OOOOOOOHayeeaeeobabawbabawbabaw - what a fabulous night of music and sashimi with Sergio Mendez. Our meal was excellent and we were in row 2 for the concert. I'm still in heaven. read more

Been going to this Yoshi's for years, the food has always been great, but last time I went the waitress was one rude b-. She asked to give the card to pay when I was trying to enjoy my desert and beer after having finished my dinner (which wasn't cheap). The weirdo ('Sharah') then stood there and asked me to sign, because she had to do her 'paperwork' when in reality she just wanted to clock out early. It was only 8:30 and they close at 10pm. My fiance and I ordered 2 rolls, a Nigiri special, a martini, 2 beers, and a cream tart. Food was great, but our mediocre waitress is going to cost this place money. read more

Jazz and sushi... unique combination, and works unusually well thanks to their long history of the restaurant. The portions are small, but you don't come here to stuff yourself. They have many new and unique creations as well as your typical sushi favorites. You can sit western style at a table (standard chair), Asian style sitting on the ground (aka Indian style), or even a combination of both (you'll see). If you're older or your legs aren't very strong, I strongly recommend against sitting on the ground or the hybrid seating style. A man in his 50's and out of shape, no less, sat in the hybrid style seating and he was struggling to get out of his seat. There isn't any partitions so there is no privacy. Poor guy. It is wise to make reservations (even online!) on the weekends. I recommend bringing your date or a good group of friends. read more

I didn't come here for a jazz show; it was Sunday night and we were already in Jack London Square looking for a place to eat. So that right there, is a big plus in that they are open Sunday nights. We sat in the bar and proceeded to order very tasty nigiri and sushi rolls. Extremely fresh stuff. Very innovative and extremely tasty rolls. (I had a spicy hamachi tempura cut roll, a spicy scallop hand roll and the avocado and eel roll - all very, very good.) My friend order the black cod entree and he said it was "awesome". They also have a most wonderful sake selection too. You can get a sampler of three decent sized pours for $16 or order by a pretty good sized glass from 8-12 bucks. A tad on the pricey side, I suppose - it came out to be around 80 bucks a person for food/drinks but I've had more expensive elsewhere and still walked away hungry. Here, I walked away very content and satisfied. Well worth every penny and I won't hesitate to do it again. Whoever was playing that night sounded good - you can hear who's playing through the speakers in the bar. It made for a very lounge-like experience, which I dearly love. And I love jazz. I will return! read more

I finally made it here after years of hearing about it. We had dinner and then watched Goapole (love her). I didn't eat much for dinner but a salad and some edamame. BTW, if you check in here on yelp you get a free edamame-thank you very much. The food portions were not very big so if you are hungry, you may need to order a couple of things. The ambiance was fabulous in the restaurant. The restaurant is on one side which has a romantic vibe, the bar in the middle and the jazz club on the other side. We sat front row to see Goapole preform and she rocked it! I liked her a lot before but now I adore her! Her band was awesome too. She let one of the guitarist borrow the spot light for a bit and he got down. It was amazing. The experience was one I will remember forever. My boyfriend loved it too. We will new back for sure. read more

The combination of Jazz and Japanese food that is unique to Yoshi's has made it an Oakland institution for more than twenty years (before moving to Jack London Square Yoshi's was just off Claremont in Rockridge). The way to really enjoy the joint is to make a night of it - plan on having a long dinner, and then catch a jazz show afterward. In terms of sushi quality, there are better Japanese restaurants in the Bay Area. But the overall experience of eating good Japanese food while looking out the ceiling to floor windows as trains silently roll down Embarcadero and then catching a good show is an experience that can't be had anywhere else. Also, Yoshi, the owner (with her ex-husband Kaz), is probably one of the coolest people you'll ever meet. She's not at the restaurant as much as she used to be, but when she's around meeting her is an experience in itself. If you decide to go for sushi, the Charashi (assorted cuts of fish over sushi rice) is a good way to sample what the chefs think good that night. read more

We went here to celebrate. I've heard great things about this place and thought we'd try it out. A place for jazz but we didn't buy tickets so we just had dinner here. Booked reservations thru opentable.com. Made a few points. We sat by the window where we had to take our shoes off. This was an option. If we didn't want to take our shoes off, we couldn't sit there. We were sat by the window and you could see and hear the train go by. I forget what they called it. We started off with a cocktail and a beer. The ahi tuna appetizer was so-so. Nothing "to die for". We ordered a shashimi platter and a few rolls. The fish wasn't as fresh and the rolls not so exciting. My bf and I LOVE sushi and we both agreed that we will most likely no come here again. It was pretty expensive. Parking is convenient tho. read more

I went a couples weeks ago to watch Eric Benet in concert. I've been meaning to come here a long time ago. I missed El Debarge, so I made sure not to miss Eric Benet this time around. RESTAURANT: We had the Filet Mignon, Red Louie Crab and Miso Chicken....all were REALLY good. Portions are small, but I guess thats how upscale places usually are. ...yes...I will be back:) CONCERT HALL: really small and intimate. And I like that. We sat at table 79 with this really sweet couple from Modesto and the food and drinks we ordered while watching the concert were good. We sat at the back, despite arriving early and having our seats reserved, but being the venue is so small it was still a WONDERFUL concert. Eric Benet is HOT:):) and he can saaaaang:):) Another plus is that there weren't a lot of young people here...so you don't have to worry about things you normally would have to worry about being at a club. I like the majority of the crowd toooo:) Everyone got up and danced... read more

Yoshi's is great! I've now been to both the San Francisco and Oakland locations - SF just for a concert, and Oakland for a concert and dinner (watched Hiromi perform at both locations). I don't think I can say which one I like more since I haven't eaten at both. However, the Oakland location certainly does not disappoint. For concerts, the seating area is very comfortable with both low and high tables in order to see the stage easily. The servers are great and quick with food/drinks, and everything tastes delicious...then again, everything tastes better with live jazz happening at the same time :) Tickets are generally in the $30 range, depending on the artist, but very affordable, I think. Dinner in the restaurant is a whole different story - fusion Japanese cuisine and much more on the expensive, higher class side. We sat in the faux-traditional seating area (I say faux-traditional because it looks like you're sitting on the ground, but there's actually a big hole around the table to put your legs down, so it's actually more like a bench). I personally really enjoyed it...and enjoyed eating at restaurant without wearing my shoes... The food was absolutely superb. We had the following: 1. Hamachi Crudo ($13) - sliced mango, jalapeno, fresh ginger, crispy garlic, and warm ponzu - each element tasted wonderful on its own, but get all six of these ingredients in one bite and it takes you to a whole new level - light, savory, sweet, delicious. 2. Kakiage Fritter with Shrimp and Scallops ($15) - basically like a Korean seafood pancake. This was good and worth a try, but probably not something I'd order again. The batter was a tiny bit on the heavy side, but the dipping sauce was really good. 3. Gindara ($27) - saikyo miso marinated black cod, broccolini, housemade potato chips. This fish was SO good - very meaty in texture, but super smooth and tasty...and the sauce, oh the sauce...I just wanted to drink it all up! I would definitely order this dish again. 4. Certified Angus Beef Rib-Eye, 12 oz ($39) - rainbow chard, fennel, sweet moro-miso sauce. THIS was probably my favorite dish of the night - the meat literally just melted in my mouth. The combination with the rainbow chard and fennel were a perfect balance to the moro-miso sauce the surrounded the meat. 5. Spicy Geisha Roll ($17) - shrimp tempura, snow crab, maguro, arare - really good combination, but honestly not that memorable...(so much so that I can't remember enough to write much about it...) 6. Alaskan Roll ($6) - salmon, avocado - this is always a must for me since these are two of my favorite ingredients. It was certainly tasty!! 7. Black Sesame Creme Brulee - another combination of two of my favorite things!! The consistency of creme brulee, but the taste of black sesame paste...SO DELICIOUS. I wanted more... Our party of three ladies left feeling completely satisfied (and maybe only a tiny bit over-full). The food was amazing, but certainly not something we could afford on a normal basis - more of a special occasion dining experience. It should also be noted that the service was impeccable. Our sever (oh shoot...he even reminded us of his name so I could mention it in the review but, alas, my memory has failed me yet again...i think it was Peter...yes, Peter!!) was incredibly attentive and actually recommended all of the dishes we ordered that night! Thanks for a great night!! I'm sure we will be back, if not for another concert, then for dinner on another special occasion :) read more

Holy amazing sushi!!!! Not to mention the amazing concert venue in the jazz hall. Be sure to make a reservation, earlier the better. Your table in the concert venue will be closer to the stage the earlier to have dinner with your tickets. It is very Pricey but worth every penny. The restaurant and concert are close quarters but it plays into the intimate experience. This is a great spot for a romantic evening or a night out with some friends. Being Jack London Square you have lots of options for drinks and dancing after a concert. Close to reasonable hotels and a beautiful walk along the water. Just a really great spot for awesome eats and a cool music experience. One my favorite spots on the Bay. read more

Good sushi, decent drinks, excellent music venue. We go to Yoshi's from time to time just for the sushi (avocado sushi - YUM!) but my favorite is to grab a good table in the club listening to awesome jazz, sipping a cocktail and munching on lemon cheesecake (so strange for a sushi place, but so good its OK). Now that I think about it, its been way too long since my last visit. I wonder who is playing this month... read more

I went to see Poncho Sanchez a while back. 4 stars for the show but 3 or less for the food. I think we had some rolls and the grilled calamari. If grilled calamari is on the menu, I will almost definitely order it. This one was fine, a little dry but good. The rolls were not amazing. I didn't know you could get better seats eating at the restaurant. We showed up a couple hours before the show and when we checked in, they gave us cards that you could put on chairs to reserve your spots for the show. Even by that point, we ended up in a back corner but I was glad we got seats at all. We ate in the restaurant but maybe we should've had out server try to find our seats. Whatever, the show was cool. read more

Jose Gonzalez + Bonzai roll (usually don't order rolls, but I was starving!) + Triplet (maguro, sake, hamachi sashimi - had to try it) + Pear-Guava Martini + Peach Cobbler Food was not bad. I would never come here just to eat at the restaurant, but I would order the food again to eat with the show. Service was slow. Show was great. I liked the idea of munching on sushi/sashimi while enjoying chill music. Hopefully will be back. Apparently, if you make dinner reservations at the restaurant you get these little colored paper tickets you can attach to the back of the chairs for either the 8 or 10 o'clock shows, to reserve the best seats. *By the way, food+drinks turned out to be slightly more expensive than the tickets. $57 vs. $50 for two. Kind of pricey for the quality. read more

I wonder how the same restaurant can be so bad in one location and be so phenomenal in another one. I HATED the one in SF: the service, food, everything about it left a bad flavor in my mouth. I went to the one in Oakland so I could get priority seating for the Chapelle show and decided to give it a chance. And I'm glad I did. We ordered the fresh oysters on the half shell, dungeness crab and beet salad, season vegetable tempura, pan seared sesame panko scallops, and the spicy dragon roll. If that doesn't make your mouth water, let me tell you, the crab and beet salad had asian pear, tobiko, crispy gyoza, creamy wasabi puree and the pan seared sesame panko scallops with a spicy shichimi tartar, my mouth is watering just thinking about it now. Paired with the most amazing sake I've ever had (I can't remember the name, just that a bottle is $58), it made for an awesome meal. Give it a shot and be ready to splurge, you might as well go all out at a place like Yoshi's. read more

When I visited this location last February, I was so disappoint! Not the music venue - that's always great. It was the sad-looking furniture (holes in the chairs) and the lackluster food - quality and execution. Not sure what happened over the last several months, but I'm more than happy to up my rating after this weekend's visit. The service was on-point and the food was delicious (huge portions as well!) Even the dining room seemed much more "spruced up." The menu seems to have been re-vamped and is more in line with the inventive menu of the SF location. We sampled: - Seafood fritters - 5 huge fritters, perfectly fried w/o a hint of grease. So good! - Tuna tartar - the weak link on the table. Could have used a bit more of an assertive seasoning hand to balance the mellow avocado. - Spicy tuna, California, and Tempura rolls - standard issue, but all fresh and very tasty. - Crab risotto w/ matsutaki mushrooms and uni - DELICIOUS! This is a "must order" dish. They use Japanese rice (think it might be sushi rice) instead of arborio and it is pretty perfect - taste, texture, and presentation. - 3 gelato sampler (chocolate, green tea, vanilla) - all very high quality and absolutely delicious. Yoshi's, thanks for getting back in my good graces! read more

Update: I recently had dinner at Yoshi's, and the food was excellent. The fish was so fresh that I've decided that I am a nigri/sashimi (versus rolls or cooked fish) person after all. === I have been to Yoshi's at least a half a dozen times in the past few years (on dates, with friends, with a large group, and possibly alone) and have enjoyed the music and atmosphere during each of my visits. Yoshi's is an initimate venue that brings in world class jazz musicians. I find the ticket prices to be reasonable for the caliber of musicians, but for popular performances, center and close-up seats can be difficult to find if you don't dine at the restaurant and reserve seats for the show (the staff will reserve seats for you *only* if you dine at the restaurant). read more

I came here last March (March 2007) for a group lunch, I've also been here a long long time ago for their Friday night dinner + live Jazz performance. -- food: great, tasty, but small portions, and *tiny* portions for some dishes. -- pricing: I didn't pay the final bill so I didn't know, but my impression is that it's very pricey.. The amount of delicious fusion food to the high sticker price is the reason I am giving it 3 stars. -- Jazz performance: depends on the band, and what your taste is like, it may or may not be a great experience. I unfortunately didn't the last time I was here... so... read more

I came here for an event during lunchtime, so the place was rented out and empty. We were served these adorable bento boxes. Presentation was very clean and pretty - they were stacked on top of each other. The ambiance was very nice and relaxed, and service was very good. I don't know how much the bento boxes cost, because our meals were paid for before we went, but I could assume that they were pretty pricey. As a student, I don't think I would come here on my own unless it was for a special occasion (since it seems expensive), but I would recommend this venue for classy events or big groups. PS: The only reason I gave this place 4 stars is because I felt like it was probably expensive. Otherwise, everything else was impeccable read more

Was there last night to see Brian Culbertson. Walked in just before 7 for an 8:00 show after a long drive from Sac, and hadn't yet had dinner. The story goes that with dinner, you get "reserved" seating, whereas a show with no meal offers seating on a first-come, first-served basis. Let's work that out for a minute. Unless you're arriving at 7:55, don't worry about it. The only bad seats in the venue, in my opinion, are the very front seats on both sides of the stage. From those spots, it's difficult to see a full rhythm section. Other than that, there are no bad seats. It's a very intimate venue; you get a great, close-up view of the headliner from ANY seat. So....dinner's expensive, and if you want to save a little (okay, a lot) of $$$, eat downtown or something. HOWEVER, if you grab dinner, you're in for a major treat. It's served 'family style,' generally; sharing is encouraged. Appetizers and entrees are great. My party of 5 shared edamame, fried brussel sprouts, a dungeness crab and beet salad (2, actually; the 1st was so good we ordered another), a 'daily special' sushi roll with crab, salmon, avocado and kiwi, a roll featuring unagi, a spicy tuna roll, and an amazingly delicious pork chop, for the wife, who hates fish. Can't say enough how tasty everything was. Which is great, because I paid a grip. I sprang for 3 of the 5, and my portion of the bill, which included 2 $10 cocktails and a 20% tip, was just over $150. Service was excellent, especially considering the enormous crowd and the time constraint we imposed upon the staff to serve drinks and a full dinner in less than an an hour -- again, for a party of 5. As for the show, anyone who's seen Brian Culbertson live will tell you, he MUST have been conceived with "Play That Funky Music, White Boy" streaming from his parents' ghetto blaster. Incredible show, super band, excellent dinner, in what may be the coolest club in the Bay Area. read more

My boyfriend and I booked our reservation right after YEE Oakland RW Kick-Off party. We always wanted to go to Yoshi's and found a good reason to do so. Our servers were awesome and funny. I like when he asked if cared if one of the dishes had bacon, I told him I stopped listening after he said "bacon". Glad he enjoyed my fat kid antics and egged it on. For starters, my bf got the Agedashi Tofu and me the Crispy Brussel Sprouts. OMG the broth of the Agedashi Tofu was dee-licous. Bf only gave me a spoonful but I allowed him to keep the rest cause I was too infatuated with the brussel sprouts. Its the texture. Aside from the yummy puree served with the sprouts, I was definitely digging the sprouts and it was a lot too. No skimping with this appetizer. Plus, got the free edamame with check-in. Second course, we both got the Sushi Roll Combo plus an extra order of Spicy Tuna roll. When they say Spicy, they mean it here. Love it though! I like my sushi to be spicy especially since my bf and I are both wasabi whores. Although all of the eight pieces of sushi was yummy to the tummy, their Spicy Tuna was our favorite. Dessert, my boyfriend had their cheesecake and me their sweet potato mochi donuts. To drink, he ordered their Honey Bush tea and me Hot Chocolate. Oh man, I was stuffed silly after all that food. And to think prix-fixe meals are no joke. You leaved full and satisfied. We were definitely impressed with our visit to Yoshi's. Great food and service. We hope to come back in the near future. Gotta get our Spicy Tuna fix on somehow. read more

3 stars for the restaurant and 1 star for the music venue = 2 stars overall. First the restaurant... The sushi was fresh and well presented, and the sashimi came as large juicy pieces, all quite good. Our drinks and wine were fine and we were happy with our choices. The service was lacking, and even though the waiter knew we were trying to get to the show, he rarely checked up on us. I had to go find him to get the check so we wouldn't miss the beginning of the show. That added some extra pressure that took away from the dining experience. Additionally the price for dinner was way higher than it should have been for standard decent sushi. $19 for a sushi roll? Come on, this is a jazz club in Oakland not a high end sushi restaurant in SF. Now the music venue is where this place really blew it. For those who are not aware of how it works here, if you buy tickets for the show, you need to arrive at least 1 hour before the show starts and they will place you at "the best seats available" based on your arrival time. If you show up less than an hour before the show, you get whatever is available. So clearly it only makes sense to come to a show here if you intend to show up more than an hour before the show and... surprise surprise... eat dinner here too. OK, so no secrets there, just a sneaky way of saying you better eat here if you want a decent seat. Additionally there are 2 show slots a night separated by 2 hours, so you should really only expect about an hour and half performance. The night we went, the performance lasted just a little over an hour. You can't help but walk away feeling scammed. But the worst part is the shady way they do seatings. We showed up about an hour and fifteen minutes before the show and sat down for dinner. They told us they would put us in "the best seats available", which ended up being the second to last row all the way at the edge squeezed against the wall. Not only that, but our tiny table for two had 4 seats which we were expected to share with another couple. However due to the crammed space, the seats could only fit one in front of the other, so we were expected to sit behind each other! Really, Yoshis?? Not just that, but we were at the same height as the people in front of us so we couldn't see the stage at all. We were clearly not happy about it. We also noticed several empty tables about 4 rows in front of us, so we decided to go ask the bouncers if we could sit there instead. They said it was fine, which we were glad about, but also wondered why these 4 tables were clearly open when we were supposedly given "the best seats available." And throughout the show, no one sat at the other empty seats. As it turns out, the couple we had originally been seated next to in the back corner were also reseated at some other empty table elsewhere. What is going on, Yoshis? Why are you so shady? It's too bad because you bring some great musicians here. For the prices you charge for food and music, you make this place feel like a cheap 2-drink-minimum comedy club. read more

My husband and I went to Yoshi's for dinner and to see Rachelle Ferrell's 9:30 pm show on April 1, 2018. The dinner was good, but the concert was HORRIBLE! The performance, if I can even call it that was filled with rants about religion, the "funk" that was bestowed upon her band, politics, sound effects and dancing that reminded me of a drunk George Jefferson. I began to check out about 30 minutes into the show when I realized that it was definitely going to be a train wreck. My husband and I looked at one another throughout the show wondering if it was a joke?! I was so disappointed in her show and would never go to see her again, even if it was free! What a waste of a beautiful voice and our time. read more

I've been here for lunch and for performances in the evenings. I don't think places like this exist in Kansas, or the other square states. The food was good, but not great. The performer I saw [Sunny Hawkins] was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. The tixs were reasonable. The drinks were a little pricey, but good. The service when there's a performance goes into the crapper. So, I would go back for a performance, but I might pre-party somewhere else. ETA: I've been back for dinner and drinks, and on another occasion for a performance. When we showed up, we were able to reserve our own seats by writing our names on a yellow slip of paper and clip it to a chair. Then we sat by the bar and had some food and drinks and did some people watching. On this most recent adventure, the sound seemed too loud. When the performer has a powerful voice, you don't need to crank the volume up too high. read more

He says : We haven't eaten here....yet!! We go here for the jazz. I can't say enough about the venue for music. Responsive and knowledable crowds, a nice setup, and reasonably priced tickets. We'll try the food next time!! I hear they're updating their menu. She says : It's a nice venue but the main reason I come here is for the company ; ). I'm a amateur with Jazz but even I can appreciate these tunes. read more

I had a great time at Yoshi's. The sake selection was pretty varied and the sushi was really fresh and prepared well by a bona fide Japanese Sushi chef! (most places have chinese or korean staff) I ordered some Tai for my gf but the chef recommended the Hirame as being a better selection for the night. He gave us some Tai complimentary too! The show was pretty fun afterwards too. It was not my taste in Jazz, but that's not really anyone's fault as its my personal preference. I had a blast anyway! Overall, prices, food (sushi - i usually don't try the crazy rolls that are drenched in sauces and the like), service and atmosphere were all very good! read more

I liked them a lot more when they had their old menu. Now they changed their menu and their food presentation. Everything is more expensive, but still equally delicious. Its main attraction is the atmosphere. The place gives both an air of traditional japanese and a modern SF feel. The wait on weekends can be long, but they have a bar area with lots of tv's. read more

Plain and simple, this is a classy joint. On the restaurant side, you've got an elegant and immaculate experience. You've got good food at a somewhat high price, but you're actually paying for the quality of the food, same goes for sushi. On the jazz club side, you've got an intimate and classy atmosphere, great sound, and not a bad seat in the house! read more

Yoshi's has a fabulous sound system, great musicians and great food. It's a wonderful experience. If you haven't been here do it now!!! read more

I can finally say I've eaten at Yoshi's. There's something to be said about having lowered expectations. After reading all the lukewarm reviews about their food, I wasn't expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised. The sashimi and rolls were tasty, the alcohol selection was good but not extensive, and service was impeccable. What added to the experience was eating at an institution like Yoshi's. If it was based on food alone, I would give it 3 stars, but they earn an extra star for years of having great jazz entertainment. read more

There needs to be two entries for this place: one for the restaurant and another for the jazz club. My rating of three is the average between a five for the club and a one for the restaurant. We roll in to see McCoy Tyner (AWESOME) and were stoked that we could eat and get reserved seats without having to wait in line. I know there are really two levels of wait staff in this world. The pros that have been at it for years are impeccable time and time again. The part-timers and newbies have good days and bad days. Our server was a newbie with no sense backed by strange things going on in the kitchen. They ran out of brown rice, which was really strange, but only the beginning of the foibles. We order sushi to share and entrees for the main course. My girlfriends entrée comes out first, about 8 minutes later the sushi, 13 minutes after that (we were counting) came my entrée. Her salmon entrée was underdone, the sushi was fantastic, dude forgot my white rice. Dinner cost just over $90 with wine. Next time, I'll pay the extra fee to get reserved seats online (+ $25 or something), go to a different (re: better and almost certainly cheaper) sushi bar and then to the jazz club. I've been to the jazz club a few times and it is great. Acoustics are first rate; great sight lines from almost everywhere; the waitresses are a little overburdened, but are efficient and respectful of the show. read more

This is a 4.5 star review. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food here. Granted, the reviews were all positive, but I'm a picky person. The sushi was very good. The rice was seasoned properly and had just the right texture. The fish to rice ratio for the nigiri was also excellent. The rolls were good, but odd enough to keep things...interesting. The portions were good, but the price is a little steep. I was non-plussed with our service, which was very attentive, and then a ghost town. Erratic service bugs me more than generally poor service, because you don't know how to feel about the likelihood of getting things done. We went to see the Blind Boys of Alabama. The show was amazing, and the venue worked very well for what we saw. It was big enough to draw a crowd and get a solid headliner, but intimate enough that you felt connected to the show. The server here was also not on her A game. She set the drinks down hard, which was startling, and she spilled a glass of water all over my husband, which definitely loses the full star vs. the half I would have discredited them for just erratic service in the restaurant. read more

Yoshi's never ever fails to delight. Tonight was sushi, saki, cod, duck, and soup plus a great jazz fusion show by a guitarist who resembled Mick Jagger (circa 1966) if he were smooshed with a dead Ramone. I've been coming to Yoshi's since they were in Berkeley (I'm old school), and I only really go when there's a jazz show I'd like to see. And the jazz show are amazing. Over the years I've seen McCoy Tyner, Arturo Sandoval, Pat Metheney, Joshua Redman, Charlie Hunter, Christian McBride, and most recently a truly spellbinding set from the great Chick Corea with Stanley Clarke. Yoshi's is clearly the best jazz club on the West Coast, and it may be the best in America (Blue Note, Village Vanguard, Birdland, Jazz Standard, etc. in NYC have nothing on Yoshi's), but the food is what sets it apart. To be sure, the food is not necessarily any better than an above-average Japanese restaurant in the Bay Area, but it does have decor, great service (most of the time, at least), and a lively, vibrant atmosphere that makes Jack London a pleasurable destination. Plus, I once sat next to Metallica bassist, Jason Newstead, on one side, and Les Claypool from Pirmus on the other side. That's exceptionally cool. I LOVE Yoshi's. I wish I could come here every night. read more

Loved it! PROs: +Cool dining area (no shoes and recessed legroom!). +Great servers in the dining area. +Friendly host and venue staff. +Fantastic sushi and sake options. +Great venue! CONs: -Took quite a while to place a drink order once the show got started. -The train is RIGHT outside. read more

Classy. Cheerful. Cabaret Wonderful venue to host jazz musicians. Many talented musicians come through here. Tips: 1. If you eat dinner you can reserve tables for the show. 2. If you see 8pm show, and the 10pm show isn't sold out, you can line up and get admitted on a rolling basis. Food is good, although pricey. But the sashimi is very fresh. I saw Brad Mehldau's trio and Bill Frisell this past 2 weekends. read more

Maybe it's because we didn't see a jazz show that Yoshi's turned out to just be a-ok for me and my group of friends. I had heard alot about Yoshi's and their amazing music lineup and how fun the restaurant was so a couple friends and I went to Yoshi's on a Saturday night. So there we all were, shoes off, sitting on the ground waiting for our server and I'm not sure if any of us we pleased with the service. The restaurant is huge and we kept seeing our waitress run back and forth throughout the place which made it hard for us to get her attention, order our meals, and get the check. I split the seaweed salad (which had the weirdest, citrusy dressing), a rainbow roll, and a spicy tuny roll with a friend. The rolls were pretty good but I'm not sure if I would ever order that salad again. Also, I was hoping that we'd at least hear jazz music playing while we ate but instead they had no music playing. Bummer. Maybe next time I'll just go there for the music. read more

Yum, restaurant week option for dinner was delicious and amazingly priced. All of the courses were fantastic! Some restaurants skimp on the portions during their respective restaurant weeks, but Yoshi's definitely did not. I've been here once before, and have had a good experience. I would definitely be back. read more

I've been here for both sushi and jazz, and here's what I've liked in the restaurant: - Maguro nigiri - Hamachi nigiri - Sake nigiri - Unagi nigiri - Uni nigiri - Salmon skin hand roll - Some other little rolls that had a raw small egg on top? It was delicious. I've also had the C-Major sushi combination and a bento "boat" here, and they were all good. The quality of the fish they use is very good and fresh. I've rarely had sushi so delicious. They also have a nice green tea here that has the burnt rice flavor. Yum. The jazz club portion of Yoshi's has a drink minimum, I think, and it's really fun. It is an intimate setting that lets you sit close to the stage and is a lot of fun. Wish I could have seen Sophie Milman here a few years ago. read more

Great place, wait staff is super friendly Drinks are always great here Food is awesome Price is exactly what you would expect Only down side is portions are small I am looking forward to going back again soon :D read more

Been hearing about Yoshi's for a while now, but finally got the chance to check it out the other night. I definitely enjoyed the ambiance of the show room. It was big enough to host a show, and small enough to create an intimate setting with the audience. I really wanted to see Avant, but his show was sold out, so my friend and I decided to check out Jane Monheit, she's really good btw. She sounds just like she does on her records. Anyway, I came not really knowing what to expect because I've never really been to a dinner show, except for "Tournament of Kings" in Vegas..lol. The restaurant and the showroom are separated. Restaurant looked pretty fancy pantsy too. Picked up our tickets at will call, lined up and entered the showroom. The seating was pretty much first come first serve, if you can find a table that's not reserved you can pretty much snatch it up. We sat in the back corner away from others in case we wanted to chit chat with each other, but we still had a pretty good view. I would also like to add that the sound system was perfect, very clear and crisp. There's a one drink minimum but I was starving so I got a Kobe burger. It was pretty yummyzz. The fries were a good addition too. My friend had the sushi rolls and he said they were pretty good. I think next time if I was to come to a show, I'd probably just order some fries to snack on instead of a whole meal. That's only because I was a little busy enjoying my burger than appreciating the music. Anyway, I would definitely come back to Yoshi's to see another show if something comes up that interests me. I'm really keeping an eye out for Brian McKnight because that would really make my day any day! If you're really in the mood to immerse yourself in some live jazz though, this would be your place! I want to check out the Yoshi's in SF too. Hopefully it's just as nice! read more

What a nice place. Japanese restaurant cum sushi bar and a performance space as well. Took BART from the City to 12 Street exit and walked down Broadway in the early evening. Turning right at the train tracks(!) we walked toward the red and white sign. Lots of folks eating some very nice looking dishes of fishes. Cool welcome, yes we have tickets for tonights performance, and seats at the sushi bar. Good so far. The place is packed, staff moving quick. Menus and water and our waitress and off we go. Very good sushi, a bit pricey, but nonetheless well done. The calamari is a winner. Nice selection of wines, beers and sakis. The performance space is excellent, the sound system perfect. We had a great time, and will return. Enjoy! read more