Yoisho Restaurant

Dennis M.

12 June 2026

Let me first start by translating Yoisho...
Yoi = getting drunk
sho = place

I could probably just end my review here, but I should add a few more tidbits about this place. I wanted to find a legit non-sushi Japanese place that's more izakaya style. So I did a search in Japanese for "Real Izakayas in London that feel like you are in Japan". Most websites only pointed to Asakusa, Akari and Yoisho, which was slightly surprising to me as I thought there would be more in London! I suppose, I would much rather have three good ones that 30 mediocre ones!!! :)

So how do I like this random izakaya near Goodge St?? I love it! But reading the other reviews, I would have to first warn people that this place is VERY Japanese! Does that mean it has Hello Kitty wallpaper and waitresses dressed like cosplay anime characters? NO! I saw the English menu and although most (not all) things have been translated, if you aren't familiar with non-sushi Japanese food, you might have a hard time ordering...

The service is very casual and don't be afraid to flag down your server; afterall, in Japan you scream SUMIMASEEEEEEEEEN across the hall when you want a refill on your beer. Also, you can order large bottles of sake here and if you don't finish it, they write down your name for the next time you come in so you can polish off that rice-made liquor while munching on karaage and butakimchi.

The food... compared to any izakaya no matter where it is, I think it OK. Not orgasmically delish, but not bad either! I would definitely tap this place again if I was with other Japanese peeps or people who are looking for an authentic non-sushi Japanese experience. HAI!!!

Josy A.

4 June 2026

Yoi-sho is a brilliant place to try traditional Japanese things that don't normally make it to the UK. Go with a group of friends so you can try little bites of everything.

The amazing yums:
They have some brilliant things on the menu! You can play it safe with the normal izayaka-type dishes, or go off-piste with the crazier foods. Last time I went, I was tipsy by the time we ordered, so I left it to a Japanese friend who might have been trying to surprise us by ordering all the "interesting" options...

- Natto (I don't know many westerners that like it...but it's worth a try)
- Chikuwa (reconstituted fish deliciousness) They serve it in a few different ways...I like it with mayo.
- Zosui (rice porridge) if it's cold outside...
- Chawanmushi (savoury egg custard) - This was soooo good! I didn't have it for ages, and they serve it in quite a large pot. Yay!
- Yakitori - they have chicken gizzard, chicken heart etc (as well as the less-scary for English folk options like tsukune)
- Their grilled fish is gooood - try the saba shio yaki
- They have a few yamaimo (grated yam) dishes. It might freak you out if you're not used to uber slimy dishes, but the flavour is amaaazing with ginger and seaweed.
- If you order rice, you can get sake ikura don (salmon and salmon roe rice bowl) which is also lovely.

Oh! And if you can't see what you fancy on the menu, just ask! Sometimes the chefs will make other specialities if they have the right ingredients...

The bad:
- As some of the reviewers have mentioned, the service can be a bit patchy. The staff are really sweet though (especially if you speak some Japanese.)
- The décor is pretty dodgy/run down looking. This place has been around for aaages, but I don't ever remember it looking new.
- It is a teeny bit pricey considering the run down atmosphere.

However...you might as well ignore the bad bits and pretend you're in Japan trying new things. (^^)

Kristine T.

30 May 2026

Japanese restaurants seem to be popping up all around London and by now everyone and their grandma have tried a katsu curry at one point or another. It seems therefore quite surprising that we still do not know lots of Japanese dishes and an authentic Japanese menu will probably leave us all wondering what are all those words I don't recognise and can someone Google this please?

Luckily this time we had our own yelp foodie organising the dinner and explaining what everything was. Thanks to Josy we had an amazing dinner with lots of yummy treats to share between the five of us. I would mostly recommend the fried oysters (fact: anything fried is awesome) and the egg custard, which is basically a white savoury custard with bites of various seafood items according to the season. Everything else was also delicious, I just really can't remember the names of the dishes (there were some croquettes, rice with fish eggs, fried octopus, meat skewers and something with funny texture wrapped in seaweed (very yummy as well). For desert we got the ice cream with the Japanese waffles, loved all the flavours and I would also recommend the alcoholic sodas.

As for the place in general, it's quite authentic, with the customers and staff being Japanese themselves and so I definitely think that having someone who speaks the language with you will greatly improve your experience. Otherwise just be a bit more adventurous, order lots of different small dishes and try some cool new stuff! I know I'm definitely going back to try some more!

Sanj M.

28 May 2026

I am fascinated by Japan and I love what I've tried of the food - though until this week that had mostly been copious amounts of sushi and katsu curry. I've wanted to try some more authentic and adventurous stuff for ages but never knew where best to go (apart from Japan obv - but I'm still working on that) or what on earth to order (or how to say it!).

Enter the lovely Josy A with an offer to guide a few of us through exactly that. We were all happy to try anything which was perfect in this situation, and meant Josy could order us a variety of dishes for everyone to share - the best way to try this type of food!

Others had tried some of it before but it was practically all new to me, which made me very happy. As did the fact that almost all of it was delicious! The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the natto (fermented soy beans) which smelled quite pungent and tasted even worse. Apparently the Japanese have it from an early age but most westerners find it hard to get used to the taste - I've had the same reaction from friends to some indian dishes so I guess it was to be expected with at least one thing. Glad we tried it though.

Everything else I liked - especially the deep fried oysters (though that was a given) and the takoyaki, which arrived not in the standard ball shape but looking as though it was still moving (though it was only the heat of the dish). Other dishes were tasty but enjoyably confusing to a westernised palate - like the chawan mushi egg custard that looked sweet but was actually savoury with seafood hiding in it, the strange consistency of the boiled fish paste, or the wonderfully weird sliminess of the grated yam. We also got the more unusual chicken heart/gizzard yakitori, potato croquettes (hi-five for the carb fix) and some yummy ikura in a soupy rice dish (great description I know but I can't remember the name!).

The umeshu and soda I was drinking went down a treat too though was quite diluted - will try it straight next time. Lovely highlight at the end of the meal was winning rock paper scissors for the last piece of dessert - apparently a Japanese tradition?! This was some delicious dorayaki that we ordered with their 3 different ice cream flavours - black sesame, matcha and chestnut. Yum. A great way to finish on a high (thanks for that last piece ladies!).

The restaurant is fairly basic but pleasant, and it entertained me to no end to see the waiting staff look expectantly towards the asians at the table, only for Josy to speak up in fluent Japanese! I think it definitely helped them warm to us having someone speak the lingo. If you don't have an expert Japanese buddy, either find one, or just go pot luck from the vast menu - it seems to be a reliable spot to try lots of tasty dishes, and very reasonably priced too.

I rolled out of the door completely stuffed - and happy that I can now say I love Japanese food with a bit more credence :)

Yinnie C.

14 May 2026

Looking for some typically Japanese food in London, by that I don't mean your average katsu, sashimi sushi joints like wasabi or itsu. This is proper old school Japanese food, and the place of Josy's UYE.

The plan was to order and try some strange things that Japanese food offers, so Josy so kindly led us through an array of dishes that ranged from deep fried oyster (super yum!) to downright strange tasting like natto and fish paste. Let's address the natto- which is fermented soy beans, it had fermented strings coming from it- a bit like cheese, but did not taste like cheese and smelt like old socks. Definitely an experience but not sure I would go there again. The fish paste was elastic, there are no other words. ELASTIC. Another strange one was the grated yam in soup, strange texture, great broth!

But apart from those dishes, the other dishes we had were not so frightening and much yummier, like the ochasuke mentaiko and ikura. I love fish eggs, I know, I EAT NEMO, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?! The yakitori skewers with chicken gizzard and chicken hearts were really good. They're actually quite famous for their yakitori!

Then we got some desserts- WARM dorayaki with ice cream. Like not the freezing cold ones you get on your lunch hour which are a bit dsappointing. and with different ice cream scoops - matcha, black sesame and chestnut. The matcha and chestnut were insane.

The only problem was the portion sizes were small for the prices- i still left hungry! But if you're here for light dinner and beer - this is the place!

If you want that traditional Japanese ambience- go here! If you're adventurous- go here- can't guarantee it'll all be yummy but give it a shot. :)

Menu

About

Location

Work Hours

Business info

Reviews

Dennis M.

Josy A.

Kristine T.

Sanj M.

Yinnie C.

People Recommend