Ichiban Restaurant Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Florida

My M.O. has always been to write a positive review when the food, service, ambiance or something noticeable exceeded norms and typical expectations. I rarely take the time and effort to comment when something doesn’t meet even the basic expectation. What’s the point? Places can have a bad night; right? Also, my palette and expectations can put up with a lot. I am not a foodie; and some say I have an iron stomach. I’m the guy that can put Tabasco on fresh-cut pineapple and love it.

Chinese, good Chinese, seems to escape Sarasota. So, I make it a habit to try a different establishment as often as possible; expecting okay and hope for good, maybe even find great.

For reference, I ordered from Ichiban via Uber Eats the Hot & Sour Soup, TGIF roll, Phoenix roll, Pork LoMien and Hunan 4 flavor. It’s a lot, but I like Chinese food. I especially like grazing after the first plate and depending on the items ordered, enjoy eating it the next day.

Wow… Never in my life have I thrown out almost full containers of EVERYTHING! Nothing met my mediocre expectations. Again not foodie; but I do know what excellent Chinese food and sushi should be. And I honestly am waiting later this evening to see if me and the porcelain throne have a date later.

The soup had the medicine aftertaste of cheap processed guacamole, the sushi (first time in my life) had a strong fishy taste; I mean it was shrimp tempura and tuna and it tasted fishy; WTF?. The Hunan was so salty and bitter it almost as if the cap of the salt shaker came off when they seasoned the dish. The Pork LoMien was extremely bland and also had a weird aftertaste.

After sampling everything and giving all ordered dishes serious consideration, I had to go back to the Uber Eats app and see the “star Rating”. 4.6 out of 800+ reviews. Okay; perhaps they have new kitchen staff or someone called off or the chef was off tonight. My gawd, this was bad. I threw away; 75% (or more) of EVERYTHING I ordered. Never in my life have I ever thrown out takeout ANY takeout. It was that bad.

Believe me or don’t believe me. I am not trying to sway anyone. What surprised me was food this bad, came from a place that ranked 4.6 (out of 5) with 800+ comments. Something seems fishy other than my shrimp tuna roll.

No, it’s safe to say I will not try this place again and cross my fingers in the hopes I can keep it down and it...

I must say, I was pretty disappointed by my first visit here. People have been trying to get me to go for nearly 4 years. We were in the mood for sushi but did not feel like commuting downtown so we decided to give it a try. This restaurant has massive potential but is not likely to reach it.

The good... The all-you-can-eat sushi is a decent price and a great deal for anyone who can eat more the 3 rolls in 1 sitting. You can also order small items marinated in teriyaki or tempura fried included. A miso soup and ginger salad is also included. The sushi rolls are very nicely sized.

The bad... The salad was very watery and too sweet. The miso soup was very bland and needed salt. My Kirin Ichiban bottle was not very cold. I am not the type to order specific rolls from the menu. I usually tell the Itamae to make whatever would be best based on the freshness and availability of the ingredients and/or whatever they enjoy making most. We ordered 6 rolls between 2 people. The guy made 4 rolls that were repeated (2 & 2) and then 2 that were different. Most people would want 6 different rolls. Also, all 6 rolls had the same protein; fried shrimp. We did not get any raw sushi! No tuna, salmon, eel, octopus, etc.! The chef was either lazy, had no passion for sushi making or they said "They just want 6 random rolls... lets make the cheapest rolls possible and save money serving them these rolls". We got there at 8:30pm and half way through eating they started putting all of the fish away and cleaning the sushi bar which was noisy and inconvenient since it made it difficult to order more sushi so definitely go earlier.

I gave the place 2 stars because the size of the rolls were good and the price is pretty decent. I will try the place one more time, and have to ask for specific rolls off of the menu to really judge the taste and quality of their sushi. I would also go an...

I've been going there for a long time since it opened. When It got a bad review on his first time in the paper then it turned around because no one knew it was there. until it made the newspaper. After the article was made, people knew that there was all u can eat sushi place. People started to come was packed. The movie Field of Dreams if you build it, they will come. To my knowledge business was all the way up and it expanded into the next restaurant next door. Even when I moved away to the east coast for College, I still make sure I come back for my birthday every year. Yes there's sushi places over on the east coast but nothing like this. It's nice to know when going to the restaurant the owner knows your name. TV show Cheers. The owner looks up and say hey its nice to see you again. I bring my family friends co-workers at the time and my new Found Loves. It's rather interesting when restaurant owners see your past relationships girlfriends, wife, ex-wife and you new love here and there but in the end it's all good. I enjoy this place I'm not sure how it's doing during covid-19 but I miss it. My birthday is coming up May 7th and I don't know if I'll be able to go or get a carry out. I believe this year might be the only Year I miss it. To everybody hope you understand small businesses are hurting through this covid-19. Stay strong out there. stay strong for your small businesses. Tony stay well, stay strong for your family, hope to see you in the end...