Yakitoria review by William
We (my wife and I) went out last night to a friend's birthday dinner in Yakitoria. Having read the mixed reviews, we were a little apprehensive but chose not to question our friend, the dinner organiser.
Given the fact that there aren't many places in the Paddington area for eating Japanese cuisine, Yakitoria has found a niche and could sustain business for a while...
The decor is mediocre - the Apple PowerBook at the reception desk is a nice add, but the rest of the decor doesn't do the Mac any justice.
Within the first 30 seconds, disappointment had already entered our minds - behind the sushi counter, the area where you'd expect to find the Japanese sushi chefs stood 2 sushi chefs speaking fluent Chinese (Cantonese).
The menu options were basic and overly priced, with some western dishes thrown in with a hint of oriental fusion. Who on earth would think that beef steak and lamb chops would be a staple Japanese diet???
My wife's asked me to keep this review short so I'll try to speed things up:
Service - whilst I do believe in racial equality - having an east European serving me sushi that’s been made by a Chinese person just leaves an odd feeling in me. Almost as odd as having a large Nigerian lady serving me Sze Chuan Prawns! (I’m Chinese BTW). The waiting staff made every effort to make our stay enjoyable - but need a little more practice.
Menu - limited choice to begin with but when told more than 9 items on the menu aren't available…I originally wanted the assorted Sashimi with the sea urchin and was told that they didn't have any sea urchin, interestingly enough the same waiter forgot to tell another person on the same table and when the food arrived, they'd substituted with another item...poor communication. The menu is overly priced for what you get, portions are small. The £32 main course sirloin steak (under the “large dishes” section of the menu) was ordered by a member on the table, when that arrived we joked that his “starter” looked nice - so what's for mains???
To conclude - the restaurant location is nice. Convenient for taking your clients to if working in that area. The sushi price is a little more expensive that it should be but reasonable for the area, however the remainder of the menu is overly priced. The sushi quality is no way near the mark of where Yakitoria is trying to market itself at though.
If we had a "half price" voucher would we go back? No. If you want value for money and I’m not talking cheap meals, but rather good quality Japanese cuisine at a reasonable price, there are plenty of other Japanese run sushi restaurants a short cabs ride away.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Overall rating 
Food 3 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
review comments
good review
The Hungriest Hippo - Wednesday, March 12, 2008
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