John and Yoko, Cosmopolitan Japanese
New restaurants tend to enter the dining arena with a big bang. In a country where food and eating is an art, new joiners have to offer something exciting or different or simply great tasting in order to become more than a one-hit wonder.
The novelty of John and Yoko and the persistent invite of a colleague made me try this so called Japanese fusion.
The place was hip and happening even if it was only minutes until the lunch hour. The wait staff was noticeably composed of almost a hundred percent female sporting all black outfits. I am sure that the short skirts and high heels did not escape the attention of the males that passed by the place or of those who dined there.
The menu was a large black hardbound one filled with inviting pictures of the food that the restaurant offers. I loved the menu. It screamed totally chic and current and the surrounding were more of the same.
It took a while for me to choose what I was torn between my desire to try something new and my fear of throwing my money on something I might not even like. It is unfortunate that the prices of some of their dishes were so expensive. Finally, we settled on what my friend has tried and tested. We ordered the Chicken Teriyaki and Mango Pizza. I like Chicken Teriyaki and I like Mango. The combination should be interesting.
The pizza was thin crust and busy. It had bits of chicken, mango, tomatoes, cheese, onions and some more. The first bite was just heavenly. It was as expected and more. It tasted like sushi in a pizza. And I really love sushi. Although I wished it were bigger in size, it was alright for P160 an order. It was affordable compared to the Wagyu rice that cost P300!
The other dish we order was the Pepper crusted chicken with Linguine pasta. I did not post the picture because it turned out to dark to really be worth it. In any case, the dish was as unforgettable as the picture. The linguine pasta with garlic sauce was too bland and unappetizing. The chicken was disappointing. The pepper did not stick to the chicken and the meat did not absorb the spice. What happened was that you tasted the pepper and chicken separately which made the experience unpleasant.
Our lunch was so-so and I was prepared to leave without a rant but as we walked to the door, we found our path blocked by the tables and the diners that filled the place. There was insufficient leg room (and I mean leg) to allow you to walk through without your booty scraping the back of someone’s chair. The walk out was more embarrassing than anything else and there was no other choice but to interrupt the people in between mouthfuls so that my friends and I could all pass through.
All in all, John and Yoko is simply a fad. It has what it takes to catch your attention, but lacks the substance to endure.
John and Yoko, Greenbelt 5
2nd Floor Greenbelt 5, Legaspi St., Legaspi Village
Makati City
Tel No: 729-8698
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Upgraded Sumo sam
interesting na post bro..
learned about your blog from projectmanila.com and having fun reading through it. last i was home (live in paris & los angeles) had some unforgetable, home cooking type food at my angel’s kitchen in greenhills. have you been? menu’s a collection of lovely dishes enjoyed by the owners families. google for more info. bon appetit!
mikel - Thanks for visiting! I have not tried my angel’s kitchen. I will watch out for it the next time I am in greenhills. Thanks!
hello apples! i love your blog! made me hungry haha! sumosam is better than john and yoko. i frequent the powerplant branch. cheap and good japanese food but nothing beats sakura at glorietta 4 though. food is waaay cheaper and yummy too like their 7 pcs sushi costs like P380 if im not mistaken. some restaurants charge nearly as P700 for it! =)
Hi sakura! Thanks for visiting. I better try sumosam then. As for sakura, it sounds familiar but I doubt I have tried it. Im thinking maybe I thought it would be expensive. Where in glorietta 4 is it located?
John & Yoko and Sumosam are my 2 favorite Japanese restaurant concepts! Food is always fresh and delicious! Great pricing too! Best value for money!
My officemates love Sumosam while my family craves only for John & Yoko! As for me, I love them both! Crunchy Squid Teriyaki, Wagyu Rice, Tempura Mania and We Found Nemo! I can’t wait to binge again!
Candy - I think there are hits and misses with John and Yoko - the miss especially on the chicken with garlic pasta. Hehe.
Riza - I haven’t tried Sumosam and I think its because there is none in Makati near where I work. How is it different from John and Yoko?
Hi apples, i’m sorry your experience in john & yoko wasn’t so good. If you’re willing to go back again, try ordering the green chicken, chicken yakitori, oyster overload (or was it new orleans?). Their jap fried rice is so good! it’s better than kimpura!
sumo sam adn john & yoko have the same owner/s (if i’m not mistaken). It’s pretty much the same thing just that sumo sam is a bit cheaper.
karina - thanks for the tip and I will make sure to try those so I can enjoy my next dining experience there.
My friend and I ate in John and Yoko last night. My initial impression was that the tables were too close that I could hear the conversation of the next table. We ordered salmon sushi (dynamite) and roboto (maki with fried rice). Both dishes were very good. The presentation was impressive and the taste makes it highly recommendable. For our main course we ordered sukiyaki and gyudon. It was after finishing our appetizer that we noticed the poor service of the staff. It took them more than an hour to serve both dishes. We followed up the order several times. I couldn’t understand the delay since we were at the restaurant at a later hour (9 pm) when the restaurant wasn’t very full anymore. One of the staff was even on her way out already (holding her bag on her shoulder, seemed like she was on her way home) when she noticed that our table was still empty of our main dishes. She called the attention of the waiter across the room, signaling by pointing to our table. It seemed very unprofessional. It seemed like it was more important to her to go home than to follow up our order herself, even though we’ve been waiting for an hour or so already. My gyudon came minutes after that and upon serving my dish I followed up my friends order. I was trying to explain to the waiter that we were still waiting for another dish when he cuts me off. I found that very rude, after all we’ve been waiting for more than an hour already. Finally our orders were complete. But we were not satisfied the way the waiters served the food. They plopped both dished on the table as if were eating in a cafeteria rather than a restaurant in greenbelt!
Both dishes were just ok. We found both dishes to be too sweet, otherwise it was ok and had generous portions.
At the end of our meal we asked for the bill. The waiters seemed so disoriented. They gave us the bill of another table. This same mistake happened earlier when they served us the dish of another customer which we had to point out that it was not ours. The waiters apologized for their mistake but also commented (jokingly) “Sorry po, hindi pa po kasi kumakain ang cashier.” I would expect a comment like this if I were eating in a cheap restaurant but not in a high end mall.
My uncle also had the same experience, good food but very poor service.
Last night I tried the Green Chicken. My God, the taste I can’t really describe–it tastes like something’s gone wrong with the mismatch and measurement of herbs or seasonings or whatever–what a waste of my money. Somehow I forced myself to finish the whole order because it was pricey for my budget. To make the meal slide down my throat faster, I had to wash it down with gulps of water.
Celine - When I visited the place, I got the impression that the servers (mostly women in short skirts at the time) were more for show than for service as they really were not very good. I don’t think the high end mall is to blame as they do not control how the restaurants are managed. At least I dont think so.
Ed - Green chicken? Just the name sounds icky to me but I am not one to judge until I have tasted it. Although my experience left me disappointed. I might go back to eat the pizza again but I am not in a hurry to.
Everyone I know loves John & Yoko. We love it for the hip design, the unique concept, the pictured menu, the food and the friendly staff…;-)
angelo - i have some friends who are die hard fans of john and yoko and if they could they would eat there everyday. But they do order mostly the same stuff which is really what makes the place to them endearing. Personally, I would like to be able to eat more than just the mango pizza the next time I go there.