Izumi Sushi Bar & Restaurants

Definitely not the best sushi I’ve ever had, but it wasn’t that expensive either, so I can’t complain. I did try the strawberry maki, muy delicious! The strawberry gives that roll a perfect little zing of fresh flavor (kind of like ginger without the kick). The tiger maki roll wasn’t very flavorful, and I’ve had plenty of better spider rolls. We also had the poseidon roll (salmon w/​tempura, avocado, roe, and some sauce, it was a special) — pretty good. Oh, and the green tea ice cream is some of the best I’ve ever had.
So all around, a pretty good place to go.

After purchasing a recent Groupon, I was excited to try a new place for my favorite cuisine.
Upon entering I thought that Izumi was a tiny restaurant but had a modern décor with a relaxed feel. To my surprise there was a patio, sushi bar and back room.
I took my little brother for his birthday figuring it would be a nice treat but I was greatly disappointed. The employees were cheerful and polite but sat us in the back room were no one else was and there was plenty of seats in the common area where others were seated. I’m not sure if they thought we were on a date or wanted to be away from people but it was a bit awkward and uncomfortable. I felt as if we were in a time out. Along with being seated, our server only checked on us about twice, which irritated me because drinks needed to be refilled and orders to be made. I could understand if they were busy but it seemed to be a less popular place. Not only was the dishes we ordered a bit pricey but the california rolls were not at all pleasing. I felt the crab meat was either cheap shredded instant boil or old. Over all I would not go back or of been happy if I paid full price.

We went on a Friday night on a whim. We sat outdoors and enjoyed the warm weather. The service was fast, accurate and friendly. The sushi was great! The only negative was that they were out of oyster shooters. We also ordered dessert, which was great.
We will return!

Perfect dinner for a perfect night. My wife took me here over the weekend and we walked out quite satisfied. It was our first date since getting married and this place provided a wonderful atmosphere. Although nice enough to sit outside, we decided to sit in the back which is a little more romantic. Fun artwork and low light provided just the place for chatting.
She brought her own white wine, no corkage fee! and I choose one of their premium sakes. The waitress was right, it was delicious and went with our entire meal. They also serve enough to make it through the entire meal, maybe not for 2, but perfect for 1. Although they don’t allow beer or liquor, the option of to bring wine is a great touch.
We shared the Dragon roll and Sushi Mori (Chef choice sashimi platter). This was plenty for 2 and surprisingly filling. The roll we order whenever trying a new sushi place is the Dragon and it didn’t disappoint. It had a nice blend of ingredients and was very fresh. We had not had a raw platter in a long time, and it was a lot of fun trying so many different fish. The yellow fin stood out big time, and the surprise of the night was the mackerel.
Living downtown and in walking distance, Izumi is a great destination to get away from the city and have some delicious sushi. It’s not a place that will break your wallet, however, the BYOB really helps with that. With a great atmosphere and excellent service, it’s a neighbor place that we’ll return to for sure.

My colleague and I walked over here one afternoon from our office (knowingly our manager was on vacation that week). The ambiance and service was great, but I’ve experienced better sushi. The variety just wasn’t there, and I didn’t get much for the $ 27 I spent on 2 rolls and a miso soup. However, I would recommend the Lion Maki Roll. It was great, tasty, light, and not over-​the-​top.
I would recommend this place to anyone for a date night. Like I mentioned before, the atmosphere was great — it looked like perhaps a hot spot on a Saturday night (unfortunately, I was having lunch). Check it out; just a short walk over from the Loop.

While I knew about BYOB, I was on my first date and did not want to look cheap. That being said, EVERYONE brought wine that I could see and why not with no corkage fee. Drinks were reasonable and mixed martinis were popular with my date. Dragon and lion rolls are solid. Even with mixed drinks, we had a lot of food for the money. Lively crowd on a Saturday — call ahead for reservations. On a relatively dead portion of Randolph Street (in between 94 and Halsted), but within walking distance of nice spots to go for a nightcap.

I really like this place. You can bring your own wine even though they serve wine… and there’s no corkage fee… doesn’t get much better than that. The restaurant itself is nice inside and the tables aren’t on top of each other. It’s pretty much dead during the week but last Friday evening it was bumping. I had never seen so many people in there.
I always enjoy the strawberry maki and spicy tuna roll. We also tried the lion and latin roll which were good but the rolls were so large I had a hard time eating them. There’s outside seating in the summer which is nice although it’s on a stretch of Randolph that is pretty dead. I’d much rather come here and eat and drink like a king than drop a ton of $$$$ at wabi.

I love this place! I am a sushi addict and this place has the best maki rolls. the place is cute and small. BYOB is always a plus and you can find coupons for free rolls all the time. Can’t go wrong if you go to Izumi

We were only there once and found it quite by accident. A group of us were going to Sushi Samba (I think that’s it) but the wait was out the door, cramped décor and the prices were a bit off-​putting.
Walking into Izumi, it was much larger and had a cute feel to it. Service was excellent and the sushi prices were very good. The quality of the food is fantastic. Being newer to sushi, I always have reservations when going to someplace new but I love every thing about it. Wonderful flavors, innovative combinations and something for everyone. The maki was amazing as were many of the other items. I keep recommeding it to people but have yet to go back, I think that will have to change as of writing this review– my mouth is watering!
Seating is quite open, larger groups shouldn’t be a problem.

Fresh and innovative maki. Service is always spot on. My «go to» sushi spot! Love their hostess Marian, and server, Natalie. Both go out of their way to remember their customers which keeps us coming back!
Vibe is relaxed yet modern… recent renovation of seating makes the front area more inviting. Fish is ALWAYS fresh and rice is never over or undercooked. The chefs take pride in their work.
Prices are reasonable, with the BYOB wine helping the price point.
Favorite specialty maki: Strawberry & Pacific Surf.
Dessert: order the banana maki — comparable to bananas foster.

I’m not a fan of sushi, BUT they have plenty of other options.
Big fan of the asparagus, avocado & cucumber maki rolls. So fresh and tasty.
Also loved the chicken terriyaki.
The service was very great, our waitress was always attentive as well. My friends and I loved the BYOB wine especially with a no cork fee.
I will for sure be going back.

This was my second time coming here, and both times I had very good experiences. The first one, I don’t remember as much– I just know I left happy. Yesterday I came with a friend at about 6:30 on Saturday. There were just a few other people so we got seated right away. It’s BYOB and no corkage fee, so that’s a plus!
We started out with some Edamame, which came out right away. Then we ordered soup and got three rolls. We got the Alaskan, the Lion and the Spicy Tako Maki. All three were good, but I liked the Spicy Tako the best. The server was very attentive and nice. I am sure I’ll be back again.

I must express it in rhyme
They had me with their byob
Although it was wine-​only
It came with no pesky corkage fee
Appreciated by my party of three
Add to that delightful maki
And the freshest, bestest sashimi
The seaweed salad made me rethink my «more rolls, less appetizers» policy
Pacific maki was great, not too spicy
My mildest complaint goes to the mochi
We got chocolate-​espresso & wasabi
Two little balls for $ 6 felt pricey
And the wasabi tasted like vanilla to me
But in stars, this place still gets more than 3
Servers were kind, attentive, happy
And a Monday evening brought ample privacy
Thank you, oh thank you, my sweet Izumi

Of the myriad of sushi places I have tried in Chicago, this is by far the best deal as it is the most balanced joint for both quality and price (can’t help it, I’m Asian). My fiancé and I love it here so much that we either dine-​in or take-​out once a week! Yeah, that friggin good!
First off, they offer 8 pieces per maki roll. Super awesome. The Snowblast Maki and Spicy Bullet are delicious. The spicy scallop, spicy tuna (yeah, it’s mulched, but I don’t mind that), and Philadelphia rolls are tasty. The protein is fresh so you never walk out with that fishy aftertaste which is a big plus. Also, the prices are very reasonable ($ 6 – 7 average maki roll, $ 10 – 15 for specialty maki roll). Yummy!
The staff here is always courteous and accomodating. They are always sure that your water glass is full (one of my biggest gripes, see my Kamehachi review).
The only negative I can think of is that they try very hard to be trendy (you know, the thump-​thump rave music in the background). It’s a little silly, but it can be forgiven (just this once) since the sushi is that good.

I came here for dinner on two occasions and really enjoyed the food. On both visits, we ordered the edamame. which had a smoky flavor to them. The portion was large, and its a good thing, because I went at them like a sumo wrestler.
I ordered the dragon roll and spicy scallop hand roll. Again, both were delicious, although I like my spicy scallop a little more on the creamy side. We also had a few vegetarian rolls, which aren’t my cup of tea, but were actually pretty good. They didn’t lack any flavor at all.
I guess my only complaint was that on both visits we were seated at one of their smaller tables which actually appears to be out door patio furniture. which can be annoying with all of the sushi plates and bottle of wine.
Izumi is a solid choice for sushi in Chicago. It may not be the greatest place for sushi, but its no slouch either.

One of my favorite Sushi places in the city.
BYOB and best Lychee martinis!!! Sushi selection is not disappointing. This truly is a hidden jem!

After reading some pretty bogus reviews of Izumi, I was expecting the worst and hoping for the best. Turns out the food was better than I expected. And best of all, it’s BYOB with no corkage fee! Although I do wonder how BYOB is possible if they serve booze, too, but I digress.
I tried to avoid rolls with mayo and cream cheese, as I’d heard that they were just so-​so. Here’s my sushi breakdown:
1. Strawberry Maki — superwhite tuna, tempura crunch, kampyo, and hot sauce. Layered with spicy tuna, strawberry slices, and eel sauce. This was my favorite roll of the night. Strawberry on sushi? Sounds kinda sketchy, right? It was totally delicious. It just sweetens up the roll a bit.
2. Latin roll — Superwhite tuna, kampyo, cilantro, hot sauce. Rolled inside out with red tobikko. Spicy for sure! It was a slow burn that caught up with me after I’d already chewed and swallowed.
3. Spider roll — Soft shell crab, avocado, cucumber, mayo, masago. My least favorite of the night. I know that the soft shell crab is cooked, but the sushi roll was a bit to warm for my taste. I like my sushi nice and cool. This roll was room temperature.
I was also impressed with the restaurant set-​up. Sitting at the sushi bar makes me happy. I love watching the chefs slice and dice the raw fish, and with plenty of seating along the big sushi bar up front, I was able to do so. There’s also a large back room. I think it would be perfect for a private party. Izumi also boasts outdoor seating… perfect for those hot summer nights!
Not a bad value, either. For 3 rolls (and 2 of them were specialty rolls) and an order of edamame, our bill came to $ 40.

Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by some of the finer sushi places in the city– but Izumi left me a little «raw». Okay. Puns aside– this place is just okay.
Came on a Sunday night as I had been craving sushi for about a week. My first clue that the service was going to be off was that the hostess was also standing in as a server. It appeared that there was only one server in the place and on this night– almost every table was full.
We were promptly seated but it was the only prompt thing of the night.
We ordered a couple of beers that took two requests to get but I think this was due to just too many people in the place for a lone server to take care of. The thing to also know about Izumi is that you can BYOB wine but nothing else so know before you go that they do have a full bar.
Our entire order came up at the same time (I prefer the places that look over your entire order and then bring you your food in stages– putting some rolls first, etc) The food was good, albeit slow to come up. The best things? A couple of their signature rolls (try the «sundae») and the fatty tuna nigiri.
Doubt I’d go out of my way to eat here again– but with the demise of Starfish across the street and the higher prices at Sushi Wabi– this is a solid choice for sushi– if you’ve got the time to wait.

It wasn’t bad. But, you don’t come here for the sushi. You come here for all the other great items on the menu.
I had the Izumi Sunomono salad, the Wasabi Potato Salad and the Salmon Teriyaki. The first salad was good, not great. Probably better on a hot and sunny day. The potato salad was really good. I liked it a lot. You could definitely taste the wasabi, but it wasn’t too spicy.
The Salmon Teriyaki dish was HUGE. It was only slightly overcooked, but their teriyaki sauce was just the right combination of sweet/​salty.
I sampled the tempura appetizer… it was delicious. But it’s pretty hard to go wrong with tempura.

It wasn’t the best of times, it wasn’t the worst of times.
Izumi is solidly ordinary, bordering on ‘goodish’. The awesomost Peter G. and I stopped by for lunch and each ordered a Bento Box– he went with the tempura and I choose the chicken teriyaki.
Our miso soup was very tasty– nice flavor which warmed my empty tummy. I loved the pork gyoza, and both the wasabi potato salad and thinly-​sliced chicken teriyaki satiated. The spicy tuna roll isn’t among the best I’ve had in Chicago (could have used a bit more of a kick), but nonetheless fresh with ample amounts of tuna. At the end of the day, our meal was a great value at $ 12 per person.
Good service, and the music wasn’t too loud as you’ll find at some of the local sushi spots. Izumi lacks some of the finer touches that I prefer at this price point such as hot towel service, but the restaurant is clean and aesthetically pleasing. I hear the booth in the back is great fun, request it if the back is open. Izumi also offers some clever maki if you’re craving, say, some strawberry with your fish.