Yo! Sushi Leeds: I tried the city centre sushi bar that was so busy we had to wait - despite booking

It was a revelation – you sit there and the food is paraded before you on a conveyor belt – a bit like an edible version of the Generation Game.

See something you fancy? Just pick it up and eat it. Not sure how much it is? The colours of the plates denote the price. Eat what you fancy until you’re full, then stop. Simple, efficient, effective.

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And utterly perfect as a pit stop when you’re out shopping. On a recent trip to Leeds Trinity, we decided a visit to Yo! Sushi was the perfect way to refuel between shots of retail therapy.

We’d booked, so although it was busy we didn’t envisage too much of a delay. Which was our first mistake.

The people in front of us hadn’t booked and, having hung around a full five minutes next to the ‘wait here to be seated’ sign without anyone appearing, decided to set themselves at a different outlet. We’d reserved a table for 1pm – as presumably had everyone now queuing behind us and out of the door.

We were asked to move down so everyone could fit in – almost into the toilets, in fact – which would have been fine had the manager not decided to start seating people from the back of the queue.

By the time he got to us, every table was taken so instead we perched on a couple of high bar stools in front of the sushi train itself – handy for lifting dishes off; not so handy for relaxing and resting our weary feet. Particularly when you’re being bashed by shopping bags as people make their way out.

But our server was lovely and the atmosphere lively so we decided to make the best of it. I was excited to try some of the green plates – edame beans, kaiso seaweed and smashed cucumber were all on the menu – but sadly never appeared.

In fact there were only a couple of vegetarian options on the entire conveyor belt and, while they were tasty enough, the volcano rolls and avocado maki lacked a punch.

Fortunately the pumpkin katsu curry – assembled in front of us by chefs just the other side of the train – made up for this with both substance and fire.

My guest ordered that day’s special, chicken teriyaki, which was a showstopper – a generous bowl of meat in a sesame glaze with a satisfying chilli kick.

He had more luck with the sushi train too – there were plenty of fish and sashimi options up for grabs. Cynical me might have thought this was because they were the pricier options and while not a single green plate (the cheapest option) was doing the rounds.

The highlight for me was the dessert. We’d been eyeing them as they did the rounds throughout our main course and they didn’t disappoint.

Little moons mochi in both strawberry cheesecake and chocolate flavour were bites of pure delight, a sweet ending to an otherwise fairly bland experience.

FACT FILE

Address: Trinity Centre, Albion Street, Leeds

Tel: 0113 213 3621

Open: Daily from 11am until 9pm (7pm on Sundays)

Scores

Food: 6

Atmosphere: 8

Service: 5

Value: 5

(Overall: 6)