Review: Yoshinoya - Chicken Bowl

Yoshinoya is famous for their Original Beef Bowl but a fair amount of people also order the Chicken Bowl which is a fairly typical rendition of your common Chicken Teriyaki Bowl: grilled chicken thigh (skin-on unless you specify otherwise), broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower, and teriyaki sauce over a bed of steamed short grain rice.

A regular-sized bowl costs $3.59.

I would have liked the Chicken Bowl better if they weren't so excessive with the fairly strong teriyaki sauce. My dad tells me the Chicken Bowl is only good if you get the sauce on the side. I'll go even further and say you might want to forgo the sauce entirely.

One of the reasons for this is the skin is grilled crispy and the sauce totally destroys the crispness with moisture. The chicken itself was juicy and enjoyable but the teriyaki sauce was overpowering; another reason to get the sauce on the side.

You'll notice that the cauliflower has a green hue to it. I'm not sure but I think they cook the vegetables for so long that the green from the broccoli seeps into the cauliflower. There's also a seasoned sauce with the vegetables (I'm guessing part of the reason for that is you can also get a Veggetable Bowl). They're overcooked though and very soft.

Condiments are offered on the side and include soy sauce, chili powder, and benishoga (red-dyed pickled ginger). I went with the chili powder (fairly mild) and benishoga (failry strong).

Overall, the teriyaki sauce and overcooked veggies mar what is otherwise an enjoyable eating experience in Yoshinoya's Chicken Bowl.

Yoshinoya Restaurant Locator

Nutritional Info - Yoshinoya Chicken Bowl - Regular (468g)
Calories - 610 (from Fat - 103)
Fat - 12g (Saturated Fat - 3.5g)
Sodium - 1440mg
Carbs - 94g (Sugar - 14g)
Protein - 33g