ICHI Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Queensland

We visited ICHI quite some time ago and weren't overly impressed - but something has significantly changed for the better.

The overwhelmingly positive influence was from the older lady staffing at front of house. From the moment of taking our phone booking, through the whole experience - she was faultless and just nonchalantly went about her work whilst interacting professionally with diners. This is a perfect example of why Australian businesses need to employ more older people - she's a true gift. My wife went to the extent of stating she reminded her of her grandmother - and that's extremely high praise.

Outstanding service aside, let's get to the food (this is a restaurant, after all). Starters came out at breakneck speed. Don't order the Miso soup as a starter (one of my Japanese bellwether dishes) as it's served as a side with mains. I was gobsmacked to see hiramasa sashimi in Toowoomba - by far my favourite starter in any cuisine if I had a choice. The cut was slightly thicker than what I'd like but a beautifully curated presentation with a well balanced wasabi. My wife had the karaage.

Mains - I almost died and went to heaven with the Unagi. Gorgeously brûléed and gelatinous - if you've ever described a dish as "melt in your mouth" then this just exceeded it. Rice was unfortunately comparatively average and this was somewhat disappointing accompanying such a stunning star protein.

Not what you'd expect from the location but I'm absolutely going to dine here again. The service and food are...

Disappointed with the ramen. I know the owner says it is for food safety reasons they cannot do ramen egg. But aside from ramen egg, the rest of the ramen was just ok though - but note that my partner and I are not fussy eaters, so it takes really bad food for us to say it's not ok. However my parents are fussy eaters, and they really disliked the curry that they said was bland, and the teriyaki chicken which they complained was dry yet mushy, and also very sugary. I know the owner always retorts to negative reviews and says it is a family run business, however being a family-run business to support a family does not entitle a business to be immune to honest unflattering feedback. My parents think it was the worst, I think it was average, so I'll compromise between the average and worst score and give it 2 stars. But hey, they're still doing well overall on ratings so majority must be happy with...

Freshest Japanese dishes in town. Some of my favourites are Agedashi Tofu, chicken katsu ramen, vegetable and tofu ramen, deluxe rolls are also very filling. Pretty much any of the items on the menu is good.

The winning dish from here is THE Sashimi Don. I've eaten this dish since the restaurant first open, and regularly for years after. It hits the spot EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. The quality of the seafood, the quantity, the rice seasoning, everything about this is done so well.

Sashimi is generally fresh most places you go, but it is very hard to find one that is actually filling, without having to spend an arm and leg. The owners are very accomodating, always looks after you. To compare this with thousands of Sashimi don served up in the big Brisbane city, I still haven't found one that ticks all the...