“Mom, when can we go back to YO! Sushi?” This is the new recurring mantra from my kids (following the calls to ‘play Minecraft’ and finish Halloween candy) after we ate at YO! Sushi, which recently opened at The Mall at Short Hills.
YO! Sushi is the extremely popular British chain that opened in London back in 1997. With lines extending around the block they quickly expanded and now there are 87 restaurants worldwide, with the newest right in our neighborhood at The Mall at Short Hills. Yo! Sushi makes eating sushi entertaining by delivering the food to you via conveyer belt. The sushi, sashimi and gyoza travel by your bar seat on specially colored plates. The color codes on the plates indicate the price and your place mate/menu lists the rates. For example, delicacies on the ‘green’ plates are $3.00 and they range to the ‘yellow’ $7.00 plates. Now, lest you worry that your kid will grab a million plates, instead try turning it into a math lesson, as we did ("we are only going to get “$10 worth of food for you and $15 for mommy".) My son delighted in adding up his ‘colors’ at the end of the meal. I appreciated that there is a time stamp on each plate so that the kitchen knows exactly when the plate was put on the conveyor belt and when it’s time to take the plate out of circulation.
My daughter and I really enjoyed the Vegetable Harumaki (spring rolls) which were piping hot and full of cabbage and other fresh vegetables. Out of sheer curiosity the kids reached for and tried the Kaiso Seaweed Salad and were split on its tastiness (thumbs up from the females in the family). The entire family liked the Edamame which was very crispy and flavored with a hint of salt. I enjoyed the Salmon & Avocado Maki as well as the Salmon Dragon Roll while my husband thought the Chicken Teriyaki was quite tasty. The Chicken Teriyaki and other specialty dishes can be ordered and brought to your table and if you don’t see something on the conveyor belt that you want you can just ask your waiter and they will make sure the kitchen prioritizes that item. Dare I forgot to mention dessert? We all fought over the sweet Dorayaki, little Japanese sesame and green tea pancakes filled with red bean filling and raspberry sauce.
A note that if you have very small kids you may want to strategically wait for one of the tables as opposed to sitting at the bar, because then 2 people will be close to the conveyor belt while the other 2 are out of reach. And speaking of strategy, the lines can be long at popular dinner and lunch times so plan accordingly.
YO! Sushi is definitely a family fun restaurant; the service was excellent and our waitress was very patient with my kids and helpful in explaining how the restaurant works. YO! Sushi isn't by design the quietest, most intimate setting. However if you want to entertain your kids and have them expand their palates while you also savor some good, fresh sushi, then YO! Sushi is not to be missed! “Hey kids we’re going back to YO! Sushi!”
And now thanks to our new friends at YO! Sushi we have 2 special offers for Macaroni Kid Summit Short Hills SOMA subscribers.
1. One lucky Macaroni Kid Summit Short Hills SOMA subscriber can win a $50 gift certificate to Yo! Sushi, but I want to hear from you first. Tell me about your favorite family fun restaurant in the link below and you can win the gift certificate!
CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!
2. Mention "MAC KID" when you visit YO! Sushi for a 10% discount!
Note: I was given a complimentary meal at Yo! Sushi, but I offered to do a review on my own and as usual all opinions are my own.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. ODDS OF WINNING WILL DEPEND ON THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ENTRIES RECEIVED. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. DO NOT ENTER THIS SWEEPSTAKES IF YOU ARE NOT EIGHTEEN (18) YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER AS OF NOVEMBER 20, 2015 AND A LEGAL RESIDENT OF AND CURRENTLY RESIDING IN ONE OF THE FIFTY (50) UNITED STATES OR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE RULES.
