Issa

Pretty tasty, quick, and easy. First place we ate in Copenhagen as we stayed right around the corner, and this was a lucky find. We got the fried shrimp, boiled beef, and spicy noodles — all solid choices. Go for it!

Wir haben «issa» zu Anfang fast übersehen, denn es ist ein recht kleines Restaurant. Allerdings sind die Bedienungen und die Köche sehr freundlich und offen und das Essen ist sehr gut. Wir haben den Algensalat und gebratene Gyozas gegessen und als Hauptgericht gebackenen Lachs, was wir alles zu 100% weiterempfehlen würden. Sie haben zwar Teile von unserem Essen vergessen, aber das tat ihnen auch sehr leid. Insgesamt ist «issa» wirklich sehr empfehlenswert und lecker mit einer netten Atmosphäre!

Good service. Fast food. Tasteful food. Nice employees. Cousy surroundings.
Minus, it’s hidden.

Finally, I get to write a review about this Japanese restaurant.
I ordered shoyu (Ramen) with kakuni (braised pork belly) as the topping.
Shoyu, which means soy sauce, is actually the most common type of ramen. The soup was a clear, brown broth flavored with soy sauce (I added black pepper for extra heat). Based on the broth (fish, kelp, and chicken) and curly thin noodles, this ramen must be the Tokyo-​style ramen. I am not sure what kind of dashi stock used as the base for the soup (could be kombu dashi). It was excellent and well-​balanced broth.
The topping Kakuni was also tender and sweet.
The thick cube of pork belly simmered in (sweet) soy sauce, topped with scallion slices and karashi (a type of mustard), was an excellent topping.
The fact that the shoyu was a light broth helped neutralize the sweetness of the pork belly (it was very sweet, LOL).
For my drink, I ordered the cold green tea, was a good combination.
You could, of course, go with a cold beer as your drink
I suggest trying the Kirin Ichiban (Japanese beer)

Been here twice, pretty authentic. But I found their dish is pretty salty.
And I would recommend to visit here for lunch over dinner.
For lunch (80 kr), you basically get a set that cost 150 kr at night, same portion. However they have less items in lunch time/​no starters like okonomiyaki.
Their okonomiyaki (60kr) is small and I can make better ones then theirs (no offense), I wont recommend anyone to get that, unless you are craving for one.

Food is ok. service is bad. Racial discrimination is quite serious. I thought i would recommend my friend to come，but now I will never do that！I don’t want my friend to be hurt here.

Allright food, but quite bad service. The first thing we were told as soon as we entered, wasn’t a ‘hello’, but a message pointing to our Ice-​tea bottles telling us that it’s not allowed and we have to put them into our backpack. I wanted to put it to the side, but the guy was insisting that we have to put it into our backpack or leave. Very weird, but allright, we hid the ice tea… Then when we wanted tap water, we were told it’s 5 DKK… Really???

One of real Japanese food restaurant which is not so easy to find in Nordic.
If you think Sushi or tempura are the only Japanese foods, then ISSA is not the place you should go to, but if you like to have a real Daily Japanese food, ISSA will give you a complete satisfaction.

Great, simple and honest Japanese food. Lack of service, however, with dishes coming step by step (from the first at our table got his main course until the last got his, it lasted around half an hour!) The waiter was smiling and kind, though.
Will come back because of the great food — not because of the service.

Suprisingly delicious (and cheap)
Had to find a a place to take a business contact, was in a hury and just searched for «Sushi» in «Copenhagen», Issa came up with pretty good ratings and a central location so off we were.
At the street address I was at first a bit put of by the big windows and typically asian aggressive use of fluorescent lightning. But hey the chef looked authentic and there was a japanese show on the flatscreen on one end of the restaurant.
One row of seats and a long bar fills the small restaurant space, functional and not that cozy.
On to the menu, while trying to decipher the menus we were asked if we wanted something to drink, Sake immediately spring to mind, but alas no alcohol is served in the at Issa, well green tea then, already thinking ahead on which bar to goto afterwards.
The tea was great and here starts my praise of Issa as a simple, cheap and delicious place to get real japanese food without the glitz of the wave of generic sushi joint popping up everywhere.
I ordered the fried salmon menu, chicken meatballs with teriyaki and a ginger ale, my pal got the fried shrimps and veggi pancake. All in all about 250, — kroner.
Crunchy and tasty! The salmon was the pièce de résistance, the miso soup pretty good, a small bowl of seaweed went down fast as well as the mashed potato. The salad left me a bit wanting, maybe it should have been just the soup, salmon and a bigger plate of seaweed. (hence one missing star)
Left Issa well fed in a simple and light way, was expecting sushi but got something unique and surprising. Will be back for more!

This tiny place is tucked on a side street and it unassuming from the outside but filled with so much yummy goodness inside.
Food ⁵⁄₅
This is home cooked Japanese food at its best! This isn’t the place to get sushi but delicious rice dishes.
We had the tonkatsu (fried pork cutlets) and pork ginger and though the menu doesn’t show it, you are served a complete meal. There is soup, rice, salad and some fruit to end your meal.
I will be back regularly during my stay in Copenhagen!
Service ⁴⁄₅
The staff is attentive and very friendly. We were surprised to discover they didn’t speak Danish but they do speak English.
Atmosphere ³⁄₅
The restaurant is pretty small; there are less than 20 seats. The décor is no-​frills but the food takes center stage.
Value ⁵⁄₅
This place is cheap by Copenhagen standards and the portions are very filling. For less than 150 kr/​person, this place is a bargain!

I was here with a friend for lunch and the place was deserted apart from the two of us. The food is as promised — average Japanese home food and not the usual sushi offerings found in other Japanese restaurant.
I ordered chicken tonkatsu, which looked way smaller in the picture but actually larger in real life LOL This is actually the first time I have ever experienced it since it’s usually the other way around. Turned out, the laminated menu didn’t show that we’re given a slice of melon, miso soup and rice + salad on the side. Nice.
I must deduct one star though because the hulking cook was hanging out behind the counter whole time we were there. Although he might not stare at us eating, I still feel spied on, but maybe that’s just me. Otherwise, I might go there again.
Nice and affordable place for sure.

The Gyoza we had as a starter were excellent. Juicy, crisp and full of flavor.
I decided on the chicken curry dish as my main course. Having eaten tons of Japanese curry in the US, Korea and of course Japan I have to say that this comes close to the worst I have tried. Too acidic, tasted almost like ketchup. I could not taste the authenticity that other reviewers claim.

I lived in Japan for four years and really miss authentic Japanese food when in Copenhagen. Issa is the only place I have found that gives me that. I have tried the chicken namban (battered fried chicken with a mayonnaise sauce) and the tonkatsu (breaded fried pork cutlets with a dark, savoury sauce) here several times and both are excellent. Even if this place was in Tokyo and not Copenhagen I would be a regular customer, it is that good, and that authentic.
All the extras that come with the set — rice, miso soup, pickles, tea — are excellent too and show the attention to detail. You can really tell the quality of a Japanese place by the quality of the rice, and here it’s superb. To top, the chef and waiting staff are always friendly and attentive, the portions are generous and the prices are very reasonable. They also do take-​outs of most meals, which are just as good.
Couldn’t ask for anything more except maybe an alcohol license — would be great to be able to have some beer with all this savoury goodness!

I love this place! My new office is around the corner from this tiny Japanese gem so I imagine myself spending quite some time here, but with the affordable prices (dinner for two around 240 dkr!) it is hardly going to hurt my wallet. Win!
I was meeting with a friend a couple of days back and decided to give this place a go as I’d heard great things of it.
The place is quite small, with a few tables and seats at the counter. We got seated at the counter with the added benefit that we could follow the action in the kitchen.
Being a vegetarian it can be a hassle to find good food around Cph, so I wasn’t surprised that the majority of the dishes were meaty. But when I asked what they could recommend for me she quickly offered vegetarian tempura — one of the best I’ve had. My friend who had previously lived in Japan asked if they could make some sort of Japanese cabbage pancake — and of course, it came straight away!
I’m always impressed when you can pop in a small and pretty low key joint and ask for two dishes outside the menu and within 5 – 10 min you are served deliciously tasty Japanese food. For the price it’s amazing.

Fantastic food here! Authentic, fresh and never disappointing. We have come here several times since it opened and every time is a success :) Went to a birthday dinner here recently where they put together a special menu which rocked, and made an excellent birthday cake. The staff is really friendly and always works hard to make it a good dining experience for their customers.

we came here as a group of six and all left very pleased. there aren’t many seats available though, so we may not make a habit of eating in packs here. i ordered the chicken namban and traded a piece of tonkatsu with a friend; both dishes (friendmeat not included) were juicy on the inside and covered with crispy fried breading. tastes just like in japan! the amount we got was very filling, and reasonably priced. the waitress was very kind and kept coming by to refill our tea and water, which were either included in the sets or free since they didn’t show up on the bill.
what pushed it up to five stars? we had a vegetarian friend with us who was beginning to look worried when she realized that all that was available to her was salad, edamame, and seaweed. but the waitress talked with the chef and she got a lovely surprise of kakiage, tempura of assorted vegetable strips, in place of meat. i don’t know if they will do this for any vegetarian than wanders in, but it was a nice touch.