Japan Centre Ichiba — Restaurant in London

So went to this place not long ago and bought some stuff. Funnily enough, this is one of those places that actually put this red Ichiba sticker for every paid purhcase. After paying for everything, we decided to get food.

Whilst waiting, the security charges his way - our way opening our grocery bag looking for something (at this point we had no idead what was going on). He was looking for drinks which he claims we stole. Upon finding the red stickers on the two drinks we literally just paid for, he insisted that we broke protocol - again we have no idea what protocol this is. He was still insisting that we stole these drinks even after seeing the stickers.

So he went to his CCTV with the drinks we bought and checked. He returns without apologising and just said we still broke protocol. At this point I actually lost it, and looked for the manager. My blood pressure at this point was probably 200/100. Even at this stage, the lady by the till has confirmed that we have paid for everything so I wasn't sure what we are being accused of. Even the manager offered us tap water (not even bottled cold ones) which at that point I actually needed after having explained five times what had happened. And insisting they all take customer services training.

It doesn't end there. The manager actually had the audacity to actually say, ah they have been strict as there were three people who were just caught stealing something. Again, at this point I just couldn't handle it anymore, the food we were planning to eat at home is now super cold. I didn't even have the appetite to eat this anymore.

To be fair, they did compensate, and guess how much? £50... Wow. What a joke this place is. I'd still go back though hence the two stars, cos they do...

I loved the experience at Ichiba. I went there for the food since I had heard from a friend of mine that the food was amazing. I grabbed their meal deal or tonkutsu Ramen, a drink and three takoyaki which came up to around 17 pounds. The price may considerably high for people who have not tried ramen in the past, but I would argue that it quite reasonable since the ramen was delicious. It had a silky broth with packed a punch with flavour mainly savory. The ingredients were cooked nicely and it was fresh out of the kitchen. The takoyaki was delicious as well, it's got a fishy flavour because of the bonito flakes and the texture was soft and chewy with a small crunch on the outside, a really enjoyable experience; the only issue is that after eating three I couldn't imagine eating more since the flavour was so potent. As for the drinks I grabbed my self some of their sake which cut through the fattiness of the broth really well. Overall, I would rate this meal and experience an 8 out of 10. The price of the food was reasonable, merging a fast food with Japanese culture is something I usually find hard to resonate with mainly because quality of food can be heavily affected if done in this manner, but Ichiba does it very well. Unfortunately, this place was not halal friendly. However, they also have other types of food to try like mochi doughnuts and ofcourse since it is a Japan centre, you have a lot of other Japanese items to buy varying from accessories, types of ingredients and ofcourse food. I would highly recommend you pay a visit to Ichiba to go for the shopping and stay...

Originally 4 stars - now 2.

So I really enjoy the food here and selection of goods on offer is amazing. The 4 star review is because I always end up queuing quite a lot for things and the process of getting hot food is less than logical and frequently changes (even within a single visit) Prices are perhaps a little high but the quality is good. Also the table area in winter has a really cold draft from the large doors that open into it directly from outside. The tables could be cleaner and there is no obvious place to return trays so they are often just left around. The layout is also strange and despite the original high standard of fit out now feels disjointed and slightly odd with lots of under utilised space and other areas overly cramped.

Update (now 3 stars): It is now to the point of annoying that they haven't managed to sort out their queue times / processes. Each time I go I'm disappointed with how hard/long it takes to get food. When they started 4/5yrs ago it was setting up pains. Now it's just ridiculous. Today's visit took 25mins to order (there were 4 groups of customers in front of me) and the food was cold/had clearly been sitting for a while and had to be returned. If there was anywhere else as an option I would go there.

Update (now 2 stars): The queuing continues to be horrendous; simple order takes 20mins. Processing customers seems to take way longer than any restaurant / shop I have ever been to. I have no idea how its this poor. Any recommendations of other Japanese restaurants in the area that do Takoyaki much...