Ichigo Ichie Izakaya — Restaurant in Montreal

Jon Batiste, Toronto/Montreal, Uneasy Tour Road Trip Food Stop #3: Pre Concert Meal Montreal!

Yes! I was on an 1100 mile (look I’m an American and I don’t do Metric…) round trip loop starting and ending in Hartland, Vermont and spending one night with dinner and lunch outings, in Montreal. Pretty sure I’ve been in Montreal before. But also pretty sure it was so long ago I cannot pinpoint what decade that might have been…LOL

I love a road tip tho. And I do spend some time planning out every move I make, most importantly my meals. Two things: I want to know where I’m going to eat and I do not want to “waste” time/money/calories on a meal with no forethought or a seriously disappointing meal. So I spent some time on Yelp browsing Montreal restaurants and I focused on Asian cuisine, because that’s my jam.

The restaurant scene in Montreal seemed a little strange, but there were Japanese options and I was actually kind of excited when I found Ichigo Ichie. I mean Japanese Pub?? Seemed like a genius idea. Spoiler Alert: It Is!

I am that person who not only plans where I am going to eat, I also plan my actual meal. I review menus, I make preliminary item choices. I don’t eat beef, pork or poultry, so some level of planning is always required. Particularly if I’m going to eat somewhere that identifies as a “Pub.” Pubs are not necessarily known for their embrace of “meatless.” You know?

I read online menus for Ichigo Ichie and there were actually some things I really wanted to try. Plus they had small plates. Which is my jam. I always want to try as many different things as I can when I eat out and I’m that friend who is so commitment phobic I can’t even commit to an entree for dinner.

No. Really.

Let me graze and snack!

It looked promising at Ichigo Ichie. I drove from Toronto to Montreal and found parking right on the street on the same block (which I’m thinking might not be unusual for Canadians/Quebecois, but was kind of shocking for me!). I arrived shortly after they opened and was able to get a seat at the bar. There are multiple dining rooms and levels here and I feel like the lower Ramen spaces is probably amazing. There was no way I could eat a bowl of Ramen pre-concert and with Hot Flashes…but that situation looked TOP NOTCH.

Take the whole “pub thing” seriously folks. I feel like I did not and this spot FILLED UP and became insanely loud. Which, if I’m saying it was loud, means probably unbearable for most everyone else.

Service was good, but everyone got to where they were RUNNING because it was crazy. LOL Sake list is limited, but pretty good. Much better than most places.

So my dining experience was sort of evenly split between being disappointed because I’d somehow ordered a dish with flavors I work with at my own spot every day (I want completely different flavors when I’m eating out) and meh Age Dashi Tofu to being SUPER INTO an amazing damn Daikon Salad (I. LOVE. Salads. Most especially when someone else makes them for me and they are intricate and have complex flavors and an interesting variety of ingredients) and the most delicious and satisfying Udon Carbonara (which they made meatless for me!).

Not gonna lie. That Udon Carbonara had my attention all the way from Vermont before I ever got in the car to start that 1100 mile loop and it did NOT disappoint.

Some delicious stuff happening here. Also staff is fully bilingual. But this is a local spot in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Which is the kind of place you WANT to be going to!

Genius concept. Excellent execution. Great Local Vibes.

Next...

I'm very, very torn, writing this review... Pre-pandemic, Ichigo/Yokato was hands down our favourite ramen place not only in Montreal but in all of North America. The broth, the proteins, the toppings, the ambiance, the service, everything was top notch, a solid 5/5... However, I'm here now writing this review to warn others and hopefully grab the attention of the owners, to address their inability to uphold that 5/5 review and transition it to the delivery/takeout department. Every time we're ordered via Ubereats, this restaurant was a major disappointment. It always arrived cold (not necessarily the restaurants fault, I know, but worth noting), both times we paid extra for "thick" noodles and both times the noodles we got were the regular ones, we also asked for some of their amazing ramen garnishes to be included on the side (we got them one time, not the second time and when we did get it, there was hardly any, maybe enough for one ramen, not the two that we ordered) and most disappointing was the packaging, they've been using these compostable containers (which is environmentally conscious and I applaud that) but they aren't leak proof so the other day the driver handed us a leaky bag and sure enough one entire broth container had tipped in his car (the drivers fault not the restaurant) but this could have been avoided if the packaging was better. We managed to get Uber to refund half our order but that meant we had to share the one broth we did receive and combined with the missing garnishes, the thinner "regular noodles", it made for a disappointing experience and left us feeling like there wasn't the same attention to detail and care that this restaurant typically has with an in person experience. As I stated at the beginning, I'm very torn writing this review because normally this is hands down one of our favourite restaurants in the city and for ramen it's normally unparalleled but we're 2/2 for disappointing take out experiences and I really wish it wasn't the case. I would love to be able to come back and update this review in the future, hopefully to say that the restaurant took note of our comments and that the takeout experience is better, nearly as good as it would be in person but I don't know if my review will make...

Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Ramen? In Montreal?”

I had the same thought as well. But after numerous recommendations, I had to check it out for myself - and let me tell you, it did not disappoint.

The ramen broth was something I have not tasted before. Savoury, and rich, yet not too fatty and very well balanced. The noodles were cooked to perfection and the chashu was not fatty but still very juicey. The marinated eggs were what surprised me the most, though. It was much sweeter than other ramen eggs I had before but it complemented the broth and the noodle perfectly. I recommend that you get the whole egg because I regret not doing so myself.

We also ordered the grilled black cod which was a bit expensive in my opinion but the fish was superb. It was very oily and fatty but I think the flavour of the skin really did it for me.

Finally the chashu don was up. It was very tasty and filling as well. But after the high of the ramen and the black cod, the don paled in comparison. If you’re really itching for a bowl of rice, it’ll do the job - but the restaurant is known for their ramens, not the don.

We also had couple cocktails to go with our meals. I’m not a liquor expert so I really can’t speak much on them but my favourite of the night was the shiso sour. It gave me the buzz that I needed with the perfect balance of sourness and the minty flavour of the shiso leaf. Mr. Miyagi was also quite interesting with a strong flavour of ginger and a punch of alcohol to boot.

Overall, I came away quite impressed with the quality of food and the overall atmosphere. Next time I go, I will definitely try the izakaya style food as well but I strongly recommend that you start out with the ramens because I’m wanting more as I write...