I feel a little bad giving them 2 stars because the service was so nice. Review is based on service at the bar only, not hibachi service.
The nigiri was poorly formed, contained an excess of wasabi and at least a couple of the items had what I would call a "not so fresh" taste. The cost on the various sushi wasn't bad, but they were out of uni and toro. The yakitori had nice grill flavour, though I think the tareyaki  sauce was overly sweet. Miso soup was average. Reasonable prices on cold sake. I'll go back and try more cooked foods, but the sushi was highly disappointing. I will say when I first saw this I had this small hope of it actually being something I would call an Izakaya, instead it's a Japanese steakhouse... that was a little disappointing, but mostly expected.
I went here for the first time yesterday. It was outstanding really. I'm a little freaked out at all the 3 star reviews. I could go with this on an absolute scale (5 being the best sushi place anywhere and 3 being Izakaya). But, I'm using a relative scale - meaning what is available in Indy. If there is someplace better within a 150 miles, please PM me.
Notes: The Hamachi sashimi - large portion and very fresh. The spider role with spicy tuna was spectacular. Service was good as well and the place was really clean. Tuna sashimi was good, but it was a little cooked - which threw me off a bit - but it was still good.
I hope Izakaya makes it, otherwise I'm back to square one on sushi in Indy - And yeah - I've tried a lot in this town.
Enjoyed Izakaya for the first time on a Sunday evening around 7:30. The restaurant was not busy at all. It was dark inside, and the decor was really classy. My group chose hibachi, and we were told it was about a 10 minute wait. We waited a few minutes and were seated. The waitress took our drink orders and everything was set.
The timing was pretty good. We all got dinners, which came with soup, salad and shrimp appetizers. The soup was really good. I'm not very cultured, so I don't know what it was. The salad came about 5 minutes later and was also very good. It had a ginger dressing. Seems like it has mixed reviews. Then the chef came out!
It's always fun to watch the chef do all the tricks and cook your food right in front of you. It made for some excitement for everyone. I ordered a NY Strip, medium well. My friends ordered theirs medium-rare, so mine had to cook a little longer. While it cooked I had the rice, veggies and shrimp to eat. The rice was great. On par with some of the best rice joints around town. My favorite part of the meal was the shrimp. They were seasoned perfectly. The sauce was just amazing. Next time I will get one of the ___ and shrimp combos to get a full order! When my steak was done I was a little underwhelmed. I may have had it cooked too well, or it just wasn't as juicy as I was expecting. All-in-all it was tasty. The entire meal was filling and delicious. I will definitely be going back!
I would like to give them a 3.5. Â My hubby and I met up with friends last weekend and we really enjoyed the overall atmosphere of this restaurant. Â I loved that we could make a reservation for the hibachi portion of the meal for the time that suited us, not the time that was "scheduled" with the restaurant. Â We had drinks and sushi to kick off our evening while we waited and I loved the sushi. Â It was delish! Â I am looking forward to going back for lunch specials. Â I also REALLY love $4 house wine on a Friday night! Â Very affordable!
As for the hibachi, this is where they lose a star. Â It was bland and the shrimp was overcooked and chewy. While the hibachi chef was fun to watch, it doesn't make up for food not being cooked properly. Â It was under-seasoned and overall a very boring meal. Â I also just don't love the sharing a table dining experience, or sitting side by side along the long side of a table. Â It doesn't allow for decent conversation.
Overall, I really liked this restaurant and will be back for the sushi but I have no interest in the hibachi.
Rudy is a great chef!!
Good food, good atmosphere. Â Nice that our chef for Japanese style cooking was actually Japanese. Â Our chef was funny and cooked our food perfectly. Â The fried rice was not quite as good as Benihana's, but it also didn't have the giant glob of butter, so it probably had a million less calories. Â I had the filet and chicken. Â The filet was cooked perfectly medium rare, as ordered. Â It was crisp and browned on the outside, and oh-so-tender inside. Â The chicken left much to be desired. Â Tasteless, chewy. Â I won't get the chicken again. Â Hubby had the ribeye. Â It had a great flavor, but it was extremely fatty. Â Better him than me; I couldn't have eaten it.
The onion soup starter was good, more flavorful than other teppenyaki places. Â The salad had a creamy ginger dressing, which was ok but weird. Â I would have preferred the more standard citrus ginger most places have. Â
We had a sushi roll to start, and it was very good. Â I've been another time and just had sushi. Â I don't remember what I ordered, but I remember it was good. Â
I will go again, but I will stick to the sushi rolls or do teppenyaki style filet.
Really solid teppenyaki restaurant. Â A big bonus is it's not a chain and feels really authentic (real Japanese chefs!). Â Reasonably priced as well and not busy at all on a weekday night.
Steak was perfectly cooked with just the right amount of "attitude" thrown in by our chef, Rudy.
Sushi appetizer was solid as well.
I will definitely be returning to Izakaya in the near future, perhaps to try more of the sushi.
I've only eaten Sushi for a few years but really dig this place. Â The lunch specials are a GREAT deal. Â I think it's my favorite combination of quality and price around here. Â Even when I'm eating the cheap rolls at Izakaya I still feel like I'm getting good quality stuff. Â Unless I'm looking to spend a lot of money somewhere else this is my #1 choice for sushi.
Review Source:I am not a sushi expert by any means -- I usually order rolls -- but Izakaya is on my monthly to-do list for lunch. I go with a friend and we get the two-roll lunch. Way too much food but it's good. Granted, it isn't as good as the sushi I had in Maryland, but I give restaurants here an allowance for having fish flown in. Solid lunch deal, although on the higher end of what I want to pay for that meal. Service is quick and adequate.
I had the hibachi dinner with colleagues and that was also on par. Lots if food (although we probably ordered more than the norm on the company's dime). Entertaining chefs, good food. It's a win.
This place has pretty decent sushi - I would give it 3.5 stars. I've been there twice now, and I really enjoy the atmosphere: dark lighting and modern decor with an Asian feel. It wasn't busy either time I went on weeknights, probably because it is kind of hidden and out of the way on 96th street not far from I-69.
The last time I went, I tried the sunrise roll (which is unique because it is wrapped in cucumber), the caterpillar roll (generally one of my favorites, I would call theirs average), and the lobster roll. My favorite was the lobster roll - yum! The tempura green tea ice cream is tasty as well (how can you go wrong with fried ice cream?), but not outstanding.
The main annoying thing is that for birthdays, they make a lot of noise by pounding a gong and loud drum repeatedly. It was exciting for the birthday person, but not so fun for the people trying to have a conversation anywhere in the restaurant. I prefer the silly birthday songs, which can be ignored. However, overall it was quite pleasant and I would go back.
I have been to a good number of sushi places in indy and this one I think is a secret gem and never busy either! They have this item called an avocado bomb or something like that that is a partially hollowed out avocado w a mixture of crab goodness on the inside that is too delic to describe. Just ask for it. Very reasonable prices too.
Review Source:Hands down the best place we have found for sushi in the Indianapolis metro area. Â The fish is exceptionally fresh, the service is timely and not overbearing, and the atmosphere isn't overly stuffy. Â I have to be picky when choosing my sushi due to a shellfish allergy, but they are more than willing to accommodate by using a fresh knife/clean the cutting area before prepping my dinner. Â The gyoza is perfectly cooked (not over steamed as you find many places). Â The portions are large, down to the nigiri. Â I always get the salmon nigiri, spicy tuna roll, and a specialty roll (whatever looks good to me that night). Â I have yet to be disappointed. Â One side note, which my wife and I like, is that the gyoza comes with 6 pieces instead of the normal 5. Â This way we can split the order, and not have to fight over who gets the odd one. Â Our bill usually runs about $45.00-$50.00, which is gyoza, 4 rolls (including one specialty roll), and nigiri. Â For the quality, the price can't be beat in town. Â We have not tried the hibachi, so I cannot comment on that, but if it is anything like the sushi, I wouldn't hesitate to try it.
Review Source:I met a friend here for lunch yesterday. Â We shared their 3 roll lunch special. Â All the sushi was surprisingly fresh, very tasty, and the rolls were tightly wrapped. Â My only complaint was that the shrimp tempura roll was still warm. Â In my experience, tempura-fried food is usually brought down to at least room temp before serving. Â It just feels wrong to eat warm sushi. Â But I look forward to going back and trying some of their special rolls. Â The inside of the restaurant is large, warm and a good mix of regular and hibachi tables.
Review Source:Izakaya was added to my list of favorite sushi restaurants in Indianapolis today. We had an order of spicy tuna, salmon and Ocean roll. I'd highly recommend the Ocean roll - lots of tasty tuna and a sauce with terrific flavor combination. Service was also good. Don't bother oredring the miso soup though - it tasted like something out of a package.
Review Source:I love this place. Have been there many times and the food and service is always outstanding. It's set up like a Benihana, but that's where the comparison ends. The sauces and flavors are wonderful! When I commented on how much I liked a certain sauce, they made sure I had some to take home and cook with myself!
Review Source:Popped in here on NYE 2009 for a bite before the festivities started for dinner (sushi dinner although I can't remember what I had). I'm torn between giving a lower rating for the experience but I did enjoy the food so 3-stars it is.
Just getting seated took forever,. I'm sure I had no idea what was going on but I think the same could be said for the staff. I know it was a holiday but it was beyond chaotic. There was no list or method of seating, and without a designated waiting area, the entry way soon became filled with bodies standing around awkwardly.
As for food, I recommend the tuna tataki and sashimi as the pieces were relatively generous. Even though I'm trying to avoid eating certain fish species and seafood (tuna especially), it's likely I'll make a few more exceptions before my guilt will overwhelm my taste buds.
I too would give it 3.5 stars, so I'm going with 4 to offset the other reviewer who rounded down to 3 ;)
We ate at the hibachi grill, and it was good although not exceptional. The chef was nice and did the usual assortment of tricks involving eggs, oil, and fire. The sushi we had for an appetizer was pretty good. The place was modern and spacious, which normally I like but I sort of missed the old, clutter, closed-in, authentic feeling of the other hibachi grills I've been to. It was a touch on the expensive side compared to the one over in Lafayette, with most of the entrees being in the mid to upper $20s.
3.5- pretty much what you'd expect in a hibachi joint, though they were giving away free samples of Sake during their "grand opening"
The wife and I came here last Friday. Â It had been a while since we rocked some hibachi, and this place is pretty close to us (plus they had a coupon, buy one get one 50% off, and yes I am Filipino) so we decided to check it out. Â
AMBIENCE- the place is pretty new, and it sure looked that way as well. Â On one half of the restaurant they had hibachi grills, and the other half was for other Japanese fare. Â They have a pretty big bar as soon as you walk in, and it looked to be pretty well stocked with a variety of sakes and other liqours. Â The decor is Japanese for sure, with faux bamboo separating the two dining areas.
SERVICE- hibachi places usually have things timed out pretty well, and this place was no different. Â Our server was attentive and friendly. Â Past our initial order, we didn't really engage him, but he was catering to the needs of the people around us for sure.
MENU- standard hibachi fare. Â I didn't bother to look at the sushi menu, or appetizers as I only had one thing on my mind. Â They had a number of combos, and the prices were pretty standard (entrees roughly $20-30 depending on what you got). Â The wife and I decided to go with shrimp and scallops. Â Sure Indy is landlocked, but you gotta get what sounds good.
FOOD- Our chef came out and did all the standard tricks. Â I will say his "egg tossing" was pretty spot on, but past that, nothing new. Â Dinner includes soup, salad, and a shrimp appetizer. Â Food was about average. Â Our scallops were slightly overcooked, which kinda sucks, and it would've been nice to get more rice (c'mon people, rice is not that expensive, other than that this place met the pre-requisites of a hibachi joint.
OVERALL- good not great, although in fairness, hibachi tends to be pretty uniform across the board. Â I would say the price was about right, and the portions were adequate. Â Certainly worth checking out, but definitely not a "must do."
Chuck Norris Rating- Sumo Splash
The first review here looks pretty shady to me. Â A 5 star review from a user with no other reviews right after the opening of a new restaurant? Â Yeah, I wouldn't trust that.
I just went to Izakaya for the first time tonight. Â Going into the restaurant, it was very nice. Â Wood floors, great decor. Â The restaurant has teppanyaki tables on one side of the restaurant, a bar on the other, and then a dining area with a sushi bar in the back. Â Overall, looks very nice. Â However, I was a bit disappointed by the sushi. Â I was hoping it would be great based on the appearance of the restaurant. Â Unfortunately, I was not that impressed with the sushi. Â While it was good, it wasn't great. Â I felt the salmon in my roll wasn't that fresh and the sushi overall had kind of bland flavors for the rolls I ordered (spicy). Â
It was good, and I would go again if I didn't want to drive far. Â However, if I have the time I would much rather drive to Sakura. Â Not to mention, Izakaya is pricier than Sakura.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
