Yuko Kitchen

This restaurant is the physical manifestation of every single Tame Impala song

In an attempt to be adventurous with my food choices, and a result of finally being sick of vegan West Hollywood cuisine, my colleague and fellow food connoisseur Zoe (@EatThisUp on Substack) and I ventured out of my safe space and took to the streets of this great city called Los Angeles, or how us locals call it, Wilshire.

Zoe recommended Yuko Kitchen, a casual Japanese restaurant in the Miracle Mile. The vibe of the place reminds me of a Spotify curated playlist for any “indie” friend—see reference below:

The entire exterior is covered in plants and colorful abstract paintings on the walls, and the entrance leads you to a small section of three or four outdoor tables. Ordering all happens at the counter inside, where there are even more plants—let’s just say my springtime allergies were not happy with me, but taking cute photos for my VSCO feed was obviously much more important (Claritin exists for a reason, sorry allergies).

Needless to say, if I had discovered this place in 2020 during my Plant Mom phase, I am confident that I would use it as room decor inspiration (sincerest apologies for using the term “Plant Mom” in 2023).

The crowd that eats at Yuko Kitchen can only be described in one way, and that is “cooler than you.” During my meal there I frequently felt intimidated by the cool hippie millennials eating there, most of them with their Air Pod Max Headphones on and their laptops open pretending to work (the optimal dining experience at any restaurant of course, speaking from experience). Next time I visit, I will be sure fit the aesthetic more, which will presumably require a shopping trip to Free People but I think it’ll be worth it.

As for the food, Yuko serves a broad range of items—Udon, Sushi, bowls, and salads. For my lunch, I took advice from the expert herself, Zoe, and ordered the Garlic Salmon Rice Bowl, a Mint Ice Blended Lemonade, and edamame.

What shocked me about the ordering system was that there was a hidden speaker outside, so that you won’t need to worry about not hearing your order. This may seem like common sense, but I rarely come across a restaurant that employs this innovative solution to a devastating issue. This solved my biggest nightmare of missing my food while it’s being called. Thank you Yuko Kitchen for significantly improving my quality of life. (+1 point was added to the overall rating for this revolutionary feature).

The lemonade was just the right mix of refreshing and sweet, and the edamame was the perfect portion size, although, being a sodium fiend, I would have enjoyed more salt.

The bowl was absolutely stunning — it had greens and rice as a base, and layered over was pickled radishes, cucumber, green onion, jalapeño, salmon sashimi, and roasted garlic. The salmon tasted fresh and had a lot of flavor, and the rainbow colored vegetables went perfectly with each other. I particularly loved the pickled radish, which was a perfect combination with the rice. With all the vegetables, it definitely had more of salad type vibe, which I’m not totally opposed to (I eat fried food almost every day so it’s probably not a bad idea to try and be healthy once in a while), but I did wish there was more rice to balance out the rest of the ingredients.

The roasted garlic on top added was the perfect addition — the garlicy flavor is obviously an irreplaceable touch, but it also added a subtle sweetness that enhanced the savory flavors of the dish.

As for the nitty gritty:

Food: 9.5/10

Service: 7/10

Vibes: 10/10

Speaker that tells you when your food is ready: 15/10

Final Verdict: Amazing place and food, but DO NOT come here without homemade kombucha and full hippie-chic attire.

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