white tuna, ebi, unagi, tako and hamachi.
The spicy tuna rolls are good. The eel, well, it’s a bit too sweet for me. There’s something about it I’m not crazy about compared to other places.
The miso soup is excellent, and the sushi rice is as it should be in terms of flavor and consistency. Not sweet, they don’t pack it too tightly, and it’s at the right temperature.
The Agedashi Tofu is OK. Not great, not enough sauce, and I prefer when it’s made with silken tofu, but it’s fine.
We stick mainly with the nigiri and sashimi combos. I was not blown away by any but the spicy tuna rolls so far, but it’s a long list and there’s time.

I wanted different, satisfying, and savory. Sushi and teriyaki are comfort foods for me so off I went to check out Yo Sushi after many drive-by’s.
It is a purchase at the counter, dine in or take out set-​up. Ordered the New York Roll & Mexican Roll, chicken teriyaki bowl, and hot tea; all that came out to $ 20.19. A pager is given to you to inform when your meal was ready. We sat on the outside patio and they kindly brought out the items as they were ready. The Mexican Roll (California roll with topped shrimp) was good but not as good as the New York Roll. Chicken teriyaki bowl is the steal. Perfect size of a delicious bowl of teriyaki chicken, rice, served with a yellow, pineapple looking pickle and an orange, carrot potato salad. The rice tea the final touch that made an absolute meal.
Miso Happy!

A couple of friends have been here many times and liked it. We decided to have lunch today.
Yo Sushi is at the site of Zaki Kabob. This spot has also been the site of a burrito shop, a KFC and a few other joints that didn’t make it.
You’ll be surprised at how roomy it seems inside — table for 2, 4 or more. The tables and chairs are colorful. The room seems very sunny inside.
You place your order at the counter. There are many many choices here. You get a little buzzer box. The sign at the cash register says when your box buzzes you pick up your food at the counter but we were served our food.
Over 100 Maki or Temaki Rolls. These are meat or seafood but the names are fun and inventive like Angry Lion King (CA roll topped with salmon and special sauce and baked topped with crab and tobiko); Deluxe Lambada (Spicy tuna roll w/​avocado); and many others.
Other menu items include appetizers, teriyaki bowls, Tempura, udon, donburi, entrees and lunch specials (One or two items)
Mr Rinky and I got:
VEGETABLE GYOZA: They were smallish. The outside was a little crispy and the inside had a small vegetable filling. Mr Rinky thought it was average; I thought it was good.
VEGETABLE TEMPURA: Quite a generous portion. I thought we were getting a side order but
I think we got a lunch special since it came with rice, pickled radish and potato salad.
We got one large onion, two to four pieces of sweet potato, kambucha, broccoli, carrot, green beans and more. I liked the cunchy panko coating, Mr Rinky said it was okay.
We had some sushi as well INARIi (2 per order) We both enjoyed the inari which had brown and black sesame seeds. We also had the CUCUMBER ROLL and the VEGETABLE ROLL Very satisfying.
I can’t speak about the majority of the menu which is meat and seafood. The other customers seemed to be regulars happily chowing down.
The service was friendly and upbeat.
The ambiance is not traditional but it is bright and casual.
.

This place opened up just around the block from house. While I still miss the previous tenant of the place, Zaki’s, Yo Sushi isn’t bad. Reminds me a cheap and local Sushi House, minus the wait. It was a hit with both my parents and my in-​laws, too (both Asian): convenient and affordable. We always order to go since we live so close by, so can’t comment on ambience. The service is friendly and prompt.
These are the large full-​of-​rice special rolls, the kind that can fill you up bc its like eating a bowl of white rice. They can provide low sodium soy sauce if you ask. The fish is moderate quality; you get what you pay for. Wouldn’t really call it stellar or remarkably fresh sashimi, but it’s manageable. There’s a lot of variety, and plenty of non sushi items as well as a decent number of vegetarian rolls too.

Lunch special for $ 6.95 comes with chicken teriyaki and a California roll. It’s a great deal, and pretty tasty! (11:00am-3:30pm)
Will update my review after I try more dishes!

As a sushi fanatic, I was very impressed by the quality and quantity of the fish for such an affordable price tag!
I got the $ 15.95 Golden Sushi and Sashimi combo. You get to choose if you want «gold» pieces on your sushi for $ 4 more (what!?), but I passed on eating gold since it’s all about the sushi right now haha. It came with 7 pieces of nigiri along with 8 pieces of tuna and salmon sashimi. The sashimi pieces were huge and so fresh! The salmon literally just melts in my mouth. The nigiri selection was salmon, tuna, hamachi, tako, ebi, ika, and unagi. I think my most favorite piece were the ika and hamachi! The ika was so sweet, creamy, and so delicious! However, the unagi was way too hard to chew. They can also improve on the taste and quality of the sushi rice as well, but I’m really not expecting too much for the price.
Overall, pretty good first impression of this place. I will return!

I Kinda Love Yo Sushi!
The décor is super cute, the customer service is super friendly, the prices are super affordable, & the Sushi/​Sashimi was super fresh!
My Daughter & I both ordered the Sashimi. which is an assorted fish appetizer so we asked if we could have all Salmon & the cashier said «yes of course!» With a smile and no extra charge. We got 8 good size pieces for $ 8.95! I also got a side salad which was quite big for around $ 2. We also ordered a California Roll with brown rice. I was so happy to see they offered brown rice & it was good! The rice wasn’t hard or crunchy. It was tender & perfect.
I’m definitely planning to make Yo Sushi my sit down Japanese food destination! I love the cute framed cartoons of sushi on the wall, the hanging poster of Totoro, the different color pastel lamps hanging above the bar, & the J Pop playing on every screen! SUPER KAWAII!!!

Yo Sushi here isn’t connected to the others in the bay area with the same name. this Yo is a florida franchisee (info on website). fare looks standard japanese but the quality/​value seems to be lower.
eats: fried tempera (5.99)
–bowl of rice (not mentioned) ok
–daikon and potato mini appetitzers
–4 long pieces of tempera, outside flaky, panko fried
inside shrimp bland, no shrimp taste
*obviously tempera shrimp made in asia.
2 stars
temaki:
–chirashi not a good value, only 2 kinds of fish given,
quality unknown.
–over ½ of menu is jive ass rolls/​makis, i.e. cheap rice and low grade fish
–friendly service, low qualtiy ingredients.