Izumi Sushi & Hibachi Steakhouse opens in West Babylon
An icy, appetizer-sized platter of sashimi at Izumi Sushi & Hibachi Steakhouse in West Babylon. Credit: Corin Hirsch
Eaters who purr under the technicolor lights, ornate sushi rolls and hibachi-table theatrics of Izumi, a restaurant with stakes in several Long Island towns, can add another destination to their list: West Babylon.
The newest Izumi opened here in late May, in the far corner of a Montauk Highway shopping center. Just inside the entrance, a burbling water feature frames a vast space of 200 seats, a sushi counter, a bar backlit by neon and flat-screen televisions, and about a dozen hibachi tables — plus a giant fish tank, a full-sized fake tree, a massive wall-mounted schooner and enough splashy lighting (in purple, crimson, marigold, cobalt blue) to make you feel as if you have stepped into an alternative dimension.
Only 25¢ for 5 months
Eaters who purr under the technicolor lights, ornate sushi rolls and hibachi-table theatrics of Izumi, a restaurant with stakes in several Long Island towns, can add another destination to their list: West Babylon.
The newest Izumi opened here in late May, in the far corner of a Montauk Highway shopping center. Just inside the entrance, a burbling water feature frames a vast space of 200 seats, a sushi counter, a bar backlit by neon and flat-screen televisions, and about a dozen hibachi tables — plus a giant fish tank, a full-sized fake tree, a massive wall-mounted schooner and enough splashy lighting (in purple, crimson, marigold, cobalt blue) to make you feel as if you have stepped into an alternative dimension.
The menu matches the other Izumis — in Holbrook, Commack and Levittown — and carries both the spirit of those places as well as an encyclopedic approach to Americanized and fusion-tinged Japanese food.
Appetizers (most $6 to $13) run the gamut from gyoza, agedashi tofu, and beef kushiyaki to filet-mignon carpaccio, salmon-belly tartare, tuna pizza and a petite sashimi platter that comes adorned with carnations and bamboo. The requisite sushi rolls ($15-$16, mostly) populate the menu, as do nigiri sushi, donburi bowls, and hot Japanese plates such as tempura, udon, and teriyaki, as well as Chinese, American and fusion dishes like pineapple fried rice (served in a pineapple, for $17) and filet mignon ($27). Hibachi dinners begin at $25 and top out at $62 (for a surf and turf-like platter for two), and go down in a dedicated room lined by flame-hued glass (as well as actual fire). Lunchtime specials abound.
Besides sake squirted across the table, drinks include tea, beer, wine and girls-night cocktails such as a mango cosmo, sake sangria and watermelon mojitos.
Izumi is open daily for lunch and dinner at 527 Montauk Hwy., West Babylon; 631-686-3338, izumiwestbabylon.com