This is definitely a place to go with a group of people since most of the dishes are meant to be shared. They have a wide selection of both sushi and hot plates. I personally enjoy the hot plates more than their sushi. My personal favorites are the miso cod, brussel sprouts, miso eggplant, seafood dynamite, and lobster gnocchi. The ramen is also really good, but probably better next door at Sushi Den. The service is excellent and the atmosphere is very hip. The interior of the restaurant is beautiful with a clear roof. I would recommend this place for hot Japanese dishes and Sushi Den next door for actual sushi. read more

Simply delicious. Came here with a group so we tried it all and it was amazing. The seared salmon belly and tuna belly were excellent. As was the Jalapeño sashimi. Get those appetizers for sure. We probably got 10 rolls for the table (or more) and everything was excellent. The place is super cool and the service was great as well. I will be back! read more

Really good place in SoBo. I love the sort of minimalist, nouveau-Japanese decor. Good service, delicious food. A little on the spend-y side, but a good once-in-a-while splurge for wage-slaves. As with the entire area, parking can be a pain in the a** but street parking is free after 6 pm. Highly recommend. read more

Made these reservations 2 weeks ago and had been looking so forward to the experience. Arrival was smooth, quickly brought to our table. Vibes were intimate and relaxing. Ordered a bottle of sake and nigiri to start. All was good until 30 min into the meal, when we were given a 30 min warning for our "90 min reservation". Yes, we read and were aware. From then on every interaction was a reminder from our server about our time limit. It was excessive and absolutely killed the vibe. Not at all worth our $145 tab nor the 2 week wait. So disappointing. read more

This is hands down my favorite sushi in Colorado but the last time we went they didn't have 3 of my dishes that I literally come for. Red dragon roll, Lobster Ramen, and the banana cream pie! I was seriously sooo bummed especially since we brought friends who had never been. Also, the crunchy spicy tuna roll wasn't the same as the last time I had it. I was disappointed. I felt like Izakaya Den was gone and I was just forced to order off Sushi Dens menu. read more

Absolutely the best sushi ever! And drinks. Came in to town and came here because of yelp. We went upstairs to the top bar, sat down immediately on a Saturday night. Kyle worked his magic sushi and drinks on us. Mango martini to die for! Saki unbelievable and Al the fresh sushi (the salmon, zuke so good. Favorite place in Denver! Thank you for the memories!! read more

Best sushi in Colorado. Always fresh and delicious. Can't go wrong with omakase style from Will San. Friendly service. Highly recommended. read more

Izakaya Den - Japanese Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Normally I wait until I've been to a place a few times before reviewing it, but I'll make an exception this time. I'd visited Sushi Den several times in the past, but this was my first visit to their sister restaurant, located right next door. Here you get more Japanese small plates and appetizers, more so than just sushi, though they've got plenty of that as well. So you might head to this side of the building if you want a few different options. The space alone is worth a visit, and make sure to eat upstairs if possible. It is well-designed without being overdone, and who doesn't love bamboo? My wife, who's not a big fan of Japanese food, still found plenty to eat here, and I'll say that the duck dish was excellent. We mainly stuck to the more basic sushi rolls, along with a few nigiri, and the whole group seemed to enjoy our selections. You'll need a reservation to eat here, and it does get pricey if you order more than a few plates, but if you can stand the noise level, the experience is well worth the trip. read more

Hard to believe that my favorite sushi restaurant is in Denver but here we are! Absolutely love Izakaya and they have some of the freshest sushi Ive had! Any time I visit my family in Denver we have to stop at Izakaya. All their sushi is just absolutely out of this world! read more

Everything was perfect including the snow that started falling while we are dinner at a table by the window. This quickly became my favorite sushi restaurant. The appetizers and dishes were just the right number and everything we ordered was amazing. They have a nice selection of cooked selections for those that do not like raw fish as well. My favorite was the specials list. The quality and creativity of the dishes were first rate. I will be crack soon! read more

Hands down the best sushi place in Denver! Please make a reservation or you might have to wait and don't forget they have a valet! Sometimes it can be hard to find parking. We had a couple cocktails and were then seated upstairs, which is absolutely stunning. We had the crispy rice tuna and a couple of rolls. Unfortunately they were out of the lobster gnocchi when we were there but I've heard it is amazing as well. We finished with the chocolate cake, which was spectacular. The service was the great, the ambiance was perfect, and the food was amazing! We can't wait to go back! read more

This is my favorite sushi restaurant in Denver! It's array of different options is unbeatable, the quality is always top notch (I heard they ship their fresh fish from Japan!) and the atmosphere is vivacious yet idyllic. The service is impeccable despite us having to wait 25 minutes for a table since they do not accept reservations for parties under 4. My boyfriend and I waited at the bar, where the bartender gave us great recommendations for food and drink. You are given the option to be sat at a table or at the sushi bar. While the table would have been more comfortable, the experience of witnessing our sushi orders being made right before our eyes was memorable. read more

Izakaya Den - our second plate of sushi! back row: tempura shrimp. middle row: Alaskan king crab. front row: fatty tuna also recommend the spicy edamame! - Japanese Near Me - Denver, Colorado

This place thinks it's really really great. They messed up our order and gave our appetizer to the table next to us, when I let the waiter know we had never received it, we still didn't get it 15 minutes later, by the time we had finished our main entree. Slightly annoying but nothing major. I had let them know my husband and I were celebrating our first anniversary when I made the reservation, nothing on that either. Overall, the food is fine, I've had better sushi in Denver. We went for the ambiance, which was lacking in my opinion. read more

This place came recommended from a friend we were traveling with. Apparently they get fresh fish flown in daily so the specials are also changing. It was relatively crowded when we got there at 8:00 during the week. We called ahead same day but couldn't get reservation for 3 people. Were told it was an hour wait but we sat at a high top immediately. We did omakase for 2 of us and liked everything they brought out. Given restaurant setting our waitress decided on options. We had spicy edamame, ginger bluefin sashimi, some sort of crispy rice dish, and several rolls / sashimi combo. It was the . Highly recommend if you are in Denver and looking for . This one gets read more

Just a great place with amazing food!! Hosts are splendid and so professional. Eating here is worth every dollar

Best sushi in CO. Been here 50+ times, live in the neighborhood. BUT they really need to refine their take out process. Because take out goes through the usually busy bar staff, long hold times to call in the order, and then when you arrive to pick up your food you have to fight to the front of the crowded bar to get the attention of the bar staff to pay. This is no trivial matter on the weekends. Your food is likely to get cold while you struggle to pay. I suggest a separate area to pay/pickup to-go orders. read more

First time at this place and was completely surprised at the amazing vegetarian Japanese dishes on offer. Their tofu, eggplant, spicy edamame , beet salads and veggie tempura all tasted amazing. The ambience is very nice and the service was excellent overall. Looks like a great place to visit for team outings. Will definitely visit again when given the chance. read more

Whoa! I love sushi, and I love this place! I went here for dinner with my girlfriend and I was blown away by the service and also the quality of fish! We ordered a lot of nigiri rolls -uni, salmon, red snapper, yellow tail and we also got a couple of rolls that they could make gluten free. They were super accommodating, made it easy to find gluten free menu items. Can't wait to get my sushi craving on again soon! read more

Hi, my name is Pat, here with my culinary confident, Kim. I'm just your everyday, average guy who habitually consumes regular BLTs at my desk. However, when I dine at Izakaya Den, I turn into a kasa-obake and Kim turns into a nure-onna (Google it...trust me). Together, we graze in a field ripe with sushi and tapas wrangling up the Salmon Belly Alburi, Wagyu Ribeye, and Toro Alburi with our abnormally elongated tongues. Both of our Gene Simmons tongues reach a level of ecstasy when they cross like fishing lines to attack another piece of Salmon Belly Alburi. Even though sake and shochu are the go-to spirits in this architecturally savvy sushi fortress, their tequila offerings aren't too shabby. While our senses were running rampant with the field of delicacies Izakaya Den has to offer, thankfully, our Shepherd Abraham effortlessly guided us down the path to culinary glory. Inevitably I will return to my BLT life, but I will forever yearn for more Izakaya Den. read more

This place was right on, food was delicious. Sushi was fresh, there was one roll we had that had the jalapeño and to our surprise was our favorite. The roll with asparagus had a strange combination but the rest was excellent. The hot sake was really good, I had the small portion and it was plenty. The tempura ice cream was extremely well done, we all enjoyed it very much. read more

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Although I have had many, many great experiences at Izakaya Den, tonight I did not. We came in early to take advantage of the happy hour deals, but when we got the bill, it did not reflect the happy hour prices. Even though the food was excellent, we were disappointed that when we confronted the bartender at the back bar, he was unrelenting in changing the bill. We expressly ordered certain drinks on the happy hour menu only to be told that a martini contains 2 shots, so even though the type of spirit was on the happy hour menu, the martini indeed still cost $20. Further, my partner ordered a "specialty cocktail" on the happy hour menu only to be told that that particular drink indeed was not on the happy hour menu. We are savvy consumers and appreciate the quality of the food at Izakaya Den, but felt that we were mislead and taken advantage Update: got glutened today. I ordered their new style sashimi and specialty told the server GF b/c I have celiac and I'm almost certain it had soy sauce. Also - their labeled GF items aren't always GF. They go into a gluten fryer. Celiacs beware. read more

This used to be one of my favorite spots in Denver but after my last 2 visits I won't be returning. The wait times are ridiculous with no open seating at the bar - they seat the bar which is annoying. The food quality has gone downhill significantly. So much hype and hoopla at the door is not worth the price tag and food. With so many other great sushi spots in Denver my days at these Den spots are done. read more

Always excellent food here! And it's part of Sushi Den now. They hold back reservations for walk ups too

This place never disappoints, it's certainly on the more expensive side, but the ambiance and well thought out and executed menu are worth it! read more

This place is fantastic. Went there for date night and everything was top notch. The sushi chef made us Natto maguro and it was delicious. We also had bluefin toro, Idako, and uni nigiri. The uni was the best I've had in a while. Every time we visit this place, we are never disappointed. Thank you for the fresh quality food and the awesome service and ambiance. read more

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My boyfriend and I were supposed to fly to Houston the weekend before Christmas to surprise our dear friends at their holiday party. Why do I say "supposed to," you may ask? I'm sure by now, Denverites forgot the snow storm that took Colorado by force that weekend, but suffice it to say, the foot of snow that swept in overnight put a damper on our travel plans. What the heck does this have to do with Izakaya Den? Well, we decided we would use our flight refund money to "TREAT YOSELF" or rather "TREAT OURSELVES" to a pre-Christmas sushi feast. Since moving to Denver, I have had 3 people tell me to try out Sushi Den. Downfall: they do not take reservations for 2 and this place is teaming with sushi-loving, table-filling patrons. After checking out the website, I saw there was an option to reserve a table at the connecting Izakaya Den, so I threw in a rezzy and hoped for the best. Little did I know, I was sparing myself a crazy long wait and still allowing myself to enjoy some stellar rolls. Upon arriving, the host confirmed that they have a near identical sushi menu to neighboring Sushi Den, since they are under the same ownership. I was sold, and we were shown to our table upstairs. Izakaya's decor and ambiance has to be in my Top 10 all-time, especially due to the bamboo plants adding pops of greenery throughout the dining area. Our server was great - friendly, attentive, and helpful with recommendations. We started out with edamame then finally landed on some rolls (there are so many enticing options, it took a while for us to narrow down). Not sure how we managed to finish it all, but we split the Spider Roll, Lobster Tempura Roll, Firecracker Roll, and Volcano Roll. Just packing on my winter lbs. - leave me alone. All were fantastic, and I am grateful to have found a stellar spot to get my sushi fix. I can't wait to come back once it is patio weather again. read more

My boyfriend and I absolutely love Izakaya Den! We are big fans of Sushi Den, but prefer Izakaya atmosphere. You can get a lot of the same items on the menu since they share a kitchen and the best part is Izakaya takes reservations. Our favorite thing about Izakaya is the service. The last two times we have dined here we had the pleasure of being served by Kyle D. Seriously Kyle is the best server we have had hands-down! Kyle knows the menu very well and is great at recommendations. Kyle is extremely friendly and even remembered us from the previous time and items that we had ordered. Izakaya Den is by far our favorite restaurant in Colorado read more

I concur with another reviewer here, Izakaya is "good" but does not warrant anything beyond that rating. As an appetizer we had blue fin sashimi with some secret sauce, which was quite good. The miso cod we ordered, was okay. I think that we got a bad cut because it was unusually difficult to break the fish off from the skin. The better dishes were the lobster ramen, the "new" salmon sushi roll, the red dragon roll, and the crispy Brussel sprouts. There was one dish we had which was decidedly bad was the pork and kimchee. The meat was all grizzle and the kimchee was predominantly just onions. One thing that was quite bothersome was that our server was always trying to upsell us; Urging us to order more than we wanted, encouraging us to buy the most expensive saki and wine; To order higher priced rolls by insisting that they were "really better;" and most galling, ordering sushi off the "seasonal list" where the fish is literally twice as expensive than the regular sushi list. For example, 2 pieces of yellowtail on the regular sushi list is $6 for 2 pieces. On the seasonal list, they just happen to have the "wild yellowtail" which costs $12 for 2 pieces. Let me tell you, we have eaten a lot of sushi over the decades, and if there is a difference, we could not discern what it might have been except that it was "wild, which means that their "regular" yellowtail is farm raised. And finally of course, Izakaya is really expensive. Too expensive for what you get. Despite all this, we are glad that we experienced it but, we would not return nor recommend Izakaya. If we want sushi, Blue Sushi Sake Grill on the 16th St. mall is our go-to option. If you have never been there, we recommend that you try it. We have never been disappointed. read more

Service, sushi, and rice is ON point. My only complaint is the short rib dish was over-cooked and grisley. For the reputation this place has, the pricing, and my expectations, I was a bit put off. Covid protocols were followed nicely, and the patrons were seated with plenty of space in between. The place was also super clean. read more

Incredible food, incredible service. Very well managed restaurant!! Our waitress was great and the food was paced perfectly!

If fish on fish is what you want, this is definitely the place. We did the omakase for two, and it came out to be $250 with two drinks added, before tip was included. They don't have a large selection of hot dishes, or any wagyu, but they do sear some of their fish which is delicious. My favorites were the otoro, redfish, and their yellowtail. Make sure to call during the week even if reservations are filled up completely. We did this and got a table. Sushi den is currently closed, so this place is the only way to still enjoy the delicious offerings from them read more

Finally made the leap from Sushi Den to next door Izakaya Den. Will keep coming back. Same or better menu. They take reservations so no more hour wait for a table and you can actually talk to your date. We kept ordering everything was sooo good. Crispy Rice was terrific. Kobe sliders, Wyagu beef. Just wish someone in Denver would discover how to make an Ahi Tower. Can't find anywhere. May have to fly to Dallas for a fix. read more

Was here a few years ago and had a wonderful lunch. Came here on Saturday night and was a little disappointed and I think that was mostly due to our waiter. Got the lobster ramen & it was delicious. Husband got another ramen & we asked for the pork belly to be served with our meal. It didn't come until we were done. I was the DD and I constantly had to ask for my glass of iced tea to be filled. He took our leftover food to box up & never brought it back. I think the folks next to us were having issues with him as well because he had to take something off of their ticket too. As far as the food, it was good. Nothing over the top, just good. I will definitely be back & give it another try. read more

Love Izakaya even more than her sister next door "Sushi Den" the atmosphere , decor and the open roof in warm weather makes this a delight. If there is something on the Dens menu, you can usually order it as well. Helps that they share the same kitchen. Lines aren't as long and food is top notch! read more

Izakaya Den, sister to Sushi Den, is awesome. Great space with authentic-ish vibes. The fish is always so fresh and yummy. Even seasonal options. They make gluten free easy and the kitchen and staff are very well educated on it all. Menus are marked very clearly with "GF"! Delicious fish. read more

Decided to come here for date night last week and loved our experience here. The ambiance was wonderful, loved the small bamboo garden in the middle of the restaurant. Food was fresh and delicious - excellent presentation. Our server Stephen was phenomenal - kind, observant (often brought items that were needed without having to ask) and all of his recommendations were excellent. The branding outside of the building is minimal, we almost accidentally went into Sushi Den (which I suppose doesn't matter since they are sister companies, but I prefer Izakaya now). Great location on Pear street if you choose to go to another spot before or after for drinks. Another plus, they take reservations on OpenTable. Izakaya has easily become one of our favorite sushi spots! read more

Hostess was very abrasive and acted like it was a chore to get you a table in the area you wished for. Not a great first greeting when you walk in. Waitress was amazing and super helpful/caring. Sushi was good however I have had better for the price. Recommend Sugar Fish for the price over this sushi spot read more

Izakaya Den is next door to it's sister, Sushi Den, but the fish is not nearly as good. The salmon nigiri want uniform in color, striping or tenderness, it all tasted kind of bland actually. I wouldn't go back, not at those prices. read more

Not so impressed. Was hoping for a unique experience and got so-so food with so-so service. First of all it took forever for the food to come out. Then when it did, the wrong order was made for the person next to me. She graciously accepted it so it didn't go to waste, but I heard what she ordered...sushi plate, and she got a sashimi plate. Anywhere else and the meal would have been comped. I am sure part of why she didn't insist on what she ordered was because she was fearful of how long it would take again to get it. Is that too much to expect to get what you ordered? Another person's zucchini order was no longer available but she wasn't notified until well after it was ordered. Really? The sake she ordered everywhere else comes out cold but not here, they serve it a room temperature in some silly glass container that looks like a flower vase. The Den short ribs were pretty darn chewy and you do not get a whole lot for $16. It appeared the hamachi collar (hamakama on their menu) is actually half a collar. So if you want what you get at other restaurants, you need to order two. Either that or they are from baby hamachis. :). I am sure it is half because they serve it on a really small plate so you think it is the same. Don't be fooled! And they charged a buck for a side of ginger and a few slices of lemon. I have *never* been to a sushi place that charged for these items, especially on a $400+ bill. It is like charging you for having some mustard and ketchup. Not sure how this place got rated so high except that it is riding off of Sushi Den:s same unjustified high rating. Come on guys go to a real Japanese restaurant that has humility, courtesy, and not due to some pretentious nonsense! read more

So my husband and I are HUGE fans of Sushi Den (their sister restaurant next door). We tried this place for lunch last Saturday and were more than happy with our meal. First of all, the problem with Sushi Den (note: we've only been for dinner) is that they sell out of their fish specials quickly. When my husband and I went to Izakaya Den for lunch, they had every single cut of fish on their menu. After learning this, we realized that if we (or actually he, as I'm vegetarian ;) want to take advantage of their awesome fish selection on the weekend, lunch at Izakaya Den is the best option. As far as other dishes go, the menu is a little different from Sushi Den, but still great. I loved their veggie tempura roll, portobello sushi, and eggplant sushi (with brown rice). My husband loved his nigiri (toro, needlefish, and several other of their specials, I just can't remember all of them as he goes nuts!). Their spicy edamame was so good, too. Their seaweed salad wasn't as tasty as Sushi Den, but that's just me being nit-picky and others might not feel the same. I really liked the lighting and ambience in the main dining areas. It wasn't as loud as Sushi Den, which was nice, but we've only been to Izakaya Den once so who knows if it was because it was towards the end of lunch or if that's really how it usually is. Our server was super sweet and everything we ordered came out with perfect timing. A fab experience that we are looking forward to repeating! read more