Ichiban Japanese Steakhouse — Restaurant in Town of Salina

We go here quite a bit. Anytime my in laws are visiting or for birthdays or just when we really want the food. The set up is pretty and the servers are great. The food portions are very large and obviously we love the food. I only have a few complaints and to me they are small and wouldn't prevent me from going again (except one but I'll explain). First is their decor has gotten a bit...lazy? Its June and they still have fall and Christmas decor up. Also their waterfalls are never on and the area where the TV is in the waiting area jist has a bunch of cords hanging loose which looks bad. Otherwise the decor is nice. Second I always get their teriyaki chicken cooked in back and the chicken is always very hard snd chewy. I dont think anyone getting hibachi has said the same but from the back the chicken is almost not worth it to me. I've almost asked for just a large plate of the veggies and teriyaki sauce without the chicken many times. Third that luckily wasnt a huge issue for me but could be for someone else...I have a lot of allergies namely seafood so I get mine cooked in the kitchen. Once and thankfully only once they brought my rice out ans it tasted amazing but very different. Suddenly they rushed out snd took my bowl from me very quickly and only said sorry it was the wrong thing and dumped the bowl out. Then they brought me new and never said another word. Turned out they used the oyster sauce because I had a minor reaction to it. Thankfully it wasnt one of my worst allergies but could have been a disaster for someone else. That's the one and only time and it hasnt stopped me from going but I do still get nervous now since then. Forth and final issue is since I do get my food cooked in back I dont know when it'll be done and multiple times its taken them until everyone else in my group was done and ready to leave to get my food and I had to just take my food with me. I was never offered a discount or refunded meal and anything at all for these things which would have been nice in hindsight. But as bad as some of these things may sound we still love it there because if how good the food is how nice the restaurant in general is and how accommodating they are with allergies. Ps we love your cooks but other hibachi places have a lot more interaction with the guests while some of your cooks barely say a word or even look up from what they are doing to see if everyone is enjoying the show and food. You do have some newer cooks that are very fun and upbeat but we rarely see them for...

Great food, it's always amazing to watch the hibachi chefs put on a performance. The meals are always very filling. However, only 2 stars instead of 5 because our last visit had a couple of issues with poor service. Issue #1: We had a reservation for 6:00pm. We arrived on time, told it would be "just a few minutes." This was repeated every "few minutes," but didn't get seated until almost 6:40. I can understand 5 or 10 minutes, and I get that they seat people in groups, but 40 minutes is unprofessional... people might have plans to attend another event after dinner or have a babysitter on the clock. Issue #2: It was a bit offputting that they really crammed as many people as they possibly could into our table, almost like being on an airline, very little elbow room. Meanwhile, the adjacent table across from us was half-empty. Issue #3: My stomach can't handle onions anymore, so I asked for fried rice without. Waiter said no problem, they'll make my rice separately in the back... which I completely understood even before he politely explained it. But my rice didn't come out until 15-20 minutes after everyone else's, so I got to sit and watch everyone else eat their rice, and by the time mine came out, we were all on the main course, so I felt like I had to wolf everything down to catch up. Sure, I wasn't expecting mine to come out the exact second the hibachi chef was serving everyone else's, but a 20-minute delay for something that only takes 3 or 4 minutes to make?? Issue #4: We were asked if it was a special occasion or "just dinner out." We were celebrating our anniversary, so that's the answer I gave. We were pleasantly surprised with a tiny drink at the end -- but the surprise quickly turned disappointing when I noticed we got billed for it. We weren't told in advance, we didn't ask for it, and my wife didn't particularly care for the taste of the drink, yet there we were, getting charged an extra $8.95 -- and who wants to be "that jerk" disputing a check in front of 10 complete strangers? They know they have you on the spot (or maybe you won't even notice). Sure, the $9 is small potatoes considering how much you're already spending here, but for me, it's the principle of it above anything else. Other restaurants around town provide a similar "cordial" at the end of dinner WITHOUT charging extra for it, as a way of expressing gratitude for your business, not as an unethical way to sneak an extra $9...

The end of an era for my family and friends. For about 20 years, my family and closest friends have gone to Ichiban for New Year's Eve. We look forward to it every year. I make sure to reserve our full table every November when they open reservations for NYE. There's usually between 9 and 12 of us at dinner. Whatever the table will hold. This year, we showed up to find, our reservation was not in their book. Fortunately, I had record of my call on my phone. Regardless, they accommodated us, and within 30 min, we were seated. Our experience was anything but ordinary this time. Our chef threw rice balls at each one of us to catch with an open mouth. It was odd and extremely messy. Most of us did not catch the rice so it ended up in our hair or on our shirts and all over the floor. Next dinner. Most of the us ordered chicken teriyaki or steak, that was upgraded to filet mignon. Some ordered sirloin. The chef cut up the steak, then proceeded to mix the meats up. Which, for those who upgraded their steak choice didn't seem fair. When he was called out on that, he denied doing so. Yet, several people noticed the same thing. One of our guests, ordered her filet mignon well done. The chef seemed to badger her about her choice. After it was called out about the switch of meat, by said person, it seemed she received the rarest of the meat. None of the chicken teriyaki's were made with teriyaki sauce. Although the meal itself was tasty, it wasn't a pleasant experience. The manager was called to our table. Our bills were mixed up. Everything was off. It did not seem to be the same restaurant we've come to love in the past. Besides our dinner, the sink water in the ladies room was ice cold. I ran it awhile and it never warmed. The toilet didn't flush. There were no paper towels. It makes me sad that a place we all have looked forward to coming to year after year, has declined as much as it has. Looks like we'll be starting a new...