Izumi Japanese Restaurant

2 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  4      Service  2      Value  1     

No curry options on the menu, which are quite a standard thing to find on any other Japanese restaurant menu. Was very disappointed with the value for money, dishes that claimed to come with miso soup or rice only came with a small salad without any dressing, covered in mayonnaise instead. Would not eat there again!

Response from Management:
Hi superpig,

We will like to first thank you for providing us this constructive feedback as Izumi truly values your opinion in our cuisine offering and service.

In regards to the curry menu option, we did previously offered it a few years back as a monthly special and disappointingly received little demand. We understand that this have made you quite disappointed and we sincerely apologise for this. In response, Izumi have since then introduced more popular and tasty new options, such as the Miso Eggplant, Tataki nigiri and exclusive Paper Hot Pot specials.

As for the miso soup and rice inclusion, there may have been some miscommunication on our part, as our main course dishes comes with complimentary salad, with the exception of the Izumi deluxe Bento box.

However there are various options within our menu that do come as part of the meal as seen in the some of our udon & doburi sets and spicy donburi options. We understand that some of our dishes may sound very similar to the above set and spicy donburi options and we are sorry for this confusion.

If you are interested in trying our more comprehensive offerings, our value for money dinner set menu options at $30 per head have been highly popular with local customers as they are complete Japanese packaged dinners with 4 courses, miso and rice included, dessert and a complimentary bottle of wine for 2 sets ordered.

Despite the circumstances of your previous experience with Izumi, we would like to again once again thank you for providing feedback to us and aim to improve in our customer service communications to ensure this will happen again.


Sincerely,

Izumi.

Apr 30, 2012 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  8     

I seriously don't get the negative reviews here. Our sashimi and sushi was exceptional, definitely some of the best we have ever had and I love Japanese, both here and in Japan. Great staff and so reasonable. We will definitely be back.

Jan 21, 2012 

2 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  2      Service  2      Value  2     

What a disaster! Both with my husband we love japanese food, We love to discover new places. We moved recently to Manly so we we are trying all japanese restaurants.

Unfortunately, Izumi it is a bad exemple of japanese restaurant run by non japanese people! Zero ambience, half of hour waiting for first entree (as they served wrong dish) but of course 2 minutes later everything is coming at the same time.

Stir fry had nothing common with japanese cuisine, it was more likely a chinese court food dish with no smell, no taste. Beef tataki: dish looked like tataki but the colour of the meat was far from fresh red beef, taste of sauce was at least bizarre. I could go for more disappointing things in Izumi like plastic plates, few dishes sent back by other guests.

I would not recommend this place as I never will be back. At least you want to take a risk.

Response from Management:
Hi Silk, 



We are truly sorry for the poor service you've received at Izumi on the night you visited. At certain times, our kitchen may have been overcapicitated with the amount of orders been given at the same time and may have caused some timing issues with the food you've ordered. 



Izumi considers all customer feedback very importantly and we like to thank you for the time and effort you've made to inform us of this particular incident. 



We would like to make it up to you in some way to invite you back, in showing our sincerity in apologising for the poor service you've received that night. If you will kindly accept our offer, please email me via jackyt@izumi.com.au for further details. 



Sincerely, 


Izumi

Jan 16, 2012 

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  8     

My partner and I love coming here on a weekly basis. Always beautifully presented and fresh sushi and sashimi. We usually just order that and are always happy, generously cut and fresh. Have had the set menu a couple of times too. You will be stuffed by the end of it and its great value for money - $30 per person, and you get 7 courses and a bottle of wine!

The food is always nice, and the service is always very attentive and impeccable. We usually go on a weeknight or Sunday so can't comment on how busy it gets on the weekend nights.

Jan 13, 2012 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  10      Value  9     

I have no idea what the recent reviews are on about. Went to the restaurant last weekend and the service was excellent! Was genuinely surprised at the cold and hot dishes from this place, never thought I would see the day of getting Japanese food with these prices!

Mar 22, 2011 

3.5 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  3      Service  3      Value  3     

I went here for new years. As soon as me and my group got there it was to a bad start. They hadn't written down our booking so we had to eat swiftly. Communicating with the desk woman and waiters that we had a booking was difficult as their English was dull.

Food did arrive pretty swiftly but there is not much choice. It's all sushi, I love Japanese food (just not nori..) but I can never find a restaurant that is pleasing, diverse and doesn't only serve sushi. Most Japanese restaurants seem to be owned by Koreans as well as the chef being Korean.

Nov 02, 2010 

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  9     

Went to this lovely place on a saturday night and was surprised how fresh and geniunely tasty the sashimi and nigiri were! Also top notch service from the staff waitress always with a smile, even though it was quite packed. Definitely one of the freshest japanese food in Northern Beaches.

Sep 07, 2010 

3.3 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  4      Service  1      Value  3     

We went to Izumi on a Friday night for a friend's birthday dinner. It was a bad start when they didn't have a table ready for us, despite calling and confirming the booking, they hadn't written it down. They managed to squeeze together enough tables for our group of 7. 6 of the group ordered the banquet and I ordered a meal of agedashi tofu, spicy chicken teriyaki don and green tea. 5 minutes later, my main arrived, even though at this point I had nothing to drink (I wasn't drinking wine) and none of the banquet had been delivered either.

After uncomfortably starting to eat my dinner, while all my friends waited, I had to ask again for my tea because it still hadn't arrived. Some time later the tofu arrived. Meanwhile, the banquet came out eventually. The staff seemed to be having a lot of trouble working out how many bottles of wine we were supposed to receive with the banquet, as we had brought some of our own as well. I had some miso soup brought out as an after thought, well after I'd finished my meal, instead of at the start.

The food itself was mediocre, deep fried gyoza were dry (they should be pan-fried), the tempura had a very heavy batter on it, and the spicy chicken teriyaki just tasted of soy sauce and chilli, and I agree with other reviews here that bok choy does not belong in a japanese meal, it really did taste more like chinese chicken stir fry.

Finally, dessert was a bit of a farce. My friend had brought a cake as a birthday dessert, and in trying to request that the banquet ice cream and the cake be brought out at the same time, this was interpreted by the kitchen as meaning we wanted the icecream all together. The result being that they gave us the cake and a single plate with scoops of ice cream all piled up, and teaspoons to serve it with!

The food would have been tolerable if the service was better than awful.

May 30, 2010 

1.8 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  3      Service  1      Value  2     

Are you serious to give average 7 to this restaurant? I had a dinner on Monday, it was really awful. My friend ordered a set menu with a series of small dishes. I could tell some were overcooked. There was tempura dish as well, but it was only fried (like KFC fried chicken), not in a way of Japanese tempura dish. How disappointing!

I ordered teriyaki chicken don, but they served stir-fried chicken with rice in teriyaki sauce. Have you seen bok choy in Japanese teriyaki chicken dish? Even the vege was undercooked though. Outrageous. And I was shocked when the boy was carrying ice-cream dessert with his own hands, not on the tray.

In a while, I heard them speaking Chinese in the kitchen. Then everything becomes understandable why they served stir-fried menu. Don't be fooled by the name and outlook. You're having Chinese food in so-called Japanese restaurant. They're not genuine Japanese dish at all.

May 19, 2010 

5.8 Average

Food  5      Ambience  5      Service  7      Value  6     

Definitely had better Japanese, but, perhaps, we've been spoilt. Either way, we won't eat here again. The tempura was like batter from a fish and chip shop, and the sashimi was poor quality. (We had the set menu, so maybe the individual dishes are better).

Apr 08, 2010