I want this place to get better as it has potential. Please work on the cleanliness of the menus and bathroom. Also, the turn around time for the food really needs improvement . Please make sure the food comes out hot and fresh. Please cut down on the fried tempura items, it's oily and heavy and not good at all. For the prices it fell short on delivering what I thought I was going to get. read more

It's smaller on the inside than we expected, I'd recommend getting a reservation. We sat at the bar though and were totally fine with that. The staff were fantastic and attentive. We decided to sample a bunch of the appetizers in lieu of entrees. Do yourself a favor and rder the brussel sprouts! Seriously some of the best sprouts we have had, they were both of our favorite. The bulgogi fries were super good too, that's a great appetizer as well. The kaarge was really good and flavorful, they gave us yum yum sauce with it. The portion size was really good too. The pork belly buns were delicious but I felt like the pork belly needed sauce or seasoning but that was the only thing that wasn't perfect. Give this spot a try! read more

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This place is a gem. So delicious. Love the offerings. Great fusion of flavors. A bit pricy but it's worth it.

Very good food and more than decent whiskey selection (which was the draw for my coworker and I). We are both big whiskey drinkers, always searching out the whiskeys we haven't tried or cocktails made in a different manner. We were impressed with the Japanese whiskey selection, though we expected a decent selection based on the theme/food of the restaurant. The food was incredible though the portions seemed just a little small, but by the end we realized the portions were the perfect size without getting us stuffed. There is a small outdoor section that seemed to be dog friendly with at least two other parties outside eating with their dogs. The inside is tiny, but they do take reservations and I would recommend that if you plan on going. The only downside to our visit was that the service was super slow. When they were tending to our table, they were nice and courteous, but seemed very rushed and definitely gave the presence of waitstaff "deep in the weeds". We will definitely come back, but likely not visit again at a peak time or when school is in session. read more

Empty seats at the bar (and the restaurant) at 7:30pm on a Saturday night. I sat down at the bar and they told me to get up. You're doing so well you turn away customers - good for you my guess is understaffed, very strange vibe. Okay, I'll go somewhere else. read more

This place has wonderful service, with awesome food and drinks. The owner worked tonight and was a ray of sunshine, and incredibly generous with his time and heart. I got the bao buns and then the ramen, they make their chili crisp in house and let me tell you, as a heat connoisseur, that stuff is no joke! It's the perfect balance of flavor and spice. What a wonderful place. I'll be back again and again read more

Recently opened at the prior poke place in downtown Carrboro. A great place for Asian fusion with Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese influences. We enjoyed everything - the whiskey, the apps, the ramen, the bibimbap, the sushi...we may have been a little too excited and over ordered for two people. The tiramisu for dessert was awesome - not overly sweet, moist, and flavorful. The ishiyaki bbq was a fun and tasty touch where you cook the steak table side, adding salt to your liking along with a chimichurri like sauce. We will definitely be back. Great place to safely eat outside with a nice patio and heaters. read more

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This place was amazing! Drove into town from Saxapahaw to goto my usual spot. It was closed for vacation. Was in the mood for sushi so I started searching and found this place. The Lord makes no mistakes! I was greeted by the bartender Samantha and instantly felt at home. I don't usually write reviews but I had to share! Have a convo with the owner, we had a conversation about what kinds of sushi I like and he shared his new hot menu items and suggested the nigiri, pork dumplings, wings, and nigiri. Also had a special on the REAL Japanese A5 Waygu. We then ordered two more rolls at the bartenders suggestions. Nigiri with the tuna belly was immaculate! Scallops were amazing! No sauce required! You can't fake fresh seafood! Waygu is cooked on a table side rock to perfection and was amazing! Wings were double crispy and giant! On the rolls, the wrap was great and now chewy as some seaweed can be at other restaurants. But the flavors of the 007 were perfect. This place should have a line out of the door and if you are in driving distance this place is definitely worth the trip. We have already "scheduled" our return, and me and my buddy are bringing our wives next time! Consider me a regular now and if you happen to take my advice, tell them Barry sent you! read more

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I've lived in Chapel Hill for almost 3 years and I finally had the chance to try Iza Whiskey & Eats with my boyfriend this evening. We arrived a couple minutes after the restaurant opened and were greeted and sat by the sweet host/server Young. Our starter and entrees came out fast with enough time in between. I got the Iza Crunch roll and salmon avocado roll, both were delicious and some of the best tasting fish I've had in sushi roll in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area. My boyfriend got the green curry with tofu and he said it was very tasty. We both got the Feeling Peachy mocktails and loved the presentation in the cocktail glass and thought it tasted very refreshing and not overly sweet. Walking into the restaurant I was immediately drawn to mural on the back wall and beautiful light fixtures. My boyfriend and I both loved the ambiance on the restaurant, the music and decor alone made in the perfect spot for a relaxing and quiet dinner. We also had the opportunity to meet the owner, Young, and talk about how much we enjoyed eating at his restaurant. My boyfriend and I agreed that although we don't have the opportunity to speak to many restaurant owners, Young has been most nicest and most hospitable. He even walked us over to his other restaurant next door, La Montana, and more about the concept and inspiration behind it. Not only will we be coming back to Iza, but we'll be making a point to stop La Montana this month as well. The service and the food was great, but the way Young (the owner) went out of way to make sure we had a great experience today was phenomenal. Other restaurants need to take note on how to interact with customers, because this definitely how you do it! read more

This little jewel is outstanding. Tonight we tried Toro tuna vs Blue Fin Tuna nigiri. Then steamed pork gyoza cooked to perfection. a Last a Spider Roll and an 007 roll. And the Lychee old fashioned was outstanding. Come in and visit with Jung, the owner. read more

We were passing through Chapel Hill, were craving Asian, and found this place! It was a wonderful atmosphere, a bit busy when we got there but not overly so, and worth the 20-25 minute wait. I'm sure we could have made a reservation in advance, but it was a spur of the moment thing. It was definitely worth it. The food was great, and I would totally recommend the sushi, not to mention there's a large assortment of drink options at the bar. The best part is definitely the ambiance, so if that's number one for you, I would check it out. read more

We had a unique and wonderful experience at IZA WHISKEY and EATS. We had the Green Curry and Chicken, as well as the Sin City Roll. They were exceptional in every way. For drinks we had the specialty drinks, Japanese Sour and lychee Old Fashioned. Both exceeded our expectations. To top off the overall experience, the owner, Yung Nay, was most hospitable and interacted with us to insure we had an over the top experience. I highly recommend dining here and will do so the next time we are in the chapel Hill area. read more

Service is incredible. The food is even better. General Tso's Chicken with their house made sauce is fantastic. The Oyster Beef is going to be my go to for quite a while there. 007 sushi roll is a must try. Can't wait to go back. Let's not forget about the incredible Whiskey and Scotch selections. The First Class Scotch Flight is also a must have. Enjoy your dinner, you're welcome. read more

Iza Whiskey & Eats - 007 Sushi Roll and Jalapeño Tuna. Both are fantastic. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Carrboro, North Carolina

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Full disclosure: I've only had takeout so far, as the Cov2 pandemic rages on. I've hoped for - wished for - a solid ramen in the Chapelboro area since I first dined at Dashi in Durham and Iza serves a mean bowl of tonkotsu ramen at a reasonable price. Perfect as we enter the winter season. The atmosphere seems lively, and I look forward to one day dining sit-down here, a glass of whiskey and ramen to warm me up. read more

Iza Whiskey & Eats - Tasty pork bun - Sushi Bars Near Me - Carrboro, North Carolina

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Wow!!! Went this eve with Wife/Daughter & SILaw. Over the top experience. Been all over the globe between myself and The Mrs. Best blend Asian/Fusion anywhere. Started with plethora of appetizers ( see pix) followed by some Ramen (best since Hell's Kitchen NYC) and a Sea Bass that puts any "Fine Dining" Raleigh to shame. Highly recommend Chef Yung Nay's breakthrough establishment for all! read more

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Came here for Valentine's Day dinner with my family. Love the concept. Felt welcomed. Good vibe. My 10 year old son said he be back for Valentine's with his future girlfriend Food: So, it's Asian fusion. They have some sushi, ramen, korean chicken, stir fried etc. Since I am a Huge fan of traditional food and I was criticized by someone that I should be open to another genre of food under "fusion". So I'm going to be very honest here and hope the readers understand my taste buds. Knowing that it was fusion and not a specialty sushi-ya, it was a pleasant surprise that the quality of sushi was pretty good, especially the hamachi (yellowtail). Ordered KFC (korean fried chicken) and it was good but felt it was too much shoyu based. Otherwise it was crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside. It was only 4 pieces for $12 but they were quite big. Had hama-Chile which is hamachi carpaccio in Chile sauce. I thought it was bland and the taste was missing something - for example lacking citrus. Pork bao bun was pretty good. Izakaya grill was a good concept but I felt that the beef was too tough to cook it on top of a stone. But the chimichurri for the beef was very delicious. Lastly, we ordered mochi ice cream in green tea, strawberry and vanilla flavor. It was very good quality and delicious. Just know that one order comes with 3 mochis. The server didn't let us know that and we ended up with 9 mochis. Price: reasonable Service: she was very nice and attentive. Only thing that needed for Improvement was to be more knowledgeable about the menu. It was pleasant taking to Yung, the owner, who was very personable and welcoming. read more

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This place is phenomenal! The service was exceptional and the food, amazing! My partner had the Teppanyaki Style Hibachi with Tiger Shrimp, I ordered the Chili Garlic Noodles with Tiger Shrimp, which you would think might be kind of basic BUT this dish was so pleasing and honestly hit like comfort food. The noodles were cooked perfectly while the locally sourced vegetables were hot and crisp. The hand crafted cocktails were absolutely wonderful and don't dare leave without trying a shot of the Japanese Whiskey! Our server was just as excited as we were that we happened upon the restaurant by accident. She answered all of our questions and offered description of menu items as if she were reciting poetry. She was fabulous! The owner, Yung Nay, came to our table to introduce himself and tell us about his vision and how much he enjoyed interviewing and selecting his staff. His genuine smile and excitement topped the evening off to a wonderful finish. What a warm feeling for a spur of the moment dining decision! read more

Iza Whiskey & Eats - Chili Garlic Noodles with Shrimp - Sushi Bars Near Me - Carrboro, North Carolina

Ate here after viewing this restaurant in a local food blog. It was a great experience from start to finish. I loved the decor it was super fun and I loved the mural on the wall it's a great samurai. Now onto the food. We decided to try a variety of things for the first experience. The wings were really great, crispy and a sweet sauce. They were a great size also. The pork bun was delicious as well with a sweet bbq sauce inside. My boyfriend ordered the sushi and it was good as well. I'm not a big sushi fan but he loved it. I ordered the goyza and that was good as well. The service was fast and fun. Next time I want to try the hibachi food. I ordered two of the cocktails and they were both good. My favorite was the passion fruit margarita. My boyfriend was so surprised that his huge beer was only 8 dollars. I will definitely return soon! read more

The atmosphere is so inviting! Great Food, Great Conversation! The chef/owner checks on every guest personally. And the food is to die for! read more

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We are just finishing our meal and I couldn't even wait to write this review!! What an awesome experience! The owner and sushi chef came out to personally talk to me about my sushi roll (I'm pregnant and asked for a substitution) and he made an AMAZING and delicious roll for me!! What excellent care of customers and absolutely delicious food. LOVED IT read more

Iza Whiskey & Eats - Sushi rolls - Sushi Bars Near Me - Carrboro, North Carolina

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I had the Korean bulgogi dish and it was excellent! It was so good I went back the next day and got the same thing again. The drinks are good and the owner is usually there and very friendly as well. read more

Went here for our anniversary and enjoyed everything! Sushi was excellent and great quality. The ramen is delicious and the appetizers were also amazing. Even the mocktails are good!! (Thought I wish it was bigger lol) read more

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Great ambiance!! Very nice service, HOWEVER! Me and my boyfriend both got noravirus!! The ramen and miso soup were quite bland, and the food was quite overpriced for the quality on top of the sickness as well :( wish we had a better experience. read more

Came here and decided to dine in, right away we were seated to our table. 15-20 min later our waitress came and she did say "she was training someone and stated their names". So I placed an order for a drink which took about another 20 minutes. We finally ordered sushi and that took about 30 minutes. The service here was horrible, I noticed one of the other waitress here hustling and working hard. While it took a little bit over an hour to get my meal. I got so fed up with this establishment that I asked for it to go. I asked for the check and it took our waitress less than a minute to get it. I'm thinking to myself where was this hustle when I wanted to place an order. I don't mind if it will take time, just let us know this not until the end. I also heard another person at this establishment telling a customer I'm doing everyone's job today. All I can say is he was running back and forth. Even though my service was horrible, I still gave 20% because I know how important it is to support restaurant owners. Oh by the way sushi was average nothing to rave about. read more

Extremely good food, customer service top notch. Highly recommend. 007 seven roll was really good. read more

Must try, everything is made to perfection. Yung really knows how to run a successful ups are restaurant.

We were looking for a great place to have dinner, and I found Iza Whiskey & Eats through Yelp. The reviews were great, so I figured we would give it a go. Simply put, Iza's food is stellar. The Miso glazed Sea Bass is one of the best renditions I have had the pleasure of sampling. For starters, we decided on Iza's delicious miso soup, as well as an order of edamame and the Hama-chili... all were excellent. Our party ordered sushi rolls and Sea Bass as our mains. I can confidently say that this experience exceeded my expectations, and I will be returning again... Soon! read more

This place is alright. It was mediocre but not bad - that said we wouldn't really choose to come back since nothing really grabbed us. I had the ramen and my gf had the bulgogi. We both shared a crispy calamari as a starter and everything was passable without being great. They didn't screw up anything in the ramen that usually ends up being problematic for some restaurants, although their egg was decidedly too soft boiled - it basically just fell apart if you tried to grab it in any way. My gf mentioned her bulgogi didn't really waste like bulgogi - while I agree with her, it still tasted fairly decent - just know you won't get what you're expecting. Also noticed that their whiskey list is surprisingly short on Japanese brands which I found very odd. I was expecting to see hibiki, hakushu, and yamazaki and saw none. I know Japanese whisky has had supply/stock depletion but if I'm able to pull up any of these online in stock for order it doesn't explain they they're missing from the menu. Best thing we had was honestly the sashimi platter I didn't mention before. We didn't try other sushi so their quality there may be much better and worth trying. Service was great and it gets 5 stars from me. read more

This is an amazing restaurant with very unique fusion foods. The owner/chef came out to check on everyone which is very nice touch.

The sushi chef added a garnish of what he called el shite which was brown and very delicious fish was very good and the bathrooms were clean

Great atmosphere, excellent/hard to beat food quality, good service and SUPERB whiskey collection for my whiskey-loving husband. We will be back. read more

this place is top notch... the flavors are impeccable. Service superb. Owner Xung super friendly and hospitable. ! Rocio was an amazing server!! Perfect 10! read more

Absolutely an outstanding restaurant with lots of incredible food choices, and great service from the staff and the owner. Everything on the menu is delicious, and it also has a great atmosphere both inside and outside read more

I absolutely love this place!!! It's very innovative and fun The quality of the food is super nice as well They also have amazing service And the environment is great 100% recommend the ishiyaki BBQ and the salmon salad read more

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Iza has been open for a solid year and on its anniversary celebration, I was privileged to accept an invitation to attend! But first some facts... Yung Nay brings a taste to Carrboro/Chapel Hill that it never realized it badly needed. You'll find his restaurant adjacent to the parking garage where East Main Street and Rosemary meet. Out door lights, hang above outdoor seating warmed by the fire and heaters. Inside, shades of deep reds and gold cover the walls in an impressive mural. Kid friendly? Absolutely. However there isn't a lot of space indoors so if you littles with a ton of energy, sit outside. Pricing? Honestly, the food is so delicious that I expected to pay much more. In fact, if it were more I would still happily pay because it is worth every penny. Presentation and taste go hand in hand. They do not spare any detail! Quality is in their branding. Drinks? Full service bar. However if you are new to whiskey and scotch, let them teach you! They offer flights to sample delicious Japanese Whiskey. I couldn't get enough of their Blackberry Bourbon Smash! I attached a photo of it below. The mottled blackberries were a perfect addition to the bourbon mixture. I'll certainly be back again and again! read more

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This is our 3rd time eating at Iza. When the restaurant first opened, we went for the first time, and we had a very positive experience with service and food. Everything seemed more streamlined. However, the second time we tried last year, the service was absolutely terrible. We waited over 1 hour for my food, which came out 35 minutes after my husband's food came out...right before we had to leave. I asked for my food to be comped and was denied my reasonable request. I didn't have time to eat my food, so I just took it to go. In early September of this year, we decided to try again to see if perhaps service has improved. We had a reservation. Yet, we were told that a table would be made ready for us soon. We waited about 15 minutes, noting all the empty tables that were already set. Then, we are seated at a table that had already been set and ready the whole time. After we were seated, we were not given menus or informed about scanning QR codes. No one came to offer water or drinks or assist us for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, our table did not have a QR code, so my husband and I went into the restaurant's website to view the menu. Then, I stopped a waitress and asked for someone to assist our table. Finally, we were offered water and our orders were taken. Unfortunately, our food was left sitting a while and came out lukewarm. My husband's tonkatsu ramen was very bland and oily. My chili noodles were just okay. Unfortunately, this restaurant has still not improved its service and management. The food is overpriced, service is horrendous and disorganized, and the options on the menu are lackluster. We won't ever stop by again. read more

Had the tofu green curry and the food was good. Nothing exceptional but good service. read more

Iza Whiskey & Eats - green curry with tofu - Sushi Bars Near Me - Carrboro, North Carolina

The food was awesome! One of the owners handed us the tuna tartar to try and we came up for air when it was gone. The service was on point and the drinks were perfect. Loved the margarita! On our next trip out here from Chicago, this will be our first stop. read more

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This corner has hosted many restaurants over the years and they all seem to come and go but I really hope this one breaks the curse. The restaurant really comes alive after dark when the patio is lit up and you start to forget you're in a busy walkway. It feels intimate and the staff are on the ball taking care of you. My husband would eat sushi every day if he could and if he could find a place that is worth the money and this place is it without having to drive to Raleigh. He got the sashimi plate and was very impressed with the freshness and the variety he was given. It was beautifully arranged too and looked like a piece of art. I had the vegetarian chili noodles which was legion in size. I liked it okay but it didn't knock my socks off. I do wish they'd have more vegetarian options besides noodles but maybe the other dish would be more to my liking. The sake was very good their version of the margarita was awesome, enough so, I'd stop by their bar just for this. Overall, it was a wonderful night and I'd definitely return. read more

We ate (4) at Iza as an impromptu dinner. We were pleased with the outdoor seating area. The appetizers were all excellent. Calamari, cauliflower, shrimp and pork buns, would order all of them again. The dinners were all very good, I had garlic chili noodles with vegetables, it was excellent. Others had pork tomkutsu and noodles with shrimp, everyone enjoyed their dinner. Would definitely go again to Iza. The service was good, constant and attentive. read more