Ichiban Sando — Restaurant in Chula Vista

No public restroom at this location. Just a sink for you to wash your hands.

The coffee and milk teas are super cheap at $3.75. Crafted teas $4, fruit teas $6.50, and smoothies $5.50.

The first time we came, we only got drinks. I got the wintermelon milk tea and it was super sweet! I could taste the brewed tea leaves but I feel like the tea is already pre made and all they do is pump in winter melon syrup.

My bf got the honey milk tea and same thing. It was tea, milk and drizzled in pumps of honey. You can see it on the side while you mix it but it was super sweet.

We came back the second time and got the limited edition miso pork sando ($10.96) and katsu curry pork plate ($12.50). Made it a combo by adding lavender milk tea (+$3) and Vietnamese coffee (+$3). This time, I asked for 25% sweet. It was perfect!

We also added fries (+$1.50) and a side cup of curry (+$2.50) to the combo. For a place that’s a so-called fast food sit down eatery, the food was pretty good.

The miso pork sando came with 2 pork slice and it came with a side of miso. You can drizzle that on but not too much because it’s really concentrated and can be salty. The red cabbage balanced that out along with the daikon and the homemade Japanese milk bread was a perfect match. It tastes even better with a spoonful of curry on top. Curry taste better with everything like dipping the fries.

The katsu plate was delicious. Breading was on point. It came with curry on the side for you to pour on for your liking. I would like to come back to try the...

It feels like I'm back in Japan again with these better-than-konbini sandos 👍🏼 Personally, I recommend any of the Rice Plate combos, the Menchi Beef sando, or any of the Egg Sandos. I haven't had sushi here yet, but the drinks are good too. They also sell different flavors of onigiri (rice ball triangles) and musubi, in limited quantities until gone (usually they start to run out after 2pm). You can order ahead using the website or via phone call. There is also a digital kiosk if you prefer that over waiting in line for the counter. They take cash and card (swipe, chip, tap = ok), but there is a charge for using a card (50 cents, I think?). There are dine-in and take-out order options available, but no delivery (as far as I know). Seating is limited since it's a small restaurant, so if you're hungry during rush hour, I recommend ordering ahead of time and as take-out. There's no outdoor/patio seating or public restrooms. Parking is somewhat difficult depending on when you arrive, the size of your car, and which of the two public parking lots (free) you park in. They play music in the dining area but otherwise it's relatively quiet outside of the hustle/bustle of lunch & dinner rush hours.

Edit: For anyone who hasn't been to Japan, the fries are prepared Japanese style, which means they come unsalted and with no sauce. Be sure to ask the staff for salt and ketchup packets if you want it, or it probably won't be included in your...

We went there for dinner yesterday and I'm sorry I just don't understand why everyone is so into this place. First of all I tried to order a fruit tea with no ice and they said they couldn't do it. Is it that hard to not scoop ice into the cup? I wanted to get it so that I would have one for later in addition to the one that I was ordering with ice to drink right then. So they ended up losing out on that money because they couldn't not scoop the ice. My husband got the curry pork katsu plate, My daughter got the chicken katsu plate and I got a pork sandwich on their homemade bread not the bun. Wow. I don't even understand how people think that it's good. I mean it's very crunchy yes. And it's tender. And that's it. There's no taste at all. There's no salt, there's no seasonings. And I mean for either the bread nor the meat. There's some kind of sauce that they put on the bread and some kind of slaw but the slaw wasn't that good it just tasted like it had maybe some kind of vinegar and that's it. I ended up taking my pork out of the bread and just dipping it in some ketchup when I got home. My daughter said that the chicken katsu was tasteless and dry and she ended up throwing the entire plate away. My husband didn't like his pork curry katsu so my daughter ended up eating the pork cutlet. The rest of the plate went in the trash. We won't be going back here. But I will say that the sandwich does look awesome for...