I reviewed Izakaya Ren a few years ago but thought I would add another since it's now under new ownership. We're long time Izakaya Ren fans and were very interested to see what the new ownership added to the experience...loved it! Chef Jimmy was great and has added some nice new touches to the menu. He also was kind enough to put together one of our favorite rolls from the past, thank you so much! We started with the seaweed salad and were pleasantly surprised by the addition of thinly sliced cucumber. What a nice addition and it made the salad just a touch larger in portion...very nice starter with great flavor. Then 3 rolls...crazy salmon, corona (our special request) and a rainbow roll. All were fantastic and yes, we also think they are larger in portion! This is the first time we've taken leftovers home and we were both stuffed (in a good way). No let down under new management at all. I anticipate there will be great sushi at Izakaya Ren for a long time to come. And, I can't finish this review without mentioning our server Erica...what a fun, engaging and friendly server. She really made our sushi experience complete. Great job Chef Jimmy, Erica and all the staff at Izakaya Ren...still our favorite sushi restaurant. If you are looking for a fresh take on a previously solid sushi restaurant please give Izakaya Ren a try. read more

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Great spot for creative rolls that are filling and fresh! We ordered two of the chef's special rolls and a regular roll along with shumai (shrimp dumplings) to start. Everything was delicious and the service was great as well. read more

Izakaya Ren - Ocean Roll, Caterpillar Roll (8 Pcs), Mountain Roll (8 Pcs) - Sushi Bars Near Me - Valley Park, Missouri

It has been years since we have been here and the quality is still top notch. The owner is there asking how everything is because everyone working there takes pride in their work and it shows. It is random to have such a high quality sushi here and not be closer to the city. I am glad they are here. We moved to a little further away but plan to come back more often. TLDR: Great food, great service, relaxing environment, and easy parking. You can't ask for much more. read more

This place was empty at 7pm and the food was amazing. Poke bowl, tuna lover and girl on fire roll. The girl on fire roll was awesome. It had seared salmon and mango. The service was great and so was the music. read more

Izakaya Ren - Tuna Lover - Sushi Bars Near Me - Valley Park, Missouri

So this is my second visit here since the new ownership and I've got to say I'm very happy with this place as my go to for sushi. You can still also get the Tuna Tower off menu which the previous proprietors carried on their menu. Still the same quiet place but updated decor. Service is quick and friendly wait staff. read more

Izakaya Ren - Spicy Tuna Tower off the menu item - Sushi Bars Near Me - Valley Park, Missouri

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Food was decent as far as sushi. We ordered the rainbow, dragon, volcano, and spider roll. They were all delicious for anybody that enjoys sushi. The service was decent. The staff was very polite and genuine. The ambiance was that of a dim nice Japanese restaurant. Great experience overall. read more

Izakaya Ren - Dragon Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Valley Park, Missouri

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Hidden gem, amazing sashimi and nigiri under the new ownership. I did one of the sashimi plates, excellent garnishes and huge slices of fish. Will be my new go to for date night options when I'm craving raw fish. read more

My family and I went to try out this restaurant because it's under new ownership. The sushi was incredibly delicious and expertly plated and cut! The portions are generous and there are so many selections to choose from. Chef Jimmy is incredibly kind and an excellent sushi chef. The decor is nice and cozy and great for families or for date night. If you're passing by or are craving sushi, definitely stop and grab some sushi from here! read more

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I'm reluctant to give such a great review because I love I can always get a table. Very generous sushi cuts and really creative and fun rolls. Staff is very attentive and the price point is lowest I have seen in STL. A+ recommended. read more

Takeout was very well presented, and expertly labeled. Our order was fresh and fast. Great place to sit or get takeout read more

Izakaya Ren - Mountain Roll (8 Pcs) - Sushi Bars Near Me - Valley Park, Missouri

Service was friendly and attentive. I started with their miso soup, flavorful and the tofu was the perfect texture. The yellowtail hamachi was great pieces a little big. Sushi roll was tasty. I always love a spot that has sliced lemons or lime on their rolls. Will be back for more. read more

Izakaya Ren - Corona Roll (8 Pcs) - Sushi Bars Near Me - Valley Park, Missouri

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First time back under new ownership and they're wonderful! Generous servings, whether a la cart or all you can eat, and fresh, savory, well presented rolls and sushi. For appetizers, loved their crab Rangoon and spring rolls. The service is super friendly and efficient. read more

Izakaya Ren - Sushi Bars Near Me - Valley Park, Missouri

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Great sushi for a moderate price range. Not the cheapest, but definitely not the most expensive. They have a lot of options on the menu, the dishes all tasted good, and were presented well. I had a good experience with both service and food, and would recommend it as a solid sushi option in St. Louis County. read more

BEST SUSHI!!!! I am a sushi connoisseur and this place is the place to go. Service is excellent, and they have good music playing!! read more

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High nineties, but a visit to a Japanese restaurant is not complete without miso soup. Reader, it was worth it! With each mouthful, one could easily envision vats of simmering broth, bringing you deep umami flavors, paired with nori and silken tofu. I also ordered the tako karaage and katsu don. The karaage (fried octopus) was served hot, crisp and delightfully salty, the perfect prelude to the katsu don: pork cutlets finished with seared eggs and brothy onions. Cosy dining, attentive service and amazing food - what's not to love! read more

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Under new ownership. Now have all you can eat. And really quality sushi. It was very good.

Been going here for years, tried the bento box this time and it was good, but the tuna tower is where it's at! We also got a crunch roll and that was delicious! I really like their hand rolls too! read more

Izakaya Ren - Crunch Roll (8 Pcs) - Sushi Bars Near Me - Valley Park, Missouri

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Not sure if they are under new ownership but they seem to have upped their game and changed the menu up a bit. A few new rolls and some of the old rolls. All are tasty and freshly made. We get carry out - pork gyoza is also good. read more

It was my second time here. The first time was a few years back so I didn't remember much. We walked in during dinner time. The restaurant was pretty busy but we got seated promptly. I like that they have booth seatings which are very comfortable and convenient when dine in with young children. Menu is well organized with variety of sushi, yaki mono ( grilled items ), rice bowl with some Korean dishes like bulgogi or kimchi fried rice. Several sushi rolls names caught my eyes like 911, heart attack, hell's gate, ooh la la shrimp... I think it's cute. Unfortunately,they don't have kids menu. I wanted to order the octopus salad but they didn't have so I got squid salad instead - it's average, you can skip this item. Next, tuna tower -- I didn't understand the hype. It's basically a four layers of rice, avocado, imitation crab, spicy tuna topped with masago and tobiko and sauce. It has too much rice and very saucy which masked the taste of tuna. IMO, it's adapted to American taste. Here are items that I would definitely order here again, 1. Sashimi - I got the hamachi sashimi. And I loved it. For anyone who wanting to try sashimi for the first time, I'd recommend yellowtail for buttery flavor and smooth texture. Salmon toro (belly) is good too but it's kind of fatty. 2. Ama ebi - I knew immediately I wanted to order this when I saw the description how they make it here - raw sweet shrimp served with fried head. Both my partner and I love ama ebi. We've had it at many sushi places in the US, in Japan and other countries, but they often serve raw head. We always had the raw head by sucking it out - it's full of flavor and nutrient dense. Here, they deep fried the head and it's so crunchy like eating chips. It was so so good! Must try item! 3. Crazy roll - tuna/salmon/yellow tail with cucumber and avocado - It's a perfect combination. I was able to enjoy the flavors of fresh raw fishes, the crunch of cucumber and the creamy avocado. But, rice was a little but lacking of rice vinegar. 4. Bulgogi rice bowl - I ordered this for my kid. I taste tested it and I think this bulgogi bowl won my heart. Beef was tender and flavorful. I would definitely order this again. Overall, the dinning experience here was totally out of my expectations. Raw fishes here were fresh and the cut was generous. Service was warm and amazing - when we left, chefs behind the sushi bar all said bye and thank you to us. Highly recommend this place and we'll definitely return. read more

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Here, it's all about the tuna tower. I also love the tempura udon and the sushi rolls. And the hot sake. And the shumai. But the tuna tower is the key differentiator. read more

Walked in on a Friday night. Not busy. Great service. Looks like a family restaurant and that dad was making sure all was taken care of. I had a very simple dish of chicken katsu and miso soup. It was very good. Wish I had ordered more but was not that hungry. My nephew had sushi and it was really good. I like this restaurant. It is not brightly lit and it is very cozy inside. I like the dark feel and it would make for a great date night restaurant. Get more than I did. I will be back though to try more things. Really nice people in this establishment. read more

Izakaya Ren - Sushi Bars Near Me - Valley Park, Missouri

Love this place. Service is phenomenal and the sushi is super good. My favorite is the tuna tower and they also make a low-carb roll that is packed with fresh fish. Lunch time is the best time to come, they aren't very crowded, so go give them some business! Beautifully prepared food and nice atmosphere. read more

Izakaya Ren - Special low carb roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Valley Park, Missouri

Popped into the sushi place with new ownership -- same favorites, super fresh, and honestly the nicest staff ever!! Highly recommend!

Loveee their tuna tower! We were a bit skeptical when there was no one in the restaurant when we walked in at noon but decided to give it a try since it was highly rated and we're at Starbucks next door. We started with 1 tuna tower to share for 2. It alone is enough to keep one full. The salmon sashimi was fresh, fatty and went well with a thin slice of lemon and fresh wasabi. The bulgogi should have come with a bowl of rice, as it's a bit salty without - we ordered a side of rice and it's perfect. Agedashi Tofu was soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside, which is how it's supposed to be; however, there's too much soy sauce/soup imo. Overall, we'd come back for more tuna tower and try other Japanese dishes. read more

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We came in on a weekend for dinner, and we were seated right away. The service was good overall, they were friendly and accommodating. Ambiance was like a typical Japanese restaurant. We were excited to try the soju, and it was really tasty! Not too sour, not too sweet. There was huge selection of sushi rolls, so hard to decide. - Danny roll (4/5): good flavor, tasted fresh. Pretty basic but would order again. - Supreme salmon roll (4/5): really yummy, lots going on here. Lots of sauces, good texture with the crunch of the shrimp. - Chicken katsu bowl (3/5): not the best but not bad. Wish the katsu was more crispy and had better flavor. read more

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Dark. I mean like it's really dark inside. But the service is fast, friendly, the portions are generous and the food is delicious! Like any normal person obsessed with sushi I have a list of my faves- Cardinals Danny Big mouth. Enjoy! read more

They are fast and efficient. The food is always delicious, and they are just around the corner from my work, so convenient as well. One of the best places I have found for sushi in the St. Louis area! read more

This is one of my favorite sushi restaurants in the area, the service is fantastic, attentive and friendly. It is expensive (especially ordering alcohol), but people forget that it is costly to ship fresh fish to the middle of the country. We started with wasabi pork shumai (you can also order shrimp). The wasabi is infused in the shumai steamed dumpling and gives a nice spicy bite, mixing well with the juicy pork on the inside. My son ordered a chicken teriyaki bowl full of juicy sliced chicken breast in a bowl of rice with a drizzle of teriyaki sauce. The sushi arrived in a big wooden boat and it was fabulous. The boat contained an order of spicy tuna roll, unagi (eel and cucumber), The spider roll with tempura soft shell crab was crispy and delicious. The hells gate was spicy and delicious. There was a lot of fish and minimal mayonnaise which I like. We will definitely be back! read more

Izakaya Ren - Boat o sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Valley Park, Missouri

Their happy hour specials are amazing. We ordered squid salad, octopus fritti, pork dumplings and 4 rolls. My friends tried the sake and plum wine. I tried their green tea. Everything is high quality. Price is reasonable. I really enjoy my visit at izakaya ren. read more

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The strip mall location belies the excellent murals on the interior walls- truly some of the best restaurant art I've seen. Ambience is casual and comfortable. The sushi is excellent - there are plenty of customers, ensuring enough turnover to keep the fish fresh. They have a plethora of rolls to choose from as well as chirashi bowl and individual pieces. They also have some cooked entrees which I didn't explore. Our group shared the squid salad, the pork gyoza, St Louis roll, crazy roll and sliced and fried octopus. They only dish that wasn't great was the octopus and it wasn't bad, a bit chewy. However, all of the rest was so good I would order the octopus a second time to see if this serving was just a fluke! read more

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Cute, intimate place. The service is wonderful and the Saki is even better. I have never had a bad experience here. I love their sushi. It's nice to have a place like this close to home. read more

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Delicious food (especially the grilled mackerel) and sushi, but expect small portions. We ended up ordering more food twice throughout our meal because the dishes arrived with less food than we expected. The shrimp and vegetable tempura entree was perfectly fried/crispy and came with dipping sauce. My husband really liked his tempura udon entree's broth and noodles, but it only came with 2 shrimp tempura total. My favorite sushi roll out of the 3 we tried, was the Caterpillar roll (crab, eel, and cucumber, drizzled with eel sauce). I also liked the soft shell crab in the spider roll (soft shell crab, avocado, wrapped in cucumber and drizzled with eel sauce), but my mother-in-law didn't like how the roll fell apart and was difficult to eat because the exterior cucumber kept unraveling. My toddler daughter enjoyed her gyoza and miso soup appetizers. My favorite part of the meal was definitely the grilled mackerel, but I was underwhelmed by the small portion and how it didn't come with any sides at all. Hence why I ordered more sushi rolls to fill my hungry belly! We might come back for lunch or when I'm not so hungry in the future since everything tasted good, but I was a bit turned off by the small entrees. read more

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Came here for lunch with my school mentor and we both got the two roll lunch combo. We also got the Japanese egg rolls which were tasty and the sunomuno salad. Everything was good and while it was a little pricy, we added a third roll to share which was the rainbow roll and that was clutch. read more

Izakaya Ren - Lunch set - Sushi Bars Near Me - Valley Park, Missouri

Was seated fast, there were out of tonic so I had to get a different drink, which was fine. Sushi was good, large rolls. Overall would go back read more

We went for lunch not realizing they do not offer lunch option. The combination which is about $20 does not come with the basic miso soup nor salad. My husband ordered a chicken teriyaki rice bowl more like kids menu size. We also ordered tempura for $15+; came with 2 shrimps, one slice sweet potato, one slice of Japanese pumpkin, asparagus and a large slice of onion. Total cost about $60 including tip. It was ridiculously overpriced. read more

Great little spot, good food. I definitely recommend if in the area and in the mood for sushi!

On arrival to the restaurant, the atmosphere was very dim. It created an ambience of quietness, just took a minute for my eyes to adjust. We tried the harumaki, I really enjoyed with the eel sauce. It was quite tasty and hot! The bulgogi roll I felt could have been juicer, a little on the dry side. The spicy salmon roll wasn't too bad. Not pictured was the rainbow roll, this was by far the best roll among the three. I greatly enjoyed it. I dipped the rainbow roll in the eel sauce to give it a little bit of sweetness. The four fish, avocado, and crab sealed the deal for me. read more

Izakaya Ren - Salmon roll and bulgogi roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Valley Park, Missouri

This place is lovely on the inside, very clean and stylish. We visited during happy hour and ordered from that menu. We started with pork gyoza that was crispy and flavorful. The crazy roll had thick cuts of fish that tasted delicious. My husband loved the shrimp tempura roll. For drinks we shared the house sake cold and it was light and refreshing. The service was quick and friendly. We will definitely visit again. read more

1st time dining in for me, though we had ordered takeout while dine-in was closed earlier this year. Came for early dinner; dining room was mostly empty, but filled by the time we left. Ordered takoyaki, gyoza (pork), Shrimp tempura sushi roll and Dragon sushi roll, and added Philadelphia sushi roll later (no photo). All came out quickly, and tasted good. Service was good, though we had to ask our server to repeat himself a few times due to not enunciating behind his mask. We ate off their little sloped soy sauce saucers -- not sure if this is the norm or whether they assume people don't share sushi rolls so don't need their own plates. read more

Izakaya Ren - shrimp tempura roll on left, dragon roll on right - Sushi Bars Near Me - Valley Park, Missouri

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On the trail of great sushi. We've been searching for good reasonably priced sushi. One of our yelp buddies suggested Izakaya Ren. Great suggestion! The sushi is wonderful. It's very fresh. The rolls were great and whimsically named with St. Louis in mind. The pork dumplings were well fried and moist. The squid in the squid salad was tasty and tender. The one thing that was a little disappointing was the octopus in the tako karaage. It was a little chewy. The restaurant is very clean, great decor, very comfortable. We will go back for sure. read more

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