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 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.
Location
No event here now.