Yoshi's Yo-Yo Service

I really wish I could say that I had a good time at new-kid-on-the-block, frou frou japanese resto Yoshi's San Francisco—overall, the food was fab—but the crap-shoot table service pretty much ruined the meal, so much so that JW scrawled a note across the bill explaining why tipping was out of the question. For the steep prices, fine food and swank L.A. industrial surrounds, we expected the service to match. It didn't. Our server seemed like she was on the ball during our first encounter. But first impressions can be so misleading. It was as if she'd forgotten about us—or just didn't care. "Service was spotty. We waited a long time," wrote JW. Yes, we did: between putting in our wine order and actually getting the first pour; receiving the right utensils after being served up our appetizers; getting the bill after waving down a random server to track it down for us ... we really had to work for it, and for all the money we forked over, we shouldn't have.


The app that needed a fork and knife. I asked for 'em and was given exactly that: one fork and knife. WTF? There were 3 of us at the table. Oh, and the prawns? Good, but all the effort that went into getting at the meat made me like it less (if I'd had a clue from the menu that they'd come out with their shells still on, I'd have taken a pass).


Yoshi's buttery soft pillows of sashimi ... fantastic stuff that was nowhere near enough. (Please sir, could we have s'more?)


An out-of-this-world luscious bluefin tuna "akami" tartare with avocado puree, sesame chile tofu bits, crowned with a tiny quail egg, accompanied by a miniature foie gras terrine, crispy gyoza chips and tiny endive spears. I was transported to heaven but brought back to earth with a resounding thud: sucky servers will do that to you ...