As a new Yo! prepares to launch in Glasgow, it is odd to think that it was not a million years ago that sushi was thought to be very exotic.
The new Glasgow Yo! will be on West George Street and Thursday 29th June is the launch date.
Apparently, it’s twenty years since Yo! Sushi first launched its kaiten or conveyor belt restaurants on an unsuspecting UK.
Over those two decades, they have added and then dropped the ‘sushi’ from their name while doing more than anyone else in the UK to make the raw fish and rice combo ubiquitous.
From culinary curiosity to everyday
If sushi now seems an everyday food, it has taken a long time to get this far. And, at times, it felt as though sushi would never catch on.
When Yo! Sushi opened their first Scottish branch on Edinburgh’s Rose Street in 2001, they triggered an avalanche of newspaper articles asking if Scotland was ready for raw fish.
The answer was a resounding ‘No!’ to Yo! and the branch closed, if memory serves, within a couple of years.
How things change. These days, Yo! serves over 6 million UK customers a year.
And a taste for sushi is certainly not reserved to culinary early adopters.
In fact, the eight-year-old child of a friend complained recently that she had not had any sushi in her packed lunch box for a while.
We nearly called the social workers.
Yo! Glasgow Central: flagship branch
Anyway, Yo! Glasgow Central will be a flagship branch, as befits its location in a prominent listed building in Glasgow city centre.
The conveyor belt will frame the central theatre kitchen and snake around the entire restaurant.
Other standout design features include a stunning Origami-inspired ceiling.
Guests can expect a mix of Yo! classics and newly curated dishes including hot favourites such as katsu curry, ramen and miso, yakisoba, chahan, teriyaki, gyoza and tempura, as well as handmade cold nigiri, temaki, sashimi, rolls and fresh salads.
In keeping with Glasgow’s status as the UK’s Most Vegan Friendly City, there are an impressive sixteen vegan and 33 vegetarian dishes.
A new To Go menu will also be available in YO! Glasgow Central – a development which will surely perk up lunch boxes across the city.