Ever since our favorite local sushi place (Sakana) closed, we have been on the hunt for a new sushi haunt. We have passed Yoshi many times on our way to Bazin’s and finally made a reservation to go. Reservations are pretty much required on weekends because this place is TINY. They have maybe 12 two-tops that they can push together in different configurations. They were full to capacity the entire time we were there.
They only have one unfiltered sake, but it’s one that we like, so that was ok (we both prefer unfiltered sake pretty much exclusively). We started with pork gyoza dumplings that were very good – crispy on the outside, tender inside. Then we were served miso soup and salad, both were standard – the salad is iceberg, but the ginger dressing is good, and there were sliced radishes. I ordered a sashimi sampler (tuna, white tuna, salmon, yellowtail, eel). The portions were nice and the fish was fresh. My tamago omelette was a bit grey, but still sweet and tasty. We tried a few rolls – the yellowtail and green onion was fresh and light, though redundant with my yellowtail sashimi. I really liked the crispy salmon roll – salmon, eel, cream cheese, and avocado wrapped in rice paper, deep fried with black sesame sauce – but Jasper did not. He thought the crispy outside was too poke-y (you do have to be careful when you eat it). I thought it was warm and comforting and savory – the black sesame sauce was particularly interesting. I normally don’t like cream cheese in rolls, but when it is fried it’s ok because it gets warm and melty. We also tried the bagel roll – cream cheese, smoked salmon, avocado – which neither of us liked mostly due to the cold cream cheese issue. The Center St roll was good – similar to a caterpillar roll you would get at other places (shrimp tempura, eel, avocado, and asparagus wrapped in tuna, avocado). We were excited to see that they had fatty tuna on the menu, it was delicious of course, but also expensive. They also have fresh wasabi, which is a must for us. The real stuff is vastly different from the dyed green horseradish paste you normally see.
Overall, best local place we have found so far (still not as good as Sakana, which I miss dearly). I would like to come back and try the cooked dishes like sukiyaki and yaki niku.
http://www.sushiyoshivienna.com