Ichiban Japanese Steak House #1 Hixson — Restaurant in Chattanooga

It feels like a 1 star because of how much we paid and the reason behind it...

Our first visit here was such a mix of highs and lows that we’re left feeling frustrated and disappointed. My wife and I brought our two small kids (both under 4) and were excited to try this spot for the first time. The food was good, the service was friendly, and the atmosphere was fun. Unfortunately, their billing practices left a really sour taste in our mouths.

We ordered sweet teas, two hibachi chicken meals, and two kids' meals. The total came out to over $80, which felt way too high compared to the prices on their website. Oddly, the receipt wasn’t itemized—making it impossible to know exactly what we were paying for—but they sure didn’t forget to prominently display suggested tip percentages.

We added our usual tip, which brought the total over $100. Later that evening, we looked into it and discovered that they automatically add a gratuity for parties of four or more. It would’ve been nice if someone had mentioned that! Instead, we unknowingly tipped twice, thanks to the lack of transparency.

Here’s the issue:

No one told us about the automatic tip. The receipt wasn’t itemized, so we couldn’t verify the charges. They still included additional tip suggestions even though a tip was already added. The food and service were great, but this experience left us feeling taken advantage of. Transparency goes a long way, and unfortunately, that was missing here. We won’t be returning. If you decide to go, make sure you double-check...

The restaurant service was absolutely horrible! The waiter got our order wrong several times and had to keep repeating it until he got it “right”. But still managed to mess it up. There was several people at the table and they had to do the same thing. Everyone at the table ordered water but he even got that wrong at one point and some of them got a soft drink! The server could not even remember who ordered steamed rice instead of just looking at the ticket to remind himself he ran around looking and acting like he was on drugs. Seeing that he couldn’t remember who ordered what, it made for a long process of trying to pay the bill. He over charged everyone at the table. What should have been a $35 dollar bill it was $76+. The manager was GOD awful!!! She wouldn’t listen to what we ordered and kept trying to blame the prices on the economy and having to make things in bulk. After finally getting her to understand that we were being clearly charged for meals we did not eat or taking home she somewhat fixed it. Then she turns around and degrades her employee in front of everyone! So rude. Also this location didn’t...

We had reservations for 16 but the lady at the counter kept deliberately overlooking (walking around) my groups "host" and seating people ahead of us. We had two separate waitresses and two separate cooks. That was fine given the setup, but the waitresses came at separate times and didn't communicate. Half of us had our drinks, soups, and salads before the other half were even acknowledged. The food was fine, but then the bills came. THEY CHARGE SEPARATELY FOR THE SOUP AND SALAD THAT NO ONE ASKED FOR AND AN AUTOMATIC 10% GRATUITY ON TOP OF THAT. The cooks seemed miserable and only did bare minimum.

There were two of us with shellfish allergies, but they didn't bother to separate anything. Thank God our group, by chance, split accordingly and our table didn't order shellfish.

For the cost of this meal, we should have gone down a couple of doors. Same setup and food, but better tasting food, better service, and better "show." AND if you have any kind of allergy, they take care and cook that meal away from the others.

Buyer...