Been going here for years... it's more of a closet instead of a restaurant... the door is sort of hidden and the corners are well worn with memories and history... but that is part of the charm. Quintessential urban college spot. The Dragon Roll and Sunday Morning are my favs. The hot stone bowl (dolsot bibimbap) is a classic. Either order, plus a hot tea and a generous tip, gets me out the door for $25 or less. You won't regret giving it a shot. read more

Although I have been to other half-price sushi joints, I had never been to Drunken Bento prior to last week. I went with a friend for lunch, around 12:30 on a Friday. As expected, it was very busy, but we were seated almost immediately. The restaurant itself is small and compact, with little room in between tables. I didn't mind this, but I would imagine if you wanted to have a more private conversation, this wouldn't be the place. The sushi menu was consistent with other half-price sushi restaurants in Cincinnati, including classic rolls as well as more expensive rolls, like the Sunday Morning and Dragon Roll. I ordered a philly roll, alaskan roll, and Volcano roll. For all 3 rolls, my total was under $15! The food came out fairly quickly, and our server made sure to refill waters and check on us periodically. I appreciated that even though they were slammed for prime lunch hour, she still made a point to connect with us as customers. She was also very friendly. The food was pretty good, again on par with other sushi places like this in town. Nothing special, but I can always count on consistency with these types of places. Location is prime, especially if you're in the Clifton area. On West McMillan, it's surrounded by other restaurants and even next door to a local bookstore. If you're a UC student, I would expect this would be a weekend staple. Next time I am in Clifton and craving sushi, I'd definitely stop by again. I also like that they're open late! read more

iZen's Drunken Bento - volcano roll (left), alaskan roll (top), philly roll (bottom) - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

The sushi here is crazy good for the price, although the service is clearly lacking. However, if you can bear through the wait it's amazing. The sushi is always half-off the menu price if you order inside so you can always feel free to try something new without breaking the bank. My personal favorite is the Sunday Morning Sushi because it has a nice crunch to the outside while being sweet on the inside. If you come here make sure that you've allotted plenty of time to eat here. It pretty easy to wait an upwards of thirty minutes to get your sushi. It may be a small restaurant but it's always packed, so the wait is understandable. They're also open pretty late if a late night sushi craving ever hits! read more

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We did a return visit last night and had such a great time. It was myself, my husband and my 9 month old. We were sat up front near the window where we had a bit more space for the high chair, which was nice. Our server was great and our orders came out pretty fast. We started with Red's Roll, Spicy California and Sunday morning. The latter was definitely my favorite because I'm a sucker for tempura. But the salmon tasted so satisfying as well. The other two rolls were nice, but a little too spicy for me. We ended up doing a second round of California and Morning. I'd love to go back for more Sunday Morning and to give some others a try. Maybe try Zen Garden again? Also, I'm not sure if we visited during some kind of happy hour?? Because our bill was lower than I expected - about $38 for five rolls plus a tip. It was around 4p on a Thursday. read more

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As a Dallas native and Asian person, I've been spoiled with the authentic korean food. After eating a multitude of korean dishes, I can say one thing: this place does not make korean food well. Seafood pancake- It was very dense and not as chewy/bouncy. There was no flavor. Usually, the onions are cooked separately first to give a caramelized flavor. I would suggest doing that because it was pretty plain. The sauce they gave us was a bit too salty. I suggest adding some sugar or honey to it. Also, there was not much seafood in it. Honestly, I was hoping it would taste better each time I ate another bite, but it just disappointed me. Tofu soup- It's a bit spicy, but it's not flavorful spicy. I think there needs some Red pepper paste (gochujang) in that soup because after the spicy dies down (which it does really quickly and kinda disappointing) the soup tastes like water. This is also weird because the soup has clams in it and usually having seafood in the soup should help the flavor develop. However, there wasn't any flavor. Bulgogi- The flavor is right, but the beef is kinda dry and some parts were burned black. Looking around, I saw someone with udon noodles that looked soft, limpy and over cooked. Maybe that's not a good option either. Sushi seems popular here. I might give this place another chance later and try their sushi or bento box next time. The price for the korean dishes are affordable and that's probably the only good thing about this meal. read more

iZen's Drunken Bento - Tofu soup and bulgogi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

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I am in love with drunken bento. this is the best sushi i have ever had. it was so creamy and juicy in my mouth. full of flavor and absolutely delicious. deserves more than 5 stars. katy was my waitress and she was so sweet she was the only server and ran the whole store all by herself. would recommend to everyone read more

iZen's Drunken Bento - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Ordered sushi delivery for 3 people--got 1 set of chopsticks. Good thing I ordered extra Wasabi--what came was like a dot. Chincy on the pickled ginger. read more

Drunken Bento may have just taken the #1 spot for my favorite sushi restaurant! Don't let the lack of decor and small dinning room turn you away from trying some of the best sushi in Cincinnati. All day everyday, the sushi is half price and you don't have to sacrifice quality for the price. I tried an assortment of rolls, some of my favorites were the volcano, hot mama and the sunday morning! Overall, the customer service was great, and the food was even better! I can't wait to come back to Drunken Bento! read more

iZen's Drunken Bento - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Firecracker roll and alaskan roll were amazing!! Second time here and service was great once again. read more

iZen's Drunken Bento - top: firecracker roll bottom: alaskan roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Good service. Vibe is very small, hole in the wall. Recommended by numerous friends from the University of Cincinnati. Has a dirty feeling atmosphere with writing all over the walls. Although restaurant is clean upon inspection. Food was delicious. Definitely recommend a sweet potato roll, even though it does not contain fish it is my favorite roll from here. read more

This place is somewhat of a hole in the wall but always jam packed with an energetic young crowd on any given night. Sushi rolls are half-priced which can't be beat. I had Miso Soup, Pork Dumpling Wasabi Rolls, the Chef's Specialty Sushi roll, and a beer all for $15! I highly recommend this place to anyone looking to try some incredible sushi in a welcoming and underground type atmosphere read more

iZen's Drunken Bento - Hot Mami Roll, Wasabi Dumpling, Miso Soup - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

We are from out of town and wanted some sushi. Thought we should try this place because it looked like they had a good variety. We drove out and it is in the college area. It is a crowded area and we were lucky to get a parking on the street. We walked and this place is a hole in the wall and we almost missed it. The place is small and trendy, but had good music playing and people were all happy around. We were seated quite quickly. We ordered sushi and bulgogi. The food was really good, full of flavor, and tasty. We had the Volcano rolls and it had enough heat and was a good portion. The Sunday Morning Roll was nice and crispy and also had good flavor and was filled a lot. The bulgogi came with white rice and that was a nice sized portion that we shared and were really full. Over all hands down the best sushi we have had. Will go back before we leave from out of town. read more

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If you enjoy sushi of all kinds you need to check this place out! I had the pleasure of enjoying the spicy California roll (which wasn't that spicy, but very flavorful) and the shrimp tempura roll. Yum! The sauces were great! The seafood was tasty! I want to try more! They have beer & mixed drinks as well and Korean type dishes. The place is small, but the ambiance was fun & eclectic. One side of the wall looked like larger jenga pieces with peoples writings all over it. Would definitely go back! read more

iZen's Drunken Bento - Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Love the sushi here!! Best time to go is on student breaks or summer time for best parking options and no wait read more

iZen's Drunken Bento - Crab salad - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Best sushi in Cincinnati! I will still go out of my way to drive here even though I don't live near by. Best pricing and quality. Also the service staff and owner are the best read more

Ordered take out. The portions are pretty small. The volcano rolls were a little disappointing. There weren't a lot of crab sticks on top. And the sauce was really greasy. The dragon rolls were really good! read more

iZen's Drunken Bento - Volcano roll, shrimp tempura roll, dragon roll, and Sunday morning roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Having Sushi for the first time, this place turned my LazySundays to SushiSundays! I love my rolleys with a dab of 'ranch' fosor! The ShrimpTempura was soooo good, I highly recommend it. I don't think this place has a lot of chicken options but their Chicken Katsu is not too bad. I felt it to be a lil dry but maybe it could be because of the sushi that I totally loved. read more

iZen's Drunken Bento - Chicken Katsu - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

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Very Disrespectful/Racist Manager. Wouldn't let me talk to anyone bigger than her. A new employee misheard me and rang me up for California Roll When I Wanted a Sunday Morning. I call and he says he can replace my sushi. I drive all the way back for this lady to tell me that this is what I ordered when it was in fact NOT. She "Banned" me because I asked for what I actually ordered and told me to go to yelp about it. I know the staff here is amazing cause this is one of my go tos. But this particular manager pulled mace on me and didn't correct my order. Horrible customer service on her part. Still would like to speak to someone higher up. read more

First time in Cincinnati and the Sushi here did not disappoint. Fun fact dine in the prices are half off. Everything is absolutely delicious especially the dynamite roll read more

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My husband and I was in the Clifton area and was craving sushi. A fellow yelper mentioned this restaurant. She mentioned that the price is cheap and the food is good. 1/2 price sushi everyday?! You can't beat that! IZen's Drunken Bento is located across the street from Mac's pizza. When we walked in, we were seated right away. What stood out was the wood blocked graffitti on the wall. Loved it! Place is very small and intimate. Loved the sushi bar, but I didn't like the dust on the lighting fixtures and on decor. We were waited on right away and the server was very friendly. She was quick on taking our order. The night was pretty steady with dine ins and carry outs. My husband and I started off with the Vegetarian Gyoza (fried) for $3.95. Then proceeded with our sushi order since it was half off. -AAC Roll $2.50 -Asparagus Roll $3.00 -Cucumber Roll $2.00 -Vegetable Roll $2.75 -Extra ginger $1.00 For each roll you get 8 pieces and we requested all sushi to be wrap inside and out (rice out-seawood in). We received the sushi right away. They were pretty quick. I always say you get what you pay for. I was a bit disappointed with the sushi. The rice tasted old and funny (my husband agreed). The service was excellent. Server was refilling our waters, always checked up on us, and brought the bill out right away. Bill was only $16.23. You cannot beat the price, but the quality of the sushi was not great. Sorry IZen's Drunken Bento, not returning. read more

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This place is my home. Hole in the wall, yummy sushi. Will always be back. My rolls: reds roll (spicy tuna), Sunday morning roll (fried philly roll), and cucumber roll. When I don't want sushi (rare) I go with the hot bimbimbop bowl! It steaming hot rice with veggies, your choice of protein in a hot bowl and you mix it all together to make your own fried rice! Love this place. read more

Drunken Bento has good sushi at a great price. We had maguro (tuna) nigiri as well as the yellowtail scallion, bbq eel and "stay with me" rolls. All were delicious and a great deal for the all day every day "half" price. I don't usually do specialty rolls but the "stay with me" was a great choice with lobster tempura, spicy crab, avocado, etc. I enjoyed the more sushi bar atmosphere of Drunken Bento's small space vs. the college bar atmosphere of the Clifton Mr. Sushi down the street. read more

Just making an update here folks. Stopped in this past Saturday night with my husband and teenage son for dinner. We did wait about 10 minutes for a table (to be expected at 7:30pm on a Sunday night), but the tables turn over quickly, so we were seated, no problem. I just have to say, at dinner, I was just as blown away by this place as I was at lunchtime. The service is friendly and fast. We had a couple beers (1 domestic, 1 Japanese), and a lemonade and ordered pot stickers to start. The pot stickers came out within a few minutes and we enjoyed them leading up to our sushi extravaganza. We ordered four rolls and I wish I could remember what they were, but I will say, all were outstanding. I posted a photo. This was our first time taking our son out to eat sushi as he only recently discovered that he liked it. He was blown away and announced that when he was driving, he would be stopping to eat there every week. With all the sushi being half price all the time, of course he is! Seriously, our bill was about $40 bucks. We had 4 rolls, all unique and tasty, two beers (one large), a lemonade, and vegetable gyoza. If you like sushi and you like it at a great price, this is a perfect spot in Cincinnati. And it's just fun to be in the college atmosphere. read more

iZen's Drunken Bento - From L to R - Fire Cracker Roll, Crazy Spicy California Roll, Dragon Roll, and ...can't remember. All were great though! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Great food, great atmosphere and the wait staff was awesome. Everything I ate was delicious and all servers were super attentive. The salmon skin roll was my absolute favorite. Korean Stone Pot is. 10/10, everyone should get it. If I come back to this area (traveling for work so I'm not here often) I 100%%%%% will come back to drunken bento read more

Went here for a work lunch yesterday with a couple of co-workers. The place has a nice layout for an urban sushi joint, small and pretty easily packed with customers, with a long bar along the back and a handful of tables up front. The overall appearance is run-down and a bit grungy, something that can be charming, but with sushi I prefer a clean shop. A friend and I ordered sushi, and a third colleague ordered bulgogi and gyoza. His food arrived first. The gyoza was clearly deep-fried and not pan fried. The vegetarian filling had no texture and tasted mushy and a old. A little off-putting. The bulgogi was apparently delicious and did in fact look pretty tasty. The sushi arrived a bit later. We each ordered salmon roe nigiri and a couple hand rolls. The nigiri was fine and tasted about as good as it does everywhere. The hand rolls, though, tasted off and a bit dirty. The crab in my spider roll tasted a bit of freezer burn and the dancing roll just had a slight aftertaste that was hard to pin down. My friend mentioned the same about his dragon roll. Very disappointing. While I didn't get sick from the meal I'm not feeling up to ever going back. read more

Waitress incompetence making a mistake with my order and the treatment of the staff and the manager (I believe his name was Brandon?) Were absolutely offensive and I've never been treated so rudely in my life. Was told they'd call the cops rather than fix my order which was a mistake on behalf of the waitress. Both the waitress and manager were rude and condescending. I've worked in the service industry for more than a decade and I would never speak to someone the way they both spoke to me. read more

For the price, worth it. Def not the best sushi in cincy but you're not paying for the best. I got the double shrimp roll and my husband got a number of other ones - spicy tuna being one of them. He loved the tuna and said it was very spicy. Which was a win. I did get the ginger salad and I do have to say, best salad I've gotten at a sushi restaurant. Most salads at sushi restaurants are poor quality leaves but this was a spring mix with lots of variety. And the dressing of course was great. So although not the very best, worth it. For three rolls, a salad, and miso soup total was $30. Not bad. And location is great too. read more

Love this place! I order take out Fromm then whenever I am in town. Sushi is always good and fresh. And the price is amazing!

Im always looking to try new sushi places and Izens has been on my list for a while, so I finally made it last Saturday. The place is extra tiny so I'm glad we got there when it wasn't busy. We were seated right away, although i must say most places ask you how many and take to your seat, unlike at Izens they look at you from far and kind of moves their hand you can follow them. Moving on the service is alright, I asked what kind of teas they had, the waiter didn't really know but eventually mentioned a few, we ordered two and she came back saying that they only had one kind. So we got Jasmin tea. We proceed to order, we got the Spider roll, Alaskan roll, Veggie roll and California roll. All of them were very good and tasteful, the least favorite was the veggie roll because it was a bit hard in the middle, nevertheless I really loved their sushi. I would definitely recommend the food here, is not a lavish place, because is very old ish and small, but for a quick eat their sushi is awesome. read more

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I stopped on a chilly winter night after seeing the Cincinnati Zoo lights with some friends. I don't spend too much time in this area so I had yet to try Drunken Bento. Food: I had the miso soup, which was good. Minimal tofu actually in the soup though. My wife and I shared the shrimp tempura, hot mama, baked Alaskan, and Sunday morning rolls. The rolls were well made, didn't fall apart and came out quickly. Not the best sushi I've had, but certainly not bad at all. Also perpetually 50% off. Side bar, this drives me insane. Just make the damn regular price half of this always 50% off. Service: We were promptly greeted and seated as we walked in. Our drinks and soup came out quickly, as did our sushi. Our server was very attentive, kept our table cleared and drinks topped off. Facilities: Drunken Bento is on McMillan, so there is street parking available, as well as a nearby parking garage. It's a small, cozy restaurant with a bar that takes up about half the interior. It's a hole in a wall type of joint, with that type of vibe. Feel free to write your name on the walls, literally, type of place. My only gripe was we were seated near the front, and received a blast of arctic air every time someone opened the door. That was fairly frequent with how popular this place is. read more

iZen's Drunken Bento - Shrimp tempura, hot mama, baked Alaska and Sunday morning - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

BENTO!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? You've screwed up my last 3 orders. You seemed to have forgotten the difference between nigiri and sashimi. You're forgetting sides of rice and seaweed salad. Is it because I moved out of Clifton? Did you get new sushi chefs? This is not you. You're supposed to be my go-to and you're failing me. You still have fresh sushi...but please, please! Read the ticket! Now I have to check before I leave to make sure my order's right. That hurts. I trusted you! read more

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My fiancée and I wanted to grab some dinner after the Cyclones games. We wanted sushi and headed to Izen's Drunken Bento. Was seated and then proceeded to wait 30-35 minutes without service. Waitress walked by us a few times to serve the table next to us but didn't even look at our table. We finally had enough and walked out of the restaurant. This was probably one of the worst service performances I have ever received. The restaurant has lost my future business read more

Along West McMillan street there are tons of small hidden restaurants that when you are not looking carefully you will probably miss it. One of those small hidden restaurants is iZen's Drunken Bento. When we came in, the place was so packed, we were third in line and had to wait for about 15 to 20 minutes. When it was our turn, we were placed near the sushi bar area. While we wait for our order, I noticed that the place is long and has more chairs/table at the very back of the restaurant. The wall design is interesting, block of wood with tons of writings. We ordered: Vegetable and Shrimp tempura - I like the vegetable tempura, it was lightly battered and deep fried. Shrimp tempura it was okay, but the outer part was a bit hard and it scratches my upper gums while chewing. Half price sushi - we got 5 different sushi and I must say all of them are pretty decent. Nothing stands out as my favorite among 5, but they were not that bad at all. Deep fried ice cream - did not try it. You should and let me know! All in all, they deserved 3.5 stars. Good place to have some food and decent sushi. Just a reminder that they have a limited seating so better come in early. Give them a try! read more

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Aside from the safety of consuming raw seafood, when it comes to Sushi, quantity is more important than quality for me. I like almost all sushi. So if I can find a place where I don't have sacrifice quality and order a large amount of sushi without breaking the bank, then I've truly hit the jackpot. Drunken Bento certainly fits the bill when it comes to these parameters! One of my favorites also makes me feel like a total lush, the volcano roll. The spiciness and spicy mayo goodness overtop the aluminum foil surrounded roll is just delicious. For as busy as an area as this is, the service has always been speedy and I can't wait to find another excuse to go put myself into another sushi-induced coma. read more

Visited on a Sunday afternoon for lunch with 2 other friends. We were ready to go on a sushi spree. We had the veggie roll, California roll, Philly roll, Shrimp tempura roll and the Spicy salmon roll. I knew they had a reasonably priced menu after reading the other reviews. Our total was $17.50 inc. of taxes! Must mention, they served 8 pieces per roll. Rolls are pretty small, but delicious. Definitely worth what you pay for and I wouldn't complain about the size. They also serve other Korean and Japanese dishes. Note: They have half off sushi for a limited time frame everyday. Else, everything is at it's original price. read more

iZen's Drunken Bento - California roll, veggie roll and Philly roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

YUM! Ever since I was a student at UC I have loved me some Drunken Bento! It is delicious, quality sushi that is inexpensive yet I always feel like I am getting fresh fish and it never makes me nervous. I've eaten here a million times and always had a good experience. They are open very late which is ideal for the college kid crowd but also you don't feel out of place going in the daytime as an adult. We ordered 4 rolls of sushi - California roll, spider roll, yum yum roll, and sunday morning roll (some of my faves), and our bill is always so low it blows my mind. They always have half price sushi, so half of the price listed on the menu for the regular rolls and also for their gourmet and chef specialty rolls which is nice. The staff is always friendly and fitting for the hip feel of the place. I have sat at the bar, at tables, and at the bench seating area and never had a bad time. If you sit near the wooden wall you can write whatever you want on them with the provided pencils! It's probably my go-to place to cheap, good sushi! read more

iZen's Drunken Bento - Sushi roll! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

The management was awful, they didn't do anything after giving me a cold sweet potato roll with spoiled cream cheese

Drunken Bento is hands down one of the best sushi restaurants in Cincinnati. I've been coming here for a couple years now and I've never have had a dish that displeased me. With a large variety of sushi rolls, nigiri and an assortment of specialty rolls drunken bento does not disappoint. The waiters/ waitresses are great. The close and comfortable space gives the place a more modern, young vibe. If you're looking to go out for dinner with a date or a couple of friends this is your place. read more

iZen's Drunken Bento - California Roll, Stay with me, Spicy Cali, Sunday Morning roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Been going here for 5 years and have never had a bad experience. Great food at a great price every time

As a college student you cant beat the prices at drunken bento. I've only ever had their sushi but its one of my favorite pick me ups. Its cheap, the service is spectacular and the quality is top tier. read more