Yo! Sushi has opened its doors in Harrogate. being part of the new Cinema complex on Albert street.
We went down on only the second day of being open, on the evening of 21 May 2016. Being Yo! Sushi virgins, we weren’t sure what to expect, but went with an open mind.
Being greeted by friendly staff and shown to our table quickly was a nice start to the evening. Our friendly waitress explained how it all worked, along with a smile. Dishes vary in price and you just take as many as you want from the conveyor that weaves it around past the tables. All the dishes are prepared from the team of chefs in the centre of the restaurant. You get to see what goes on and the theatre of it all.
Any dishes that you can’t see can be ordered. You just press the button on your table and the music temporarily mutes and your number is called out over the sound system – just a little but funny.
But what about the food ?
As a company it has many years of preparing sushi and running a restaurant like this, and it shows. It was particularly impressive that the service and food was seamless, even on only the second day of opening.
The thing with food like this is that it is all about the quality of the ingredients. The food was very fresh and flavoursome and didn’t leave your feel overfull (or even bloated like some food!)
The debate around the influx of chain restaurants into the town continues. Local operators will argue that many people will go to a restaurant based on brand awareness alone and that means they unfairly they lose out – that can certainly be true. You could also argue that a local operator could also develop a similar restaurant and that you get good, bad and indifferent restaurants from both chains and those locally owned.
But a sushi restaurant like this provides something new to the town. It represents a large investment from Yo! Sushi and shows the confidence that they have in Harrogate and the success of its restaurant – that should be welcomed.
Much is talked about the importance of the uniqueness of the town for it to succeed and for it to have a wider attraction. Yo! Sushi is not unique to Harrogate of course but it does add something to the town and I suspect will be welcomed by many.
But should you go ?
Yes, but keep in mind it’s not just about raw fish!
It will appeal to a business lunch as well something to keep the children engaged for a family outing. Budget-wise though, it’s not cheap, you should anticipate to budget a similar amount to other restaurants, if you have 4 dishes and drink it will be around £20 to £25 a head.
