W: I like Yess. The menu keeps changing. The food is light and healthy and uses local ingredients. The music is interesting. Today, it was about as crowded as I’ve ever seen it. About like Leopardo yesterday. It will be interesting to see which restaurant lasts longer.
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Oysters kinda sloppily shucked?
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A little, but also note that they use only California seafood.
The music notes are interesting here. I’ve only been once, for a whole tuna event thing, which was great. At one point they were playing an Autechre song, which, as anyone who is familiar I’m sure would agree, is really one of the last things you’d expect to hear in a public place. Definitely added a few points imo
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Our intel - staff tried to change the music to something more poppy, and management changed it back.
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“hottest” is doing a lot of work in the SEO-amplified title there.
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Maybe the best food video I’ve ever watched. Thanks for posting!
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Piping hottest
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This was actually so great. Feel like chef has an understated sense of humor. Also sure seems convenient to harvest from malibu and the sierras 
didnt know there were places you could harvest fresh porcini around here !!!
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I had no desire to go to Yess and now I want to go. What a great video. Sergio seems like an absolute superstar and genuinely good person.
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It’s not just the chef. All the staff there are the nicest people you’ll ever meet.
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Went last night and overall enjoyed it, the restaurant was mostly empty when we arrived (6:30) but more full when we left (8:30).
Tofu Hiyayakko - really good take on the classic Japanese dish, really spicy
Smoked Steelhead Trout Sashimi - smoky! enjoyed this dish a lot vs. the usual super acidic/umami forward crudo/sashimis
Eggplant fritters with Honey/Chili Dip - these were nicely fried and good though I would have preferred the sauce to be a little less sweet
Monk’s Chirashi - Really interesting, tastes exactly like what I imagine a monk would eat/make
Grilled Rockfish w/ Almond Pumpkin and Orange - tasty and cooked perfectly, would have preferred a little more pumpkin flavor in the sauce though
Shave Ice - this was the coffee one which honestly was my least favorite dish of the night. The ice texture and syrup flavor were good but the bottom layer was whole frozen dates which were impossible to eat and it mostly just tasted like pouring espresso on some ice
We enjoyed our meal at YESS, though I’m not surprised it’s controversial. I think the palette and flavors are more geared towards traditional Japanese flavors, a lot of subtlety vs. big bold umami punches. I think the restaurant really isn’t catering to any crowd either: there’s no caesar salad, grilled branzino, hamachi, and the music/vibe is definitely avant-garde.
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I’ve gone a few times to the Moim coffee pop up at the cafe and decided on my latest run to give the Yess food items a shot. Might upload photos later, but if I don’t, they match the photos in the article. The way it works right now is that when you enter there are two stands, one for the coffee/drinks and one for the food. You order and pay at each separately. This part, at the least, will likely change when the coffee pop up ends and the cafe fully opens (likely mid-December based on the article).
Ordered the katsu sandwich, the curried pumpkin as a salad, and a mango tart (which looks like the pluot tart except yellow).
Katsu sandwich was great! I don’t enjoy Katsu as much as I used to but this was still very enjoyable for me. Tender juicy pork and the sauce has just the right sweetness and tartness. The sauce is applied directly to the breading so don’t expect a crispy katsu but it worked well for me. Comes with some lightly pickled vegetables on the side which help cut the richness nicely.
Curried pumpkin is their vegan/vegetarian lunch option I think. You can do it as a salad or sandwich. The pumpkin slices are quite meaty and nicely curried. I really wanted more of a salad but still enjoyed the pumpkin, though the katsu worked way better for me.
Finally, the mango tart. Nicely balanced, not too sweet, great tart. It’s been a while since I had other tarts in town so won’t rank it against other renditions. Great treat with my coffee though!
The prices aren’t too bad: Katsu - $14; Pumpkin - $11; Tart - $7. I would say the portions are a bit small but given the product quality I’d say it’s relatively reasonable. Perhaps a little on the light side. But the food is more approachable and straightforwardly tasty from what I can see so far (disclaimer: have not been to Yess restaurant dinner yet). Overall, I think the cafe side is worth going to again if I’m in the area. It’s also a pretty nice space they have hiding back there and quite nice and peaceful to enjoy coffee and lunch.
Side note on the Moim coffee pop up but I’ve been 3 times and enjoyed each of my pour overs. I’m not an expert but I’d recommend it (though note that I think pour overs start from $6.50 and up with the median at maybe around $8). Just a note that if there’s a line there might be a wait. They make the drinks one by one and they only have at most 2 staff from the times I’ve been. The pop up is scheduled only through end of the month and so far it seems like they don’t have a space set for afterwards.
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outlaw loud silence
we want quiet
watch out cause
quiet loud too
pick up feedback, noise comes in
dinner passes by, still immediate
trout salad and a deep breath
sansho plants the egg to grill
yellowtail clears the head
when to sip the sake?
first chew the eyeball
cool, cool dinner, the kinda timeless I love where just all of a sudden it’s 21:30 and you’ve been chillin for a few hours. cracked open a head that wasn’t my own.
circuit one:
The Hina bobbed along with the sashimi while pulling back the trout, bits of lemon and the almond searching out what to pick up, what pops of flavor to add and subtract
Bijofu, “Hina”, Hamakawa Shoten
Sashimi of the Day
Local Shinkei-Jime Yellowtail, Reddaikon-chili “Oroshi”
Smoked Trout & Fennel Salad
Almond wood-smoked Steelhead Trout, Fennel, preserved Meyer Lemon, Almond
circuit two:
Saw first sake gone and not wanting to waste time thought quick okay, mussels and eggplant - pretty sure a sake going by the name of Red Maple is what you choose. Turns out yeah that’s the truth.
Mix some sake with the black vin for quick shell shots, overload on sansho every now and then, drink the maple to equalize
Kamo-izumi, “Red Maple 2022”, Kamoizumi Shuzo
Grilled Honey Mussel
Chargrilled Honey Mussels, Black Vinegar Sauce, Szechuan Chili Oil, Shallot, Cilantro
Eggplant “Dengaku”
Chargrilled Eggplant, Sweet Ginger Dengaku Miso, shell-roasted Walnuts, Sansho
circuit three:
Gotta say my favorite bite of the night was that yolky crepe wrapped up with some leg and chanterelles, also hanging out with the bones is always fun
Then on to the head, take some leeks, plan your approach, get in there, look around, find the apex and come out of that turn hotter than you entered
Kaze-no-mori, “White Label”, Yucho Shuzo
Duck Leg, Chanterelle & Buckwheat Crepe
Confit Liberty Duck Leg, Golden Chanterelle, Egg, Spring Onion, Weiser Farm Spinach, Buckwheat Crepe
Grilled Yellow Tail Head
Chargrilled Half Yellowtail Head, Leek, Ginger
circuit four:
Asked the server, please pour me what works here. Knew her choice could be trusted, and at the end joining the rest of my Asahi-mai with the remaining Kakigori slush sealed my tomb
just kinda like yeah that was dinner, time to go on a walk
Houou-biden, “Asahi-mai”, Kobayashi Shuzo
Passion Fruit & Persimmon Kakigori
Shaved Ice, Passion Fruits, Passion Fruit Syrup, Hachiya Persimmon, Yogurt
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You’re a genius photographer, dude. I would go to MOMA and look at that exhibition.
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love this dish!
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I appreciate that @PeonyWarrior 
it’s been nice to find this purpose for them
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For better or worse the music at Yess was upbeat, even disco-ish, on our visit this week. The food was good as always. Best dish was foraged mushrooms.
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