It may have seemed a gimmick at first but the conveyor belt food idea is actually a very good one. Not only is it fun but the food is also extremely moreish.

The Venue
There are branches of YO! Sushi all over town and they have been very successful, so much so, that the capital really now takes them for granted. Each venue is different depending on the size of the space it occupies. The Islington branch is housed on the first floor of the N1 shopping centre, next door to the Vue cinema. It’s a long room with a kitchen area and serving station down the centre, a bar with stools for snacking to the left, and more formal dining tables seating four to six on the right. Around the whole of the central installation runs the conveyor belt on which the food is delivered to the diners.

The Atmosphere
This location usually has a steady stream of customers coming and going. It’s somewhere to suit most occasions: for single diners in a hurry to get back to the office, couples or business people meeting for lunch or dinner, or a quick afternoon or early evening snack, before a movie, perhaps, or for small parties meeting in an informal ambience. It’s just fine for singles as there’s always something to look at, as you watch those tempting dishes trundling by, wondering, Shall I have just one more for the road?

The Food
There is a complete range of both hot and cold dishes, over 100 altogether. It is mostly the cold dishes that are sent round on the conveyor belt and they are all timed so that they do not hang around too long. The maximum time is two hours and, if they haven’t been selected by then, they are withdrawn. Choose from the various types of sushi such as sashimi, nori, nigiri, futomaki and iso rolls, all of which involve rice plus toppings or fillings of fish and vegetables. The hot selections are ordered through either the chefs or one of the serving team. Each dish is colour coded for prices ranging from £1.50 (green) through to £5 (grey). At the end of the meal, the empties are added up and the bill is made out.

For something really nourishing on the hot food menu, begin with a bowl of miso soup, a soy bean broth with seaweed, tofu and spring onion. The basic miso is just £1.75 for unlimited portions. However, it is made more interesting if you add extras, such as chicken or seafood. For another 25p it comes with mushrooms and noodles which make it very substantial. It is piping hot and quite a good tasting soup.

Black tiger prawn tempura, with three chunky specimens of the seafood in the lightest of batter, is also piping hot and served with a fragrant dipping sauce. If you need any extra condiments, little containers are built into the table with pickled ginger, wasabi horseradish and soy sauce plus napkins and chopsticks. The teriyaki chicken is grilled and glazed with a sweet and sticky soy-based sauce and is utterly delicious. Varieties of katsu (fried food coated in panko, Japanese breadcrumbs) include chicken, salmon, prawn and pumpkin – an extremely delicious combo dish and really filling. It is amazing how large the portions are in reality when compared to their pictures on the menu!

The desserts include rice cakes, rice pudding, chocolate mousse cake, fresh fruit salad, pistachio fresh fruit charlotte, chocolate brownie and green tea mousse, but the Dorayaki is the one to try, a spongy pancake filled with custard and served with a bright red raspberry sauce, the perfect and lightest way to end a substantial meal like this.

The Drink
Each table has fountains of still and sparkling water (unlimited for £1), while the bottomless cup of green tea is just £1.25, so you don’t have to drink alcohol. However, there is a limited list of wines from £4.50 a glass and £12.50 a bottle, plus champagne and sake, the Japanese rice wine, and Japanese Sapporo and Asahi beers, plus all the usual soft drinks.

The Last Word
The food couldn’t be nicer at Yo Sushi: it’s tasty, healthy and delicious. It’s a fun place with its conveyor belt food, but none of it tastes factory made. It is freshly prepared and served with skill and civility. There is also a takeaway service, mostly involving complete meals with a selection of different dishes, and there’s a delivery service too. Prices are reasonable so that, without wine, you could have a decent snack for about a fiver and a really big meal for under £20 a head.

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