Issei Noodle — Restaurant in Lancaster

I really wanted to like this place, but the food didn't live up to my expectations.

**What was good: Staff was friendly and attentive. They kept the place very clean and weren't intrusive. Interior design was aesthetically pleasing. Good music/sound system. Menu fills the niche of Japanese food that Lancaster is missing. Most restaurants are just hibachi and sushi, so it was refreshing to see familiar dishes from our time in Japan. $4 Sapporo drafts!! 🍻

**But the food wasn't the best: Mayu Tonkotsu: It wasn't hot. My glasses should be steaming when I eat it. Since it was a lukewarm temperature that might have impacted the flavor. Chashu, egg, and other ingredients were also cold to room temp. Chashu quality didn't seem very high. It was almost too sweet in flavor and difficult to finish. Didn't digest it very well.

Beef Gyoza: it was okay. I enjoyed the flavor but I wish they had the traditional pan fried style and not deep fried. Flavor was average, but it was hard to tell if it was fresh or frozen.

Cauliflower appetizer: flavor was average, but the spiciness didn't really pull through. This was also pretty oily, so maybe not the best choice alongside the deepfried gyoza.

Takoyaki: probably the best of the 3 small plates. Not sure if it's made on the traditional molds but the consistency was authentic and flavor was good. Sauces on top were okay.

Overall, felt like the food quality/ingredients felt low. This was based on both flavor and the mild digestive discomfort we had after eating. I'd be willing to pay $2-4 more per plate if they'd elevate the quality/ingredients.

Summary: It fills a niche and the atmosphere is great. Food missed the mark and doesn't compete with similar restaurants in Philly/Chicago (wouldn't be fair to compare it to Osaka). I wish it was better. I'll probably give it a second chance because I really want to like this place. It's the closest thing to Japan that we have in the area. Hopefully the food is...

My husband and I have been going to Issei for years and have loved it ever since we found it. Issei recently moved to a new location in downtown Lancaster and we decided to give the new location a try. They currently have a soft-opening limited menu so we tried two of the currently available ramens. My husband got the spicy Tantan and I tried the Double OG Shoyu ramen. Unfortunately, we were disappointed in the quality of these new ramen dishes. The ramen noodles do not taste or look like the previous ramen noodles Issei made before the new location. The ramen noodles look like spaghetti noodles and were not very flavorful. The spicy Tantan ramen was decent, however the amount of pork decreased and so did the quality of the pork. My husband also noted the ramen was not as spicy as it used to be. The Double OG Shoyu ramen was one of the most bland and unappetizing ramen I've ever tried. The only reason I finished it was because the service was so slow compared to the service at Issei's previous location and I was starving. None of the ramens on the menu included egg anymore and egg now costs extra to add, which was very disappointing as the egg makes the ramen so much better. It's important to note that all of the food prices have increased now at Issei, but the quality has not stayed the same or improved. Overall, we are sad to see the quality go really downhill at our favorite local ramen restaurant. Unless the quality improves again or they go back to their old ramen recipes that were amazing, we may not be going back for a long time.

The only positive I can say about the new Issei location is that the interior design looks really good. We are considering going to Ninja Ramen in Lancaster to get our good quality ramen fix...

I've been going to Issei for literal years and I've always had a wonderful experience and my friend and I's first time at the new Orange street location was no different.

Wait times are always usually longer during Zenkaikon but the staff had everything organized very well and we were only waiting for a table maybe 20 minutes.

The staff was incredibly kind and the atmosphere felt like the old location but just more open and bright. Our waiter was attentive and checked in with us frequently even though the restaurant was packed the entire time were there.

I always look forward to the music paying at Issei during the con weekend, they always play a variety of anime openings so my friends and I make a game out of it. Whoever guesses the most correct anime's based on the openings wins a dessert. I also love to see the staff allowed to dress up for the event as well.

The food came out fast and fresh. The new location allows the customers to also get a sneak peek at how the noodles are made as there's a huge roll of dough being cut into the noddles as you eat. It's really neat to see.

I think the only complaint I have is the food was a little more salty than normal, not enough that it made the food inedible, but noticeable.

*My friend and I also happened to be enjoying our food when the staff was alerted to a bomb threat that was made against the local downtown library in response to the drag queen story hour that was scheduled to take place that afternoon, we were made to evacuate the restaurant when the search area was expanded by the police. The staff was very calm and orderly as they broke the news to everyone and I cannot thank them enough for how they handled the situation given just how...