Yozakura

If you’re looking for a genuine Japanese izakaya spot, this is probably not it (in fact, I don’t even think the owners are Japanese)… go check out Yakitori Totto, Aburiya, or even Oh! Taisho instead. But if you don’t mind some interesting takes on kushiyaki and a bit less of a genuine feel (i think they might have gone a bit overboard on the pink japanese blossom accents in the place), check out Yozakura. The food is good for the most part, fairly cheap, and it’s an ideal spot for a light snack /​bite if you’re in the neighborhood.
My friend and I were starving hungry when we got here, and she always over-​orders no matter what, so we ordered a bunch of stuff (probably at least half the menu). Some of the highlights that I’d go back for include:
— eel w/​enoki: REALLY good… an excellent combo
— japanese sweet yam: i love this stuff, esp grilled like this… i wish all vegetables were this good.
— lamb chop: very tender and delicious with a slightly sweet after-​taste
— bacon w/​enoki mushrooms
— rice cake: a fairly decent size patty of sticky rice seasoned with bonito, seaweed flakes, and sesame seeds… really good (we got 2^nd’s on this) and better than the similar rice stick
The items that I thought were mediocre and would not order again:
— teba (chicken wing): pretty disappointing… super duper oily and not the best piece of wing
— shisamo (smelt): decent but should have been a bit more salted /​flavored (much better at Oh! Taisho)
— ox tongue: was excited for this one but unlike the above, it was overly seasoned and salty… my friend ordered it again and requested less salt. well, that didn’t quite do the trick… it was still not all that
— spicy fish cakes: not that spicy and nothing special at all…
I was a bit hung over on the night I came here so I didn’t drink too much sake but the one small bottle we ordered was nice and smooth. Selection seems decent. The service here was nice and friendly but the food came out frustratingly sporadically. Thought we’d get our appetizer of seaweed salad first but that came at the end of our meal… odd. The skewers would come out in bunches and then there would be a long lag for the next set to come out. We had to double check with our waiter on a few occasions whether he had gotten all of our orders since there were a few items that came out so late. Hopefully they’ll have worked out these kinks by my next visit to Yozakura.

Decided to give this place a try, and have to say, pleased with the experience. Will I go back? Hm, maybe?
The atmosphere is wonderful, if it hadn’t just been the two of us in the restaurant. Granted, looks like this place is new, and wasn’t expecting a huge crowd.
But more about the food, here’s what we ordered.
2 Seafood Gyoza
2 Yotsumi chicken tender
1 Angus Beef
2 Lamb Chop
1 Zucchini
1 Japanese Sweet Yam
1bottle of sake — I forget which, but it was pretty good for $ 12
Cost was 40 plus tax and tip.
Not terribly large portions, as everything here is a skewer. My suggestion would be that instead of leaving it up to the customers to order per skewer, there should be a meal for 1, meal for 2, and that way, you are told to choose 2 meats, 3 vegetables, or however they wanna price it.
We were unsure of portions and how much to order, so it took a while, and we kept ordering more, as the waiter was nice, but really unhelpful. We asked questions about the sake — he didn’t know, just seemed overall confused.
The place is cute, definitely check it out if you are in the area.