A Festive Pit Stop with Midori At Yo Sushi

I love a long, fancy dinner as much as the next person. But also, I like to be able to go out, dressed in a shirt and jeans and have a good laugh.

I’ve been madly trying to get all my Christmas shopping finished this week, which is an audacious task. Traipsing up and down the high street- will they/ won’t they like this? Which is why when it got to 6pm, I’d had enough. I wanted food.

So for the first time, I popped into Yo! Sushi. 

I’d only ever seen Yo! Sushi in train stations, and whilst the revolving carousel around the tables looked really cool, I never felt the need to go for dinner in a busy train station. Yet on High Street Kensington there is a standalone one; and it was spacious. 

As I said, at Yo (I can call it Yo right?) the twist is that snaking around the tables is a conveyor belt which brings round plates of cold food. If you want hot food then you order than with the waiter, otherwise, as and when something catches your eye, you grab it. 

It’s like being a kid in a candy shop with free reign. I picked up sushi rolls, salmon sashimi, beef sashimi, noodles and beans. 

I was really surprised at the food, there was lots of flavor with each dish, especially the beef sashimi- the pepper, chilli and soy sauce was delicious.

I also had yakisoba for the first time and was instantly sold. It's got such a fresh taste to it, it's almost got that "clean your palate" effect- you know how it is with some Japanese food. So fresh, you feel cleansed!  

I'm also proud to announce that I can finally use chopsticks properly. Trust me, it took me a long long time.

But then I saw something that got me really excited. Midori cocktails. Yo have done a Christmas special menu for all of December- think things like turkey sushi, but also a festive drink and naturally it had to be green for the season. Midori was actually the first ever alcoholic drink I drank. I remember not wanting to try beer or wine as I thought they were gross, and this University student (at the time I thought she was really old!) telling me about Midori. If you haven’t tried it before, I’d highly recommend if you like sweet drinks as it’s a melon liquor. Great as a simple drink with lemonade, or in the case of Yo! Sushi, mixed with green tea, San Su Yuzu and sparkling cucumber. 

I didn’t actually realize it was Japanese until the waitress told me. 17 year old me feels so much more sophisticated now. Midori is naturally a sweet drink, so it was really refreshing balanced with the yuzu. It’s very much an easy drinking kind of cocktail, which is perfect for a casual post Christmas shopping pit stop... or thinking about it, during the Boxing day sales. 

When you try and take a sophisticated blogger style photo- I should realise I shouldn't try. I only end up cracking up at the thought. 

Also if you are like me, you'll love hot Japanese food. Katsu and Gyoza are my ultimate loves. You can't beat Katsu. I've actually hunted down Katsu places once or twice before, my need for it was that strong. 

By the end, we the empty plates had stacked up- 13 in total. However after 2 Midori cocktails, one green tea and 13 plates, the bill came to £50. Which £25 per person for all of that is pretty good. 

Whilst Japanese might not be the usual Christmas dinner, you'll be getting turkey on Sunday. But be quick, the festive menu and Midori drink is only here till end of December at selected branches. 

Eating Out, London, Midori, sushi, Yo Sushi