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Yo-Chi
First came Carbone, then crisp-loaded Caesar salad wraps served from an unassuming Mayfair off license; and now, frozen yoghurt has earned its place as the current centrepiece of London's food scene.
Fro-yo may have had its moment in the 2010s, however, queues of up to four hours could be seen down Notting Hill's main high street over the weekend when Australia's Yo-Chi opened its doors for the first time.
Part-dessert shop, part-late-night hangout spot, the self-serve yoghurt store triggered a social media storm (not least after it hosted a huge influencer launch) ahead of its grand opening.
It was founded in Australia in 2012 (also known as the peak fro-yo era), and since then, Aussies and travellers to the continent alike have painted it as the holy grail that, until now, has been unreachable to the rest of the world.
@iloveyochi.uk been waiting for this one…turn it up
But, by its opening day in London, customers had queued from 6am, while others travelled from the other end of the country and beyond to grab a pot of the customisable sweet treat.
The concept is simple: Yo-Chi offers nine frozen yoghurt flavours and over 30 self-serve toppings spanning fruit, to brownies, cookies, and more sauce varieties than you can count on one hand.
Once you've loaded up your bowl to the brim, you pay by the weight - which, if we've learnt anything, can get eye-wateringly expensive.
However, it doesn't appeared to have deterred social media, which is now awash with their branded cups and perfectly-executed swirls of yoghurt.
It appears our yearning for nostalgia isn't slowing down.
"People that have never lived or been to Australia probably do not understand the magnitude of Yo-Chi opening in this country," one TikTok user, Lucy Sedgwick vowed.
"Yo-Chi is the single greatest export of that nation. People will say to you, 'it’s just frozen yoghurt, how good can it be?', and you should not listen to these people."
@max_balegde @iloveyochi.uk is in the UK and I am well and truly overwhelmed #yochi #london #foodreview
"It’s NOT just frozen yogurt. I had my first one ever last week in Brisbane before they announced and I literally said 'we need this in the UK'. It’s THAT good!", someone else echoed.
"The tension between me and booking a flight to London to get Yo-Chi", the caption of another now-viral video reads.
Aimee Steinberg has also assigned herself as the unofficial 'queue correspondent' - posting live updates from her flat across the road of the store's queue at any one time.
"Do one right now", one person asks, while someone else pleads: "Can we get a midday update?"
Whether it's just a trend or set to become another permanent fixture in London's food scene remains to be confirmed - but our social feeds just got a whole lot more delicious.
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