Izmi Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Santa Fe

When I visited Santa Fe for business, I was excited to try out some new food there. But, since I am not really a big fan of Mexican-type food, I instead decided to try out some Japanese food. I know, going to Asian restaurant while in Santa Fe… I might be unusual, but at I know what I like. So, I wanted go to a restaurant that was Japanese owned and operated (which DOES exist in Santa Fe!), but it was closed on this day. Instead, I went to this place, Izmi, not owned/operated by Japanese, but came with high reviews.

I sat at the sushi bar, as I was only going to order sushi items. The sushi chef who is also the owner of this restaurant was busy making sushi with his mother (?) I think. He didn't look up or greet me in any way...I heard he is only friendly to regulars, and from what I witnessed, that might be true. I did not get any warm, welcoming vibe from him. But the staffs and another customer sitting at the counter were all nice.

I started off with some nigiri sushi, Salmon, Tuna, and Ikura. They were a bit pricey, but common for tourists-heavy town. But, I am always willing to pay more for high quality food. I read a sign right outside that said “More Fish, Less Rice” and that sign was so true to what I witnessed. It had really nice, thick slice of tuna on top of small amount of rice. The portion of raw fish against rice was amazing!

I also ordered two rolls, Spicy Tuna and New Mexico. They were fat rolls, and that made it a bit difficult to eat. The portion is nice, but the flavor was lacking in some much needed "spicy" taste.

At the end, I really enjoyed the regular sushi pieces, not so much the rolls. The nigiri sushi pieces are awesome! I would recommend the nigiri for sure. High quality, and you will certainly get good, thick slices of sashimi on the rice.

Oh, and they have this strict “No Cell Phone” rule, which I thought was unusual. When I was taking photos of the sushi with my phone, I was told of this rule too. But then, I was forgiven since I was not talking on the phone, or sending the photos to anyone while in the restaurant. Interesting… Read my full review of the restaurant and food on my food blog,...

Thinking that most restaurants in Santa Fe are really good, and being spoiled by having 2 really good sushi places where we live, we were a bit hesitant to dine here. We had walked by the restaurant a few times during the 4 nights we stayed and noticed that it was never busy like the other restaurants. But then again Santa Fe is known for it's great Mexican and European restaurants. The atmosphere is good as was the service. We ordered soft shell crab and while it was good it had way too much breading on it. We ordered the sashimi Tuna which was like $30.00 and were curious to see what one gets for that price. Well the tuna was presented in large 1" + inch chunks that was thrown on a plate. There was no thought or care in the preparation of the tuna. We should have sent it back and had the cook (not chief) cut it into thin strips which is the way it is normally served. Eating tuna in large chunks changes the way it tastes and this was truly unappetizing. What a waste of what could have been a good piece of fish. Perhaps their rolls are better. It was definitely not worth the price and the presentation of the Sashimi...

I’m sad to leave this review for a small local business, however, the food was absolutely bland and the service was extremely uncomfortable. To begin with the waitress refused to make eye contact when speaking to us and had no knowledge of the menu. Our appetisers came out, bland miso & bland salad with a splash of bottle dressing. We were super hungry after a 8 hour drive to get to Santa Fe so we had no choice but to eat the bland food. Our entrees came out which the waitress just threw on our table while looking at the ground and then just took our appetisers without even asking if we were done eating, they were both 1/4 eaten… my partner ordered the prawn tempura which was frozen prawns they were rubbery and gross. I ordered the steak teriyaki however it was thin meat offcuts. Terrible food I wish I didn’t spend $70...