Ichiban Noodles — Restaurant in Indianapolis

Very reasonably priced, quality sushi. Been here several times and the service is always great. The group I run with prefers to order soup, a couple rolls, eat, order a few rolls, eat, etc...and they are always more than happy to indulge us. As the name suggests, sushi isn't the only thing on the menu, their udon dishes are pretty sweet too.

I have only ever been here for lunch or very early dinner so I've only ever sat in the first** small room (I'm not even sure if there are any others), which can be a little loud if they are busy (or if there is a gossipy someone with an obnoxious laugh).

TL;DR: Eat here when you feel like having a simple meal with great service, endless hot tea, surprisingly tasty and affordable sushi by yourself or when you're not looking to impress anyone (you'll impress them with a magical hole in the wall, not some fancy mediocre place with no flavor).

Update: Years later.... Still fantastic. I've now sat in the other room, still small, but a little quieter. That udon cannot be beat. Hot sake still pours freely. Dinner for 4, too much sake, too much food.... And we barely broke $100 for the group. Cannot fathom anything to complain about.

Don't...

It was really just meh. Heed other reviewers' warnings that this could've potentially been a hole in the wall, but it wasn't great like we hoped it'd be. The server was kind and so were the other employees (possibly the owners), but the food was unfortunately subpar. We had a sushi roll, a noodle dish, and two rice dishes, along with a mackerel fish. My sister said the noodle dish tasted like just plain noodles in plain broth, and my husband's and my rice dishes were both soggy (the breaded meat should've been crunchy). The sushi roll was just okay. I personally thought the mackerel was decent, but it truly didn't make up for the rest of the meal. Sorry for the harsh review, but I was so hopeful for the place. I usually love hidden gems, but this time, it just wasn't quite hitting the hidden gem expectations. I'd come back if I were very hungry when in search of cheap food, but otherwise, I most likely won't be returning. Thanks for the wonderful...

Ichiban offers a completely unique flavor profile to other ramen places in Indy. Less pungent, more oily, but these aren't bad things! I researched "traditional" ramen, and it's supposed to be more oily, which leads me to believe the other places are using stock rather than boiling bones as is authentic. I gave them three stars, because the flavor was a bit lacking in the shoyu. However, I'M DEFINITELY going to go back and try the other offerings before making a final decision.

Pros -Affordability -Authenticity -Speed of service -Staff is very sweet -Food was gloriously hot -Great portion sizes Cons -Somewhat lacking flavor -Forgot our seaweed salad (carryout order) -Miso soup is more like ramen than the kind one gets at a sushi house -Theirs is rather a shack made of plywood rather than a proper restaurant. The big bad wolf would make short...