Izu Sushi

Rolls are small. Posted pic. But the delivery driver was fast and very nice. Rice was a bit on the mushy side for sushi grade rice.

Have done a lunch and a date-​night dinner there.
Good for lunch and will probably repeat. For dinner it was alright but probably won’t go back.
«Izu» is the name of a volcanic island chain a little more than 50 miles south of Tokyo. I’ll explain why that was a bit ironic below. .. but last night we had salads and spicy edamame along with the sashimi special followed by several sushi nigiri orders, including an uni special and pricey tuna amezy roll. My honey drank Japanese beer. I had my own neatly chilled carafe of organic sake.
I said the order was «ironic» because part of the chef’s sashimi choices included what they called «white tuna.» So here’s the deal: There is nothing properly named «white tuna.» Most frequently what American sushi places call «white tuna» is escolar. Escolar’s common name is «snake mackerel» (but who would eat it if it was called that?). In chi-​chi U.S. restaurants and fish markets escolar is also sometimes called «butterfish» and that’s because the flesh is so oily and a bit waxy that it has a very fulsome buttery feel in your mouth. While it tastes good there’s a downside. The problem – and the reason why the Japanese refuse to serve it in traditional sushi houses – is that many people’s digestive tracts can’t process the waxy oils and it passes right through you, sometimes in a «volcanic» fashion – depending on how much you have. (Maybe «ironic» is the wrong word, huh?).
In addition to the white tuna issue that had its (un)desired effect, the nice server lost our order thereby delaying our being able to get to a movie on time that was next on the date night list, and the salad dressing tasted a bit off. The uni (the insides of a sea urchin) was passable, but not commensurate with the premium they charged.
All in all, the server and the sushi chefs were kind as could be but for a bit over $ 100 I didn’t think the dinner was worth it.
Sign me,
David «それはそれだけの価値はありません» M.

I wish I had better things to report about this restaurant. My friend and I meet for sushi every couple of months for lunch and catch up. We decided to try somewhere different this time and ended up at Izu Sushi.
The lunch specials were okay. Our meal started with our salads. Oh wait. That’s not right. My meal started with my salad because my friends salad did not come out until later. She got to watch me eat while waiting for her own. The salad was served with the traditional dressing but it just wasn’t very good. Too thin maybe? I can’t quite figure it out but something was missing.
My friend ordered the sashimi lunch and I ordered the two roll special. I was disappointed to not have crunch rolls options but I won’t mark down for that. After I ate my salad, my friend’s salad appeared along with her sashimi lunch. The presentation was very nice. I’ll give them that. My friend proceeded to eat her salad. Very slowly as she was doing most of the talking. And her lunch sat there waiting. Unfortunately her lunch sat there waiting for at least 15 minutes before I finally went to check on my own. By that time enough time had passed that I needed to get back to work and because nobody was visiting our table I had to walk up to the sushi bar (embarrassed) and ask if my meal was anywhere near ready which I was told it was getting close.
A couple of minutes later my meal arrived and I was told it took so long because they were still making the sushi rice. For real? You’ve been open for an hour and you don’t have any sushi rice ready? But whatever, stuff happens, and I am totally okay with that. But man, you need to proactively tell someone why they are still sitting there waiting 15 min after their friend’s food has arrived. Or maybe just let them know so they can change their order if needed to get back to work on time. The shrimp tempura roll was delicious. The tuna in the tuna rolls was a deep brown color which was a bit off-​putting but they tasted fine. They could stand to spare a little more wasabi but now I’m nit-​picking.
So, the kicker when the bill came out was the $ 1 up-​charge because of my request to have the seaweed on the inside of the roll instead of the outside (I know, wimpy sushi girl here doesn’t really like seaweed). My favorite restaurant already does it that way. And I have only requested it at one other restaurant where there was not an up-​charge. Maybe it’s the norm but I was a little surprised as it shouldn’t make a difference if they are making their sushi rolls fresh (makes me wonder though… rice wasn’t ready. tuna was brown).
I’m happy to see so many positive reviews. So maybe it was just truly an off-​day (thus the extra star that assumes the best because it really should have been a one star review). Either way, I don’t really have a reason to revisit this restaurant. Ever.

Reminds me of a place back home. The Heaven roll is my favorite so far.

Great Sushi, Loved the Denver Bronco roll

Sooooo good! Went here on Mother’s Day 2016. We were seated right away, service was awesome, and food was delicious! We will be back and I highly recommend!

I’ve ordered Izu Sushi for delivery numerous times in the past and have never been disappointed! They always arrive right on time. The fish tastes fresh and not soggy like some other sushi delivery places. This is probably my favorite sushi delivery in Denver. I’ve never eaten in the restaurant but it seems nice and clean from stopping in once to pick up sushi.

I’m new to Denver and this is the second sushi spot I’ve tried. I walked in to an empty restaurant at 5:30 pm on a Tuesday. The décor was nice and the servers attentive & polite.
The miso soup was really good! The ginger dressing on the house salad just ok — I’ve had better. But the sushi rolls were awesome! I tend to stick to tuna, and both the tuna and spicy tuna mix were fresh and delightful. Probably the best spicy tuna I’ve had in a while! And I loved that the roll wasn’t just all rice, very light rice with lots of actual filling in the roll. I definitely feel I got my money’s worth.

My belated lunchtime experience here might be classified as the biggest letdown in culinary history. Infinitely higher quality should be expected from a 3-​starred restaurant, much less one with a legendary 4.5 rating. Driving downtown specifically for this place was possibly the worst food-​decision I have made in Colorado.
For being the only two customers in the restaurant, service was remarkably inattentive. The server, while friendly enough, disappeared for long bouts of time and did not refill water. (By disappeared, this actually means he was at the far side of the room doing other tasks, socializing, and not making eye contact during my repeated attempts to politely get his attention.) Poor service can be forgiven if the food is to par, however in this case it was even worse…
Mediocre is barely sufficient to describe the sushi that we tried this wretched Wednesday afternoon. On order was an assortment of nigiri and sashimi: salmon, striped bass, snapper, scallop, eel, and two «specials», blue fin tuna and madai. A majority of the cuts were dry and tasted old. The few that escaped the realm of desert-​wasteland-​fish were just reasonably palatable for what is to be expected from high reviews. (Also, if they had managed to make raw salmon dry, it would truly have been a miracle.) Call me biased, but higher expectations will be had at an establishment with 4.5 stars. Yes, I’m bitter about the rating, as it’s the reason I chose Izu Sushi for one of my rare, beloved sushi outings…
The bf tuna in particular was so utterly far from fresh that it could soon be cousins with the grey grub from aluminum cans. (Don’t get me wrong, I love a good canned tuna fish salad — I’m just not going to pay $ 7 for a pair of sad, shriveled pieces, which are better suited to be chopped up for spicy tuna filler.)
Unagi, one of my very favorites, was distinctly uneven in size; for a moment I considered a fight to the death for the larger piece, though it would have been an unfortunate duel for food that was just… fine. I ate it. It was eel. Life moved on, my palate was sad, and my wallet was even sadder.
Lastly of note, when ordering scallop I hope to receive a juicy, sweet, and tender slice of delicious mollusk. Chopping said mollusk into tiny pieces and drowning it in a noticeably fatty concoction of mayonnaise implies that the chef knew that quality was lacking. Props to the chef, maybe, and shame on whoever bought/​kept the fish.
Deplorable fish quality aside [for the ratings/​price], the rice was dry and lacked flavor — always a letdown on its own, even without the fish being a stone’s throw from food poisoning.
Bottom line: Never again. Back to a certain other downtown sushi restaurant for me, where I will omakase my way to delicious, fishy bliss.

I often order delivery from here. I’ve always had a good experience!
Everything I have ordered has been fresh and good!
I would describe their food as simple, inventive, and delicious~!
Some personal favorites:
Special Roll~ Haku ~ Deelicious
Appetizer: Yellow Tail Jalapeño~ Simple and Perfect
Pretty good service and Nice interior. A location I would like to visit again.
Metered/​Street Parking only. Grabbed a spot right out front at about 4 on a Monday.
So happy they deliver to me~!

Ordered delivery, I am horrified at the condition my food arrived in an hour later.
Soggy gyoza, sauces smeared everywhere and spilling out of the containers. The sushi was essentially crushed in some boxes.
Despite requesting extra wasabi three separate times there was one small lump in a box. We did get some extra soy that was spilled inside the bag it was packaged in.
The «paper thin» cucumber wrap was a half inch thick. Inedible and falling apart. Absolutely horrible delivery experience.

Excellent service. Dropped by for lunch, started with delicious miso soup. Enjoyed the sushimi. Ordered the Kobe need lunch special, was a little disappointed with it because it was mostly onions and was fat than meat.
The décor is contemporary, with a soothing water fall feature in the front that offers great ambiance for good conversation and delectable food!

Didn’t even know this place existed until we were driving on Park Ave towards Franklin and the restaurant appeared before our eyes. A quick Unilocal look showed this place had 4.5 stars with over 80+ reviews.
Well, I asked my wife if she wanted to try this place out for her belated birthday dinner and she said yes. She also Unilocaled and found a bad review from 6 days ago that the fish was NOT fresh. I got a little nervous and suggested that maybe we’ll go to our go-​to restaurant, Okinawa. She said no and it was just one bad review, maybe the restaurant had an off night. It happens.
We parked on the street (the restaurant says they have parking in the rear, we just didn’t know that…) and walked inside. Everything was nice and clean, overall, a great atmosphere. We ordered a couple of sushi rolls based on our server’s recommendations and had a chirashi dish. First off, the chirashi dish was awesome! So fresh and tasty, the super white was the best, followed by tender, delicious salmon. Then, our rolls came and let me tell you, awesome presentation DOES EQUAL awesome taste! Holy cow, eating those rolls invoked memories of our old favorite sushi place, Japon (R.I.P.). Not as good, but it came close! I don’t remember the names of the rolls, but they are numbered 23 and 24 on the paper menu.
Definitely give this restaurant a try, you’ll regret it if you don’t!

I’ve been here before and the quality of fish has gone down and the service is just as crappy. Overpriced. Do yourself a favor and walk the couple of extra blocks to sushi bay on 17^th.

Izu sushi so far has been the best sushi and best green tea plus best service I’ve ever had in Denver so far.
Food is fresh.
Specialty rolls are great.
Service is fast.
Presentation is on point.
Green tea is on the house.
They even have free wifi.
Five stars.
A little pricey but it’s quality food so it’s worth it. Owner is originally from NYC. Legit. I’d highly recommend.

Our son and his girlfriend, who had been to Izu recently, took us there last Tuesday evening. This spot has only been open about 3 months, but for a midweek night, was busy. The bar and seating area are very attractively designed, fresh, with nice use of lighting and color, and provide a really pleasant environment.
In our part of California, good sushi is easy to come by, but we were really impressed with this restaurant. The chefs are so creative, presentation is beautiful, the seafood is absolutely fresh, service is friendly, welcoming and efficient, prices are beyond reasonable, and above all, everything is delicious. We had uni and saba, the Black Dragon roll, Haku roll, which everyone seems to love, the Heat roll, Volcano roll, and Spicy Tuna roll, plus 4 Sapporo bombers, for about $ 110, plus tip. What a great evening.

Note: not always open during hours posted.
Came at 11:15 on a Friday but doors did not open until 11:30 ish. They have not been open long and we were the only customers until about noonish but I think they should either open we advertised or change posted hours.
Came here for the first time last week. We really enjoyed the fresh sushi. Our favorite was the Haku roll although all the rolls we tried were good. Great deal for $ 8-​$ 10 bento box lunch choices.
Only thing I did not enjoy was the veggie tempura… a bit overcooked and tough to bite.
Overall happy with the quality and we will be back again.

Went in with my sister one evening after having driven past this place while it was still being built.
Living in this area I was excited to have a sushi place within walking distance! (Okinawa is decidedly NOT worth it).
The service was a little confusing… they were very nice and hospitable, just appeared to not really have any idea what they were doing. Well, it IS a brand new restaurant, I’m sure they’ll figure it out and get better with time.
The sushi itself was very good, neither of us realized just how much we had ordered until a giant boat arrived! They had some unique things on the menu, everything was very tasty.

The presentation is exquisite and the sushi is first rate! Japanese artistry and delicious!
The sushi chefs are young and talented! Mostly Japanese spoken by them so not sure what they are saying, bit customer satisfaction is a real focus here! Take your time, sit at the sushi bar and watch the creations come to life!!!

Great new sushi place! Prices are reasonable and the sushi was fresh and delicious. The restaurant is very clean, new, and modern, complete with a seashell/​beach-​themed sushi bar top. Service was prompt and friendly. I loved the yellowtail jalapeño appetizer and we tried a few regular and special rolls. Excellent presentation. Can’t wait to try their happy hour!