Surprisingly, I haven't had sushi train for years, well, I haven't exactly had great experiences in the past, so I was never in any rush to go and try it. But, London is another matter. Yo! Sushi is another one of those food chains that I said I would eventually get around to trying, so when they were having a special offer, this was as good a time as any to catch up with some old friends.
Food
Because filtered water is actually £1, we opted to have green tea (£1.25 unlimited) and miso soup (£1.75 unlimited). The green tea tasted like water and the miso soup was really salty, but I still refuse to pay for water. Anyway, onto the main event. We tried:
- green:
- Crispy Salmon Skin Hand Roll - grilled crispy salmon skin with spring onion - I love the really crunchy texture and the fresh hand roll. A winner.
- Vegetable ISO (inside out) - tamago, cucumber, avocado, mizuna leaf, and mayonnaise ISO with chives - ok, but not spectacular.
- blue:
- California Hand Roll - crabstick, avocado, mayonnaise and sesame seed - surprisingly tasty, with a smudge of mayo and retaining the great texture of the nori.
- Salmon Nigiri - fresh sliced salmon with wasabi - the salmon was very thin, so that the ratio of rice to fish was not right, but at least the salmon was fresh enough.
- purple:
- Spicy Chicken Katsu ISO - shredded crispy chicken, in a spicy dressing, and misuna ISO. Drizzled with fruity katsu sauce - wow, this was actually spciy. The sauce was delightful. Great combo.
- Squid Nigiri - fine slices of squid with yuzu tobiko - yum! the squid was so tender and fresh, wonderful
- orange:
- Crunchy Tuna Salad - slices of tuna, crunchy mixed salad dressed in light tangy dressing - a big success. The tuna was pepper seared on the outside, but still raw and tender on the inside. This one reminds me of the wagamama salad. The leaves have that bitter kick and the sauce is superb.
- YO! Roll - Salmon, avocado and mayonnaise ISO with tobiko (flying fish roe) - basic but yummy combination
- pink:
- Crispy Duck and Moromi Miso Hand Roll- shredded crispy duck, brown rice miso, sliced cucumber and spring onion - not very successful at all. Pretending to be a duck pancake but not even close. The duck was not very flavoursome or melt in the mouth, and the flavours don't jar.
- Crunchy Prawn and Avocado ISO - crispy battered prawn and avocado ISO with wasabi tobiko (flying fish roe) - looked great with the green outside, but tastes pretty bland.
- platinum:
- soft shell crab - soft shell blue crab - not that soft and not that crunchy. I've had better
Rating - 6
Atmosphere
The place was packed when we arrived just before 7:30. I guess people in London don't work late. The place is bright an airy, with a corner that's dedicated to take-away. The majority of the space is of course taken up by the "kitchen", with the sushi train surrounding it. You mostly sit around the train, on special benches that have filtered tap water and holes built in to hold all your bowls, wasabi, soy sauce...etc, except there are a few actual tables at the back, and that's where we were placed, which was great as it was quieter and away from the wind. It's not really a place to come in a big group, as you can never really sit together, and it's not a place for a date. But for a quick, relatively healthy meal, it's not bad at all.
Rating - 2
Service
It's not surprising that none of the wait staff here comes from an English speaking background. This being London, the staff do stuff very slowly, and were all run off their feet. It took ages to get any service and they weren't very good at remembering orders, having mixed up ours a few times. But at least these people try...unlike some other places I have been to.
Their waiting system left a bit to be desired though. There's no system at all, and whether you go in a queue or push in front of someone else, it's all up to the staff. Luckily the staff at that particular time were great and remembered the order.
Rating - 2.5
C-factor
Like all sushi trains, the price is calculated from the number of coloured dishes you have. At Yo!, these are their prices. Green - £1.50, Blue - £2, Purple - £2.50, Orange - £3, Pink - £3.50, Platinum -£4. Usually if you have "the rainbow" (i.e. one of each colour plate), it'll cost you £17.50, but because we had our vouchers, our bill came to £10 each. Which is not too bad for sushi in London.
Rating - 1.5
Brownie Points - 12
Info
Condor House
5-14 St Pauls Church Yard
London
EC4M 8AY
Phone +44 (0) 20 7248 8726
Website
