Bar review | Yo! Sushi, Bluewater

On Monday, I booked the day off work and mum decided we should go to Bluewater for shopping and lunch. There was only one option of where to eat – Yo! Sushi. On Mondays they have a concept called Blue Monday, where a selection of dishes are on the blue (£2.70) plates. I think there’s about 40 dishes to choose from, although you can still order from the main menu. I love Yo! Sushi and I can’t believe I’ve never experienced Blue Monday before – it must be popular, as there was a 20 minute wait for a seat at both the bar and booth. Eventually we sat at the bar, which I prefer as you get full access to the conveyor belt.

As we perused the menu while we were queuing, as soon as we sat down, we poured ourselves some sparkling water and ordered our hot dishes. One of my all-time favourite dishes is the Chilli Pepper Squid and it didn’t disappoint – although I swear it contains more and more chilli every time. Mum also ordered it, largely because I don’t share my squid with anyone. I also chose the Salmon Firecracker Rice, a dish I had never had before. It was so filling: a large bowl of rice with edamame beans, carrots, spring onions and peppers, topped with flaked salmon and sesame seeds. It certainly packed a punch too, not as spicy as the seafood ramen, but a lot hotter than the squid dish. Mum opted for the Prawn Katsu, as a lover of tempura prawns!

While we waited for the hot food to arrive, we shared a portion of the Salmon Dragon Rolls, which were basically California Rolls (crabstick and avocado) topped with salmon and shichimi spice mix. They were good, but nothing to shout home about. Plus they were impossible to eat, especially with people sat around you. I had to eat the salmon first and then attempted to cut the sushi with chopsticks.

We also shared the Nigiri Selection (tuna, salmon and prawn), which are always a good option for sharing. I had the tuna and salmon ones, as I’m not a fan of the prawn – I just don’t like the way it’s butterfly and cold, it has a weird taste. By this point, we were pretty much full, but we decided to order a hand roll each.

I chose the Salmon & Avocado roll, which contained a seasoned mayo and sesame. It was so fresh and light, and it was the first time I’d had the crispy seaweed sheets, which tasted incredible. I’m definitely going to have to buy them to snack on at work; they’re totally more satisfying (and healthy) than crisps! I could have had three hand rolls and the squid – and no more. Mum chose the other option: California, which like everything else, was crabstick and avocado, again with seasoned mayo. She thoroughly enjoyed it and was almost tempted again when they started appearing on the conveyor. We also shared the Crunchy Prawn Roll, which wasn’t as good as I remembered. I’d have much rather swapped that for one of the desserts – the cheesecake mochi is amazing!

I love Yo! Sushi because it’s so casual, you can eat as much or as little as you like and everything is cooked (or chopped, or even rolled) in front of you. We saw our hot dishes being prepared, our hand rolls created and despite the initial wait, everything was speedy, but still good quality. I’ll definitely be back for Blue Monday – but hopefully before then, too.

Love, Lucy xx