IZAKAYA REN SUSHI & SAKE BAR — Restaurant in Valley Park

It was my second time here. The first time was a few years back so I didn’t remember much. We walked in during dinner time. The restaurant was pretty busy but we got seated promptly. I like that they have booth seatings which are very comfortable and convenient when dine in with young children. Menu is well organized with variety of sushi, yaki mono ( grilled items ), rice bowl with some Korean dishes like bulgogi or kimchi fried rice. Several sushi rolls names caught my eyes like 911, heart attack, hell’s gate, ooh la la shrimp… I think it’s cute. Unfortunately,they don’t have kids menu. I wanted to order the octopus salad but they didn’t have so I got squid salad instead - it’s average, you can skip this item. Next, tuna tower — I didn’t understand the hype. It’s basically a four layers of rice, avocado, imitation crab, spicy tuna topped with masago and tobiko and sauce. It has too much rice and very saucy which masked the taste of tuna. IMO, it’s adapted to American taste.

Here are items that I would definitely order here again, Sashimi - I got the hamachi sashimi. And I loved it. For anyone who wanting to try sashimi for the first time, I’d recommend yellowtail for buttery flavor and smooth texture. Salmon toro (belly) is good too but it’s kind of fatty. Ama ebi - I knew immediately I wanted to order this when I saw the description how they make it here - raw sweet shrimp served with fried head. Both my partner and I love ama ebi. We’ve had it at many sushi places in the US, in Japan and other countries, but they often serve raw head. We always had the raw head by sucking it out - it’s full of flavor and nutrient dense. Here, they deep fried the head and it’s so crunchy like eating chips. It was so so good! Must try item! Crazy roll - tuna/salmon/yellow tail with cucumber and avocado - It’s a perfect combination. I was able to enjoy the flavors of fresh raw fishes, the crunch of cucumber and the creamy avocado. But, rice was a little but lacking of rice vinegar. Bulgogi rice bowl - I ordered this for my kid. I taste tested it and I think this bulgogi bowl won my heart. Beef was tender and flavorful. I would definitely order this again.

Overall, the dinning experience here was totally out of my expectations. Raw fishes here were fresh and the cut was generous. Service was warm and amazing - when we left, chefs behind the sushi bar all said bye and thank you to us. Highly recommend this place and we’ll...

This is by far m favorite restaurant in the Lou. It is quiet, friendly and the food is what I love. The owner is Korean and in addition to being a great sushi chef, he also makes the best Kal-Bi and Kimch'i I have ever had. I grew up in Hawaii with many asian influences and Korean and Japanese were always my favorites. Izakaya Ren does a great job of incorporating the things I love best into a kind of fusion offering. An example; the Crunch Bulgogi Hand Roll. This is a japanese style sushi hand roll with Rice, Bulgogi (Korean bar b que beef), cucumber, srirachi mayo, and topped with tempura crumbles. I wake up in the middle of the night wanting those. My wife loves the Spicy Scallop Hand Roll or the Yum Yum Roll. Both have scallops and an awesome spicy sauce like nothing I have ever seen.

The owner is a great guy. We always come with our 12-year old and he always comes by with a Ramune (Japanese soda). The staff is friendly and they always shout a welcome from the kitchen when you enter and a thank you when you leave.

Oh, I almost forgot the best part...$1 second beer. I love the Japanese lagers and they have them all in the 22 Ounce bottles. Buy one (+/- $5.00) and the second is only a buck...all the time. I find myself getting a second even if I don't need it and a get a couple of glasses to share with other diners. Kind of fun that way.

This is a great place, excellent for couples, happy hour...

It was friday night and we got the last table. The staff was slow and more flustered than I have seen at other crowded restaurants. I heard a waitress ask a table if they were ready for a check and the table responded that they were still waiting for their food. When our food finally arrived they only brought one of our orders and left with no indication anything else was coming. Eventually the other order came and I was told the kitchen just sends stuff out when it's ready. We ordered 5 sushi rolls and I didn't find any of them to be amazing. The fried rolls were only slightly warm, not hot when they arrived. They were small for the price and when I left I was still hungry. The texture of the fried rolls reminded my girlfriend of chicken fingers and I thought it was hard and detracted from the flavor of the roll. One of the rolls we ordered was supposed to be spicy but only a couple of them actually ended up being very spicy. In general the food was relatively bland compared to sushi AI. The most expensive roll I ordered was $14 and it wasn't very flavorful. There were some rolls on the menu priced at $20. Maybe those are actually good. The staff was nice and it was a nice enough place. I greatly...