Oshibi Korean Bistro

Food is just above average，not spicy as expected. Too crowded the first floor, keeping annoyed by the guys beside.

Good Korean food in York, hip… hip… hooray!
I love Korean food, and the fact that it varies so heavily from place to place… if it’s a good Korean restaurant then there’s actually a good chance you’ll find something there you like better than another, with the opposite also being true.
By default I love the various Kim Bap offering here, think Korean sushi with beef or random other fillings, offerings here… I’m sure there’s plenty of places that serve it in the UK, but my usual Korean haunts in London don’t actually serve it which I’ve always found odd. The oddest thing for me here is that I don’t love their Bulgogi… normally that would send me running for the hills, it’s just such a staple of Korean food (at least in the mainstream), but it wasn’t bad and the overall consistency and quality always wins out in the end. Besides, as outlined in my opening, it’s often different between the various restaurants so who am I to say which place has it right? (Not that there’s really such a thing as long as it’s not bad.)
Another oddity (again, not bad… just different) is that in most Korean places I’ve been to the selection of side vegetables you get (which aren’t free with a meal here by the way) are served room temperature… here they are actually warm, but it’s a bit different overall… the little sweat beans, whatever the pearls of delicious may be called, are über tasty though so I can’t complain. :-) The actual kimchi is also a bit different, but again… not bad. (At least they avoid the trap of serving really cold side vegetables here… chilled is one thing, but I’ve been to a few Korean restaurants where they feel like they’re practically straight out of the freezer.)
The Spicy Quid is a must for me here… oh that sauce, that glorious sauce! I honestly take whatever is left of my meal at the end and soak up every last bit of sauce… I’ve also had the Spicy Octopus, which actually didn’t have the same type of sauce… similar, and good in it’s own right, but stick with the Spicy Squid and you can’t go wrong my friends.
For contrast there’s also a Crispy Sweet Chicken dish of some variety (so sorry, just not remembering names today!) that was good… not my thing personally, as in almost anywhere, but I can very much see why people like this (as did those in there with us). Conversely I wasn’t a fan of the Teriyaki Chicken though, it wasn’t actually bad, but it didn’t pack as much punch as I would have hoped.
All of the above said it may seem like I’m not actually too keen on this place, but it’s actually on my hit list for each time I’m in York for a few days which hopefully speaks for itself.
The place itself is very cute, with food presentation to match, but it’s quite small as there’s only a handful of tables… if you’re heart is set on here try and book in advance to avoid disappointment. The owner is actually a really friendly guy as well, as is everyone else that works there.
I’m so glad to see this place doing well in York, the location move and being open for dinner is a newer venture, so give them a chance, tell a friend, and hopefully the lot of you will be hooked too! (Just leave me a space for when I’m in town please.) ;-)

Great food, in both variety and construction. Friendly and chatty service in a very relaxed and homely atmosphere. All in a very enjoyable dining experience.

Oshibi is a fairly modern, funky little Japanese restaurant in York. There aren’t that many Japanese restaurants in York so it’s nice to have seen a couple of them pop up in th last few years (I’m not sure how long this has been there but I certainly only noticed it recently.) Oshibi is friendly, the food is nice, and I don’t remember it being that expensive. Nice place to go for a change.