Yoisho Restaurant

Let me first start by translating Yoisho…
Yoi = getting drunk
sho = place
I could probably just end my review here, but I should add a few more tidbits about this place. I wanted to find a legit non-​sushi Japanese place that’s more izakaya style. So I did a search in Japanese for «Real Izakayas in London that feel like you are in Japan». Most websites only pointed to Asakusa, Akari and Yoisho, which was slightly surprising to me as I thought there would be more in London! I suppose, I would much rather have three good ones that 30 mediocre ones!!! :)
So how do I like this random izakaya near Goodge St? I love it! But reading the other reviews, I would have to first warn people that this place is VERY Japanese! Does that mean it has Hello Kitty wallpaper and waitresses dressed like cosplay animé characters? NO! I saw the English menu and although most (not all) things have been translated, if you aren’t familiar with non-​sushi Japanese food, you might have a hard time ordering…
The service is very casual and don’t be afraid to flag down your server; afterall, in Japan you scream SUMIMASEEEEEEEEEN across the hall when you want a refill on your beer. Also, you can order large bottles of sake here and if you don’t finish it, they write down your name for the next time you come in so you can polish off that rice-​made liquor while munching on karaage and butakimchi.
The food… compared to any izakaya no matter where it is, I think it OK. Not orgasmically delish, but not bad either! I would definitely tap this place again if I was with other Japanese peeps or people who are looking for an authentic non-​sushi Japanese experience. HAI!!!

My friends RAVED about omelette at this place, and did say it’s like Japanese experience. So, last night we all went there for someone’s birthday, big group. Our waitress gave us two menus and made us wait for ages to ask for more minutes and/​or drinks… And actually didn’t look pleased having to do the job.
Anyway, food arrived at one point in the evening-​omelette smothered in Mayo– not a fan and another sauce. Chicken gyoza– bland, rice and eel– ok but really is just rice and fish. Not going back, not impressed with food or service.

Looking for some typically Japanese food in London, by that I don’t mean your average katsu, sashimi sushi joints like wasabi or itsu. This is proper old school Japanese food, and the place of Josy’s UYE.
The plan was to order and try some strange things that Japanese food offers, so Josy so kindly led us through an array of dishes that ranged from deep fried oyster (super yum!) to downright strange tasting like natto and fish paste. Let’s address the natto– which is fermented soy beans, it had fermented strings coming from it– a bit like cheese, but did not taste like cheese and smelt like old socks. Definitely an experience but not sure I would go there again. The fish paste was elastic, there are no other words. ELASTIC. Another strange one was the grated yam in soup, strange texture, great broth!
But apart from those dishes, the other dishes we had were not so frightening and much yummier, like the ochasuke mentaiko and ikura. I love fish eggs, I know, I EAT NEMO, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?! The yakitori skewers with chicken gizzard and chicken hearts were really good. They’re actually quite famous for their yakitori!
Then we got some desserts– WARM dorayaki with ice cream. Like not the freezing cold ones you get on your lunch hour which are a bit dsappointing. and with different ice cream scoops — matcha, black sesame and chestnut. The matcha and chestnut were insane.
The only problem was the portion sizes were small for the prices– i still left hungry! But if you’re here for light dinner and beer — this is the place!
If you want that traditional Japanese ambience– go here! If you’re adventurous– go here– can’t guarantee it’ll all be yummy but give it a shot. :)

I am fascinated by Japan and I love what I’ve tried of the food — though until this week that had mostly been copious amounts of sushi and katsu curry. I’ve wanted to try some more authentic and adventurous stuff for ages but never knew where best to go (apart from Japan obv — but I’m still working on that) or what on earth to order (or how to say it!).
Enter the lovely Josy A with an offer to guide a few of us through exactly that. We were all happy to try anything which was perfect in this situation, and meant Josy could order us a variety of dishes for everyone to share — the best way to try this type of food!
Others had tried some of it before but it was practically all new to me, which made me very happy. As did the fact that almost all of it was delicious! The only thing I wasn’t a fan of was the natto (fermented soy beans) which smelled quite pungent and tasted even worse. Apparently the Japanese have it from an early age but most westerners find it hard to get used to the taste — I’ve had the same reaction from friends to some indian dishes so I guess it was to be expected with at least one thing. Glad we tried it though.
Everything else I liked — especially the deep fried oysters (though that was a given) and the takoyaki, which arrived not in the standard ball shape but looking as though it was still moving (though it was only the heat of the dish). Other dishes were tasty but enjoyably confusing to a westernised palate — like the chawan mushi egg custard that looked sweet but was actually savoury with seafood hiding in it, the strange consistency of the boiled fish paste, or the wonderfully weird sliminess of the grated yam. We also got the more unusual chicken heart/​gizzard yakitori, potato croquettes (hi-​five for the carb fix) and some yummy ikura in a soupy rice dish (great description I know but I can’t remember the name!).
The umeshu and soda I was drinking went down a treat too though was quite diluted — will try it straight next time. Lovely highlight at the end of the meal was winning rock paper scissors for the last piece of dessert — apparently a Japanese tradition?! This was some delicious dorayaki that we ordered with their 3 different ice cream flavours — black sesame, matcha and chestnut. Yum. A great way to finish on a high (thanks for that last piece ladies!).
The restaurant is fairly basic but pleasant, and it entertained me to no end to see the waiting staff look expectantly towards the asians at the table, only for Josy to speak up in fluent Japanese! I think it definitely helped them warm to us having someone speak the lingo. If you don’t have an expert Japanese buddy, either find one, or just go pot luck from the vast menu — it seems to be a reliable spot to try lots of tasty dishes, and very reasonably priced too.
I rolled out of the door completely stuffed — and happy that I can now say I love Japanese food with a bit more credence :)

Japanese restaurants seem to be popping up all around London and by now everyone and their grandma have tried a katsu curry at one point or another. It seems therefore quite surprising that we still do not know lots of Japanese dishes and an authentic Japanese menu will probably leave us all wondering what are all those words I don’t recognise and can someone Google this please?
Luckily this time we had our own Unilocal foodie organising the dinner and explaining what everything was. Thanks to Josy we had an amazing dinner with lots of yummy treats to share between the five of us. I would mostly recommend the fried oysters (fact: anything fried is awesome) and the egg custard, which is basically a white savoury custard with bites of various seafood items according to the season. Everything else was also delicious, I just really can’t remember the names of the dishes (there were some croquettes, rice with fish eggs, fried octopus, meat skewers and something with funny texture wrapped in seaweed (very yummy as well). For desert we got the ice cream with the Japanese waffles, loved all the flavours and I would also recommend the alcoholic sodas.
As for the place in general, it’s quite authentic, with the customers and staff being Japanese themselves and so I definitely think that having someone who speaks the language with you will greatly improve your experience. Otherwise just be a bit more adventurous, order lots of different small dishes and try some cool new stuff! I know I’m definitely going back to try some more!

They serve some original and traditional japanese dishes that hardly find in London, and also taste original as well. Good service. And I have to recommend the GRILL, it is fantastic!

Authentic Japenese ok food but not for us. Service was ok couldnt help when asked to recommend something and asked for a glass of wine but said can only offer a bottle! Food comes out when its ready not all together but wasnt too slow. They do sit you downstairs where as upstairs there wasnt much seating. It was an experience but we wont be returning

En mi última visita a Londres entré en este japonés a cenar con unos amigos que viven allí. El local tiene 2 plantas, una estetica tirando a cutrecilla y un servicio con gran simpatía. La comida es bastante estandar para ser un japonés y no tiene nada destacable, simplemente correcta. Las cantidades en los platos son por encima de la media y las gyoza te las sirven en tandas recien hechas con aviso previo, lo cual es bueno porque de esta manera siempre te las comes recientes. Si vuelvo a Londres supongo que buscaré otros sitios porque hay miles de restaurante de todo tipo y este no me llamó la atención, pero tampoco guardo mal recuerdo.

Yoi-​sho is a brilliant place to try traditional Japanese things that don’t normally make it to the UK. Go with a group of friends so you can try little bites of everything.
The amazing yums:
They have some brilliant things on the menu! You can play it safe with the normal izayaka-​type dishes, or go off-​piste with the crazier foods. Last time I went, I was tipsy by the time we ordered, so I left it to a Japanese friend who might have been trying to surprise us by ordering all the «interesting» options…
— Natto (I don’t know many westerners that like it… but it’s worth a try)
— Chikuwa (reconstituted fish deliciousness) They serve it in a few different ways… I like it with mayo.
— Zosui (rice porridge) if it’s cold outside…
— Chawanmushi (savoury egg custard) — This was soooo good! I didn’t have it for ages, and they serve it in quite a large pot. Yay!
— Yakitori — they have chicken gizzard, chicken heart etc (as well as the less-​scary for English folk options like tsukune)
— Their grilled fish is gooood — try the saba shio yaki
— They have a few yamaimo (grated yam) dishes. It might freak you out if you’re not used to über slimy dishes, but the flavour is amaaazing with ginger and seaweed.
— If you order rice, you can get sake ikura don (salmon and salmon roe rice bowl) which is also lovely.
Oh! And if you can’t see what you fancy on the menu, just ask! Sometimes the chefs will make other specialities if they have the right ingredients…
The bad:
— As some of the reviewers have mentioned, the service can be a bit patchy. The staff are really sweet though (especially if you speak some Japanese.)
— The décor is pretty dodgy/​run down looking. This place has been around for aaages, but I don’t ever remember it looking new.
— It is a teeny bit pricey considering the run down atmosphere.
However…you might as well ignore the bad bits and pretend you’re in Japan trying new things. (^^)

If you are looking for classic Japanese comfort food then you have have come to right place. The décor is a bit tired, but don’t let that put you off, this is a great find.
Upstairs (ground level) is set out much like a yakitori bar with the below ground floor set out more like a conventional restaurant.
I found the food to be excellent and reasonably priced. You could argue that it lacked some of the more complex flavours you get in some of the more expensive Japanese restaurants, but then that is true of most restaurants in general.
The beer and wine list had a selection of Japanese beers, saki (hot and cold), spirits as well as a few western standards.
In all, Yoisho reminded me of several restaurants I have visited in Japan.

Japanese people eating inside — Check
Japanese menus and posters — Check
Japanese staff — Check
Japanese quality food — mmm not really
Went to this place the other night as was after a quick post drinking binge with a friend. Upon entering, there are lots of Japanese/​Expats in the restaurant and it feels very authentic.
I ordered the pork with kimchee on rice and my friend got some chicken dish. The pork was dry and tasted like it might have been sitting around since lunchtime and the kimchee was thin, stringy and tasteless. My friends chicken, however, was quite fresh and juicy but lacked any complex flavors.
At this point i’m wondering if we ordered from the wrong menu or something as they clearly had an expat following in the restaurant. Anyway, i would rate this place slightly less than 3 stars.

I was here for a friends leaving dinner and this was supposedly a good place an authentic japanese bar experience. Well on arriving, it was clear most of the people on the ground floor was native japanese or expats. Us being a group of non-​Japanese were shuffled downstairs where there was… nobody else.
The service requires a highlight because it was particularly strange. Our waitress would stand behind her station and when called over by one of us, take our request/​order then quickly run off despite it being obvious other people in the group wanted to order something else too. This happened many times throughout the night and was quite tiring.
The food itself was good, if a little pricey, but nothing really stood out for me apart from the Soft Shell Crab Sushi rolls. Really cheesy japanese J-​Pop music was on constantly loop and got increasingly annoying for those of us not totally immersed in japanese culture. In the whole time we were there, there wasn’t another sign of life apart from our waitress who was still trying to spend as little time at our table as possible. I can imagine if we were upstairs it would probably have been a different experience, but whilst I enjoyed my company, I was quite let down by the décor, service and overall experience. Perhaps I was expecting a load of japanese business men downing sake at the bar. Unfortunately being downstairs sat to loud japanese J-​Pop, I’ll never know.

Warning: If you are looking for sushi and don’t understand what real Japanese food is like outside of that then ignore my review. (i.e. if you tink ITSU and Yo Sushi! are worth 4 stars+, you will likely not appreciate or understand this place…
Summary: Impressive grilled and fried food. Think Gyoza, Tempura, and Yakitori. In fact, there is a full line-​up of all the chicken pieces & parts usually not available outside of Japan. Further, 9 out of 10 tables were Japanese speaking Japanese.
Conclusion: Authoritatively authentic Japanese cuisine sans Western pretense on the subject. Excellent and affordable. Lower price point and great value!

I missed lunch, so didn’t have the patience or energy to wait until 10pm for a table at Roka, so my friend suggested we skip it, and head to a more authentic place just around the corner in Goodge St.
Great, I thought… Authentic is better than poncey places to be seen any day, isn’t it?
The welcome was pretty frosty, not at all what I expected, even though my friend had said they can be a little offhand sometimes.
Service was brisk, polite, if a little unhelpful (more lost in translation than actually rude)
So to the food…
Soft shell crab salad, delicious, except they covered it in way too much vinegar-​y dressing so the crab went soggy by the time we hit the second bite.
Prawn sizzling omlette. Yummy, except for the crazy amount of criss crossed mayo on top of it.
Sashimi was nice, although no regularity in the thickness of cut– i can do better myself with a bread knife, but tasted good.
Marinated Seabass in Ponzu– delicious, although asked 3 members of staff what a particular piece of vegetable with it was, and was told ginger, shallot, radish. who knows?! training would be useful!
Yakitori. Don’t bother! Possibly the toughest duck i ever tried. chicken heart was also cooked so much it would have bounced had i dropped it, and the chicken wings tasted less than fresh. Even shitaake mushrooms were dry, and fairly pointless…
Next time i think i’ll wait!

Dah food we ordered :
— Gyoza: pretty good =]
— Assorted tempura: with shrimp, courgette, bell pepper and leek; quite common but good.
— Sashimi on rice: not the best sashimi, but also I am not fond of sashimi on top of hot rice (noooo the poor fish is getting hot !). To be honest, seeing the rest of the menu, I think you could avoid the classical sushi+sashimi combo.
— deep fried dish, aubergine in ginger sauce: first time eating this, is what pretty good but not very filling by itself I guess.
We wanted some squid dish, but they didn’t have any.
I wish we went for other food as well, but heh, we were only two and we can’t handle that much food!
Among other dishes they also serve: okonomiyaki (weeeehhh), udon, soba, onigri, rice soup, rice porridge, yakitori, and others.
In winter only, they also make YOSENABE, a sort of hot-​pot. They have to prepare it somewhat in advance, so you have to book it few hours before !
Price is also quite reasonable, on average it is 5−6£ per small dish (1−2£ per yakitori I think, 2−3£ of a rice ball/​onigri). Although you might order several of these.
The service is not super efficient, they are sometime a bit slow and hard to get the staff.
We got our table in the basement level, not the best, but it is a quite small restaurant.
I would say it is better to book a table before going.
I’ll probably go back to try more of the food =)

Definitely another authentic isakaya style japanese restaurant in London. The service was once again very friendly. The pub food, such as gyoza, was really good, although the sushis and sashimis were somehow disappointing compared to asakuza. Good pricing as well

Not the best service but the Yakitori was fantastic. I was in London for work and popped in here on the way back to my hotel one night.
The Nagiri was above average but the assorted grilled chicken parts were great. With all the salarymen in the restaurant it reminded me of Yakitori Alley in Shinjuku where my friend once took me.
I could see that the other tables were somewhat desperate for service as well. Five stars for authenticity, two stars for service, four stars for the food and drink.

A very traditional looking small restaurant that serves a small but tasty selection of Japanese classics. Excellent sushi too. And reasonably priced.
When you see a majority of Japanese clients and menu in Japanese, you know the food is going to be good

If you are looking for authentic Japanese food in a relaxing and tapas (isakaya style), this will be a place for you.
We ordered salmon sashimi which the salmon was very fresh. The tuna roll was delish with the rice nicely flavored with vinegar. We order a homemade tofu which served on a hot claypot which was pipping hot!
The cold udon tempura was very good as the udon was chewy which is the best ones you can get.

I’d read and heard mixed reviews of this Goodge Street Izakaya so wasn’t sure what to expect. We sat upstairs at the grill counter and had a memorable time for a friend’s farewell dinner. The décor isn’t fancy so don’t go if you want kimonos and the finest tatami mats, but for a refreshingly laid-​back time, as you’d find in Japan itself, this is ideal.
The sashimi was so fresh it could have been on a fishing trawler half an hour before, the miso eggplant was creamy divinity, the mixed tempura was exactly as it should be and all portions were generous enough to share.
Our waitresses weren’t chatty but they were certainly there when we needed them and looked after us well. The grill chef had a shy smile and kept a courteous eye on we gaijin perched at his counter. His prowess at the grill was entertainment in itself.
Don’t bother with the mixed chicken plate some of it tastes odd and I later found out that they use all sorts of chicken parts to make the chicken balls, which explains a lot. Not to my taste, but I know one particular Canadian who loves them!
Needless to say, we had sake and Asahi Dry to wash it all down the waitress even allowed us to have a cold sake served warm because it was freezing cold outside usually this would be a no-​no and we knew that, but even if they trotted out the back to tut-​tut about the sake-​ignorant westerners, no one let on and we appreciated their indulgence of us.
FYI this is the sort of place where a few words of Japanese won’t go astray the staff all speak rapid-​fire Japanese at almost all times because this is the sort of genuine Japanese tavern atmosphere that attracts Japanese businessmen after a hard day at work. I may not be a Japanese ex-​pat seeking the taste of home, but I do love Japanese food and was not disappointed by Yoisho, which stays in my mind, especially the prawn sashimi, now colouring my gastro daydreams in the most intoxicating of ways. I’ll definitely be back for more, the only question is ‘when?’

So I am the first one to comment?
It’s basically very authentic, one of those places to hang out after work for some sake and snacks. The crowds going there are mostly native japanese. I was referred there by my japanese hairstylist.
The food was tasty and there was a creative list of stuff you won’t get elsewhere. The only downside is that the place is underground, it definitely has seen better days.