Izakaya Ko

Izakaya is fairly new & I've been wanting to try it. Let me say I am extremely picky about where I eat sushi in Jacksonville. I have narrowed it down to 2 places. This is mostly due to the fact that it is important when consuming raw fish that it is very fresh & you are tasting that freshness. Well Izakaya is now on my short list where I will eat sushi. Well Izakaya arrived early on a Sunday evening with a reservation but didn't need it judging by the hostesses willingness to seat us in the almost empty restaurant. ( by 6 pm it started to really fill up and people were waiting) it's a cute place with sort of conversation seating on one side and a long sushi bar on the other. As you pass through that there are comfortable booths and tables on the other side. We chose a booth (my favorite seating). Our server was a sweet young woman albeit a little shy. This is the only area here that may need improvement. After flagging her down to take our order, she never returned unless we flagged her down for more water and the check. I did notice the other server at the table next to us being attentive so it was just this gal who needs a little training. The menu is divided up with apps typical like goyza, edamame under hot plates. There is a section with skewered cooked items I ordered the scallops and a friend ordered the shrimp. This is a small plate item which is fine however my scallops were so tiny and dried out. This was my only disappointment my friend got 3 small / med shrimp & said they were very tasty. We decided to share the Double Dragon roll & it was excellent. We also shared a soba noodle which was so delicious & a pretty large bowl. I was super impressed by the types of tuna offered including lean tuna, fatty tuna and tuna belly. I opted to try the sushi nigiri of fatty tuna. It was fresh and delicious. Over all our meal was excellent. It was $25 pp with tip which was super reasonable. I definitely will return to try some more of the sushi. On the way out the sushi chef waved & thanked us for coming.

What a huge disappointment. When we arrived for our reservation, the hostess was about to sit another group. We stood there for a little while because after she sat them, she went to the service station for something. We were offered the couches but declined because we wanted dinner, not a lounge. All good.After sitting for 15 minutes, no staff even bothered to greet us. Even if a place is busy, a simple acknowledgment and "be right with you" is the bare minimum. I finally had to ask the hostess if we had a server. She quickly went to speak to a server. When that server came to the table, she just asked "what would you like?" No introduction, no apology for the wait, no offer to walk us through the menu or ask any questions. Well first of all, water would be lovely. Remember when I said the hostess went to the server station for the group prior? If it was to get them waters, where were ours?We were waiting 30 minutes before the server came to tell us that the kitchen was backed up and the skewers would take another 25 minutes. We have a toddler with us so an offer to bring anything would have been appreciated. When the yakitori finally arrived, they were all cold. So what was the wait for? For it to sit around until it was served to us? The chicken and steak - cold. Scallops were cold, dry and overcooked. Shrimp were cold and overcooked.Maybe I looked scary because the server never once asked how the food was or maybe she knew. Would not recommend.

Different menuGood service and very reasonable prices Portion sizes are generous, good menu variety and fish very fresh.

Enjoyed dinner. The server was timid and a bit slow. She looked young and inexperienced. I noticed another waitress that was spit on serving the booth behind me. She knew the items on the menu explained & suggested what to have. I am sure with tine my server will feel more comfortable. The food was tasty. I had the double dragon roll. The tuna was extremely fresh and it had a unique crunch. Then I ordered shrimp kushiyaki and taking soba noodles. Spicy and delicious.

Went here for dinner and it was a pleasant experience. The restaurant was cute and clean and the server was very attentive. Ordered the Tuesday special, which were hand rolls. Got the 5 piece. My friend ordered a separate eel hand roll which is why there are six on the plate. Also got the Takoyaki (octopus balls) as an appetizer. Both orders were very tasty. I just realized that the hand roll special should have included a soup but I didn't receive it. Oh well! They have many options on the menu such as skewers, ramyun and other sushi options so would go again to try different items.

Amazing! Wow..If you haven't been and you love Sushi. This is the spot. In the old Bento location on Beach in Jax Beach. Fresh sushi and delicious Saki makes a perfect evening. The restaurant is Japanese elegant with whimsical Neon signs. I ordered 2 rolls Yellowtail Jalapeño and Angel Roll. The Yellowtail had just the perfect balance of spice to not over balance the delicious fish. The Angel Roll was a salmon,avocado and scallop. It literally danced in my mouth. I would definitely order both again. My son ordered the Moriawase Sashimi Chefs Special. He loved it!The staff was attentive but a bit slow and sometimes confused but nothing that would make a bad review. The restaurant is fairly new and to be expected.If you love Sushi then give Izakaya Ko a try!

Excellent food!! The fish quality here is fantastic and everything is plated very nicely!! The otoro sashimi was my favorite, it just melts in your mouth! The yellowtail jalapeno roll was great, the salmon was great, the toro tartare was great! All in all, great place for sushi!! Not usually a fan of ordering gyoza or fried rice, but both were very good!! I loved the sauce with the gyoza, it is spicy tho! Takoyaki was a great texture soft inside and crispy outside! Loved the skirt steak; It was juicy and cooked medium rare and had a nice char on the outside! I also loved the sauce! Service was good, but we did wait a while for the check. Nice ambience here, there is a good amount of seating and even a couch you can eat at! Would like to sit there next time maybe! It is a bit pricey, but I can't complain as the quality justifies it!

After visiting Japan, I have been on the hunt for Yakitori and I finally found a good place for it! We tried the Tsukune(chicken meatball), momo(chicken thigh), chimichurri steak, and scallop. They were all so good but they did take a little bit to come out so I would be prepared to wait for them. We also tried the bonito fries and Izakaya roll. The bonito fries were soo good and taste really good with their soy sauce and the Izakaya roll was super tasty too, not too spicy either. Cannot wait to come back.

We arrived bright and early for opening and were the first to dine in for dinner! It did smell a little fishy at first but once our food started cooking you could breathe a little easier lol! Lots of seating options. There are a few couches to sit at as well as booths and sushi counter seating. We enjoyed a booth for our first visit.This was quite the experience! The food came out super fast as we were the first to arrive! We ordered family style to share with our friend. There are some things I wouldn't order personally and weren't my favorite. The gyoza was full but kinda dry and i didn't care for the sauce that accompanied it. The crab fried rice wasn't very good either. Too much sesame oil. Star of the show was the sashimi. Particularly the otoro omg. Fatty PHAT! Ahmazing. The salmon was also soooo yummy. The tartare dip was fun and had a fresh yummy taste but I wouldn't get it again. Very fun for a group though. The yellowtail jalepeno roll was awesome. Spicy good crunch. We need to go back for more of the grilled meats but we did try the skirt steak and oh my god that's some good steak!!! You get a nice big piece on each skewer. Perfectly cooked. Tender and meaty. Love the chimichurri sauce! Takoyaki was pretty good it was crisp on the outside and warm soft on the inside. Really good octopus texture! Tender.We had interest in the sake but our server didn't know anything about them so we had to pass on enjoying a drink with our meal.Overall fun experience !! Glad to have finally made it in after having it bookmarked for so long.

excellent food in a casualatmosphere- very much a neighborhood feel with the exception of being served fish brought in from Japan - a absolute luxury at affordable prices.