Ichiban Hibachi & Sushi — Restaurant in Newark

Wow. Let me start with a statement--read he menu!!!! My best friend, my wife and I went Friday night after a long day... While some will complain about having to order off your phone, I did enjoy the "on my own time" feeling. My only encouragement would be to be restaurant to consider tablets to use. We easily came for the AYCE. I am not a sushi eater but my wife loves it so win win... She got 3 items, my friend grabbed 2. I ordered a couple rices, meats, noodles, the wings and chicken tendies..... This is where we found out we F'd up.... All the Hibachi dishes were great portions enough for 1 person to have 2 or 3 dishes before getting full, but also good enough we were easily able to share between us 3....

Now if you're reading this. Go back to my first statement and the picture. We had failed to read that signature rolls at 8pc and regular rolls at 6pc...... Knowing they would charge for uneaten food and we didn't want to argue "if I'm paying for food. I'm taking it" I learned real quick that I enjoyed the volcano roll and 13 pieces I ate and the hairy Mexican in the few pieces I had were good with the exception of a huge cucumber taste. Shew..... Somehow we put down the entire plate and was able to consolidate all the left food on one plate, I'll leave our review below of each item.

Upon entering we were quickly greeted and sat, with two Hibachi grilles going the energy was high and happy, drinks never got below half and as quick as you could order, food was coming out. Being transparent, there was a weird off putting vibe from the wait staff. Nothing negative worth noting but it just didn't feel natural (if that makes sense)

The food ordered:

-Volcano roll - great, fried food on top the wife wasn't a fan of, but overall enjoyed by the table -Hairy Mexican roll delicious, I personally didn't like a huge cucumber taste, but otherwise was a great balance. -Dragon roll was accepted well -The beauty and the beast roll was a comical discussion at the table but accepted well. -Chicken Tenders - were pretty good, fries were super over salted -Wings damn good!!!! All the prices (chicken and steak) were right in line with what we were expecting. -Hibachi chicken and steak.... They were good but I felt they were a little rushed on flavor. While I am nitpicking, it was a good dish but felt a click off the mark.

With all this shared, we will be back... This week, would be tonight but a 3am wake up is pushing our fun a bit short. For around $30-40 a person with drinks this was an amazing meal, great night and beyond worth it. Having read many reviews prior to, basing off our experience, if you have a negative review, it is a you problem and you are a whiney child that is just looking for something to complain about. McDonald's is down the street for you. Except for the tables.... I am not a small guy and definitely would love a bit larger table. Ha, thank you and we are excited...

Ok, I'm actually surprised by this because this Wasn't my first time here. They're excellent service and good food is what brought me back. However, it saddens me to share my recent mother's Day experience. I came with myself and my two boys. After waiting for a while, someone approached. Due to the wait, we gave our full order. Drinks, appetizers and entrees.

My two sons drinks came out in Styrofoam cups then after a while my jasmine tea came out Luke warm, close to cold... Then my boys salad and Miso soup... Then my oldest son's Bento box..... Then the check was dropped off.

I was confused as my youngest son and myself haven't even gotten our food yet.! That was discouraging. I also had ordered water that had been forgotten.. so I reminded my waitress and she brought me water.... Also in Styrofoam cups.

I didn't think anything of it until my son pointed out that we were the only ones with Styrofoam cups... But everyone else in the restaurant has glass cups. It just gave off the vibe that we were being rushed out. Then we asked for Togo containers and she gave me a flat container for UDON SOUP 🤦🏾‍♀️

However, all of that I was going to overlook since she said they were busy and I have had good service prior. Even tho they didn't look too busy to me. The waitress switched out my container for a soup container. I poured in my soup and planned to eat it at work.

Today, I put the soup in the microwave. Pull off the lid and begin drinking the broth. To my surprise, there's a Gnat in the soup 🥺 This was my first time opening it since leaving the restaurant.

It'll be a while before I return to this establishment.. which again is saddening because I've had Great service...

I just wanted to take the time to really thank the staff at Ichiban!

My toddler son ended up being scared of the entire hibachi experience, unfortunately. We were able to take him outside and reset with his noise cancelling headphones. We asked our chef / the staff if we could just do everything as quiet as possible (I know, defeats the purpose) & they were so kind and understanding! The entire staff was so friendly and interactive with him!

Besides that, our food and service was great! I had made a reservation for Saturday night earlier in the week with no issues. Food and drinks were served promptly; salad dressing was yummy! The restaurant was pretty quiet when we first got there around 5pm on a Saturday night.

If you're celebrating a birthday, they dim down the lights and then have a birthday song play with party lights & a Minion character carrying a birthday sign. It was cute, but I think it happened about 2 or 3x while we were there cause most people go to celebrate a birthday. My toddler actually enjoyed this part - haha.

Just a thought; We had originally had a reservation for 9 but only 7 made it... we all fit perfectly around the grill! I think 8 would've been okay too but anything more, & it would be hard to see. I am not sure if they have bigger grills in the other room for bigger parties.

We will definitely be back (just maybe not with our son until he's a little older). Thank...