"Miami has the kind of upscale Japanese restaurants where dinner will cost you the equivalent of a used 2001 Toyota RAV4. But we have painfully few options when it comes to the opposite. That’s why our love for Yakko Bistro runs deep. Food this delicious (and for less money than a tank of gas for that RAV4) is rare in our Japanese restaurant universe. photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc The menu extends well beyond sushi—which is more than we can say for so many of those upscale options around town. We come here to eat through our own personal list of dishes we’ve been trying to manifest more of in Miami: tsukune, okonomiyaki, and omurice. But the Yakko originals, like the crispy pork salad and angel hair uni ikura, are also reason enough to come here. Yakko can work for a last-minute group dinner, or any night during the week when the thought of cooking feels like climbing an actual mountain barefoot. The dress code is who cares and the long menu allows you to order a single filling entree or so many kushiyaki skewers that your server will have to drag over another table. If the name Yakko sounds familiar, it’s because this place used to be called Yakko-San, and was located a couple miles away in a bigger space (and before that, it operated in the space that it's now reclaimed). When that closed, those who knew its value mourned the loss. But those people can celebrate now, because Yakko is back, still open late, and might be better than ever. Food Rundown photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc Crispy Pork Onion Salad We love a salad that’s 75% pork. And this “salad” is mostly little pieces of pork fat and crispy skin that absorbs the salty, sour sauce it’s tossed in. Some raw onion and cherry tomato technically bump this in the salad category, but the pork is the main character of this dish. photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc Oyster Fry These oysters are covered in a breading that’s jagged and crisp. When you bite in, the oyster is practically melting. It’s a lovely blend of textures that only gets more lovely when you give these a quick tartar sauce dip. photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc Okonomiyaki To our delight, Yakko goes hard on the sauces (especially the Kewpie) with its okonomiyaki. The savory pancake is a good size to split with a friend, and you can get it filled with vegetables, shrimp, pork belly, or all of the above if you want to go absolutely wild. photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc Pork Belly Rice Dog This first caught our eye because we understandably wondered what the words “pork belly rice dog” meant. Then our server said it was her favorite thing on the menu, and the dam of our curiosity burst. It’s a log of rice wrapped in a thin strip of pork belly that gets crisped up on the grill—and it is now one of our favorite things on the menu, too. photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc Tsukune Along with the pork belly rice dog, this is another must-order from Yakko’s kushiyaki section. Each tsukune has a light crust that encases a chicken meatball absolutely packed with flavors we didn’t know a chicken was capable of. photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc Angel Hair Uni Ikura If you have an affection for buttered noodles and uni, you are going to love this so much. Every ingredient of this dish is in the name, and you’ve got to mix it up as soon as it hits the table so the uni and ikura melt into the sauce that coats the noodles. photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc Salmon Kama Miso If you are not yet acquainted with the joys of fish collars—the most delicious part of the fish—yakko’s fatty salmon collar is here to change that. If you’re already a collar convert, you’ve probably already ordered this. photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc Omurice If you’re a little sick of small plates and just want a single plate, go for the omurice. Yakko’s is a big portion with a rich sauce and chunks of chicken you can actually taste. It’s not one of those dramatic versions of omurice that flows like a waterfall when it’s sliced open, but it tastes great so who cares." - Ryan Pfeffer
