Yoshii

There are two types of Japanese restaurant in Sydney we frequent. The trendy, not necessarily expensive, but noisy and are generally located in the Surry Hills area or east of there. That type of restaurant is entirely different to Yoshii which I think is more similar to Tetsuya in terms of ambiance, presentation and food quality.
The meal was one of their set menu choices, my partner choosing one and myself the other. We chose unfiltered sake, beer and sparkling water to go with the meal.
Without going into detail about the food, except to say the flavours of each dish were entirely unique and exquisite.
This restaurant presents an intimate dining experience best shared with people you wish to talk with, including couples and groups. So unlike the noisy and deliberately chaotic atmosphere and hip crowds experienced at a trendy place, this establishment is just cool without the pretence. The tables are very basic. They have candles but these were not used during our visit, I suppose because it was a quiet night.
That aside, dine here for the most interesting of food and the excellent service. For this it is deserving of five stars.

Chose Yoshi for dinner as it seemed to be one of the most serious Sushi restaurants in Sydney. Our booking was for 2 and both ordered the Yoshi Course. The quality of the sashimi and sushi was good, the sashimi being served with Hon Wasabi which was nice (Everything else was horseradish).
The disappointing aspect of this meal was simply around the way which the restaurant is being managed as it seems to currently be run by a skeleton crew which meant an average of 30 minutes between dishes for us as well as other tables– this is after warning the waitstaff that we did not have 3 hours for dinner.
In a nutshell the food they serve is solid and the ambiance authentic (excluding the disposable chopsticks…) but Yoshi feels like a restaurant that has stopped trying to impress it’s guests and is now focusing on running as lean as possible.
From my end I hope that the service was poor do to the fact that I was a Caucasian and that the high quality fish and service are reserved for its select group of Japanese regulars, I do not think that is the case but it would be reassuring to know as Sydney is much to great a city to not have a better Sushi spot.

How does Yoshi not have 5 stars from everyone?! Fantastic experience people!
My husband booked a special prefix meal here for our anniversary and boy did they surprise and delight us. I can’t remember the names of all the courses so hopefully pictures do it justice.
At first we were a little inpatient as we waited half an hour until we saw any food or drink. The reason? We were one of only 3 couples having dinner there that night. Chef prepared each course for each couple and then brought it out at the same time. Perfect timing! Suggestion-​hit up the $ 65 sake pairing. Worth it!
The food was beautifully crafted, service excellent. We left a generous tip as this was one of the best meal experiences we’ve ever had.

If you want sushi on a Friday night don’t go here– that’s unless you’re Japanese. The sushi menu was off limits and you are only offered a fixed menu — that’s if you’re Caucasian! I was told the sushi bar was restricted to one group. Told that if wanted only sushi I would have to wait @long time” Stupid me stayed here and ate the $ 130 digestion menu and watched those native to the land of the rising sun eat sushi to their heart’s delight. Apartheid dining in Sydney– LOL– but I’ll give it to them that the food is very good and it made up for being put off initially and I did get sushi as part of the dinner.

Outstanding. Some of the best if not the best food I have ever had. The omakase menu really let’s the chef’s talent shine. From the first bite to the last mouthful, it was bliss.

A real gem. Close to the Shiangri la hotel. Excellent sushi. Excellent service. Thanks for a very memorable night.

Fantastic meal. Amazingly good sashimi, the trout and the scallop were especially good tonight.

I found out about the restaurant by googling around to see what the top Japanese restaurants in Sydney were. Both Tetsuya’s and Yoshii’s came up the most frequently, but Tetsuya’s was booked for quite a while. I called and made a short-​notice reservation, and next thing I knew I was at the restaurant! The restaurant was actually fairly empty. Maybe this was because it was a Wednesday evening. Still… I’m not sure how they’re making money; I only saw about four or five other customers while I was there.
I ordered a set menu that consisted of appetizers, sashimi, a few mains, sushi, and dessert!
Amuse-​bouche: Edamame chawanmushi topped with prawn, goji berry, and edamame bean.
The edamame taste actually wasn’t very strong. The prawn was definitely noticeable, but there was only a hint of edamame in the chawanmushi. It was a pleasant start to the meal, though; the flavor wasn’t too strong or too weak.
4-​part Kobachi (appetizers):
1. Shiroai (white tofu mix). (My spelling is definitely wrong here…)
–It was like a weird tofu paste that was delicious hahaha.
2. Pacific Coast oyster from Tasmania with white radish, ponzu sauce, and lime juice.
3. Akami (lean tofu) marinated in truffle sauce with asparagus.
4. Deep-​fried silverfish tempura from Australia with yuzu and pepper.
The white tofu mix on the top left was delicious; the rest of the appetizers were good but not special/​distinct.
Sashimi:
1. Bluefin akami (lean tuna).
2. Ocean trout wrapped with radish.
3. John Dory.
4. Hiramasa (kingfish).
5. Kisu (Japanese whiting).
6. Hotate (scallop) wrapped with seaweed.
Served with squid ink salt on the top right.
The sashimi was fresh and tasted like what I’d expect for a restaurant of this caliber.
Main 1: Pan-​fried duck breast with Port Wine sauce and deep-​fried leek.
This was DELICIOUS. The breast was tender and flavorful, and the sauce added more richness to the dish. It wasn’t a large amount of food, so the richness of it all wasn’t too overpowering or anything. Still, I wish that there was something acidic to help cut down on the richness. The leek just added to it…
Main 2: White miso-​marinated gindara (black cod).
Honestly, this tasted like any other miso-​marinated gindara that I’ve had at a high-​end Japanese restaurant. I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. At least they got it right – I wonder how much more you can do with it… Or maybe I’m just missing something.
Sushi:
1. Kisu (Japanese whiting).
2. John Dory.
3. Hiramasa (kingfish).
4. Akami (lean tuna).
5. Ocean trout.
6. Kinmedai (splendid alfonsino /​golden eye snapper).
7. Akami marinated with soy sauce.
8. Grilled hotate (scallop).
–I’m not quite sure why these two were served together. Hmm…
9. Grilled hiramasa (kingfish).
10. Grilled ocean trout with sea salt.
11. Unagi (freshwater eel).
12. Ocean trout and cucumber rolls.
Extra sushi:
13. Kinmedai (splendid alfonsino /​golden eye snapper).
14. Grilled kinmedai engawa (fin of the splendid alfonsino, or golden eye snapper).
15. Ocean trout.
16. Hiramasa (kingfish).
17. Hotate (scallop).
This was the best sushi I’d had in weeks, so I’m not sure how well I can critique the nigiri. Honestly, I don’t remember much about the rice – I had just gotten off my flight and was extremely hungry for the meal. I just remember the seafood being very fresh. I don’t think the sushi was better than the sushi I had for lunch at sushi e the next day, though.
Miso soup.
This was meant to be a post-​sushi and pre-​dessert course, but I asked for more sushi. (I’m a fatty…)
There was also supposed to be dessert after this, but… I ended the meal there. I had way too many calories for the day!
Note: If you want to see pictures, you can check out my blog in my profile!

I was surprised to see that Yoshii had yet to be listed on Unilocal,and that people weren’t running up to Yoshii’s doors pleading for a table.
This is by far the best Japanese restaurant in town!
Initially when I glanced at the prices I calculated that I could run to my local sushi train and choose all the expensive coloured plates and still be paying less than what I was about to pay at Yoshii.
But…the waiter arrived at my side, sparkling water in one hand and still water in the other and I felt obligated to stay. All I can say now is thank God for the water holding waiter.
The food was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!! Both pleasing to the eye and the belly, this has to be the freshest produce on the planet. The sashimi was so fresh I had to poke at it to see if it was still alive.
Yoshii offers both a degustation menu as well as a la carte. I’d say choose the degustation to really see the beautiful creations Yoshii has to offer.
We were the last tabe to leave and the evening was topped off by Mr Yoshii himself coming out and bowing to us to show his thanks. In this instance Sir Yoshii I think we should have bowed to you.