beautiful ingredients
We have a dedicated sourcing team that travel across the world to find the most nutritious, vibrant and sustainable ingredients possible. Fresh ingredients packed full of flavour are delivered and prepared in store every day.
salmon
Every morning your local fish’pro takes delivery of fresh sashimi-grade salmon fillets [on ice]. They then slice exactly 9 grams of salmon for nigiri, 15 grams for sashimi and the size of a 5p piece for salmon maki rolls. itsu salmon comes from Scotland and the crystal-clear waters of the Norwegian fjords. We work with one of the world’s leading seafood companies - ranked #1 on sustainability (Coller FAIRR).
prawns
After years of searching for the perfect prawns, we’ve finally landed on 5XL ebi jumbo sushi prawns. They are the biggest on the market, and are sustainably farmed, with visibility from farm to Fish Pro.
UK's no.1 gyoza
Our signature gourmet chicken gyoza, affectionately known as 'chicken gyoza no.74' [the 73 recipes that came before it were delicious, but it took 74 versions to crack it] as well as delicious noodles, fresh greens & our brilliant'broth.
chicken
In our restaurants, our chicken is always fresh, never frozen. The chicken in our salads, rice & noodle dishes is sourced from independently assured British farms and for us, Red Tractor Assurance is a minimum.
We’re also committed to working towards even higher welfare standards by signing up to the Better Chicken Commitment in all itsu restaurants as well as across our supermarket products. Despite a number of global challenges over the last two years, we are committed to meeting this promise by 2026. We are working very closely with our suppliers and we have made significant progress towards meeting our goal.
chicken big'bao
itsu chicken big'bao won an esteemed Great Taste Award in 2022. As part of itsu's quality control process, our technical department have worked closely with our partners in Shandong, making sure that they operate to the highest possible standards of quality. Their purpose built, state of the art Bao production facility (which we like to call our “Bao kitchen”) recently received an A+ grade in its latest BRCGS audit, which means that they always operate to exceptionally high standards.
The welfare of the chicken used in our Bao is of the utmost importance to us. Our production partner has a vertically integrated supply chain, meaning they actually farm the chicken themselves and ensure welfare that is already inline with the UK’s Red Tractor standard. This unparalleled visibility of our upstream supply chain will serve to support our journey towards reaching the Better Chicken Commitment by 2026.
rice
Our brown wholegrain [hot] rice is grown and milled in Spain. It is carefully selected and scrutinised for its delicious nutty texture and high fibre content. Our premium sushi rice is checked, washed and cooked to perfection under the watchful eyes of our highly skilled Rice’Pros.
15 different vegetables
A blend of 15 different greens, herbs and aromatics all packed full of nutrition. Always British and adjusted seasonally for maximum quality throughout the year.
petit pois
Our Belgian suppliers collect rain water that falls on their factory roof then treat and use to clean the factories & fill condensers. Next purified and pumped into an irrigation network supplying local growers to water their vegetable crops. The majority remains in the wetlands providing habitat for over 200 species of birds.
nori
Sourced direct from South East Asia adding a subtle, unmistakably Asian flavour, nori is used in many of our most-popular dishes. Incredibly nutrient-rich and a source of vitamin B12, protein and iodine.
broccoli & avo
Our tenderstem is steamed [never fried] every day in each of our shops to lock in flavour and nutrients. For avocados, we use the highest quality Haas variety and only accept perfectly ripe fruits for our delicious salads and maki.
soy sauce
Brewed for us in Japan by Toshio and his family, he follows the ancient proverb of ‘onko-chishin’, which means ‘to move ahead by learning from the past’ his recipe has changed very little in over 2000 years.
miso broth
Our miso broths are made using authentic paste, never powder. Japan’s food entrepreneur Yoshihiro Hayashi cooks the miso with herbs and spices in the stunning Nagano valley.
teriyaki
We use mirin rice wine in our incredibly popular teriyaki dressing for sweetness and depth and, unlike many other teriyaki sauces, we add fresh ginger for warmth and complexity of finish.