Yoshi

Came here for their early bird specials for $ 9.99, it comes with two choices, miso soup, salad and rice. My husband, one-​year old daughter and I each got our own set. hahahahaha… My H and I were taken away by their salad dressing, had no idea what it was, but it was real GOOD. Our little girl almost finish her grilled salmon and loves the Japanese rice. We also tried the grilled chicken, chicken kaarage, tonkatsu, sashimi and ahi poke. The chicken karage and tonkatsu was a bit dried. But overall, it was a good experience.

we came here for their early bird special (5.30 — 6.30 pm)
it’s a 2-​choice teishoku that comes with soup, salad and rice (9.99 $) .my hubby had sashimi and ahi poke, and i had the tonkatsu with grilled chicken. food was pretty good but the food service was a little disorganize because they were understaffed. my hubby was finished with his food by the time i got mine. other than that… nothing to complain about.

As everyone else has informed, this is no longer a yakitori.
They now have a sushi bar but other than that difference, the place still looks the same with the same awesome workers who give splendid service.
The interior is rather modern so in a way Yoshis is a diamond in the rough.literally.
My original intentions tonight was to have a beer or two with light pupus,
what I ended up doing was eat an entire meal because I just couldn’t stop after the pupus. It was such a tease.
As always, my favorite question is whats popular? (I was eyeing out the sushi bar section)
-«ahi carpaccio and the blackened ahi»
so I proceed to order the Ahi carpaccio and gyoza.
We watched the awesome sushi chef slice away making the ahi carpaccio presentable; and NOT ONLY DID IT LOOK NICE, it tasted wonderful.
The gyoza was pan-​fried to perfection. oh and Caution: it’s hot!
after our teasers, we gave in and ordered spicy ahi roll,
calamari, and the blackened ahi.
The blackened ahi is a must try.
We topped our meal off with the tempura ice cream which I was eyeing out since I first looked at the menu.
This is another MUST TRY. It comes in a bowl with tempura on the bottom and ice cream inside the tempura and the bowl is on top a dish that strawberry syrup drizzled on the plate and salt around the bowl and lighted up in flames to keep the tempura hot. I was so confused on how to eat because i was afraid that i’d burn my tongue. Talk about mind f**king! But seriously, it was good.
Yoshis, you got me hooked!

Yakitori — Yoshi no more. NAME CHANGE ALERT!
Yoshi Japanese Food and Sushi (I think that’s the new name)
We were trying to describe to our German houseguests what yakitori was. Even with the help of Google translate we were unable to get the point across. My husband suggests «lets just take them to a yakitori restaurant». Great idea; no explanation needed.
After we were seated our waiter explained to us that they no longer do yakitori. It’s fried food, teppan-​yaki, robata items, and sushi.
OH NO! How are we going to translate in German that we are not going to have yakitori in a yakitori restaurant. Maybe we need to get a «German for Dummies» CD. We debated on whether or not to stay or go to the other yakitori joint. We stayed.
To our surprise the food was great! Pricey, but very good. Here’s what we ate:
Pork chop — Perfect chop with a nice savory sauce. Tip: If you are going to share plates family style, have the chef cut it up for you.
Kim-​chee pork — The pork belly too was too thin and the kim-​chee too powerful
Dragon roll — This was California roll with unagi on top. Eye catching and yummy!
California roll (yes we’re small kine haole, that’s how we roll) — It was good. Nothing fancy, just a California roll.
Fried Calamari x 2– I think this was my favorite of the night. Nice tender rings and tentacle with a light batter. So good we ordered another.
Yuzu something chicken — Tender, juicy, flavorful. This was my 2^nd favorite of the night.
French Fries — There is something about eating fries at a Japanese restaurant. Maybe it’s the freakishly tiny blob of ketchup that never seems like enough, but somehow gets you through with some extra to spare.
Tempura Ice cream — On fire! Like literally! This was tempura battered pound cake with ice cream served in a bowl on a plate of flames. Wrap your head around that!
So good, it tasted of pancakes and ice cream in a chicken ‘n waffles kind of way.
This place gets three stars for now. Perhaps after I’ve mourned Yakitori-​Yoshi for a bit I can consider the 4^th star.
In the end alles gute! And the German (who doesn’t like Japaneseich food) fell in love with sushi.

Thursday night dinner in town with German relatives. Plan was to go to Ah Langs. We arrive there at 6:30 with a 6 pack of beer. «WE’RE CLOSED» snaps the Angry Korean Lady shooing us out the door before we are halfway in. Giggles abound by the seated patrons there.
Damn!
Plan B. Let’s do yakitori! Yeah!
We get to the Yakitori Yoshi. Have a nice warm «IRASSHAIMASE!» as we walk in the door. Much better feeling than «GET OUT» from AKL.
Waiter comes. «I am sorry, we are no longer a yakitori restaurant.» He points to the grill where the yakitori used to be. *crickets* Only robata, fried, and teppanyaki. After hesitation we go for it anyway. How much rejection can one handle in an evening?
Remember, my German relatives have low tolerance for Asian food. We start simple.
Grilled pork chops, yuzu pepper chicken, french fries, calamari. Food comes fast. It’s a major home run! Calimari is perfect. Tender, not rubber bandy. The yuzu chicken is moist, succulent and bright with yuzu.
We sneak in a curve ball. We order dragon roll, gyoza, and musubi. Dragon roll comes out quick. It’s beautiful! Unagi on a california roll. My German brother in law actually tries it… AND LIKES IT. Major cultural hurdle cleared and the first time my brother in law ate sushi!
Rest of the meal went stunningly. Dessert was a beautiful flaming tempura ice cream. The bowl is literally on fire! Excellent dish.
Since the restaurant’s format changed this week, 20% off the bill. 70 bucks for four with booze.
Service was welcoming and personable. Not to mention fast. I took off only a star because we came for yakitori and didn’t get the memo.

I’ve always loved the yakitori here… my favorite was the bacon wrapped enoki mushrooms and grilled shoyu garlic butter musubis. Imagine my surprise when we walked in and they no longer offer yakitori! So disappointed! They now offer sushi, some fried stuff, teppan yaki, steamed clams and something called robata… it wasn’t too bad dunno if I’d eat here again cause I’ll just be wanting my yakitori parking is also pretty bad here

Some people have to understand good stuff will be pricy… If you want cheap then plz go eat at McDonalds…
You don’t come here to overeat, you basically come here with a good company of friends to ENJOY the TASTY food and some FLAVORFUL sake…
I would categorize this place as a higher more exclusive version of Gyu-​Kaku… If you want to eat better food and pay more you come here, if you don’t feel like spending too much you go to Gyu-​Kaku… Also here they grill for you in front of you basically…
I really love this place and don’t mind the price, it has an amazing variety of different foods to offer. One of my favorites the quail eggs (a must try)… The service is down to earth and friendly, a great ambience altogether…
Will be coming back and always recommending this place…

To be honest I thought it was very pricey. My check was about $ 50 for my girlfriend and I and we left still feeling hungry. I should have just gone to shokudo or curry house and left feeling full with money still in my pocket.
Its like the Genki Sushi effect where it looks like its cheap because everything only costs $ 2 – 5 but EVERYTHING ADDS UP. When you order a ramen for $ 7 and like 10 little sticks plus a beer. Its only a few bites so you never get full and you pay another $ 2 – 5 to try get your stomach to that sweet spot.
so why am I giving this place 5 stars?
The food is actually REALLY good! my favorite items were the garlic ponzu beef, and the tsukune (chicken meatballs) it was very tasty and i just loved it. They are also currently having a THE BEST HAPPY HOUR BEERS, from opening –7 its $ 2 for a bottle of beer. Im a very simple guy i just need cheap beer and good food and i am happy. Now this place provides me with both so I am a very satisfied customer.

Not became a fan to enjoy yakitori and sake here, I also enjoyed my takeout lunch from Yakitori Yoshi:) Had a Steak & Shrimp plate for my quick lunch in between a busy Monday. (I know I should have tried CHICKEN: p) I just walked in and ordered takeout, then it only took less than 10 minutes, I had a gorgeous plate lunch on my hand to take back to the work and was bragging around my coworkers.
Steak and Shrimp had well seasoned, and perfect grilled. Ponzu comes with side was delicious, too. I particularly likes the dressing for salad was amazing. I am not sure what’s ingredients, but I guess it was kabocha (maybe?). yellow sauce on green was also visually beautiful. At the last but not the least, corn was butter flavored season was good.
Oh by the way, on the top of rice, it came with furikake. hmmm. yum. I liked this extra small details.
For Yakitori Yoshi lovers, I’d recommend this lunch plates as well. I must try Ramen for between Tuesday and Thursday soon!

Nibble, chit-​chat, drink, nibble, chit-​chat, drink. Continue until full and satisfied.
Yakitori Yoshi was suggested a while back by a friend. We finally got a chance to go last night. First of all, I did something really stupid. I forgot that a yakitori joint isn’t a place for big meals. It’s meant to be a place for chatting and drinking after a hard day’s work. So I arrived there starving. Whoops.
Don’t expect your order to arrive all at the same time, like I did. Haha! It’ll come to you in waves. They’re trying to serve everyone in the restaurant on one open flame grill.
My first dish, fish sausage, arrived quickly. I devoured it, then sat there waiting for my other dishes. I leaned over to my pal and said «can’t they just cook everything, then serve it on a sizzling stone plate?» Next time I’ll be better prepared and ready for some Okinawan Awamori.
Suggested:
chicken meatball shiso ponzu
chicken meatball mentai mayo
curry croquette
grilled musubi with miso
asparagus wrapped with bacon
green tea gelato

This is probably the nicest yakitori joint i’ve been to so far. It has a nice lounge feel to it and nothing like those hole in the wall places. If you can’t find parking in the 6 – 8 stall lot in front of the restaurant, there’s street parking on Makaloa or you can park at walmart since it’s right across the street. They do take reservations, so I would recommend it esp. at night cause this place can get kinda full.
The mixed drinks are delicious! A must have is the so-​chu calpico. taste so good and smooth. Now the food, if it’s a busy night expect to wait. the first time i went they forgot our order, but compensated us for our drinks but seriously the food makes up for it. If you’re not in a rush and just hanging with some friends, then this is the place to be. The food comes out individually so you’ve gotta have some patience, but overall the food is well worth the wait!

Had a nice dinner. Love the concept. Ordering individual skewers means lots of variety.
Had the following
– Grilled chicken thigh with green onion
– Grilled meatball with shiso ponzu
– Pork with spicy miso (not spicy)
– Beef with radish ponzu
– Sausage — OUR FAVORITE OF THE NIGHT
– Grilled muchrooms — VERY GOOD
– Asparagus wrapped in bacon — bacon was nice and crispy
– Shrimp with mentai mayo (what mayo?)
– grilled musubi with shoyu butter — liked the crispy toasted rice bits
– yoshi salad — quite nice, excellent dressing
Sat at the bar. DON’T SIT IN FRONT OF THE GRILL. HOT HOT HOT.
Felt like waiters were assigned to tables, but the bar is «catch a waiter if you can.» We’ll get a table next time.

I have been back home for a week now and thus, am currently on the prowl for new restaurants to try. As a result, my friend suggested this restaurant. Yakitori Yoshi’s interior is nice and brightly lit and the food is comparable to Kohnotori, which could be due to the fact that the owner used to man the grill there. We had a variety of skewers, such as chicken heart, sausage, quail egg, bacon wrapped tomato, bacon wrapped enoki, bacon wrapped mochi (which was soooo good I wish I could eat it for the rest of my life), bacon wrapped quail egg, etc. The bacon items were terrific since they were crispy instead of chewy, which is how some places have it. As I have just mentioned the bacon wrapped mochi was to die for. The mochi had a light crispness on the outside while maintaining its chewy texture. The sweetness of the mochi went well with the saltiness of the bacon. My friend and I decided it was the star of the whole meal. Yummo! They also have Asahi on tap! What I loved about this place more than anything was that I didn’t come out smelling like grilled meat. The service was great. The waiters were excellent, always checking up on us and the food came out fairly quickly. I will definitely come back, especially since it is so close to the mall.

The lady that used to make the grilled stuff at Kohnotori taste so good has opened her own place.
Is it good. YES. Is it as good as Kohnotori? Better!
Can she still cook? Yes!
Everything I ordered was fabulous. Parking can be hard to find, but I have had no problem — just have to walk a little.
I love this place. We are lucky to have it!

The atmosphere, décor and service were 5 stars, unfortunately the food didnt match up. All the meats I ordered did not have that nice sear that I like. That slight char crispness makes the meat taste better. They flavor was good but when I left my lips had that feeling like there was too much salt added.
Sorry but I will stick to Kohnotori.

I have to admit, i am a big fan of anything grilled on a stick, and when i found out that the chef/​owner of Yakitori Yoshi was the one who grilled our Yakitori sticks at Kohnotori next to Imana’s Tei, i was very happy to see her again. This place is located in the old Kai and Hal’e Restaurant, next to Saigon Passion 3 Strip Club. Wow what a deal, from eating food on a stick to strippers on a pole. Anyway the food here is just as good if not better than Kohnotori. I just love the variety of little morsels of food they have to offer here. We were vert fortunate to have a seat on the counter on a Friday night. I definitelty will be back knowing that this lady is grilling my food once again.
PARKING: The parking can fill up pretty quick here. There is patking along Makaloa Street as well, but you’ll have fierce competition with all the Korean Hostess Bars and all the old, asian, single men taking up all the parking spaces as well…
DECOR/​AMBIENCE: This place is very sleek from when Kai first opened here, but i prefer to sit on the counter where the owner cooks everything on the grill. It’s a sight to see and the ventilation is really good here so you don’t leave the place smelling like you went to a Forest Fire Convention…
FOOD: I love the fact that not only do they have Yakitori items, but they also have stuff like Ahi Poke, and Ramen to end the evening. Nothing like eating Grilled items and washing it down with a nice bowl of Ramen… Hits the spot all the time.
Beef Stick with Radish Ponzu: I loved this tender piece of meat with that Radish Ponzu. It’s got the bitterness of the radish to go with the Tangy flavor of the Ponzu… so nice
Tebasaki or Chicken Wing: Gotta love any chicken that is put on a grill, and they do it right here at Yakitori Yoshi
Grilled Beef Tongue: You either love it ot hate it, but if they cut it real thin, im a big fan but when they cut it real thick, the texture sucks. It’s borderline here, so it ok i guess.
Oyster Ponzu: You get 4 pieces of Grilled Oyster taken out of the shell and drizzled with ponzu… YUMMY =)
Scallop Ponzu: Waa a little disappointed to have only 2 pieces of scallop but it was good for what it is…
Grilled Shrimp and Garlic Shrimp: Both were cooked to perfection and it wasn’t chewy like bubble gum.
Bacon Enoki: There is nothing i like better that a piece of Bacon wrapped around a piece of Enoki Mushroom. What a Great Combination.
Chicken Thigh with Green Onion: Another simple and wonderful combination.
Arabiki Sausage: Nothing like a grilled that looks like mine served with a little mustard on the side. All i need is a teeny, weeny, bun to go with it.
Beef Liver: PASS!!! BLAH!!!
Ahi Poke with Avocado: It could’ve used a little more flavor but can’t fault them here. It was still good and was devoured in seconds.
Grilled Onigiri with Miso Paste: It’s like eating rice that has been left in the Rice cooker too long but the crunchiness and burnt flavor with the miso flavor turns me on.
Assorted Mushrooms: This particular order came to us by mistake but i ain’t going to complain. They put aluminum foil on the grill wrapped tightly and on the inside of this aluminum foil is an assortment of mushrooms which is served with a little ponzu on the side. This was the highlight of the evening, eating something we didn’t order. The foodie gods were definitely on our side this particular evening.
Cream of Corn Croquette: These things looked like Ore Ida Hash Brown Patties but they were much better than that…
OVERALL: Once again fellow Unilocalies, i really like variety on a menu, and at Yakitori Yoshi, they have it all. A little of everything from grilled items to poke to fried stuff to Ramen at the end of the evening. I can see this place flourishing for them, but i think this place might just be a little too big for them and i could imagine how much the rent is here, but i hope this place sticks around because the food here is what tickles my palate in many ways possible

As i entered Yakkitori Yoshi, the only thought that came to mind is «Did the owners of Hale decide to change their menu and offer meat?» It still has the same décor and furniture as its predecessor, except it now offers grilled foods and meat! All in all, it is an ok place to grab a meal with a wonderful ambiance, decent menu, and decent food. However, it service is one area where they really need to improve upon.
The menu is izakaya-​style inspired with smaller dishes as well as a small selection of noodle bowls. The food certainly didn’t disappoint with well cooked meats, nicely flavored broths, and nicely cut fish. That being said, the food certainly didn’t wow at the same time.
The service was a bit lacking and an area of improvement. While the staff were incredibly polite about it, there is only so many times «gomenzai» will cover up a shortcoming. Food was a bit slow to arrive and when it did, it was spuratic and in an un-​organized fashion. Getting the check was somewhat an ordeal in itself.
I certainly think they have potential and will be sure to check it out again in the future. Just get your service together and you could be on to great things!

I’ve tried Tsukune-​ya and Kohnotori. WIth all things Yakitori considered, how do they compare to this place? The atmosphere, the value, the quality of the food, the service, the presentation… it was BOOYAH all around umai/​oishii/​wonderfulllly delicious. That’s the great thing about the adventure of trying a new place, you go in with a open palate, and its a great opportunity to be pleasantly delighted. On this momentous day like this one, it felt like Christmas in February, payday two days early, no traffic on the freeway kinda day! Nothing like getting high quality food for a reasonable price.
The ambiance I have always loved… even from Okonomiyaki Kai times it is hands-​down one of my fave places on the island. My ideal place for a date, I would imagine…(Take me here and I might marry you! haha)
We got there little after 6 something, the place was empty. And then sooner than you can say BOOM BOOM POW da place was packed to da max. Our waitress was super duper kawaii and attentive and we had a good view of the griller masterfully flipping skewers… sa-​WEET.
So you have to fill out on a little form whether for the Grilled stuff and the not-​grilled stuff and give it to the waitress. I recommend trying a little bit of everything. So to go over what I ate/​recommend:
Salad: Yoshi salad was fresh greens with a light orange dressing that I can only describe as yum. Raw potato salad had a hint of furikake and was a refreshing good start (doesn’t have that bite like Pietros).
Ala Carte: Traditional Japanese done favorites done fresh and arranged prettily, like the Tsukemono.
Grill:
Tsukune (minced chicken meatball) you MUST get. shiso ponzu and garlic ponzu melt in your mouth good.
Assorted plate for 11 dollars was is good for first timers. It has chicken breast (eh), quail eggs, arabiki sausage (!), teriyaki tsukune, 6 sticks total.
If you wanna get your veggies, try anything wrapped in bacon. Best bet is enoki mushroom and asparagus was pretty good. The enoki is pretty chewy and with every bite, a little more bacon juice oozes into your mouth.
There are dishes for the more adventurous including the beef tongue.
End with the shoyu butter onigiri. They come with a slab of butter on top that melts into the rice grains and turns it into a glistening triangle of grainy goodness.
I Will mos def come again. i love you just the way you are Yakitori Yoshi.

Reading some reviews ahead of time, we decided to park at Walmart and walk over. That actually worked really well without dealing with the stress of finding street parking.
From the outside, we could see inside through the clear glass windows into the modern décor. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by chants of irrashaimasei! One of the waiters then proceeded from behind the counter to seat us. He asked us if we wanted to sit on the counter or on a table, and we opted for a counter seat to watch the cooking action. After, he sat us, handed us out menus, and gave us tall glasses of water. The menu was very vast and extensive and he explained how the ordering worked: basically each meat item comes on a skewer and you write down the quantity. They also offered non-​grilled items.
We ordered a variety of food and it was a good thing we did because we noticed that the yakitori items took longer than the non-​yakitori items, probably the reason why the rating isn’t as high. But if you think about it, it makes sense; it takes a while to grill meat. Just be forewarned to order non-​grilled items so you don’t have to wait as long. It was so worth the wait though! All the meats (salted gizzard, teriyaki chicken thigh, spicy miso pork, and garlic ponzu beef) were juicy, tender, and oh so flavorful! Even the non-​grilled items were tasty like the tonkatsu ramen, takoyaki, negitoro, simmered beef tendon, and oyster with ponzu sauce. We didn’t care too much for the grilled musubi though because it was drowning in miso sauce. It tasted like arare actually.
The service is great and they are all really friendly! We spoke with our waiters and he said that they opened on December 15, 2010. They are pretty good for a place that has only been open for about a month.

Yakitori Yumminess!
Parking can be tricky when they are busy, but there is ample street parking or park at Walmart and walk over.
The ambience is very chic and cute. We sat at the bar area, got to watch the master skewer chefs at work, I loved it. I was a little worried I’d walk out of there smelling of smoke as you do after dining at gyukaku and other grill restaurants. But since the space is so large and open, it didn’t pose a problem at all.
We tried almost everything on the menu, I really enjoyed the skewered items. In particular the chicken liver, heart, tsukune with mentai-​mayo, tebasaki (wings) were my favorite. We also ordered the oyster ponzu, which was delicious but I would have enjoyed them better had they been raw opposed to steamed.
I would stay away from the poke’s, the ahi seemed to be the quality of previously frozen fish. Afterall, it is a yakitori house not a poke bowl.
I really wanted to try the bowl of ramen but was much too full to slurp up noodles, maybe next time.
I will probably keep this in my back pocket as one of those late night bite places after work. The service was very friendly, the skewers were delish, the prices were moderate and they are open til midnight!