Izumi Asian Cuisine — Restaurant in Leeds

Our server was quite polite and attentive, and the restaurant is clean and well put together.

And that's all the good I can say about this place. My general tso's chicken was very sweet, had no spice whatsoever, and tasted eerily similar to my fiancee's sesame chicken. The texture reminded me of the cheap chicken you would get from the chinese place in the food court at the mall. There were none of the peppers or vegetables marinated in the sauce, the way most other places serve theirs. Instead, almost as an afterthought, sat 3 pieces of raw broccoli. I ordered fried rice, but I think they just put it next to the grill for a few minutes and figured that was good enough. The crab angels were served with a sickly-sweet and sour type sauce that I think I have in my fridge, and for a buck or two more at the right place you can get something much more well made. Oh, but they did come in a cute little boat.

Where this wonderful experience turned sour, however, was the sushi. We got the spicy yellowtail and philly roll. Easy. The server brought out some of the ugliest rolls I've ever seen, on a single plate, and a soy dish to share. The rolls were cut into 6 pieces, instead of the 8 that seems to be pretty standard with sushi rolls. If you've ever wondered why they're cut into 8 pieces rather than 6, it's so they aren't so awkwardly big. There is no reason to cut a standard sized roll into 6 pieces, it's weird. The rolls were mostly rice, which felt and tasted like it had been left out for a while and they didn't really feel like making any more since they were closing in like, 90 minutes. We both tried a piece of the philly roll only to be greeted with a fishy smell and taste, an overwhelming amount of cream cheese, and the previously mentioned last-batch-of-the-night rice. It was disgusting.

So we told the server it tasted off and sent it back, something I don't think we've ever done. Like, ever. We resign ourselves to our unfortunate choice of dinner for the night, finish up, and ask for the check.

Now, we've both worked in food service. We were part of the original wait staff of a rather successful sushi restaurant in the Summit. We know the type of customer who will eat 2/3 of a meal, then decide they actually hated everything about it and they want to talk to the manager and they want this comped or they're never coming back again. And we know that if someone tries something, and either genuinely dislikes it or feels that there's something wrong with the food, it should be taken off the bill and a solution to their unfortunate experience should be offered.

So imagine my surprise when I look at the bill and I see the sushi rolls listed at the bottom at $7 a piece. I bring it to our server's attention, thinking it must be a mistake. After all, we sent back a practically full plate of food due to legitimate complaints. But no, he tells me that it's not their policy to usually take things off of the check, but he'll see what he can do. A young woman comes to the table to inform me that there is a no-refund policy on their food, and that she will not be taking the rolls off of our bill. After a few minutes of unnecessary conflict she huffs away to speak to someone, and comes back a few minutes later with a new check, now with the rolls removed, and a half hearted apology. We paid the new bill (yes we still tipped our server, not his fault) and left.

Yes, the situation was "resolved", but it didn't have to come to that. If you're charging people for your food, you need to have some pride in your product. You need to make something that I couldn't have just made myself at home and saved myself the trouble of supporting your restaurant. Have the confidence to say "My food is good and you'll like it, or your money back!" Have enough respect for your patrons, who are keeping your business afloat, to ensure they have a good experience. I can go to Homewood and get some of the best sushi I've ever had for the same $14 you were trying to make me pay for your pathetic excuse for hospitality.

It just seems like...

PLEASE READ UPDATE LISTED BELOW FROM 9-6-24. Even though they seemed to be short handed on wait staff, our orders were taken promptly and drinks came quickly. Dinner orders were served hot and on time. As usual, Izumi provided quality food and great service for a very reasonable price. One of our favorite places for dinner and would recommend to anyone.

UPDATE: 9-6-24 Since we haven't visited in a good while, we decided to have a nice hibachi dinner here. In the past, we have always enjoyed dining here so we thought we knew what to expect. First, let me say service was great, servers are very friendly and no complaints there. However, that is where the positives ended....I ordered the Shrimp and scallop hibachi, with no veggies, just dble rice, onion soup, with a spicy California roll. My wife ordered the filet and shrimp hibachi, with dble rice and onion soup, with sweet tea. I had originally ordered hot saki and ice water, but due to not currently having a liquor license, I was unable to purchase the saki. I will only be reviewing my dish in this review so here goes....the Spicy California roll had zero spice even after having the spicy mayo added cost at an additional .50, it was very bland lacking any sort or freshness one would expect from sushi. My shrimp, while the flavor was good, was so over cooked, it was actually work trying to chew them. The scallops were even worse, being cold in the middle, zero crust which one would expect from seared scallops, and very rubbery. By far, this is the worst experience we have ever had at Izumis. And truthfully, had we noticed the 88 health rating, we probably would have went elsewhere. As much as we have enjoyed Izumis in the past, I seriously doubt we will return due to food quality, lack of ability to sell what they are clearly advertising (saki) and low...

I was dinning in with my brother and his wife we ordered our sweet tea it was fresh but hot had very little ice so we ask for 3 cups of ice. We then placed our order. As I was eating my salad with ranch dressing I took a bite and bit onto sum thing really hard as I was spitting it out I discovered it was the big plastic piece off of the squirt bottle . The plastic bottle top cut my jaw because it was caught between my partial and gum. We called the waitress to the table she replied with I'm so sorry are you OK I replied yes as I was trying to eat my food I could not because it was burning my mouth from the spice in my food. So I got a go box for my food. I had to remove my partial from my mouth because it was hurting. The waitress brought our ticket and she apologized again we paid our 83.00 ticket and left.I got home 20 minutes later to rinse my mouth . I called back down there to speak with management thinking our waitress had made her aware of what happened and she did not. This morning I woke up with an Ulcer in my mouth I busted it and rinsed my mouth warm salty was. I called back down there to explain what was going on again only to be told I don't know what you want me to do about it...I remind you management never said I'm sorry or anything. So if you eat here plz...