Expect More Than Sushi at Izumi Japanese Restaurant

I have been to a handful of times before, but always just for sushi. I knew they had to have other selections because I’ve always been handed a large menu, but since I go straight to the sushi list, I never gave their menu much thought. Who knew I was missing out on so much!

Their menu is extensive, with several categories of food including appetizers, combos, dinner specials, noodles, a kid’s menu, a “recession” menu (all items $4-$5) and, of course, lots of sushi. Within each category there are at least 12 different selections. To be perfectly honest—yes, at least half were vegetarian, but I was happily surprised to see a fair share of seafood, chicken, pork and beef.

For those of you who may not have been here before and aren’t fond of sushi, you will be quite pleased with their menu (side note: their sushi is pretty good too). 

I’m adventurous when it comes to Japanese food, so I usually just go for it and order things I’m not familiar with. However, I brought the family along on this culinary adventure, so I had to exercise some restraint. Kids are a bummer that way. The good thing is we’ve been to Izumi enough times that my non-sushi-eating kids already knew what they wanted. 

We started with the tonkatsu ($5 on the recession menu), which is a panko-crusted, thin pork filet. This was divine! It earned even more points with me knowing it was only $5 and there was more than enough for four people. It was perfectly fried and stayed very crisp throughout dinner. Simple, delicious and inexpensive—a foodie’s dream!

We managed to avoid scarfing down the appetizer, so it was a small miracle that we all left room for dinner. Between the four of us, we ordered the chicken gyoza ($3.95), chicken teriyaki ($8.50), curry chicken ($9.95) and the beef kalbi ($13.50). Everything except the gyoza was served with a small salad, miso soup, a large mound of sticky rice, four California rolls, ginger, wasabi and an orange wedge. All in all, an amazing value for so much food. Not even my husband could eat everything on his plate.

I tried my best to persuade everyone to get out of the chicken realm, to no avail. At least we were all happy with our selections, which seldom happens, especially when it comes to any type of ethnic food.

I’d say the highlight of dinner was the kalbi short ribs, which were presented much like a fajita platter in a Mexican restaurant—sizzling and very hot. I immediately love any place that can take a relatively inexpensive cut of beef and make it tender and juicy. Two thumbs up on the kalbi. 

I’m struggling with the meat-friendly rating. On one hand, I’ll bet most Powegians think Izumi is a sushi restaurant. On the other hand, I was surprised to see other protein selections. However, since the majority of the protein is either seafood or chicken with not enough pork or beef, I’ll give Izumi a 6.

But don’t let that discourage you! The value is amazing ($44 for a family of four plus beverages before tip), kids are welcome and the menu is well-rounded.

If you’re a newcomer to Izumi and want advice about what’s good (other than the sushi), try anything that’s listed as fried. They’ve perfected the art of creating crispy food without being too greasy, which is a rare find anywhere in San Diego County.