restaurant

Izumi

Izumi Restaurant (Antwerp)

© Izumi

  • Date
  • share

The sun has risen a redder hue over the port of Antwerp ever since Izumi set up shop near the quays. The setting? A dining room done up with wood and cream-colored tones, with a Japanese-style paneled ceiling, block prints and lanterns on the walls, windowed doors with rice paper panels, a traditional L-shaped counter, and even a soothing miniature waterfall! In short, everything you need to imagine yourself somewhere in the Honshu Mountains, rather than seated along the Scheldt River. You can thank Amsterdam native Ed Balke and his daughters Fiona and Hanna for this magical experience, who recruited Tokyo-based master sushi chef Shuichi Ishige and chef Yoshiki Sasano (from Nagora) to stew up the postcard-worthy menu. The day we went, we dug into a set lunch menu composed of perfectly made chirashi topped with salmon, bluefin and Albacore tuna, scallops, mackerel, amberjack and salmon roe, paired with a classic bowl of miso soup. At night, dig into the selection available à la carte (which is obviously a little pricier), featuring sea urchin sushi, shoyu-grilled eel, an assortment of sashimi, fried oysters with ponzu sauce… Unless you’d rather share a nabe (a hot pot filled with udon noodles, tofu, egg, beef and vegetables) with your better half. // Jean Gourmand

FEELING THIRSTY? A large selection of sakes – Kakurei junmai ginjo (€8.50 a glass, €30 a carafe) or Ryusei White Label (€10 a glass, €32 a carafe) – and a few beautiful bottles of wine, including a natural Burgundy chardonnay from Athénaïs de Béru (€52)…
PRICE: Set menu €26-38, appetizers €4.50 to €18, sushi €4-12 a piece, hot dishes €20-39, nabe €82 (for two).

Save this spot in the Fooding app, available on iOS! Download it now in the app store.

The new Fooding Belgium Guide is now available to pre-order!

Inside you’ll find: 250 brand-new places from all over Belgium – that’s a whole lot of restaurants, bars, wine cellars, food shops and hotels to eat, drink and sleep your way round, in Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia; our hotly-anticipated list of 15 award winners, for a pure slice of Belgitude and 9 interviews with 40 of Belgium’s finest winers and diners.

Le Fooding’s brand-new Belgium guide frontcover
PRE-ORDER
About

Le Fooding is a print and digital guide to all the restaurants, chefs, bars, stylish hotels and B&Bs that make up the “taste of the times,” plus an annual awards list for new establishments across France and Belgium, a series of gastronomic events, a tool that allows you to make reservations at some fantastic bistros, and an agency specialized in event planning, content production and consulting…

Fooding® is a registered trademark.