Itsu

I don’t think I can call Itsu’s sushi. sushi…
I love jap food, and have travelled around Japan just for their food. Itsu’s should not call what they put on the shelf sushi.
More like a piece of fish on some rice (and no that’s not sushi).
Real sushi focuses on the type of rice used, the right amount of vinegar on each grain of rice, the moisture level in the rice. The focus on the grip of the chef is immense, as it translates to whether the sushi falls apart or it’s too firm.
All of these things come together miraculously, and bonded by some wasabi with a gorgeous piece of generous sashimi. That my friend is called sushi.
Itsu’s sushi was dry, hard, firm. Sashimi was not fresh and started to dis-​color. I personally think it’s just unfair how London is dominated by all these bad Jap food chains, and ripping the Londonites of great Japanese food experience.
We should mourn for that fish even, as it certainly died in vain.
Ok I should stop being dramatic. Reality is that we all know if we wanted great Jap food you won’t go Itsu, or these equivalent chains.
But personally think it felt more like a mock up than real Jap food at all.
Not to be harsh, but i don’t think consumers should need to pay so much for such quality.

Nice and simple. Good sushi fix at reasonable price. £7.99 for good sized lunch selection.

Quite simply, I love Itsu for my sushi fix each week. The Heath & Happiness box for £7.99 is a great mix of rolls, sushi, and sashimi although limited to salmon and tuna with a bit of crab thrown in. The one thing that would make this better is if it had a bit of spicy sauce (but easily solved with a bottle of chilli sauce stuck in my desk at the office).
I like the slick modern look of the stores and the sheer number of people they stick on the tills during lunch time. I think the longest I’ve ever waited is about 30 seconds and that was mainly because I was daydreaming.
A point for improvement would be the drink selection which is limited to coke, diet coke, and a variety of Itsu branded things that seem too health fad diet for me to want to drink.
I also don’t understand the marketing which looks essentially screams «if Abercrombie did sushi…» from the amount of ultra-​cut men and impossible slim women (and lacking any linkage to food). I don’t go to Itsu in the hope that their food will make me über fit… I go because I like raw fish. So put some food porn up and leave the Baywatch version to Pam and the Hoff.

Quite frankly This place is a bit overpriced and overrated. The sushi combo meals are way too expensive especially if you opt to eat in. The soups they propose are, on the other hand, quite nice but don’t expect too much. Overall rating: slightly less than average, the kind of place you would go to as a last resort when you run out of options.