Review of 'ISO'
When we heard of a sushi restaurant opening up in nearby Crewe, it immediately jumped to the top of our restaurants to visit list. We are fairly starved of Japanese food with no restaurants serving it in our town, nearby Nantwich. The nearest place serving fairly good Japanese is in Chester (45 minutes drive) - Hamayuu - Otherwise we have to live with the sushi in the coolers at Sainsbury's or Tesco's (the later being marginally better, as prepared by “YO! Sushi”). It is our favourite cuisine so when we were in town for an appointment at the hospital we decided to drop in.
ISO is located just off the Market Square in the middle of Crewe so parking is a bit tricky (the large council-built multi-story car park is losing money and even more when we were there as it was closed up). It is in the former location of Costa and shares a space with Dixy Chicken. ISO is a chain of 13 Japanese fast-food restaurants located in the mid-west with their first location having opened back in 2008.
We arrived just after they opened at 11:00 am on a Saturday. In fact, we had to ask if they were open as they were still taking the chairs off the tables. The interior has a modern looking fast-food vibe about it, with comfortable looking seats, plain tables, and mock black marble everywhere along with some quirky neon signs on the wall. The menu and concept is obviously targeted for delivery and takeaway but they have made an effort with the interior.
The double-sided glossy menu is divided into “small plates”, “gunkan & nigiri”, “maki & handrolls”, “sushi boxes”, (flip over) “sushi” (rolls), “burgers”, “katsu bento”, “ramen & udon”, “kids”, “sashimi”, “platters”, “salads & poke”, “from the wok”, “desserts”, “bao”, “teriyaki”, and “drinks” (soft drinks and cold, flavoured teas). Each of the sections are in trendy lowercase with “.” after each (“bao.”) so, yes, again, they are trying. The prices are quite good for Japanese food but we soon learned why…
We placed our order at the counter where our server struggled a bit with the computer with it's oversized screen but eventually told us we did not need to pay until after our meal and invited us to find a table where our food would be brought out to us.
We originally wanted the “aloe vera” (£2.49) drink but later were told they were out so opted for two (boring) soft drinks instead. We were more interested in the food.
We shared an order of the “chicken gyoza” (yes, lower case; £7.99; “handmade in-house chicken gyozas fried to perfection”) which had to be the highlight of our meal - Fresh out of the fryer with lots of flavour accompanied by a very nice creamy dipping sauce.
I opted for the “tuna box” (20 pieces; £11.99; “contains spicy tuna rolls, tuna maki & nigiri”) but I had wanted the mixed tuna & salmon box (20 pieces £11.49, 10 pieces £6.49) but we were told that salmon was not available. It was a good selection of different sushi types but the portion sizes were TINY (think of a checker piece slice of nigiri), which is probably why it was such a good price. The tuna, however, was very fresh though the rice was a bit under cooked and did not really stick together as it should. We were given copious amounts of soy sauce but no dipping tray so we used the plastic top of the gyoza realizing later that it had a hole in it…leaving a bit of a mess on the tray. The supplied “gari” (pickled ginger) was a good size and very delicious while the wasabi was hot but not a lot of flavour (possibly not real wasabi which is common in cheaper Japanese restaurants in this country).
My companion opted for the same “tuna box” but the 10 piece size instead (£6.99). Similarly, she complained about the quality and portion sizes.
We have been told that the katsu is quite good but the same reviews talk about how good a quality the sushi is so I would take this with a grain of salt. We are, however, willing to go back to visit again to give it a go as the options in our area, as I mentioned, are limited…
At just over £33 (no tip) it was not bad for sushi but, again, the portion sizes were small. The staff were very friendly and polite. But, generally a disappointment
Rating: “It is OK but I have some issues”
Review Date: 2026-06-28
Cuisine: Japanese (Sushi)
Address: 40A Market St, Crewe, Cheshire CW1 2EL ENGLAND
Public Transport: 
Crewe
Location: Cheshire (England) - Crewe
Map:
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Telephone: +44 (0) 1270 295945
URL: https://isosushicrewe.co.uk/