Yin Serves Standard Sushi on Gulou Dongdajie

Nestled in a small shopfront at the south end of Baochao Hutong marked by a giant samurai statue, at first glance Yin seems like a pretty authentic take on a sushi bar. Rather than falling prey to the same temptation as many of Beijing’s other Japanese restaurants and serving up everything from ramen to robatayaki, Yin’s menu is focused on sushi (nigiri, maki, and hand rolls) and sashimi, with a few salads and small plates thrown in alongside. The fish in the mixed sushi platter (RMB 380) is silky and not previously frozen, although more squeamish dinners will want to note that of the 12 pieces of nigiri on the platter, only five are recognizable tuna, salmon, or hamachi – the rest offer up more challengingly-textured clams. The rice for the nigiri is passably seasoned, as it is in the salmon hosomaki (RMB 35), although the latter suffers from an overabundance of wasabi, bespeaking a lack of confidence in the kitchen. A side dish of wasabi octopus (RMB 25) uses the piquant root to better effect, the bracing sauce coating bite-sized pieces of tender octopus.

The wait staff presenting all of this are pleasant and attentive – seeing that we are three people spread along the sushi bar, they thoughtfully divide all of our dishes into two for ease of access and offer up a complimentary dessert of almond tofu. 

Yet for all of these positives, Yin struggles to feel like little more than a theme park version of a Japanese restaurant, built solely based on pictures from the Internet. The lighting at the bar is too bright and, while well meaning, none of the chefs are actually Japanese. A good option for Gulou dwellers unwilling to head east, perhaps, but for the price you would be better off heading to Yotsuba or Midorikawa. 

Yin Sushi
Daily 6pm-late. 219 Gulou Dongdajie, Dongcheng District (south entrance of Baochao Hutong) (188 0108 8050)
隐寿司：东城区鼓楼东大街219号（宝钞胡同南口）
 

Photo: Robynne Tindall