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Ichiban
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Lunch
15 reviews for Ichiban
We stumbled upon this small restaurant with an hour to kill before jumping on a train. I liked the sign in the window: "no sushi". They must get that a lot, and actually, we were in search of sushi ourselves, but opted to duck in to Ichiban because we were in a bit of a time crunch. Menu was pretty straightforward - lunches (that come with rice, miso soup, tea, bean sprout salad), noodle dishes.
On the table we had a salmon lunch and vegetable tempura. Both were pretty good, service was friendly, and it was a pretty seamless meal. The tempura was above-average for sure - batter was light, veggies (sweet potato, onion, peppers, carrot, zucchini) were still crisp, and a light dipping sauce on the side was all the accompaniment it needed.
No frills, quick, simple - a fine lunch preceding a fine train ride.
This one's a toughy, and I almost feel like I should reserve judgment until I give it a second chance. I came here with an old college friend several weeks back for dinner, having been in the mood for some home-style Japanese cuisine. Small and kind of run-down, but with friendly staff, Ichiban's offerings were exactly what I was looking for at the time. We had croquettes for appetizers, and udon (I think) and sukiyaki as entrees for my friend and myself.
In hindsight, I should have gone with my gut and ordered the special of the day (broiled salmon I believe), but I opted for the sukiyaki instead since it was something I'd been meaning to try for quite some time. I can't say I was a huge fan of the dish - while by no means a bad dish, it was unexpectedly sweet (little surprise now, looking at how mirin is one of the main components), which is not something I particularly care for when it comes to main meals. The croquettes rocked though, though I was a bit bummed at how small they were.
Prices were pretty good for a Japanese restaurant, and the serving sizes weren't too shabby either. Definitely going to give Ichiban another try sometime to see if I can find a dish that'll suit my palate more.
Good authentic Japanese food for DECADES!!!
Sukiyaki, nabanyaki, saba, salmon, beef teriyaki (spicy too if you ask), udon and simply the BEST tempura around!
The decor is nearly the same as when I was a little girl (my kids say in the olden days).
I don't mind because of the consistency of the food! I love it!
I want to give this place 5 stars so bad, but can't. I have to give it a 3 and here's why:
First off: The food is good. I hate to keep kicking a dead horse, but I mean you gotta rate a place for what they do and not compare it to say a 5 star restaurant. This place is similar to the old Takohachi. They do Japanese soul food. Lots of Fried items, Donburi, Udon, and a few specials. All good, but didn't really dig the Udon as much. Can't complain about the flavors though. Thoroughly enjoyed my meal.
Appearance: A cross between Der'elict and leftover 70's. Uncomfortable booths, mix and match tables/chairs and a sheen on the walls that can only come from a fryer coupled with an inadequate hood. Kind of faux clean as well...but as much as I can complain and point out things, the food's pretty good.
Service: Slow - I mean there's a sign that say's the service will be slow. Just so you know what you're getting yourself into. Also, you probably shouldn't expect too much. We requested something and had to repeat ourselves twice before we gave up. The food was pretty good though.
Overall, it's one of those places that with all of it's faults, you want to like the place. I'd say i'd never go here if Takohachi were still around, but with the close of Takohachi, Ichiban does alright.
ROCK STAR SERVICE! ROCK STAR FLAVA!!! And NO Sushi!! Read the sign in the window!!
Holla!! This is my new FAV on the block! Talk about authentic, "old-skool": charm, service, flavor, menu, and smells!! And the owner/mistress of the place speaks solid "Engrish!"http://www.engrish.com/ Bwahaahh!!!
From what I gathered, the owner had just gotten back from Japan, visiting family. She had been gone for 2 weeks and had closed up shop during that time, man did her "regulars" miss her!!
Having visited this establishment, way back in the day, a different owner and name, I was happy to see someone take this restaurant over who kept up the "old world" charm and flavors!
I shed a tear as I sipped the miso soup, the flavors were similar to my, may she rest in peace, Aunt who made some of the BEST damn Japanese food around. Oh, man do I miss her... Thankfully this place exists! I truly felt like I was at my Aunt's place eating some of her finest!!
Starch-boy, our son, is now the Tonkatsu specialist, he ranked it up with the finest. I was "allowed" to taste a piece, he begrudgingly gave up 3 pieces for the rest of us to try. It was some of the finest I've had, EVER!! Tender on the inside and nice and crisp on the outside, the flavor of the breading was nicely done, such that I didn't use any Tonkatsu sauce. SB's plate was gone in under 3 minutes, I kid you not!!
My Mom and I both had fish, I had the salmon, and she had the mackerel, we ended up sharing our dishes between the two of us. The salmon was fresh from the market and boy did it taste like it. Perfectly cooked, NOT, under done and seasoned with perfection! The mackerel, which is often frozen, was still cooked with care and portioned very generously.
We also sampled the potato croquets and gyoza, again, solid flavors and prepared to perfection!
While the street parking is hit or miss, we got lucky and parked about a block away, I figure in the ID, that's ROCK STAR parking in my book!!
No need to go any further, check this place out and enjoy!!
I heard that Ichiban had great katsu... Now who am I to turn down panko deep fried meat! :) For the price you're getting a good size portion and I do think it's pretty good. But I still don't think they are the best in town, nor the best in that little cluster.
Alright... Ichiban in general is probably my third favorite Japanese restaurant in the cluster.... In ranking order...
1. Tsukushingbo
2. Takohachi -- it'd be my fav it was still open
3. Maneki
3. Ichiban
5. Fuji
I heard amazing things about this place before I tried. I went there with my coworker for lunch and order a Tendon. I expected their Tendon to be something similar to the ones I used to have in Tokyo -steamy rice and crispy tempura on top. I was really disappointed because the rice was soggy (how can a Japanese place serve bad rice?), tempura was oily and very soggy, and sauce was too sweet.
The place didn't look so clean either. After I left the place, my clothes stank like oil too. Eek! I was only there for 45min! I don't think I will go back there...
Oh, I love this place so much. I walked inside and I was instantly felt like I was back in Japan. I was tempted to speak my bad Japanese to the lady behind the counter.
The place is modest and unassuming, their udon is exactly how it should be and they are still small enough that they aren't afraid to converse with the regulars.
Ok, I admit that I am sucker for reviews and Japanese food, so I ventured here to find out just how authentic and delish it would be. I wanted a good bowl of udon to replace the emptiness left by my recent wisdom teeth extraction. Here's my take:
Seating: Prompt at 12 pm on a weekend
Ambiance: Japanese mom and pop diner - old style and clean
Service: Fast on taking orders, slooooooow on serving dishes (1 cook? "Slow food"?)
Crowd: Mom and pop..lots of grandmas and grandpas there.
Price: Very reasonable, under $10 for a main entree
Food: Classic Japanese offerings such as tsukemono, donburi, and miso soup.
My husband liked his oyakodon well enough. I also was satisfied with my udon..but it wasn't really udon though. It was more like thick spaghetti that looked like udon and the broth was not udon broth as I recalled it in Japan. My husband agreed since he comes from a region in Japan where udon is a specialty. (He's a bit of a snob about udon though.) Still, it was good in its own way. I could've ordered the "Sanuki udon" for $1.50 more but why call the original udon dish udon if it really isn't?
Overall, a very decent, well priced diner if you want something other than sushi or ramen.
Ichiban. Is. The. Bomb.
My gf introduced me to this little jem, and I have to say, this is one of the best Japanese restaurants I've ever been to. EV-AR! It's owned and operated by a friendly couple from Japan. The husband cooks in the kitchen while the wife takes orders and serves up the food.
Ramen, udon, donburi... it's all amazing! I don't know why, but the little appetizer they serve has me hooked. Maybe it's laced with crack or something. I mean, how can bean sprouts and sesame oil be so addicting?!? Just thinking about it makes my mouth water. Same with that "secret sauce" they use...
Oh yeah! I guess I should throw out a disclaimer: My gf dated the owners' son, and we go to their daughter's place for game night. :) But I'm not biased. Honest!
If you like Japanese food, go to Ichiban. You'll thank me.
For the record... No Ramen at this restaurant. Udon and Donburi yes... but no ramen.
Udon w/ chicken was pretty dang tasty. Good broth, good noodles.
Interior of the restaurant seemed a little run down, or as some might say - "cozy". But still... worth a try.
There is no ramen here!
ok so this is it. The best japanese restaurant in seattle. EVER. So they are extreemly authentic and very tasty. If you want food that is "from" japan this is it. So the best part though is that nothing is more expenisive then $8.50. Most are 5 though.
I stumbled upon this place by accident because the other place around the corner was closed. I am so glad I went in here. I love their saba either with salt or miso. I've had a few other things on the menu- udon was ok. I liked the broth, but the noodle wasn't as smooth as I would like. Sukiyaki was pretty good except for the celeries. I would've preferred bean sprouts or something more Japanesey than celeries. Good & cheap natto. Overall, definitely worth their price. I once asked the lady if she added everything correctly because the total didn't seem to be enough for everything we ate.
love the sukiyaki there ;-)
