Having seen those colourful rings everywhere around the city, I’ve always been dying to visit YO! Sushi but never had the time (or the money!) to. So when a friend alerted me to a 50% offer I literally jumped at the chance – twice!
My first visit was to the Whiteleys branch which was open and bustling with customers. Good sign. The second visit was to the Brent Cross branch which is a lot smaller and cramped, and we had to queue for 15 minutes on a weekday. We were sat on high stools with full access to the conveyor belt (would we have it any other way?) and lustfully eyed the food gliding in front of us. First of all, may I just say that I love the concept of Japanese conveyor belt food, and I’m sure YO! does play on some of those hunter-gatherer instincts to boost its profit margins.
After making the fatal mistake of asking for water (water, though unlimited, costs £1 here while unlimited miso soup only costs 75p extra), we were hesitant as to who was to draw first blood and catch the moving prey. The gari, wasabi and soy sauce were also unlimited so we just ended up eating gari by the boatload while waiting for something interesting to float past.
Between the two trips I tried almost everything off the belt. The classic assorted nigiri (with rice) was fine, although nothing special – just a bit fresher than boxed sets from M&S or Pret. I also had an assorted sashimi (without rice) which was the first time I’ve had hamachi (yellowtail), and I must say I was quite surprised at how tasty it is raw. The tuna pieces were a little off though and had a slimy texture to it. The isos (reverse rolls) were all pretty good, just remember to take your time in eating them rather than swallowing them whole without chewing, otherwise you’ll lose the taste. I only found one hand roll off the belt (at the Brent Cross branch) which was very nice but for some reason had too much mayonnaise.
Out of the hot dishes, I think the chicken teriyaki was the star favo

YO! Sushi is great but I prefer the Poland Street branch to this one. This one doesn't seem to have quite as much atmosphere as some of the other YO! Sushi branches I've been to. The food's still good though.