Ichiban: “The Best and the Leading”

Before you even enter the restaurant, right when you take a look at the building, you can tell that Ichiban is going to be an enjoyable dining experience different than anything else you’ve experienced. I had heard about its note-worthy reputation from several friends and relatives, but had never got around to trying it myself.

Ichiban steakhouse is one of the few traditional Japanese restaurants around that still demonstrate the original Japanese culture inside and outside the restaurant, serving traditional Japanese food such as Tempura, Teriyaki, Udon, and sushi. There really isn’t any restaurant like it in the area. Everything, from the exterior of the restaurant to how the chefs are dressed, reminds people of a genuine Japanese steakhouse which is hard to find anywhere else.

Ichiban is open everyday of the week. Open hours are from 11AM - 10PM on Monday through Thursday, 11AM – 11PM on Friday, noon – 11PM on Saturday, and noon – 9PM on Sunday. Reservations are allowed for any available openings.

The restaurant is located at 4641 Washtenaw Ave in between Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, Michigan and is a part of the Washtenaw strip mall. Ichiban is separated from the rest of the strip, placed on the other side of the parking lot and closer to the main road. While driving on Washtenaw, you see this large pagoda style restaurant with huge red letters that read “Ichiban Japanese Steakhouse”. Compared to the normal looking strip mall behind it, the restaurant seemed as out of place as a panda bear in an office.

The dining options include sitting at a regular booth or table, a Teppanyaki table or one of the four private rooms. The Teppanyaki is a Japanese style of dining where the people sit at a table that surrounds the grill. It is the chef’s job to not only prepare the people’s food but also to entertain them as well. The four rooms are large enough to each fit a large family, and have glass doors with curtains for privacy.

The Japanese styled walls and windows, along with the rectangular canvas lamps hanging from the ceiling give the restaurant an immediate oriental sense. The dozens of Japanese art pieces hanging on the wall and the consistent Asian music really gives the detail to custom which most other restaurants lack. The design isn’t over done at all; no extra decorations that would make Ichiban seem non-traditional. The only exceptions were the few Halloween decorations that seemed a bit out of place.

As soon as you walk the in, you immediately smell the aroma of mainly the meats, and see giant flames and flying utensils coming from the chef and his grill. If you decide to eat at one of the regular tables or one of the private rooms, the experience is bound to be quite calm and pleasant. On the contrary, if you eat at the Teppanyaki table, you’re sure to be in for an exciting and entertaining meal. The large flames, together with the tricks and noises of the chef, are sure to draw some attention.

The restaurant seemed a bit crowded when we first entered, but the service was great in doing its job. They immediately cleaned off one of the tables for us to be seated in. Our waitress’ name was Anna, and she was very nice in explaining what all the different items on the menu were. She would consistently check up and ask if everything was okay with our meal, and fill up our water whenever it got empty.

There was such a wide selection of food on the menu so I decided to just get one of the sushi boxes which I split with my friend. The dish had 25 pieces of four different types of sushi: lobster tempura roll, avocado roll, spicy tuna roll, and the Ichiban special roll. My favorite would have to be the spicy tuna roll and the Ichiban special roll, both of which had tuna as its main ingredient. I thought the taste of the fish was really fresh. It went very well with the sauce that was glazed across the dish, like peanut butter and jelly. The avocado pieces in the avocado rolls were a bit tougher than I would have liked, but the flavor none the less went well with the rest of the sushi. When tried the lobster tempura roll, I was a little bit disappointed in the lobster part. I could see it in the sushi and feel it in my mouth, but it didn’t have much flavor at all. I felt it got completely overpowered by the rice and other ingredients.

In many restaurants where either soup or salad is included with the entre, we had to pay around $1.50 for each side dish. While my friend complained about the oiliness of the soup, I really enjoyed the heavy flavor along with the ingredients, except for what I thought was an excessive amount of green onion that kept getting stuck in my teeth.

The salad on the other hand wasn’t very enjoyable to eat. Although the dressing, which is unique to Ichiban, had a nice balance of flavor with an ideal amount of sweetness, the salad itself was nothing to brag about. With little taste at all, if it weren’t for the dressing, I might have thought I was eating water. Having paid $1.50 for it, I expected at least something I would get pleasure from eating.

Overall, the meal cost me a bit over $25 including tip, and it was able to feed two people comfortably. Whether you’re alone or in a large group, Ichiban provides not only satisfying food, but an ambiance of tradition that can rarely be found anywhere else. If you’re looking for a change in your dining, or just like Japanese food, I would recommend going to Ichiban for the unique experience.