Yoshi's?

[Bay Gelldawg]

I performer I love is coming to Yoshi's. I have never been, but I understand that it is general admission - they will only reserve a seat for you if you have dinner there first.

So - is the food any good?

[Curtis]

Having long been a patron of Yoshi's I will say this. The food is greatly improved as were the acoustics and aesthetics as a result of the move from the original location behind the Dreyer's Ice Cream headquarters. That being said, it is still nothing spectacular and a bit overpriced as well. I will always think of it as a legendary jazz venue first and a passable Japanese restaurant second.

Your best bet is the sushi, it can range from good to very good depending on what's fresh on the menu when you visit. The do make a very nice nigiri sushi with thinly sliced raw fillet mignon and a garlic wasabe paste. Their spider roll is usually pretty reliable and of a generous proportion. They do manage to have fatty tuna on a regular basis, but be sure to ask whether it is chu toro or otoro as the supply also varies. Entrees are the standard fare of teriyaki, ton katsu, and tempura, though none has ever stood out. Noodles have proven to be their weak point, never seeming to rise above average. Similarly, desserts offered during the performance have not changed in quite sometime and are remarkably similar to what one would find in the freezer section of Trader Joe's.

However, for all the mundane cuisine, I still highly recommend that you eat at the restaurant if you truly wish to have good reserved seating for the show. Be sure to mention it before you even sit down as you won't be the only one trying to have the choice seats reserved. Ask your server to try to keep you in the first tier of booths if no table within reasonable proximity to the stage is open. I actually prefer the first tier of booths to most of the floor tables due to the raised elevation of the new stage. Also, unless you are seeing a soloist, the soundstage is vastly more transparent with some distance from the stage.

Again, I think if you stick with the sushi and avoid the desserts, you'll have a decent meal that you may forget, but you'll enjoy a performance that you will remember for a long time to come.

a sante,
Curtis

[nja]

Attached is a thread my the last time I ate at Yoshi's. I generally agree with Curtis, it has improved and isn't bad, but one can do better. Nearby is La Furia Chalaca, which isn't amazing but has some good dishes and is a far better value than Yoshi's. Just give yourself plenty of time if you eat there, as the service is SLOW.

La Furia Chalaca report:
http://www.chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco15/messages/65613.html

Also, you don't have to eat at Yoshi's to reserve a seat. You can get in line an hour or two before the first show starts (call the box office and ask what time they recommend). They open the doors and let you go inside and reserve your own seats. You can then leave for dinner and return just before your show starts.

-Nick

Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...

[DavidT]

You do not have to eat at Yoshi's to get a good seat in the jazz club! The doors to the jazz club usually open at 6:00pm. People are allowed into the club at that time to claim their seats for the 8:00pm show. You can then go out to eat anywhere you like in the area.

However, it should be noted that if you are going to a very popular show or going on a Friday/Saturday nite, the line for claiming seats starts forming around 5:30pm or so. I would try to get there by 5:45pm at the latest.

I would also say that there are no "bad" seats in the club. The sound and sight lines are good just about everywhere inside.

[Nathan P.]

I have not been to Yoshis in a while but my recollection is that there are 2 shows a night. For the early 8:00 show a line forms outside to grab tables as Barry posted below but for the 10:00 show you really want to eat there so your waiter will reseve a table for you.

Nathan

[Curtis]

Ahhh, that would explain why I've never reserved a seat for a show there without dining. I always go to the later set and I don't believe there's enough time between sets to reserve a seat and have dinner unless your waitperson does so for you.

[Robert Lauriston]

The food's passable, but there's really not a bad seat in the house, and there are some really good restaurants nearby, like Battambang, Toutatis, and Legendary Palace.

[oaklandfoodie]

Wow, if Yoshi's is "passable" then I guess I don't know what good sushi is. Please don't say Kirala...?

[sushisnobinpasadena]

Other than Yoshi's food is complete $$$hit, this place don't know what it wants to be.

I'm from L.A. and were staying in S.F for 3 days.
Went last night for Manhattan Transfer @ 8PM.
We reserved a table and bought tickets online.
Upon arriving, 2 picket fencers are standing around outside arguing w/Yoshi's authorities due to some ethical issue.
In the building by 6PM, seated by host, ordered "food" while waitress reserved "seats" in the auditorium.
Ordered Sashimi sampler, roasted artichoke, and 2 special sushi rolls based on recommendation. Also a hot sake.
6:25, Hot sake came unheated. Took 15 + min to rectify after.
6:35 Very diminutive Sashimi "sampler" the size of my thumbnails with way too generic 'decoration' arrived. Freshness grade is unknown. Very cold fish can also means pre-frozen in transit. Taste too wet and too small to really enjoy.

6:45 Inedible, and very oily artichoke hearts arrive. Tastes like gnawing de-thorned, burned cactus.
6:50 roll #1: a mediocre spicy tuna roll.
7:10 roll #2: larger version of such mediocre spicy tuna roll.

total tally is $80 plus tax and tips.

We could've gotten MUCH fresher quality, more portion, better service, and tastier sake, wasabi and gari for less than $40 from freakin' Mitsuwa or Whole Foods.

Humiliation #2: reserved auditorium table for two ( me and my lady) is a shared table for four that seats two other, total strangers. In the VERY BACK, corner....

Humiliation #3: must order at least 1 drink. We ordered 2. Mine never came, and must be settled later on the bills w/ the lovely and busy waitress.

I am 28 years old with quite the sushi ups and downs. Yoshi's trendy appearance and 'upscale' demands promises things like lukewarm dai-ginjo sake in traditional ceramic cups and organic grated natural wasabi root.
Anywhere else, I often spend $200+ for two; given decent sushi rice taste/texture and fresh fish variety...but this place don't even have that.

The only saving grace in my experience is being mesmerized by Manhattan Transfer. But other than that, I will never, EVER, EVER, visit Yoshi's EVER again. This is NOT a decent chow by any means. What it is, is a rip-off east/west fusion cuisine under the pretense of an upscale Jazz Club/Sushi-ya establishment.
Big fail and disappointment in that regard.

In any case, I have no recommendation for another Japanese cuisine/Jazz Club anywhere. I simply don't believe in them anymore.

Do this: Get tickets online, arrive an hour early to stand in-line to get good tables in the auditorium.
Also, spend time and $ elsewhere for dinner. ( We actually went to Popeye's fried chicken a block away after walking out of the establishment to wait for the show)

Disclaimer: Just maybe, this is a one out of a million chance that our experience sucked. The only other one $hit-chow experience close to this was in San Diego when I went to one of little italy's restaurant and signore waiter dumped wet hot spaghetti that tastes blander than boyardee's onto my guest's lap. We walked out early with about the same manner.

-----
Mitsuwa
675 Saratoga Ave, San Jose, CA

[BrkBby]

That's interesting... I was at the *same* concert (Manhattan Transfer at 8PM last night) at Yoshi's and had a completely different experience.

I arrived at 7 PM, had dinner and drinks at the bar. The starter (crab & beet carpaccio) was good, not great, but the main dish (seared cod) was exceptional. The delivery was somewhat slow, but the staff apologized and said plates could be brought into the theatre. No need, food arrived and was consumed without a rush, but even still, the bartender took the cost of a beer off the tab as compensation.

Good crowd, relaxing atmosphere, people enjoying themselves before the show.

For the show itself, the website offered reserved seating for an extra $10 and *clearly* showed the map of the room with the seats selected prior to purchase. I'm sorry, but there's really no reason to complain. Besides, as mentioned in the thread, I really don't think there are any bad seats, or at least, none I've had.

For the mandatory drink, well, that wasn't required for *my* ticket, although I have commonly have had a X drink minimum for some prior Yoshi shows. Again, all clearly indicated to me when I bought the tickets.

There are plenty of places to have a beef with, but Yoshi's not one of them.

BTW, we do agree on one thing -- the show *was* mesmerizing.

cheers

[sushisnobinpasadena]

I saw that patrons hanging out in the bar were laughing, smiling, chatting in this cool cats atmosphere.
Oh do I envy you. I wished we'd just hang out in the bar area/smaller indoor patio by the auditorium doors, instead of expecting a full on sushi dinner course in the restaurant area.
You should see the faces of the anxious crowd in the main area.
They were waiting, and waiting, and waiting. frowning and nonchalant faces not uncommon.
The small table for four strangers deal was just a shock value since we were under the pretense of this special 'reserved' seats for those who actually dined in. not.
In actuality, we made great conversations with the other two guests.
We didn't order cooked entree really- because I sincerely thought that Yoshi is a Sushi establishment.
We were the noob neophytes 20 somethings who expect a different premise online.
(Dine in/get waitress to reserve your seat OR pay $10 and reserve seats online)---- hardly obvious which one will yield the best value in experience...

Too bad we're already back in L.A. - now that I know better, a M.T. encore tonight could be in order...who knows when we'll be able to see them live again.

[bbulkow]

Yes, it's a mistake to think of Yoshi's as a sushi place. Their sushi has its ups and downs, but the guys over in Yoshi's Oakland do better sushi. It's more of a japanese place. I prefer the fried bites there, and their hamburger isn't bad. The mixed drinks are OK but not great. I often get a dark and stormy there, and it just doesn't have enough punch to it. If I think of all the jazz places I've been to, the food at most is a *complete rip off*. At Yoshi's what you get is edible and slightly high prices. It's certainly not a place I would choose to go for dinner.

The trick of Yoshi's SF is *definatly* getting there early and having some fried objects and drinks in that little bar area, and eating elsewhere. Or knowing you were compromising. Sorry you were mislead! If you had posted here, we would have set you right ---

[bigwheel042]

Drink minimums are annoying, but are also standard practice at jazz clubs (especially in NYC). I have never heard of Yoshi's reserving tables in the club for only two. Sharing four-tops is also the norm in virtually every club I have visited (it's a concert - the alternative would be like selling people airline single airline tickets in coach and letting them take up the whole row anyway.)

[BrkBby]

Sorry if I implied reserving tables, I should have said reserving *seats*. My bad.

When I go to Yoshi's, I'd rather just pay the extra few bucks for a reserved seat, than wait in line for open seating. Of course, to each their own.

Yoshi's also has a 'VIP Club' member option with preferred seating, but when I first saw that a year or so ago, it didn't make (for me) economic sense.

--Craig

[bigwheel042]

Wasn't responding to your post but this:

"Humiliation #2: reserved auditorium table for two ( me and my lady) is a shared table for four that seats two other, total strangers."

The Yoshi's ticketing website never says that your reserved seats are going to be at your own table for two, so I'm not sure how one gets that impression unless one is specifically told wrong information by Yoshi's over the phone. The Yoshi's SF seating chart is not quite as detailed but the Yoshi's Oakland one shows exactly three tables with only two seats, and all are in the back where space and views are limited. It's pretty clear that the only reason they are two-tops is that they couldn't fit two more chairs in without obstructing the aisle: http://www.yoshis.com/oakland/tickets...

[sushisnobinpasadena]

Well, truth be told, I have never been to a Jazz club before. This was our first experience.
We've been to Jazz bars around L.A., and assumed that the experience would be similar. Typically, unless I specifically 'opened' up a table by paying upward 1K for crystal champagnes etc, then tables/seats are first come first served.
But you're right. The online seating chart didn't say seats/table for two. However, it also didn't specify a top-for-four. I would've invited two others if I had known before. My expectations were based on a lot of assumptions, thus, disappointment.
But the overall Jazz club experience was not bad at all (short of food, service, and drinks).

[bigwheel042]

Going out on a limb here as I have never been to Catalina's et al, but my impression is that Yoshi's is a very, very different experience than most LA jazz venues. Yoshi's will eject you for talking during the show and annoying other concertgoers - that's how seriously the audience takes the music there. Think of it less as a table and more as a seat in a concert hall that happens to have a flat surface to put your food and drinks. I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but again, sharing tables is a near-universal standard for clubs that bring in (and sell out) big-name acts like MT - that's why it isn't in any FAQ. Just like your average sushi restaurant's website is rarely going to mention something like "Note: forks not provided except on request."

[bbulkow]

Ronnie Scott's in London works about the same way as Yoshi's, and the food is doubly terrible - not only is it in england, it's a jazz club in england. I think the last time I was there, I suffered through the two drink minimum with sapporos, and wedged myself in at the bar. The set was still worth the price. Compared to a lot of places Yoshi's is OK.

[mariacarmen]

Went to Yoshi's last night for a show. we paid the premium for reserved seats - $90+ - which did get us $20 off apiece from our dinner tab. Good thing too. the food was overall just OK. and HIGHLY overpriced. extremely small portions. a duck tataki dish was maybe 8 slices of very thinly sliced smoked duck sliding down the walls of a deep bowl with ponzu sauce at the bottom. the duck was fine but it was much too small a portion. This, after waiting 45 minutes from being seated until we got our starter. we also split an order of ankimo sashimi - $18, i believe. The ankimo was hard, crumbly, and very unpleasant. we both ordered the same mains: Sautéed sea bass and poached lobster tail, chicories, sea urchin nage. $30 may sound like a decent price for lobster and sea bass, but the servings were really small. The sea bass was overcooked with a rather overwhelming sauce (something hoisin-like) and while we both liked the lobster and the sea urchin nage, again, the portions were just teensy. we were both still quite hungry on leaving the table, but were loathe to spend another dime inside the club on more mediocre food (the menus are different). I ordered my one obligatory item per person - a glass of wine for the show. PLUS, your "reserved seating" gets you 4 people sharing one of those little round tops that used to only be used for 2. So until the music started (Matthew Sweet and his dulcet voice), i was not only still hungry but thoroughly PEEVED. The club is a good music venue - the sound is fantastic, and i think most seats are very good. If I ever go back, I will definitely eat elsewhere - anywhere - first. I have no one to blame but myself, of course, as I'd been once before, years ago, and remembered then that the sushi had been just ok and very expensive. I thought i was being smart by not ordering all sushi this time. Twice bitten....

[susancinsf]

I assume you are talking about the SF Yoshi's, as are the other posters. Sorry to read this report, the one time I went to dinner there before a show, several years ago, I thought the food (mostly cooked items) was very good, albeit overpriced.

I don't like the food, or atmosphere, at the Oakland Yoshi's. At Oakland Yoshi's, one can pay the extra amount (I think it is $10, may vary by show?) to reserve a seat even without dining there. When hubby and I went to see a show several weeks ago, that is what we did. We had a very nice dinner at Bocanova (good food, excellent service, and we specifically mentioned that we had a show to go to at Yoshi's and they timed service perfectly), and then walked over to Yoshi's for the show. Much more pleasant. Decent (not great) seat location in the center front row of the first tier of the elevated section. When I've gone to popular shows without the seat reservation we've ended up way to the side, not that there really are any bad seats at the Oakland Yoshi's, IMO.

[mariacarmen]

yes, SF Yoshi's. It's been years since I've been to Oakland Yoshi's.