Yoshi's Jazz House & Restaurant
San Francisco, CA 94115
Phone: (415) 655-5600
- Specialties:
- Japanese Food
- Hours:
- Dining room: Mon-Wed 5:30pm-10:30pm, Thu-Sat 5:30pm-11pm, Sun 5pm-10pm
Editorial Review for Yoshi's Jazz House & Restaurant – by Daniel Liszt
The Scene
A tiny Zen garden sits beneath a winding staircase that connects the sprawling dining room and upper lounge. Sinuous, Asian-inspired decorations hanging from the high ceilings add kinetic elegance, while jazz grooves glide through inconspicuously. In the midst of it all, well-dressed birthday parties, music buffs and couples sip gourmet cocktails served by expertly trained staff.
The Food
Executive Chef Sho Kamio's extensive menu features meticulous creations he popularized at Ozumo. The kona kanpachi carpaccio, served with seaweed, avocado, shitake confit and a subtle chile ponzu, is refreshingly simple. Traditionally heavy kakiage (tempura pancakes) are given a lighter spin, with just enough batter to hug the meaty chunks of ebi shrimp and scallops. Inventive maki rolls are sliced thin, then bookended by hearty hand rolls. Exceptional entrees include charcoal-grilled black cod that flakes into a shitake broth and a decadent miyazaki filet mignon that practically dissolves on the tongue.
The Hits: Perimeter booths provide semi-privacy and sight lines that offer good views of the overall scene.
The Misses: Dining before a show is the only way to secure reserved seating, but it does not afford discounted admission.
Editorial content is independent of paid advertisers. Any expenses are paid for by Citysearch.
Insider Tips
ParkingValet ($12) costs approximately the same price as nearby garages.
When to GoDine before the late (10pm) show and you can reserve seats through your waiter.
Save MoneyThere are occasional shows that are discounted in the evenings. Call to find out when these gems are happening.
The ExtrasMusic from live shows is often piped into the dining room, and TVs near the entrance broadcast the video.
Know Before You GoA limited club menu is available in the concert space, at the restaurant bar and in the upstairs lounge (Mon-Sat 5pm-1am; Sun 5pm-12am).
User Reviews for Yoshi's Jazz House & Restaurant
09/18/2008 Posted by ksjjj
My husband and I recently moved to San Fran and immediately began to look into the local venues for music and especially Jazz. We were told by a co-worker to check out Yoshi's and found their line-up to be impeccable! Needless to say once there we found that we had great seats right up front at a table, an array or delicious drinks to select from as well as a not so shabby wine selection. After the show we had dinner at the Japanese Restaurant and found it to be amazing. I think we tried to order almost everything on the menu because every dish that came out was better then the next. I am so excitred to have Yoshi's in the neigborhood and I am also looking forward to checking out the Oakland location and having many more meals at their restaurant. Thank you Yoshi's you will see us again soon!
05/25/2008 Posted by foodielover
Our waitress was very nice. We didn't mention it was my birthday (dinner & a show) but she heard my friend telling me to order whatever I wanted because it was my BD. As we were about to order dessert, she brought out 2 tiny scoops of mango sorbet with a lit candle on it, complimentary. In my years of dining, this has happened only once, at Gary Danko's. But the friendly and attentive service couldn't overcome the pricey cost of the small portioned food. We enjoyed all our appetitizers (tuna tartare, seared ahi tuna) but not the spicy dragon roll - run of the mill. The only other sushi we ordered was the hamachi nigiri and the fish was very good, fresh. The entrees were unimpressive. The Kobe beef was really at a nose-bleed cost of $90 for 8 oz of meat. We were warned of the price but expected a little more beef than that. The cod was fishy and bland. The salmon was very good. And if you wanted rice with any of this, it was $2/bowl and more for the brown rice. Didn't like any of the desserts (sorry, Chef Churchill). The Okinawan donut holes were dry, cakey and covered with too much cinnamon sugar and the coconut soup had sour mangoes and the chocolate cake round was dry. The only think I liked was the sm container of ice cream which came with my donut holes and the beet (it was very good!) ice cream on top of the chocolate cake. The food was all beautifully presented, but food isn't always about art, otherwise, I'd just go to a museum, and especially at that price. The restaurant is really lovely and ambience (we were in a small, quiet back room) is great for an impressive evening. I would guess the outer larger room is more noisy but the high ceilings are gorgeous. The jazz club is nice & cozy. Herb Alpert (performing w/his wife, Lani Hall) indicated that all the jazz clubs should look like this one. Minimum 1 item order/person (we had cookies, not impressed).
Pros: Same building as the club for a show, lovely ambience
Cons: Expensive, food not that good, small portions
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