IGI BBQ and Sushi Bistro

Absolutely love this place. All you can eat Korean BBQ, Sushi AND sashimi! I don’t get why people think this is over priced, there are tons of choices and like I said it’s all you can eat. The sashimi alone is a sweet deal, I would be paying upwards of $ 30 or more for the amount I had.
They explain the buffet to those who may not been, or just need a refresher. They add on the 10% tip to which they DO tell you at the beginning and are very fair. There’s multiple staff attending to you, 10% is the least you could give but I always give extra. It’s also stated on their site so no there is no scam going on.
The food is promptly served and the staff is always on top of clearing plates for the next order. The place is clean and the lemon water they serve is so refreshing. It’s great if you’re really hungry; I go after a good work out at the gym. There are tons of options if you’re a first timer; I like to get my moneys’ worth and just order protein options.
You get to cook your own meat the way you want it at the table. It’s really fun and adds an entertainment factor with the people you’re dinning with; the short ribs are my favorite and are deliciously marinated before hand.
There’s a choice of ice-​cream at the end and even being full to the brim we still couldn’t resist. Some of the choices were; vanilla, black sesame, ginger, red bean, chocolate, coconut, strawberry, mango and the table favorite green tea
They state there will be a charge for wasted food, which is common for any AYCE. Use your common sense when ordering. My table went over board but we had a great laugh on who the pin the extra food on.

On a recent visit to Winnipeg I sadly found myself at Igi after hearing good reviews from a friend I had formerly believed had good taste when it came to food. This restaurant was offensive to my taste buds as well as my wallet and the service was appalling. As far as I could see every table had a warning regarding the 2 hour seating limit and charge for uneaten food which already left me with a bad taste in my mouth as the assumption that customers would be wasteful and gluttonous was clearly present. However, the bad taste in my mouth was amplified when the food actually arrived. While I understand that these types of restaurants (all you can eat, quantity over quality, etc, etc, etc…) need to turn a profit by serving wholesale food in small portions I was not expecting to see and taste frost on nearly everything we ordered or brown discoloration on the Tamago (i.e. scrambled egg). I have had the privilege of eating sushi in many parts of the world from the very high end written up in magazines to the holes in the wall without a sign and so I thought I knew what to expect from this type of establishment (edible but non-​memorable) but I was surprised and not in a good way. The food was barely edible and the experience very memorable due to the rude service (the waitress actually rolled her eyes when I asked to see the menu again) and the bloated service charge. The bottom line is Igi is just terrible and if there was a rating worse than «Eek! Methings not.» (i.e. «This place needs to be shut down») that would have been my choice.
Note: I do not live in Winnipeg but I hope that the good reviews written by locals in association with this restaurant are not indicative of the food scene in this city.

Went here for our 5 year anniversary tonight and it was a great experience! We sat at a larger table because it was so busy and that was the only one available, it was right by the window which was super nice. There are two grills in the larger tables but only one was on.
We both got the all you can eat option (52 $ for both). We ordered beef short ribs, lamb, chicken thighs, pork, beef and sea salt bacon. There is about 2 – 4 pieces per order of meat but you can order continuously. We also got green and red peppers, zucchini, asparagus and pineapple (which was amazing!). From the a la carte (also included in the all you can eat) we had calamari (which was very chewy, I would pass), oven baked mussels (SO GOOD), crispy scallops (a miss), tempura yams and shrimp (2 pcs each), gyoza (which were ok) agedashi tofu (my boyfriend ate 3 haha) and of course, steamed rice!
The a la carte items were OK. I would try more smaller plate items like edemame or more types of tempura next time. I only had one sushi roll; the spider roll and it was GROSS. No crab AT ALL, tasted like grisle, super unpleasant. I would skip sushi entirely as it all looked mostly like rice and no filling.
The meats are served with 2 sauces (one spicy chili, and one satay) and garlic. You cook the meat and veggies and dip stuff into sauce! Everything was super tender, the cuts of meat weren’t cheap (short rib was a little fatty for me but the BF liked them). We ordered more food about 3 times, never waiting long for replenishments.
To finish I had coconut and green tea ice cream and it was so good! Worth the entire 50 bucks.
The service was really attentive and helpful. There were never dishes piling up on our table, and they paid attention to how hot our grill was, and turned it up or down to suit. Our drinks were never empty.
There is a 10% gratuity for ALL tables, but always add that extra 5% to make it 15. There is also a charge for leftovers. We had the full spider roll, half a dish of calamari and rice leftover, but there were no additional charges to our bill so I think this applies only if there are tons leftover.
Thanks IGI for making our anniversary super fun and enjoyable!

$ 27/​pp… not worth the money… not coming here again.
I tried the all-​you-​can-​eat option for dinner.
They missed few of our orders. we had to asked few times to get our dishes. we gave up at one point.
grill was not clean… our grill had grease char that it burned all of our meats.
Meat portions were extremely small. I wish they served more meat per plate.
Kimchi fried rice was the worse kimchi fried rice i’ve ever had.
I really didn’t enjoy the bbq portion. Marinade was not traditional korean bbq marinade. poor meat quality…
+1 star for variety.

This restaurant provides a really unique Korean BBQ experience for Winnipeggers. What’s ironic is that you are going OUT to a restaurant… in order to cook your own food. But it’s a fun experience! There are grills right at your table and you can order various meats, fish, vegetables and even pineapple to throw on the grill. The waiter will provide a plate of 3 different sauces that you can slather on your grilled item once it’s cooked.
The best option is to go in a large group and get the all you can eat menu for $ 30. This allows you to order a ton of food and try a whole bunch of different items. They have amazing sushi as well which is offered on the all you can eat menu.
My favourite items on the menu were the following:
Deep fried scallops
Teryaki beef sushi roll
Pineapple on the grill
Salmon on the grill
Warm saki
Mango ice cream

My husband and I love Korean BBQ and I think we got spoiled by living in L.A. and going to Korea Town there. So after reading and debating about trying this place out, we were not disappointed. Love the fact that things were portioned out when they bring your food to you. The service is quick. All you can eat sushi wasn’t so bad either. We would definitely be a regular here.

I went there once for my birthday dinner then once again a few days later. Delicious food, albeit pricey, very worth it. They’re quick to bring out your dishes and overall it has a very comfortable atmosphere.

I was so glad to see an AYCE sushi and Korean BBQ restaurant in Winnipeg! Came here for my birthday dinner and was extremely satisfied. The service was great, very quick and courteous. The food was excellent. The sushi was fresh and there was a great variety to choose from. The BBQ had great flavor and there were also many options to choose from. There is a 2 hour limit for eating and a charge for any uneaten food but my family didn’t have to deal with either. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone!

All you can eat (AYCE) Korean BBQ and Sushi in Winnipeg??? I think that was my reaction when I heard that IGI had opened up in early February 2012. Let me warn you that the word is out about this place so be prepared to line up and wait. This place opens at 4:30 pm to 10:30 pm for dinner… so far during grand opening at least but it’s packed pretty much from 5:30 pm on. They are open for lunch but I am not sure on the wait during that time. This restaurant is located in the former south end Meiji at the back of a stripmall on Pembina (look for the A&W on the southbound side of Pembina).
Now considering that this place just opened, I will cut them some slack. It was crazy busy when we dined there but nothing that would turn me off from returning.
There weren’t distinct Korean flavours in the meats so on that front, it doesn’t taste like true Korean BBQ (at least at the places I’ve tried in other cities). That being said, the meats were not overly marinated and does not have MSG. Flavours were subtle but good. Proteins were of surprisingly good quality as sometimes AYCE places can cheapen out on that. There’s beef, beef short ribs, beef tongue, chicken breast or thigh, fish fillet, salmon, shrimp, lamb, pork, pork neck and squid. All the meats are sliced thinly so it’s easy and fairly fast to grill. You are given metal tongs (to cook the raw meats) and wooden chopsticks (to eat with) — obviously don’t mix them up. Veggies included a fresh assortment of asparagus, eggplant, enoki mushroom, regular mushroom, peppers, zucchini and pineapple. My faves were the sliced beef, beef short ribs (yummy marinade and also very tender), and chicken breast. The beef tongue was okay but try to eat it right away or else it gets a little tough. Shrimp was okay, just plain, butterflied with the shell partially on but wasn’t deveined.
The sushi menu has a surprisingly large selection of the usual suspects. Nigiri and sashimi are ordered by the number of pieces. Tempura are ordered by type (shrimp, yam etc) and each order provides 2 pieces. Rolls are of the usual portion sizes. There’s definitely a good amount of nigiri and sashimi to order from and I have to say they are absolutely delicious (tuna and salmon). Fish were fresh are portioned similar to other sushi restaurants. The rolls on the other hand are just okay — it’s pretty mediocre. Some of the rolls weren’t rolled tight enough and some had rice that was a bit mushy. Because there was only 2 sushi chefs working feverishly, the sushi orders were slow and came towards the latter half of the meal. But the rolls are still worth trying especially since there are a good assortment of them to choose from. The gyozas are yummy here — thin and light dumpling skin filled with a good amount of well seasoned pork filling. The agedashi tofu had a very crispy exterior and the soy sauce wasn’t too overwhelming.
The ice cream dessert is a definite highlight here! It’s not listed on the menu but each person gets one scoop. The flavours available were: ginger, red bean, black sesame and mango. The mango is smooth, creamy, and refreshing — I could eat a tub of this. Though the black sesame is quite the standout… it is an intense flavour, like a deep smokey nutty flavour. I tried a small sample from my sister’s order and loved it.
Restaurant size is moderate as you can probably seat maybe 50 or 60 people. Service is a bit chaotic and there were several times where you have to flag down a server as they are running off their feet. Despite the chaos, once you have the attention of the servers, they are really nice. Despite being a predominantly Asian staff and clientele, all the servers speak English.
And despite the number of open grills in the restaurant, the place was very well ventilated (to my surprise). There is a slight BBQ smell on your clothes but nothing horrible. 2 hours was enough for our table of 4 even with some notable lulls between orders.
— Mon-​Thurs Dinner: Adult $ 25.95. Child (7 – 12) $ 11.95. Fri-​Sun and Holidays: Adult dinner: $ 28.95. Child (7 – 12) $ 12.95. Sun-​Sat: Dinner for kids 3 and under are free. Age 4 – 6 is $ 3.95.
— Lunch: Adult $ 20.95. Child (7 – 12) $ 10.95.
— 10% gratuity is added on all bills.
— Don’t waste food, there is a $ 1 charge per sushi or sashimi piece and $ 3 for each dish, which I assume is the BBQ meats. Now you don’t have to clean your plates as we had one or two random things left.
–You can get a new grill if yours gets too blackened from all the cooking. Also ask for a raw onion cut in half to help clean the grill — works like a charm!
— Drinks are extra but are bottomless. Tea $ 1.50. Soft drinks and pop are $ 2.50.