Yo! Sushi for kids, Westfield Stratford

Yo! Sushi at Westfield Stratford occupies a prime position on the top floor of the main shopping mall. Open since the centre was launched in 2011, it’s a popular place to eat Japanese food whilst shopping. Takeaways are also sold from a fridge. Less of a novelty now, diners are now more familiar with the plastic colour coded dishes that you self serve from the conveyor belt. Yo! Sushi has kept changing its menu so this review first published in 2013, has had prices removed and some items may no longer be available.

On the conveyor belt, food slides temptingly past. My five-year-old has always been crazy for sushi. He’s more adventurous than many of my grown-up friends. When any of them are icky about raw fish, I say “You eat smoked salmon don’t you?” Sashimi isn’t so different.

Ted’s favourites are little maki rolls in sets of four; we usually grab a cucumber and avocado set to share half of each flavour between us.

Servers hand out children’s chopsticks although annoyingly Yo Sushi never has any straws. Taps in front dispense water, alternative drinks for kids are bottled real fruit juices although these are pricey. For grown-ups Yo Sushi is licensed.

My recommended kid friendly Yo Sushi dishes are:

• Noodles
• Rice – although not fire cracker version if they don’t like hot stuff
• Pumpkin Korroke (fritters)
• Gyoza (fried dumplings with duck, veggie or chicken fillings)
• Nori maki rolls
• Chicken yaki-tori on skewers
• Pancakes (for pudding)

These were the dishes I started Ted off on, but these days he’ll try anything.

My current favourite Yo Sushi dishes are:

• Tuna & coriander sashimi
• Salmon and cod roe tartare (a yellow banded dish, in some branches)
• Salmon sashimi and nigiri
• Sea-weed salad
• Squid salad (shown above)

Something I do miss whilst watching the calories is Yo Sushi chicken katsu curry (fried breaded chicken slices with curry sauce and rice). Actually this dish is so filling you might only eat 2-3 dishes rather than the 4-5 you could quickly clock up if you hadn’t filled up on this.

My top Yo Sushi tips

• Staff will guide you to a seat, likely on stools at the conveyor belt – or:
• Some branches have tables for groups although you may wait longer to get one.
• Fizzy or still waters are dispensed from the taps in front for a flat charge.
• Miso soup and green tea are also unlimited for a flat charge.
• Dishes are colour-coded according to price bands. Blue and green dishes are the cheapest with grey (and in some branches, yellow) the more expensive ones.
• Sometimes on “Blue Monday” all dishes on the belt are blue making this the cheapest day to visit.
• Some branches do a “Sumo Sunday” with unlimited dishes for around £19.99 although the colour bands picked how good a deal this is.
• Help yourself to dishes from the belt or order from the menu. These days you order (and can pay) via an app or website.
• The conveyor belt may be depleted at the beginning of the day. Depending how adventurous the local clientele are, sashimi and raw fish dishes may not sail past without being ordered. Most dishes arrive in under ten minutes so don’t be put off ordering something that looks complicated to prepare.
• It’s not all fish, there are plenty of cooked fish, meat and vegetarian dishes.
• If you worry how long food whirls round, dishes are covered in plastic dome with “expiry time” stickers so they are removed if not eaten by then.
• To call servers or get the bill, press the button in front of you. Whizzy lights and noises happen but this is all part of the Yo! Sushi experience.
• Yo’s Japanese style desserts may be an acquired taste – they’re less sweet than you expect. My son loves the pancakes but I am not a fan. 

Watching the staff prepare batches of dishes can be hypnotically entertaining. All the action goes on in the central area inside the conveyor belt.

Some dishes like these tempera battered tofu cubes come with a dipping sauce; other rolls are a bit unwieldy with chopsticks.

So it’s ok sometimes to use your fingers! Many sushi items make great finger food for kids.

Have your kids ever tried sushi?

With thanks to Westfield Stratford City who hosted this meal at Yo! Sushi.