Sushi Ichiban

I usually come here about once every two weeks. And I keep coming back here because there’s no other place where you can get three delicious sushi rolls for $ 10 on campus or frankly anywhere in Illinois. This place get too many negative reviews about the quality of the sushi, but obviously, at these prices, you won’t get the best quality out there.

I’m usually a kofusion girl but my friends and I decided to try this on a whim based on a recommendation from another friend and I’m so glad we did ! We came for lunch and I got 2 rolls for $ 8.48 which ended being $ 9.29 with tax but still, I got 11 pieces for $ 9, which is cheaper than what I would spend at most sushi places. I got a shrimp tempura roll and a Philadelphia roll. The Philadelphia roll was good and the shrimp tempura roll was AMAZING. I would definitely come back here again, although I know the 2 roll combo is more expensive at dinner time so I’d probably come for lunch if I really wanted a great deal. All in all, I’m really glad I checked this place out, my friends and I left very full and satisfied !

Worst experience ever!!! The working stuff was really rude and even asked me to f*ed the shut up when I was ordering because I didn’t NOTICE he was busy.

Not really authentic Japanese, as this is yet another one of those Korean-​run «fusion» sort of establishments. That being said, their service and hygiene standards are pretty characteristic of this kind of ownership: sticky tables, dirty floors, and the worst part, they wipe the knife used to cut the fish with just one towel all the time, which looked almost blackened by dirt and unwashed. Mmmmm mildew with my sushi. Yum.
Fish portions are small compared to the amount of rice. It kind of made me nauseous for the whole night afterwards. To make it worse, the manager just kind of stalks you as you order and eat. Interesting experience. Really.

Nice sushi roll restaurant just near the library. Lunch discount offered for sushi rolls. Fish goes good usually but it might be bad depending on your luck. Congee tastes good but a little be pricey. I am always full after eating 2 sushi rolls.

My friends and I got several rolls of sushi and they were all poorly rolled. They all fell apart and the rice was unevenly distributed on the seaweed. All my rolls looked scraggly. They also didn’t advertise that they have edamame but they actually do. The shrimp tempura in my roll was pretty stale as well. Definitely not worth the money I spent.

My boyfriend and I go here on the weekly and it literally is so fresh, consistent and amazing every single time! ¹⁰⁄₁₀!!! Loveeee the staff!

The fish on the sushi gave my friend food poisoning. Worse part is the manager is literally watching you from the Cameras in the back.
The worst part is that if you order more of the same sushi they reduce the fish portion and increase the rice amount. I ONLY TASTED STICKY RISE!!!

Obviously, at these prices you’re not going to get top quality sushi. But the lunch specials (3 rolls for $ 10, 2 for $ 8) are good deals.

Sushi ichiban is yet another excellent stop for hungry college kids. After tasting the delicious menu in ko fusion, I had pretty high standard but I was pleasantly surprised. I ordered the 3 roll combo for 10.99, I got the salmon roll, spicy tuna and fancy roll. All three were superb. The fish tasted fresh and the taste was authentic, not to mention it was an incredible deal for that price. I didn’t get the chance to try their non sushi dishes though. I’ll definitely be back for more.

Sushi Ichiban is ironically named. It is certainly not ichiban lol.
I tried their yakisoba and as far as cheap Asian-​y takeout-​y noodles go, I can’t believe I’m saying this, Chopstix does it better. It’s edible though so whatever. Lol.
Their sushi rolls were a huge disappointment: c. I got the Palatine Roll. First thing I noticed: they don’t know how to roll their rolls. Everything was loose and falling apart. The rice wasn’t packed well and it just looked like some amateur rolled it in the dark. With no hands.
Second, the pieces of fish were miserly thin. I’ve only had thinner pieces at My Thai, which is the worst restaurant that I’ve ever been to in my life (Not just sushi restaurants. I’m talking out of ALL restaurants).
Most of the roll was rice or veggies (not even the avocado kind of veggie). Sushi Ichiban engages in the practice of using rice as one of their fillings for an inside-​out roll. That means that the rolls are double-​stuffed with rice, which I hate because they’re cheaping out on you and trying to make it seem like it’s all cool. It left me feeling played like they didn’t even try. I’ve been to plenty of cheap ass sushi places that do not double stuff.
The only positive is that it tasted pretty good. I’ve had some awful sushi and this sushi is not at that level. It’s pretty yummy, honestly. But… how many offensive flavors can cheap, white rice really have…

Don’t let the name deceive you, because this is a one-​stop Asian food shop, not just for sushi, which is what I originally thought, and consequently didn’t come here for four years. The menu is huge, definitely biased toward sushi and sushi rolls, but contains other things like rice porridge, teriyaki, or noodle soup.
I had a sushi roll, which was, expectedly, pricey and did not fill me up, but the following time I enjoyed a very agreeable bowl of vegetable congee. I’m usually wary of places that try to cook such a huge menu of foods, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that they are doing a pretty ok job of it.
Definitely stop by, at least once, it’s worth a look.

It’s cheap and decently fresh sushi. We are in the middle of nowhere — fish can’t exactly be delivered and prepared on the same day, so don’t go in expecting something fancy. Like its rating, it’s A-​OK sushi. Sushi Ichiban has a huge menu though, and they offer Chinese food along with a wide range of sides, appetizers, and drinks. You can even get packaged food to go if you’re in a rush.
I only go here when I feel a craving for sushi and want to go all out with the all-​you-​can-​eat offer. It’s $ 25/​person and you get a menu to mark what you want. Then they bring out your order and when you’re done, you can ask for another sheet to order more. The number of choices is quite large and chances are you’ll find something you like. I enjoy the sweet potato roll, the Las Vegas roll, New York roll, and the Bubba Gump roll the most. They sometimes look good, but sometimes they look hastily made and are unevenly cut/​fall apart. I also hate it when they cram the rolls full of veggies/​rice and only a small bit of fish. The miso soup is okay though.
Tip: The raw tuna they use sometimes tastes bad, so eat at your own risk. It’s not worth getting something like the spicy tuna roll and having to eat it or pay the $ 1/​piece left uneaten fine. My tuna roll had a strange, fishy taste and the color was a dull reddish-​brown with a glossy sheen to it.
Waiter service: almost non-​existent. You get water by yourself (grab a pitcher if you have a big party), and the only service is when they bring you your sushi. There is one Caucasian waiter who is really nice and dedicated to good service. He jokes around, is totally friendly, and he works really hard. I dislike the Chinese waiter though because my boyfriend and I were eating together and he gave our order to another couple who didn’t even look like us. He literally decided to give it to the first table of two he saw. After a long wait, I asked him about my bf’s order because I overheard the couple picking at the rolls and saying they weren’t sure if this was their order. He says, «Oh, I gave it to that table.» No apology or anything. We had to reorder and wait even longer for his order to come out. They also messed up my order and out of the three rolls I ordered, they completely forgot to give me my third one.
As a poor student, I guess this is the highlight of my sushi experience when I want okay sushi, but don’t want to splurge.

You want some average sushi? Well, here you go. For sushi, it’s best to get the lunch special where you can get two sets of rolls for a reasonable price.

The Good:
–The sushi itself is pretty good, not fantastic, but good. The rolls are a little sloppy, but not too bad.
–The prices are fantastic, and definitely good for a college student.
The Bad:
–The miso soup is just not good. The tofu chunks are enormous (around 1“x1″), and the broth has very little flavor.
–The service is meh, no waiter service, unless you get All You Can Eat.

This place is terrible. The only reason I gave this place a shot after experiencing their sloppy food is because it’s so close to engineering campus.
A word of caution for those who care:
None of the non-​sushi items are vegetarian it turns out. Before I order something, I usually make a point to double-​check. When I asked about the ‘vegetable teriyaki’, the guy rudely said ‘that’s why it says vegetable’.
When I received my plate after his reassurance, I noticed some meat in the dish. I took the thing back to him, and he refused to talk to me because he said ‘I wasn’t a customer’! What?! I lost it when he told me to get out of the line.
Bottom line is that place has bad service, is extremely inhospitable, and is not suitable for vegetarians. Furthermore, after the owner had to get involved, I learned that the all sauces/​broths have some chicken in them. I can understand when someone makes a mistake. I hate when people who cannot admit it when it happens and make no attempt to rectify the situation afterwards.

:/​It’s alright.
No servers, you must order and come back to the counter to pick up your meal but staff is friendly and courteous.
Establishment is clean. Water is self serve in styrofoam cups from plastic pitchers near soda fountain machines.
Spicy & Hot Beef Noodle Soup:
Broth was tasty and spicy as advertised. Ingredients didn’t have any of the broth tastiness. Beef was a little chewy/​rubbery. Veggies and noodles were fine.
Miso Soup:
About the size of a can of Campbell’s soup.

I was really disappointed with my meal today. I didn’t have great expectations after reading the reviews, but I figured it would at least satisfy my craving for sushi. Instead, I was thrown off the minute I opened the bag. Instead of sushi soy sauce, it was just plain, cheap soy sauce, which is never a good omen. If you’re going to name your restaurant «Sushi… –anything-​» it’s probably a good idea to actually provide the right condiments.
The quality of the rolls were really poor. They were sloppy, falling apart, and some were sliced paper thin, while others were so large I couldn’t even eat them without making a huge mess. The smoked salmon tasted like it had been soaked in liquid smoke instead of actually smoked. It was sour, fishy, and really terrible. The roll that was supposed to have tobikio on it had maybe 3 eggs per piece, which was terribly upsetting because it was the whole reason I’d decided on the roll.
The only thing I enjoyed was the mini egg roll I received. It was hot, crispy, and quite honestly, really delicious. Maybe their regular menu is better, but I will definitely not be ordering sushi from here again.

If you are looking for high quality sushi, the kind that makes your palate sing and your cheeks soften with tenderness, this is not your sushi place. Nor is it a sushi restaurant with great variety of rolls.
The quality is decent enough, the rolls large, and the meal filling. We ordered 6 different types of rolls (a lot of food — we were not able to finish), all roughly $ 5 – 6 each, and all tasted about the same. Many of the rolls come stuffed with cream cheese. The main flavor difference between them was whether a fried ingredient was also included. Vegetables, too, added a little variation — the asparagus offered texture. Many of the rolls promise «crab,» but the cashier told me that the rolls include imitation crab meat.
The seaweed salad had a tasty sesame oil dressing. It made a nice contrast as a side. Two of us shared one portion (priced around $ 6).
The free fried eggroll, a small complementary item, that came with our rolls was not very good. It was room temperature and oily.
The restaurant is clean, but extremely plain and spare.

It’s pretty cheap (we paid about $ 25 for 2 orders veggie tempura, 2 avocado, 1 cucumber, 1 sweet potato, and 1 vegetable roll and were totally stuffed when we were through), but it looks like their specials seem to be where the best deal is at; quality is so-​so, nothing to write home about. The place would definitely benefit from some minor renovation… it has this almost kind of like «Panda Express» feel to it. I dunno, not a fan of that aspect considering it’s a one-​of-​one as far as I know. It is what it is, but it could be nicer, hip-​er even, with not a lot of effort.
P. S. This is where I made my discovery that (since they are super stingy with the sweet sauce) mixing Sriracha with soy sauce is a pretty dang delicious dipping sauce for tempura. I did appreciate that they had a big bottle of hot sauce on every table.