Ichiban

This review is solely based on service. I tried to place an order at 8:25pm to be picked up and they wouldn’t take the order. I understand they close at 9pm, but every time I order, I’m quoted 20 – 25 minutes. I get the concept behind stopping orders from going to the kitchen a certain time period before closing time, but considering I’d be out of there with the food before they even close makes this policy very stupid.

This was our first time here. Our waitress, Tina, was extremely helpful and friendly. We ordered the kushiyaki. Very tender and flavorable. I had the chicken katsu. The katsu sauce was good but the yum yum sauce was the best! Our waitress brought out several sauces for us to try. The udon noodles with beef and chicken was amazing. Will definitely go back!

Ichiban reminds me of California’s Benihana where they cooking everything you have ordered right in front of you. I ordered the steak and shrimp and the MI sushi roll which was good. The only thing I didn’t like was, we were seated right away but we had to wait until our table was completely full to have our cook take our orders and start. To there were a total of three different families on the table.

It’s a great place to get some decent sushi and hibachi. I am a regular and have enjoyed my meals every time I go. The waitstaff is usually attentive and friendly! The last time I went the waitress was so nice to myself and my party it made the night. A great place to go with a party and be entertained by the chefs. It’s nothing super crazy, but the food is good and the prices are fair.

I have not had their hibachi but their sushi is great! I was not a fan of sushi for the longest time until I went to Miami and fell in love with it. So when I came back to Michigan, I tried different places looking for sushi that tasted like it did down in Miami & so far, Ichiban’s is the closest I’ve found to it. Very good. They also do great sushi lunch specials where you can get 2 rolls, soup AND salad for $ 10! Can’t beat that.

Love coming here for hibachi and for sushi, I love how many options they have for sushi rolls and I’ve never been disappointed! The staff is very friendly and the atmosphere is really nice to have a quiet dinner with a friend.

I liked this place! Excellent service. The chef did a very interesting dance with the food and managed to fill out our plates with delicious grilled fish and vegetables. Very clean, I had a pleasant experience. I would gladly go back.

We came here for a birthday dinner late on a weekday night. We were immediately greeted although the restaurant was a bit dim and difficult to see. We were immediately seated at a Hibachi table with another couple and waited a few moments to be greeted until after another couple joined us. Our waiter was friendly but not super attentive, we had to repeat both our drink, appetizer, and entrée orders a few time as the waiter had a hard time hearing us. We ordered a big beer to split and it came quickly with two frosted glasses. We also ordered some edamame but this, for some reason, wasn’t coming after 15 or so minutes so we had to ask again for it, and apparently they forgot about the order. Luckily we had our miso soup and salad with a creamy ginger dressing to keep us occupied — also unique in it’s own way and a great start to the meal.
The Hibachi presentation itself was awesome. Our chef was friendly, quick, and extremely talented. We ordered the steak (medium) and tuna steak (medium) and both were exceptional. The fried rice was fresh and flavorful, buttery and salty and delicious. It also came with a side of vegetables and these were very fresh and watched them cook right in front of us. Everything was so tasty, I easily became full. Little did I know that our birthday boy also received a massive helping of fried ice cream slathered in whip cream and topped with a sparkler and a song. A great time and I think it’s a wonderful place to celebrate and have som fun!

I love this place. For the location, its the best within at least 20 miles. The food is good. Better prices than the Ford rd location. My reservation is always honored and even when busy you are seated on time. great staff and well managed.

The food is ok even taking into account this is Michigan. I usually adjust my reviews accordingly and I typically don’t compare Asian restaurants to their counterparts in New York. So the hibachi is ok. Safe bets are salmon, chicken and steak. But the sushi is like really bad… Skimpy ass portions on the fish and rice. Honestly my rolls looked anorexic!
The main problem is the management and surly waitstaff. Honestly the European American servers are ok but many of the Asian servers are really curt. Our server didn’t even check up on us once.
Based on 2 visits.

Don’t let the exterior of the building fool you… the food was better than I expected. The customer service was good. I will definitely return.

I’m a little disappointed. We’ve been here many times and it’s always been a good value. This time, our chef gave fried rice to someone at the table that didn’t order it, then proceeded to give everyone else less — the person at the end barely got a spatula of rice. The server shirked our questions, never came to ask for drink refills, and then neglected to tell us that they had added an automatic gratuity (two separate parties of two and a party of one) because they thought it was a party of six. No one acknowledged any mistakes and they would not redact the gratuity. I’m normally pretty lenient but this was very disappointing all around.

I’m a regular here and am never disappointed. I just did their lunch special, 2 sushi rolls and a soup and salad for $ 10 and it was delicious! Highly recommended!

Ichiban was a tastilicious surprise! I ordered an «egg» aka tamago roll and a JB roll. They were accommodating when I asked for cream cheese instead of avocado (I got the saddest allergies). Seems that everyone at the table enjoyed their food!
Prices were reasonable and service was consistent. All around a good place for sushi!

We will NEVER go there again. We spent over $ 90.00 for two people for dinner. Beef was tough. Portion was small for the price. Seating was not comfortable. Tea was not hot. I

My review is the same in terms of the food. It’s all good and reasonable twice. I have over the years become an Ichiban regular and as far as the service they have stepped it up tremendously. This is one of my favorite spots just because it’s yummy cheap sushi, good drinks and nice wait staff. Happy dragon rolls for the win

If you come with a playful mindset open to gimmicks and theatrics, you will be entertained. The system is that one chooses one’s protein, and fried or plain rice to go with one’s meal. I got the salmon. As the salad and soup come out, the chef begins cooking one’s food. As to be expected, there are large flames and egg tossing. One of the more memorable acts was the chef cut up thin strip of zucchini on the grill, and then catapulted pieces aimed at diners’ mouths! Most people missed, though. There was a mysterious yellow substance the chef’s wiped under food on the grill that I surmised was something lard– or butter-​like but I can’t be sure. I liked that my salmon fillet had a crunchy, seared bottom from the powerful cooking surface. Flavor-​wise, I wish they didn’t use the same old teriyaki sauce on literally everything – fried rice, vegetables, and protein – as it makes the meal quite monotone, and rather sweet for my taste. This is a popular place for birthdays. They whip out a gong to call attention to the celebration, and also give the birthday person a bonus of tempura ice cream. They give you a lot of food, but the food is not the highest quality so dinner for ~$ 20 seems on the expensive side. I’m sure the chef’s performance factors into the price, though.

I visited Ichiban for a sushi lunch with a co-​worker. The restaurant was fairly empty and we were seated & served quickly.
For $ 10 I received 2 rolls of my choosing, miso soup & a house salad. The value was great and the perfect size for lunch. I’ll skip reviewing the miso soup, as I don’t care for it.
The salad was less than impressive. First, the dressing is very creamy and not the normal ginger carrot dressing that I’m used to at sushi/​hibachi places. My salad was also drowning in the dressing. Second, the standard iceberg was fine, but my bowl was like a quarter hard core pieces.
I was impressed with the selection of rolls that you could chose from. All of the standard rolls (California, Tuna, Eel, Salmon, Shrimp, etc) about 10 to chose from. I had the spicy tuna and the shrimp tempura. The spicy tuna roll was fine, but not stellar. There was almost too much spicy sauce and the tuna was ‘tuna salad’ vs. a nice slice of tuna. The shrimp tempura was very good. Two crispy tempura shrimp & fresh cucumber.
I wouldn’t go rushing back, but I definitely would recommend for a nice valued lunch if you are near the area. The normal dinner prices for sushi seemed really reasonable too.

I come here at least once a month for their awesome lunch specials. I have had their habachi grill and although it was good, it wasn’t different from other restaurants with habachi grills.
The lunch specials are very affordable and with great portions!
My favorites are:
Tonkatsu with fried rice (great fried rice)
spicy salmon roll
spicy california roll
tempura ice cream
tempura cheesecake
spider roll
The service is always nice and i do like the booths that have a bit more privacy.

Ichiban is (still) okay.
Spectacular? No. Compared to other Teppanyaki Japanese places (out of town), it falls short on the presentation and the ‘exotic’…but for the Ann Arbor area… it’s about the best for teppanyaki in the area.
I have had pretty good luck with the sushi here too. Slightly above average quaility. Not bad. It’s fresh and the evening 30% off sushi is a good deal. I know it’s not the most popular choice, but the Uni (sea urchin) at $ 7.50 for two pieces is a really good price. The Uni Itself was good. It’s fairly easy to tell ‘old’ or less than real fresh Uni… and Ichiban did a good job on the Uni and other items from the sushi bar.
For the Teppanyaki, I had the Scallops.
Of course, all of the dinners are preceded by salad salad and soup. The soup is not a miso, but a light onion-​y soup. Salad is great. .or really the dressing: a delicious, creamy ginger dressing.
My scallops were very good. Tasted fresh and a little more generous than expected. I did tell the chef to not ‘overcook’ them, but failed to remind him to leave off the sweet soya sauce squirted on. The sauce isn’t bad. It’s just that I prefer the scallops without the distraction.
Service is okay. I think it is better to go a bit later in the evening rather than early. Why? Well, if you get there… say at 5:30pm or so… you’ll be the only ones there. The downside of that is things just roll too fast: Before you even get your sushi, or your salad/​soup, the teppen chef will already be well into the performance. It’s just too rushed. Later in the evening, the place is busier and better suited to keep a less than hurried pace by the staff.