IYA Sushi and Noodle Kitchen

Ok, its been Almost a year since my first review of Iya.
I have probably gone back there at least 6 — 10 times since.
Things have changed for the better, as I was sure they would!
First, opening up the second half of the building made a huge difference. Doesn’t feel as crowded and cramped. Much more comfortable.
Second, the staff has gotten much better. Way friendlier, much more timely and they know the menu better. Really makes a big difference in the dining experience.
The food. The Ramen is still as good as ever, and I am super glad they have not changed it.
Although, they DID add some new ramen flavors: The Duck Ramen is pretty good, although the duck itself is nothing special, the use of watercress gives it this wonderful freshness and is a nice contrast to the fatty duck. The Wonton Ramen is VERY good. Nice clean clear broth, and a large portion of home-​made wontons. The filling is a garlicy, semi-​spicy sausage that melts in your mouth. I just wish there was more to the soup than just wontons and noodles.
The Sushi has been more consistent and they seem to be doing more specials too, although many of the «specials» are kind of basic rolls with different mayo squirted on em. Still tasty, but not as ambitious as they seemed to be in the past. I will say this though, when they say something is spicy, they don’t bullshit you. Its not overbearing, but the 4 alaram roll was NICE. pair it with something sweet like the Tango Roll.
Tried the kimchi for the first time the other night, it was pretty meh.
Overall, the place has made great improvements and I’ll be back with greater frequency.

I was up at Mt. Holyoke College for a field hockey tournament (shocking, right?) and needed lunch… and since I was fighting off a cold I wanted some kind of spicy soup. When I saw Iya Sushi and Noodle Kitchen I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best because I didn’t see a lot of other options.
Well, Lucky me!!! I ordered the hot and spicy seafood ramen and literally got exactly what I was hoping for (how often does that happen???)! A very nicely spiced (and scorching hot) broth with shrimp, mussels and calamari and a generous portion of ramen. Had I eaten it there I probably would have also gotten a specialty roll of some kind (I tried a couple pieces of a friend’s and the spicy tuna was delicious as was the Yellowtail roll), but I took my soup to go and was able to relax and eat it back on campus without having to worry about missing a game.
I say this with 100% certainty… If I lived in the area, or went to school at Mount Holyoke, I would eat here regularly. I read a couple negative reviews, but I can’t comment on multiple visits since I’ve had just one and all I know is that my ONE visit was outstanding…

We ordered the hot and spicy ramen, a salmon roll, the pork bao and the bulgogi. They were pretty busy, so the food took a while to come out, and the entrees ended up being served before the appetizers. The ramen noodles we delicious and chewy, but the broth didn’t taste porky enough. The bulgogi was a little dissapointing because it wasn’t as flavorful as I expected. However, the salmon roll was a extremely fresh and the pork bao was perfect. Overall, IYA mostly lost a star on service, but that can easily change.

I am an infrequent visitor because I am from out of town. My two previous visits were wonderful. Interesting décor with superb sushi creations. This time, I visited for lunch well past noon and found the restaurant about ¾ full. The cooks were busy and the wait-​persons were bustling about. Entering, we were told we could sit anywhere so we decided on the second room, next to the bar. We were given menus. But then we waited and waited, about 15 minutes without any further notice. We were about to get up and leave but then a server finally came over. We told him how long we were waiting just to order and he apologized. We proceed to order and had miso soup (needed on a cold day) and sushi lunch specials. The sushi was well presented and I enjoyed it. Later when presenting our check, our waiter again apologized and waived the fees for the soup. Although I’ve read recent reviews about service, I’d like to think this was just a busy or bad day. I will likely try IYA again.

I love everything about this place food drinks and service were outstanding I am definitely going back!

Used to love their udon soup and sushi combo, but they don’t have that anymore. Very disappointed. The ramen is just Ok.

Mostly Americanized sushi rolls and typical modernized Asian food. Their rolls are beautifully presented and tasted like any other California rolls I’ve had. They also have a rice depositor, which speeds up a lot the process of making sushi to make up for the dire lack of staff. Ramen is pretty boring, but their Bibimbap is quite nice. If you’re really in for something special, get the Soft Shell Crab Roll, which features a whole tempura fried crab in the filling of the maki.

I love this place. It is the best. The service is always great. Now that it is bigger there is no wait. I have tried a lot on the menu. I like the beef bulgogi tacos, the gyoiza, and the sushi. The miso soup and the ginger salad is ok. I also tried the Raman but it wasn’t my cup of tea. There are a lot of items on the menu and I enjoy most of what I order. Would definitely recommend.

iya used to be a decent place to get sushi, ive gone to iya consistently since it first opened. their quality has sharply declined. I vehemently disagree that it is anywhere near the top sushi places in the area.
lately the sushi is not always fresh, a couple of times I went the sushi rolls were actually TINY while the price remained the same. I threw out an entire roll of sushi recently because it was absolutely disgusting and I thought it would make me ill. I even had a very disappointing ramen, which is an incredibly easy dish to make well. the last 3 times I ordered were all so bad that I completely stopped eating there.
I see that people are commenting that the fish is fresh. this is either luck of the draw or an inability to distinguish. im sure it’s not always horrible but I am no longer willing to take that chance.
iya is able to get away with this extreme drop in quality bc it is right across from mount holyoke college and many students like sushi and don’t have other options.
if you really want fresh professionally made sushi, go to master chef which is about 5 – 6 minutes away from iya. their prices are comparable, possibly cheaper.

First time visit and ordered the Hot and Spicy Ramen Bowl. The spice level was dead on perfect with a very tasty broth to match; two slices of pork belly were perfectly caramelized having a bold porky flavor. So what was my problem, well two things, it was very scant on greens/​vegetables would have preferred more and it was without mushrooms or the customary boiled egg. I felt this bowl lacked a broader range of items and for that reason way over priced at $ 11.95.

Ramen looks good but taste really bad. The broth is not up to the lowest standard. So disappointed.

I’ve been to IYA twice now and would definitely be happy to go again and again. Their sushi is the best sushi in the whole area. The thing about sushi is that your ingredients have to be high quality and fresh and the balance perfect, because there is no where to hide. We had the Sunny, Sweet Potato, Salmon and Spicy Tuna roll. The three latter rolls had 8 pieces which is more than most places, some offer slightly lower prices but only 6 pieces, and we ordered them as part of the three roll combo which made them a great value. The Sunny Roll has 10 pieces and is so good it is a little addictive. Perfectly fried tempura shrimp, well balanced acidity and flavor. The Sweet Potato roll is tempura and very tasty. The salmon and tuna were fresh and flavorful with just the right amount of wasabi in the roll and a balance of spicy in the tuna.
The ramen was a little bit lacking in terms of exciting flavors. I think because the broth didn’t have much depth and since that is the core of ramen it misses the mark.
The tempura and edamame apps are delightful and a good start to a light and delicious meal.
The first visit the server was very pleasant and friendly, the last time the server was impersonal and seriously lacking. She is lucky my mother-​in-​law was paying because she wouldn’t have gotten much out of me. There wasn’t even so much of a thank you when handing us the bill or the check to be signed. She also spent most of her time leaning on the bar and looking bored even though there were 4 – 5 tables in the restaurant. The kitchen staff always looked busy and focused, which is important when you have an open kitchen.
So, stinky service aside, I would always recommend hitting this spot for the awesome sushi.

As I said to my friends when I was here during my college reunion, if this restaurant had been here when I was in college, I would have been in big trouble. While it isn’t up to the standards of the sushi you’d get in a big metropolitan area, this is top notch for South Hadley. The sushi was fresh and the rolls were creative. It’s a bit pricey for the area and for what you get, but the service is great and it couldn’t be more convenient. The ramen was tasty, but definitely not authentic. Nevertheless, I’ll go back next time I’m in South Hadley!

After several months of staff changes, the food and service both have suffered major damage. Menu items I’ve ordered previously are no longer presented the same (example: spicy tuna salad was not presented as a salad!!!) Freshness and quality of the fish has dramatically gone down hill. Jovial staff that used to be behind the bar have been replaced by, in my experience and opinion, lack luster and uninterested staff. We used to enjoy this place not only for the food but for how friendly and engaging the staff was towards us. Good memories while it lasted but we will not be returning anytime soon.

2.5 Really but Unilocal doesn’t offer ½ stars
Reluctantly we went back. After two years of great sushi, maybe my previous assessment was hastily drawn. My Wyf really, really, really wanted sushi and I really, really, really didn’t want to drive to East Windsor, CT when Iya is five minutes from the house. So we went.
The service was lacking. Salad ordered first still hadn’t come after the first two rolls arrived. I xd the salad, but they conveniently forgot to take it off the bill. My wine glass was empty and no one ever even looked our way — and I was trying to get someone, anyone’s attention. Uh no. And we were sitting at the bar!
The sushi was good, a bit sloppy, uneven slices and over sauced, but acceptable. The prices are premium and neither the food nor service come any where close. So the bottom line is this, if you’re desperate and need a sushi fix and willing to be ignored and pay premium prices — then yeah, go for it.

Very good sushi place.
Always a good variety of special rolls.
You can watch how the prepare the food.
Like the deluxe sampler, very good value.
Friendly and attentive staff.

Let me start by saying the service was some of the best that I have ever had. I’d leave 6 stars if it were an option. Stopped in here for the first time last night with the hubs. We were seated quickly and briefed on specials that all sounded very unique and tasty. After hearing about the asparagus tempura, it was a no brainer to order some. No regrets there at all! And it came with both sweet and savory dipping options.
Our drinks never went unfilled, and each part of our meal came out quickly. I opted for the grilled shrimp salad and a paradise roll (so good!!!) And the hubs got shrimp hibachi. Everything was ahhhhhmazing.

Let me preface this by saying that after growing up eating homestyle Japanese cooking I can be picky about Japanese food. I do however recognize that I am in the middle of farm country (western MA) and this is not my typical (SF Bay area) restaurant.
For the location this place is actually quite decent. The prices are fair, the food is fresh, and the service is nice. They definitely take the time to get to know the locals.
I’ve been here perhaps 5 – 10 times during my time at MOHO. I went early on when they first opened because their parent restaurant Hukelau told me that they were opening a new place in the village commons. I was very excited that they were also a noodle place. I checked it out and ordered the seafood udon? which was recommend to me by the waiter which I was not thrilled with. The seafood was overcooked and the broth was too spicy without enough flavor. I didn’t really eat it and was disappointed when the restaurant staff didn’t comment or try to make it better. Albeit I probably hadn’t adjusted to western MA version of asian cooking. I’m not grading IYA on that scale.
The owners of Hukelau, IYA, and Johhnys are not Japanese they are Chinese which is fine. Normally I hate to see different types of asian food on the same menu but apparently that’s a thing out here. I think it’s to cater to the various tastes /​preferences of groups.
Since my first experience it took me a while to go back but I learned that their sushi is excellent and prepared right in front of you. I was also happily surprised to see that they added additional noodle soup options. Their pork ramen is very good. I thought that the noodle bar (something like that) mention when they first opened was a bit deceitful because they only had 3 noodle soup options on their menu. But they have since expanded and I am now a happy customer. They were off to a bit of a rough start in my book but have since upped their game. I will be back, after all where else will I find good ramen in Pioneer Valley?

Best and freshest sushi around! Presentation and service is awesome! This is the only sushi place I go to around the 5 college area. Even though it is quite far away from UMass, Amherst, Hampshire, and Smith, but it is definitely worth the trip.
I recommened the sashimi platter, definitely enough for the 3 people. I don’t recommend the ramen though, it wasn’t amazing as I thought it would be and I actually even preferred instant ramen :(
Restaurant is modern looking with a bar and clean.
Side street parking in a quaint area with froyo right next door.

My boyfriend and I love coming here when he’s in town. Everyone I knew at MHC loved going to iya. The sushi is so fresh!
Two things to know:
1) they get busy on the weekends so the food takes about an hour for preparation even if you’re doing take out
2) they are SMALL space wise so they fill up fast and they don’t take reservations
My advice:
1) don’t go on the weekends at dinner time
2) if you insist on a weekend visit sit at the sushi bar, order the Mount Holyoke roll, and get the edamame while you wait for it… You won’t be disappointed! (: