Back in 2008, Iso Sushi began its endeavour to bring fresh Japanese cuisine to the UK. Now, nearly two decades on, they have eight stores spread across the UK, with the Preston site having opened in late 2024.
Blog Preston was invited to take part in a special influencer event with a sampling menu of various items from the Iso Sushi menu. With that in mind, I pulled up to the location in Lostock Hall, along the village’s high street, and was immediately greeted with a pair of balloon pillars perfect for influencers to grab a quick selfie.
Upon entering, it’s clear that this shop is optimised for takeaway orders, but there is a number of large tables and benches available for anyone who wants to sit in and enjoy a meal. And despite the dark walls, the bright neon signage bathes the entire room with a warm glow that makes it feel cosy and comfortable.
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I was welcomed in, and immediately offered a range of drinks with several green teas on offer, as well as the usual soft drinks and water.
It was also at this point that I noticed the set menu and the table setting that had been laid out to help guide me and the influencers through the tasting menu for the day. With a quick look on socials, I noticed that several of the other sites had held influencer days, with the same menu, helping to signal boost their locations.
Now, onto the show. Clearly, with the benefit of experience from sister sites doing these same showcases, Iso kicked things off with a showstopping moment. They brought out a large sushi boat and some dry ice to create some atmosphere, and placed it down on the main counter by the tills.
This achieved the desired effect and has my mouth watering for what would come next, as well as providing the influencers with a chance to get some unique footage for their Instagram reels.
It was at this point that the starter plates were brought out, featuring a bao bun with crispy breaded pumpkin, two pieces of crispy prawn sushi, and a further two pieces of their firecracker spicy chicken sushi.
The portions provided were part of a sample plate, so it’s difficult to put an accurate price on these, but typically, you can get a pair of bao buns for £6.99 and eight pieces of sushi for between £7 and £8 depending on the filling.
This sampling platter was absolutely delicious. The bao bun was perfectly soft and fluffy with the crispy pumpkin and raw veg providing a wonderful texture. The firecracker chicken had heat, but it wasn’t overly intense, and the crispy prawn was the standout from the starters, with a perfectly balanced bite.
We were also invited to sample more from the sushi boat, which was a great way to give anyone who enjoys the more traditional raw fish sushi a chance to try the various flavors. I tried some of the tuna, salmon, and gunkan, which were all lovely and fresh.
We then moved on to the mains with a packed plate sporting katsu chicken curry on a bed of rice, chilli chicken, and yakisoba noodles.
Individual portions of each of these dishes will set you back between £7.99 and £9.49. The chicken had a wonderful panko breadcrumb crust and paired well with the katsu curry sauce. The chilli chicken was suprisingly mild considering the name, but the flavor of the sauce was rich and vibrant. And finally, the yakisoba noodles were lovely, with a good mix of vegatables to add texture and flavor, but without a protein or sauce, they didn’t stand out.
Finally, we moved on to dessert and one of the other attendees was celebrating their birthday, so the restaurant brought out a small cake alongside the mochi ice cream balls on a paper plate.
As lovely as the cake was and the Ferrero Rocher that topped it, that is not a typical part of the menu. But the mochi ice cream balls were absolutely delightful. The texture of mochi is extremely chewy with a subtle flavor, but paired with mango and vanilla ice cream, it was the perfect way to close out the meal. And at just £3.49 for two mochi ice cream balls, it’s a bargain.
All in all, the experience lasted just shy of two hours, and the focus on providing an experience for influencers was clearly at the forefront of this event. However, the food was all perfectly cooked, the range of flavors and options provides something for everyone regardless of diet, and the prices reflect the quality of the food.
A typical three-course meal with individual servings of the above-mentioned food would typically range between £18.47 and £ 20.97, excluding drinks, which appears very fair. But, there are also meal deal options available for one or two people that can make a meal at Iso even more cost-effective.
I felt that they take great pride in the food they offer, and I imagine that, despite receiving special influencer treatment on the day, anyone visiting the restaurant is likely to be treated to some standout food. As a fan of Japanese cuisine, I’m pleased to know there is great quality sushi down the road, and I will likely pay a visit the next time I pass through Lostock Hall.
Editor’s note: This is not a review, we were invited along and Iso Sushi knew we were coming
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