Thoughts on Izumi?

[kruzerci]

I have never read much about Izumi, but I made reservations for Monday night of our Allure cruise. I thought it would be something different for a change.

 

What does everybody think about Izumi? Love it, hate it, take it or leave it?

 

Thanks!

[nolesrule]

I've only been to Izumi on Brilliance, but I thought the menu had a nice variety and quality of everything was above average to fantastic.

 

And it was a nice change from standard MDR fare.

[Clarea]

We've enjoyed Izumi on Rhapsody and Legend.

[kruzerci]

We've enjoyed Izumi on Rhapsody and Legend.

 

Do you go for sushi, hot rocks, or some other option?

[Host Faith]

We really enjoyed Izumi on the Allure. The food was great, and the hot rocks entrees were a fun way to enjoy dinner.

 

We went early in the evening, in case we didn't like it or the food wasn't filling enough. That afforded us some time to get to the MDR (My Time Dining) if that was the case.

 

Our experience (scroll down and start at post #416): http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1722941&page=21

[dulcimergirl]

I love it. I would try the Crispy, Spicy, chicken sushi. It is delicious, and isn't spicy at all. I tried the hot rock, and it was ok, but we love the sushi, and ate there 3 times on our Oasis trip.

[rjjjcj]

Just off the Allure, we ate there twice. We had the best service of any restaurant there. Cecilia is excellent. The rolls were good & plentiful. The 2nd time we shared an Udon noodle bowl & it was very good. You get complimentary edamame too. The view is nice from the 15th floor!

[BecciBoo]

We loved it, would repeat in a heartbeat! And the one on Navigator did not charge a cover, just restaurant style pricing.

 

Loved our hot rock meals and the crispy shrimp roll and the eel roll...yummmmmmmm

Edited April 7, 2014 by BecciBoo

[BrnBrok]

Ate their twice and enjoyed the meal. We tried the sushi and the hot rocks meal. Also has the miso soup and edamame's. The room was on the small side, but nice. Service was good. Felt that this extra cost restaurant was worth it and gave us a nice change of pace. Was it the best sushi ever?--No, but it was good (we are not sushi experts)

Edited April 7, 2014 by BrnBrok

[caneguy]

we just came off the Oasis 3/22 sail date and had lunch in Izumi. Wonderful, no hot rocks but the sushi and sashimi were terrrific. No longer a $10 cover and Miso soup and endename (sp) were included.

 

Go and enjoy!!

 

Caneguy

BTW I have a review of our cruise.

 

Oasis, 3/22-29/24, so so writing, pretty good pictures, very pretty girls.

[jr8934]

Just have to ask. What is a hot rocks meal?

[hansolosmom]

Just have to ask. What is a hot rocks meal?

 

I was wondering the same thing

[ryano]

Just have to ask. What is a hot rocks meal?

 

You cook your own food on a hot "rock"

 

Edited April 7, 2014 by ryano

[caneguy]

they place a "hot rock" on your table and you cook your food on the rock.

[Clarea]

Just have to ask. What is a hot rocks meal?

They bring you a small slab of rock that is something like 600 degrees F, and you cook your entree, potatoes, and veggies on it. Nice way to have a steak.

Edited April 7, 2014 by clarea

[londongal796]

Another vote for Izumi. We went while we were on Grandeur and absolutely loved it. The staff were fantastic, we had sushi, hot rocks, and I think something else -- everything was great, but the sushi rolls were honestly some of the nicest I've ever had! I was really surprised, as I am a huge sushi lover. The hot rocks were fun -- might skip it next time but the novelty was a big one for us so we really enjoyed it. Definitely had plenty to eat as well!

[HPSOV]

Izumi was the only specialty restaurant I went to twice on Rhapsody (Giovanni's and Chops were both great, don't get me wrong). I wouldn't recommend the hot rock though unless you have young kids who mind find it fun, otherwise you're just paying to cook your own food (which is just fairly plain meat and veg). Everything else was great (the sashimi was a bit grainy, I imagine the fish had been frozen as this was on night 11 of the cruise). The rolls were all great.

[sweetpea1714]

Izumi was the only specialty restaurant I went to twice on Rhapsody (Giovanni's and Chops were both great, don't get me wrong). I wouldn't recommend the hot rock though unless you have young kids who mind find it fun, otherwise you're just paying to cook your own food (which is just fairly plain meat and veg). Everything else was great (the sashimi was a bit grainy, I imagine the fish had been frozen as this was on night 11 of the cruise). The rolls were all great.

 

The fish likely has been frozen at some point (to kill parasites). Nothing to do with eating there late in the cruise. Not sure whose food handling laws are followed at sea but I think US law says all sushi fish except tuna has to frozen at some point.

Edited April 8, 2014 by sweetpea1714

[sharse]

Getting ready for my first cruise in 2 weeks and was looking at Izumi. My understanding originally was that if you book a specialty restaurant, you pay $X as a cover charge, and then, much like the MDR you just order what you want off the menu. But now I see no "cover" charge for Izumi on my cruise. Does that mean I'll pay for each item much like at a regular restaurant? Of course the sample menu RCI posted online has no such information so i can't get a sense for how much things would cost there.

 

Thanks!

[Clarea]

Getting ready for my first cruise in 2 weeks and was looking at Izumi. My understanding originally was that if you book a specialty restaurant, you pay $X as a cover charge, and then, much like the MDR you just order what you want off the menu. But now I see no "cover" charge for Izumi on my cruise. Does that mean I'll pay for each item much like at a regular restaurant? Of course the sample menu RCI posted online has no such information so i can't get a sense for how much things would cost there.

 

Thanks!

Izumi has always charged by the item, plus you had to pay a cover charge. Someone reported that the cover charge was gone on their cruise, but I don't know if that's a fleetwide change.

[sharse]

Izumi has always charged by the item, plus you had to pay a cover charge. Someone reported that the cover charge was gone on their cruise, but I don't know if that's a fleetwide change.

 

Thank you. What are the prices like? Are they comparable to, say, Benihana?

[critterchick]

I love Izumi! I was disappointed that the seafood udon was no longer on the menu in January (Allure), but we still had a terrific meal there.

[Clarea]

Thank you. What are the prices like? Are they comparable to, say, Benihana?

Here is the menu:

 

http://media.royalcaribbean.com/content/shared_assets/pdf/menus/izumi.pdf

 

Unfortunately, Royal removed the prices. However, I can give you a few prices from the old copy I have to give you an idea. Bear in mind that the reason they removed the prices was probably to raise them, so my prices are probably low.

 

Mixed Seafood Rock: $10

Beef Tenderloin Rock: $10

Spicy Tuna Roll: $5

Shrimp Gyoza Dumpling: $4

Edited April 21, 2014 by clarea

[Daghis]

They also have combination dinners for a good price. I forget the name of the dinner we ordered, but it included shrimp wonton soup, vegetable tempura, choice of signature sushi roll, choice of hot rock entree, and choice of dessert, all for $17.

Edited April 21, 2014 by Daghis

[Eng23]

Thank you. What are the prices like? Are they comparable to, say, Benihana?

They are better than Benihana. Benihana is overpriced in my opinion.

 

Izumi's prices are fairly inline with most landside sushi restaurants. Their selection is good but not as large as a landside sushi restaurant. I have enjoyed each of my visits to Izumi.