Ichiban — Restaurant in Williamsburg

Came here a few nights ago with my husband. I have never had such an uncomfortable experience that I’ve felt the need to leave a bad review….but this place…. This is the first time I’ve ever walked into any business actually felt unwelcomed. You know that feeling you get when you walk into a conversation you aren’t supposed to be a part of? From the moment we walked in I felt like our presence was inconveniencing them. I’m not the kind of person that wants to be waited on hand and foot, but I could have gone without the obviously irritated tones and eye rolling…. I almost felt the need to apologize just for walking into an open restaurant and saying “2 please” 🤷🏻‍♀️

They were pretty busy while we were there, but the food still came pretty quickly which was impressive. However, it was so obvious that our server was trying to rush us out. I’ve been a server before so I’m empathic to their desire to have a quick turnover. However, we specifically went here because it looked like a nice place to have a quiet, relaxing date night to chat and have a few drinks.

The food itself was okay, but by okay I mean just okay. Not worth the price. You can get the same food at cheap takeout places. So we started with gyoza(pork dumplings)for our appetizer. They were edible, but it barely had any flavor. Same can be said for the sweet watery sauce they serve with it. You could tell the dumplings were like those frozen ones in bags at the grocery store. Meh.

For dinner I had the Pad Thai- It was alright, but had such a strange flavor that was not at all like actual authentic Pad Thai. That was a little disappointing. My husband had a few sushi rolls. They do make the sushi to order which is nice, but the fish itself did not taste fresh and there was way too much rice wrapped around. I tried 1 piece from 2 rolls and that was enough for me. I tried to share my Pad Thai with my husband too, but after taking one bite, he declined. My husband finished his sushi, but admitted that he was not impressed enough by the overall experience to come back.

It’s one of those places that you are basically just paying for the table cloths and fake candles on the table. Oh well…. 2 stars because the food is edible. It’s not the worst and I feel like the the concept of the restaurant is nice, but they missed the mark. If you’re looking for a nice/relaxing night out, I would not...

Went in at 2pm for lunch

Shared photo of food, receipt and details of experience highlight:

I ordered off the lunch specials & I ordered for 02 people; i enjoy food

(+) Plus

Servers are dressed in tie, shirts tucked & clean (when one prides in themselves, the likelihood of their details in service is better)

Rose's on the tables ( This displays scheduled routine of upkeeping the space daily, which i respect)

Advisory signs placed for guests that are picking up (shows they review reviews) because i read every negative review before I enter an establishment mainly looking for food-posioning &/or scammers/thief which i didn't see just subjective services.

Servers started to set up dining room for dinner time with table cloths, silverware, water glassware (displays routine in anything is discipline to a degree)

Service from greet to payment respectful & menu explained due to the wording placement on menu is confusing

Price for Quality & quantity of food is great. i order raw to cook food, from ginger dressing salad, sashimi, wonton soup to other items displayed on receipt

Enjoyed the decor of my eatting area

(-) Negative

Noticed that all tables were pre-set; therefore, assumed tables don't have cloths as like dinner time for lunch. My table was "sticky" as if a quick wipe was done, along with pieces of fried wontons on the floor below the table. (This is a minor detail for me) since the floor in general was clean.

I've eatten in the streets of Mexico to Thailand to other places on earth. Safety (food handling) & Quality/quantity of food to Price is what i mainly look for. Reason for all 05 Stars, I came alone but I will return with my family.

Thank you for the...

I do not recommend trying to order from Ichiban. I have been to many restaurants and ordered many times with multiple different types of service. I have had two instances at Ichiban where I received some of the worst service. The first time was a few months back. My family went in to dine in and we saw about 8 open tables. They told us it would take an hour to seat us and the place wasn’t busy. We explained that we just drive 8 hours to visit Williamsburg and would like to eat soon and we were told to go somewhere else. Today, I placed an order through seamless to pick up. This should have been simple but it turned into a really rude experience. When I got there at the time seamless showed my order as ready for pick up they said they never received it. I asked them to check and they said no. Next my wife called to ask what’s going on with the order. She was told they just got it. I thought ok great. Then she was speaking with a manager who told her they are too busy to make the food. I am shocked since once again the dining area didn’t have many people and they were not that busy when I came in. My wife told me that the manager chewed her out when she was asking why they can’t make the food (this was around 6:30 so plenty of time). She asked for a refund and they refused it. Terrible service once is forgiveable. Terrible a second time with being disrespectful to my wife and refusing to fulfill an order or refund it is terrible. It takes a lot to get me to the point of leaving a negative review and this customer service warrants it. I do not recommend even ordering online from Ichiban since they did not honor my order...