Yoko's Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar

We love Yoko's! Best sushi in town & a spot that's sure to impress. Pro tip: put your name and number in the ipad waiting list then hop next door for some pinball.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

Excellent sushi

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Good Sushi + Tempura in a chill neighborhood spot with character. The fishtank rules, loved watching the clownfish rub all over the anemones while we waited.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I just want to state clearly before I write this review that this is not a personal vendetta review and I'm not a disgruntled customer who feels like I was wronged. I just want to offer a fair warning to someone who might be reading these reviews trying to decide if this is going to be a good sushi experience.
And if your idea of a good sushi experience is lots of big pieces of fish and lots of sort of "Americanized" rolls with things like "krab" in them, you might like this place just fine.
For me however, I'm a bit of a sushi snob admittedly and my bar for loving the sushi place is pretty high. I love the delicacy of good sushi. That essence of edible art. And unfortunately you're just not going to find that here. Now typically when I go to sort of a "sushi for the people" kind of place, I'm not typically inclined to write a "warning" review - I would just usually leave the place alone and move on to the next. However what makes Yoko's different, Is that it is REALLY popular. Like pretty hard to get in popular. Like you better be lined up 20 minutes before they open if you want a first seating popular. Or be prepared to wait up to an hour for them to work through the waitlist.
How things got this way for Yoko's is mystifying to me. Although I get the sense that it's kind of the same reason why Saburo's is also so popular despite the atrocious quality of the fish: It's simply the portion sizes.
One of my biggest pet peeves is when the nigiri is so big that you have to take it in 2 bites. Nigiri by definition is supposed to be bite-sized. It's supposed to be the perfect single bite of delicate beautiful fish. Not a big honking slab of fish meat with a tube of rice underneath it.
So I don't know, if you like Saburo's or if you know that you like huge pieces of fish then maybe give Yoko's a try and maybe you'll like it just fine. But if you're anything like me do you enjoy the fine art of good, delicate sushi made from highly select cuts of the finest sashimi-grade fish, let me be the first to tell you, don't bother with the clamor over Yoko's.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 4

Place is great! Great sushi, and great service. Glad it's in the neighborhood.

Little bit of a wait. Then we got stuffed in a little table next to a fish tank (kinda morbid but I offered to share with them) we had to use a chair for our extra plates. For the price I would suggest just going to subburos. The miso soup was amazing!

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Assortment of Sushi Rolls

The octopus roll had small very chewy bits of octopus, there was more green bean really. Miso had 1 cube of tofu. The steamed mussels were overcooked and rubbery. There were 3 different flies in the dining room on a rainy October evening. 😬 I've had better experiences elsewhere. Sorry. I did really want to like this place.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 3

Good food I guess but we waited a while to get a table. Once seated, three tables got their food before us even though we ordered first. We just sat there watching so many people eat and have multiple things brought out to them and we had to ask where our food was. No one checked on us at all during our meal as well.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 1

Small and cute. A little spendy so do not come for cheap sushi. I liked it 😁

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Batman Roll Tamago Nigiri and Rainbow Roll, Taka's Tuna Specialty Roll, Edamame

Best sushi in town. No reservations but can get a table pretty quickly if you get there after the first crowd leaves. Hard working servers. Definitely recommend

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I was excited to try a new-to-us sushi spot for my bday.... My daughter and I waited for 1.5 hrs in 98° heat, to be seated at the end of the bar where we were blasted with the exhaust from the fish cooler, though we kept a positive outlook, it took another 45 min to get our awful sushi! The rice contained bits that were dried and crunchy, the salmon was mealy with an usual fishy flavor. We watched as others who had come later receive several rolls before we were served... we left feeling snubbed, disappointed, blown away with the lack of service and utterly surprised at the quality of sushi... as a side note, though they made it a point to ask if it was a special occasion, there was not a mention of a happy birthday. We love sushi and its a a big part of our life, this was absolutely the worst experience we have had!

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Not bad for sushi, they had some different options which was nice. They brought it out family style and I thought that was nice, however my husband and I couldn’t tell which roll was which.

The n/a drink options were basically non-existent.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 3

Recommended dishes: Assortment of Sushi Rolls, Edamame

Probably my favorite Japanese place in Portland. Food is amazing, very fresh, and prices reasonable. Good variety of dishes including donburi and udon.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

Cozy place. The space can get loud with all the people talking and the rock music playing in the background. Good selection of sushi rolls. If you sit by the bar, it’s fund to watch the colorful place being served. Will definitely come back for more.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Assortment of Sushi Rolls

Place is exceptional.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5