Ichiban Holmdel Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Holmdel Township

I came here with my mom and brother a couple years ago now on a weekday and they didn’t let us sit down at the hibachi table, they forced us to sit at the regular tables, EVEN when my mom called ahead and made a reservation. By the time we got we got there ON TIME, our names weren’t even written down, and they said they could no longer let us through, even when we can clearly see tables were open in the other room for hibachi. We were disappointed and the food was subpar, nowhere nearly as good as the hibachi being cooked in front of you which is obvious that it’s not cooked the same way— they cheat you out!! this is also why I can’t stand all these reviews raving about this place!! YOU try going through what we went through because you wouldn’t leave 5 stars then!!:/ Last night, on new year’s eve, I went with my friends because we were in the mood for some hibachi and the people at the front took one look at us and moved us again, TO THE TABLES all because we didn’t reserve for hibachi ahead of time…. why would i reserve if you can’t promise a table anyways?? It wasn’t even that crowded yet, we totally could’ve been fit in. I knew they were judging us because after we sat down they let a group of 3 teenagers in, didn’t ask if they had a reservation, and let them sit at the hibachi area. On top of that, the food tasted just as bad as i remember… the only thing that they seasoned was the noodles, everything else wasn’t seasoned and tasted bland and disgusting. the fried rice wasn’t even fried rice it was brown, dry rice. we politely asked for some YumYum sauce because the food was too dry to eat and she rolled her eyes. Our waitress had the worst attitude, sighing and rolling her eyes when delivering our drinks when we were being nice about it. like, sorry your job is such an inconvenience to you LOL for the prices they charge, they gip you and it’s frustrating. won’t be coming back....

We had a Mother's Day dinner at Ichiban yesterday. I had a reservation for 6PM. We showed up on time to find a very packed reception area. The woman working the desk was clearly getting torn apart and on the edge. She was not very rude, but not friendly either. I must have been asked 4 times if everyone in my party was there already. We ended up waiting about 20 minutes before we were seated. That definitely did not help get the dinner start off on a good note. Once seated and after placing our orders, we waited over 40 minutes for the chef to actually arrive and start cooking. Food was generally fine and plentiful. The chef did not spend much time on the "show" - he banged his spatulas together for 20 seconds and that was about it. Service was also poor - there were two uncoordinated waitresses working our table. When bringing a drink refill, I ended up with Coke instead of iced tea. I asked for salt like 6 times before it actually showed up. I get that holidays make things more challenging at restaurants, but this was our worst experience at...

Don’t bother! You’re rushed from the minute you walk in. We had reservations for 5:30 and sat down at 5:50, by 6:20 they were standing behind us with the brooms waiting to clean up. While I was cooling my daughter’s soup, the waitress came over to take my untouched soup and salad away. There’s no Hibachi “show”-it’s only the chefs cooking with zero personality or interaction. This obviously means a shorter sitting. As soon as he finished, the waitress came asking if anyone wanted anything else. She then returned with the checks; the table was still in the middle of eating. You’re expected to eat and run in less than 40 mins. I’ve never felt so rushed in a restaurant; I couldn’t even enjoy it. I had high hopes for this place. To make the things worse, the chef has no regard for presentation: he threw each side on top of the other. Meat on top of the rice, vegetables on top of noodles- despite clearing room on our dishes. He did this to my daughter who had a fit. We’ll keep looking for a good hibachi place- this is just an overpriced...