Yoko's Japanese Restaurant
2878 SE Gladstone St
Portland OR 97202
503-736-9228
Disclaimer: All reviews and original content Copyright © Mike Blackwell [remove "nospam." or it won't work] of Oregon Sushi -- All Rights Reserved.
I dined here with my cousin Sandy, her husband Alan, and two of their local friends I'd never met before: Damian and Gretchen. Technically, I was kind of a fifth wheel, but they knew of my love of sushi and were evidently willing to put up with me. This was my first time here, and I was looking forward to it from the moment I saw the Zagat sign in the window.
Yoko's is a diminutive restaurant, with about a dozen tables inside and ten seats at the sushi bar. There were also a couple of tables outside. The place filled quickly; by the time we left, at least three groups of diners were waiting for an empty spot.
We were seated by the wall, beneath a huge, fish-shaped windsock attached to one wall. A word of warning about the bamboo wainscoting: some of the staples project outward slightly, and you might get jabbed or splintered if you lean back against it.
I started with the $10 sashimi sampler and the $15 sushi combo. Sandy and Gretchen ordered tempura don; Alan and Damien ordered nigiri a la carte. My sashimi sampler arrived first, and consisted of maguro, tako, hamachi, seared albacore tuna, and sake wrapped around bean sprouts. All were good, especially the albacore, which was also slightly spiced.
My companions' sushi arrived next, and I had to drool over it for a few minutes while waiting for my own plate. Presentation was very attractive: Alan's ika was wrapped in a shiso leaf, for example. Damien ordered one of the restaurant specialties, Taka's Tuna, which is a mound of diced maguro and green onion served over what looks like a small McDonald's hash brown patty, but is actually deep-fried sushi rice.
My sushi combo included all the usual suspects (ebi, maguro, hamachi, sake, etc.), plus more of the wonderful seared albacore. Portion sizes were average, and quality was consistently good.
I finished with Taka's Tuna, and a Batman roll, which contains eel, something I hadn't had here yet. The tuna was very good, and I recommend eating it with your fingers, in two bites, as though it were an hors d'oeuvre on melba toast: chopsticks are out of the question. As for the Batman roll, I was hoping to get more for my money: it was good, but $5.50 for four small pieces seems a bit much. I would have gotten more actual unagi if I'd ordered nigiri ($4), and spent less money.
Overall, we enjoyed our meal, but felt the portion sizes were a little small for what we spent. Saburo's has huge portions and is not far away. Also, Damien reported that Mio Sushi on Hawthorne was a better value, and I'll have to try that next.