ICHI GO ICHI E - Salzburg — Restaurant in Salzburg

My boyfriend and I went to this ramen bar after having read so many good reviews on most of the blogs we follow. We called in order to make reservations and the employee corresponding with us was very friendly. However when we arrived at the restaurant anything that could have gone wrong actually did.

We chose to sit inside since the restaurant was not as filled as expected and for the moment it was a little too cold for us to sit outside. Counting us in there were three more seated tables inside yet we waited quite some time until the waitress brought us the menu (and also only because we asked to get one.) We ordered some tea and a few starters. The tea as well as the gyoza were very good, but unfortunately the soy shoots were stringy. As a main dish I ordered the Hokaido Ramen and my boyfriend the Tan Tan Men Ramen. When we asked the waitress whether the minced meat used for the Tan Tan Men soup was spicy, she answered "no". It was necessary for us to know because spicy dishes make my boyfriend sick. A few minutes passed and since it was getting very warm in the restaurant we asked a waiter whether it was possible to switch tables and sit outside. He answered "yes" and asked whether we had liked the main dishes. When we replied that they had not been served to us yet he was very surprised and went to the kitchen.

In the meantime my boyfriend and I started to take our tea cups and the leftovers of the starters outside. We had to go twice – with our first run we dropped off the tea cups at the table outside. When we returned to the table outside with our bowls of starters another waiter started to put away our tea cups. He emptied them on the street although we shouted "noooo!". He apologized, but we did not get a new portion of tea, which really irritated us. The main dishes came after a few minutes, but the Tan Tan Men Ramen were no where near mild although the waitress had promised the food was not (too) spicy. My boyfriend barely tasted the Ramen and he started to cough and turn red. Luckily we were allowed to send back the Ramen and the waiter was so kind as to prepare a special Ramen bowl for him. The Hokaido Ramen have the same kind of minced meat in the bowl as the Tan Tan Men but it was not even close to being this spicy. But that may be because there was barely any meat in it …

All in all it was a nice experience, but we certainly could not believe the "hype" around it. The food is alright but we had the feeling that the service staff still needs to get used to the work and the procedures in the restaurant business as a lot of rookie mistakes were made (forgetting to serve menus, not keeping track of ordered and served menus, provide advice on...

Extremely rude service. Please train your waiter in manners and customer service.

We didn't know that we had to reserve a table beforehand and went there without a reservation. There was only one 'active' waiter then and when we arrived he asked whether we had a reservation and talked to us while walking around the restaurant bringing other guests' food. He only replied, "Sorry, not possible" when we said we didn't reserve a table. We took some time outside to look for another restaurant nearby that was still open and in around 15 minutes other guests started coming out of the restaurant and the tables were empty (tho there were dirty bowls on them). We asked another waitress (asian lady, very nice) whether it was possible to just have a quick meal.

She told us to wait a moment, cleaned a table, and told us to take a seat. Then she gave us our menus when the first waiter started asking us rudely whether we had a reservation. We answered again no and he yelled at us that we couldn't eat there.

We were very upset of this treatment and I said that the lady told us that we could take a seat. We already had menus in hand, took of our coats, and were already seated. He went back to the bar and kept pointing at us while talking to another colleague and giving us the side eye.

If we hadn't walked on foot for 30 minutes, we would've left immediately after being treated like dogs begging for food.

1 star for the kind waitress + 1 star for the good food. It could've been an obvious 5-star if only the waiter had...

Ichi go Ichi e is ichiban! Excellent service, cozy environment, and delicious ramen. As someone who has lived in Japan. I can assure you that the ramen here is 100% authentic. The broth, the cha shu, the tamago, were all made like the ones you will find in Japan. After trying out 4 different ramen bowls here, my favorite is the Miso ramen.

For those who want something more spicy, definitely get the Spicy Miso ramen. Also, for those who are super hungry, I would definitely suggest adding more cha shu or tamago to your ramen bowl.

My only feedback is that there were slightly more noodles than broth and they did not have naruto fish cake as an add-on to the ramen, however, it did not stray far away from the authentic Japanese ramen experience.

Overall, if you are in Salzburg and are craving for some authentic Japanese ramen, I would highly recommend stopping by Ichi go Ichi e. Your stomach will be pleased.

Pro tip: call ahead for reserved seating. Evenings and weekends may be super busy. Otherwise there may be a few seats...