Ichima

Meh. I used to love this place, but the food quality and service have gone way downhill.
My group of friends & I always order the Cali deep & Mexican deep roll (Cause we are white, haha) and this last time around they were lukewarm and hardly deep fried! (Hence the name.)
I took a chance and ordered the sesame chicken, and what they brought out wasn’t anything that even resembles sesame chicken. In fact I saw barely any seeds, and had to confirm that it was in fact chicken.
They changed their seating layout, so there isn’t any privacy between booths now. Kinda awkward. May or may not be returning!

If you ask me if I want sushi for dinner or lunch or even breakfast, I would always say YAS!
One of my friends I had not seen for weeks just came back from her trip to east coast, so I asked her to get dinner with me. She said Sushi? So I said SUSHI!!! (YAS) I did not know any Sushi restaurants in the area between us, so I asked Unilocal and picked Ichima.
The location is a little tricky to find if you have never been here. It is kind of hidden behind Ralph’s. You might want to look at Google map closely to see where it is actually located in the plaza.
We got here at 7pm on Monday, and there was a wait though the restaurant is fairly big for a sushi restaurant.
Apparently my friend wanted a feast after coming back from freezing east coast, so she ordered one appetizer and 4 rolls for two of us!
We got Monkey Balls, Salmon Lover Roll, Volcano Roll, Poke Roll, and I cannot remember name of the last roll. Rolls were all pretty good except for the one I forgot the name of. I guess I forgot its name because it was not my favorite? Or because I was too busy eating a ton of food coming to our tiny table? Monkey Balls were fried appetizer that had mushroom, spicy tuna and something else. They were good too.
I did not get to eat regular sushi, but prices seemed pretty cheap. Regular ones, such as salmon and mackerel were about $ 3.9/2pcs, and premium sushi such as Uni was about $ 7.9/2pcs if I remember correctly. Rolls were about $ 12.
Ichima seems like a good daily Sushi restaurant to go in the area overall.
Just one thing though… After eating, I realized that we did not get miso soup… How can you forget to give me miso soup at Sushi restaurant… That is like serving a pizza with no cheese… *sob

The world’s worst service. I went to the sushi bar to eat dinner, and a server came out and said I needed to wait in line… even though there were 20 seats open, and 4 people waiting… his demeanor was less than peofessional. I have eaten at this place before, and they are a C sushi restaraunt at best in terms of quality. Avoid!

I use to come here a lot back in the days. Sushi is good. Then the quality of the sushi went down, so I stop going here.
But last week, my family and I decided to give it a try again. To our surprised. The sushi is good. We try everything on the menu that doesn’t have raw fishes and it was good. Even the beef teriyaki was good and soft. It’s not chewy or taste like rubber.
Will come back again to try their raw fishes to see if it’s fresh.

I really enjoy Ichima.
Maybe it’s because it’s got solid sushi.
Maybe it’s because it’s located literally across the parking lot from my gym.
Or maybe it’s because I can walk to it from my house…
Regardless of the true reason, Ichima is good in my book! The service is always solid and friendly, and the management is always on it.
Onetime I came in and noticed they didn’t charge me for an item, they took it back and fixed it, but it was still wrong somehow, so for the trouble they took the item off again and gave me a $ 5 gift card as an apology for the confusion.
The guys who work the sushi bar are always really nice and chatty when you need it, and they’re really good about keeping in mind any allergies you might have, or recommending something that you’d be able to eat!
My biggest issue is when it’s someone’s birthday, the Happy Birthday song comes on incredibly loudly from speakers that must have busted years ago because the sound is so static-​y and grainy and painful to ear holes that I’m surprised they haven’t fixed it yet. Unless it’s the song itself– in which case they need to go on iTunes and get another version or something.
If you can risk dealing with their disappointing Birthday Song, Ichima has delicious Japanese food at reasonable prices, with good service — I mean, what more is there really to ask for?

I have never been disappointed over here. I always order the California and avocado rolls. They are really filling too and for the price BY JOVE it’s a steal! Go, my friend. Go there and fill your belly till your childhood is sufficiently BURIED.
I give it a light five stars.

Came in on New Year’s day around 5pm and luckily did not have to wait for a table. However, by the time we left around 7pm, there was quite a wait outside for a table. The restaurant itself is quite large and can easily accommodate large parties. The parking lot outside also provides ample spaces for guests, shared with the other businesses in the plaza.
I give Ichima such a high rating due to the value of the food. The prices are extremely reasonable and the quality is pretty good. Food isn’t top of the line, but is definitely of decent quality and I am not complaining at all after seeing the menu prices. You can easily feed your complete party at a reasonable price and the service is great. If only they had an all you can eat option…
Will definitely be back if I’m in the area!

As our hearts were slowly breaking into tiny pieces due to the sale of Ichima to new owners, we thought it only fair to give it a try. After all, we have gone through multiple changes in ownership since our first visit to what was once Yamaha in 1985.
The former owner assured us that the quality wouldn’t change, nor would the staff… which made me quite happy. With the exception of the host and floor manager/​owner?, we felt like we were walking back into our second home. Familiar faces everywhere, happy to see us as we pulled up to our usual spot at the bar. Patrick was our sushi chef, which was just a bonus to our visit. He is wonderful. Attentive, funny, professional, and talented.
Hands down our favorites included Blue Fin Tuna, Salmon (close to the belly), and Albacore with garlic. The chefs will create whatever you desire, but we tend to stick with sushi with a surprise hand roll thrown in from time to time.
I cannot express to you how sad I was to find out that Jimmy would not be the head of the sushi bar, meeting all of our sushi needs with his magical smile, his unique sense of humor, (always terrifying me that uni was not available when it really was), and his genuine warm welcome whenever we would frequent Ichima. It is like finding out your best friend is moving across the country. Yes we will miss him, but we will not stop going to Ichima. It has remained wonderful and I hope it stays that way. If you are going to consume raw anything… you best be sure you trust the company that is serving it to you. So cheers to the new Ichima. I wish you success in the years to come. To Jimmy and Song, best of luck at O’seyo… I know where to find you!

Great spot for Japanese cuisine, be prepared to wait on a busy night, the waiting area is on the small side, so if you have a large party you might need to wait outside. As for smaller parties there is enough room to hold around 12 people
Birthday tip: they do provide ice cream for the person who has their birthday, and it usually comes with a fried banana, its really good!
I highly recommend looking at their bento boxes, great options for not a lot money. And if you have a large party one of their boats and a couple rolls is perfect!

What does ichima even mean? Isn’t that a catchy song?
Hot Tea (1.25) — Who charges hot tea for $ 1.25?! Isn’t it usually free?
Lunch Bento combo (7.50) — Wow, super cheap! I got the salmon teriyaki and california roll. Both were standard, nothing to complain about. However, I didn’t like the salad at all because it was mainly the romaine lettuce buds.
Also, the miso soup is on the salty side. How do you mess up miso soup.
Everytime there was a birthday, loud music would start playing. I heard it three times within the 2 hours I was there. Please change it up and play better music. On the plus side, they give you complimentary banana split for your birthday!

Came here for small celebration for my niece’s graduation. We ordered a variety of rolls such as veggie, and others I had no time to take photos of or can recall. We also ordered tempura appetizer, that was good, but the sweet potatoes were a bit underdone. The calamari appetizer was plentiful and tasty.
There was a decent crowd with limited seating. It’s not a modern looking restaurant, but their fish and dishes aren’t too bad for the prices. Their specialty rolls run from $ 8 – 10.95 and regular rolls are about $ 5 – 7 at most.
We also ordered some sake, which was pretty smooth tasting.
Overall, a decent night. I’d come back with a smaller party for sure.

Came here for lunch. You can sit by the bar area if you choose.
Great lunch deals, sashimi was fresh. Workers were all nice and they serve you pretty fast.
In and out of there at the blink of an eye.

It was good but I’d rather go to an AYCE sushi place.
Because I’m fat and eat a lot. LOL

Ichima sushi is by far one of the best sushi restaurants in Pasadena. I know that I will always receive a delicious meal when I come here. Whether I’m ordering a bento box off of their lunch menu, or sit at the sushi bar. It’s consistent quality.
On 11÷2÷15 we went to have sushi for my friends 21^st birthday. The staff was friendly and quick. But the sushi chef is who took our experience above and beyond.
He heard it was my friends birthday and wished him well the whole night. He gave us thick cut pieces of salmon for the birthday boy, and had suggestions of his favorite things to eat and how he likes to eat them. He was friendly, chatty, and all around fun all evening. He even took a picture with us!
The quality of sushi here is also just amazing. You can’t go wrong with anything. My favorite is the salmon nigiri, but their eel is also delicious.
For 3 people, who each had a large beer, and all got super full, we paid $ 98 with tip included.
Thank you to the chef and staff who made my friends birthday amazing!
I will always recommend this restaurant, to new sushi lovers and old friends. If you haven’t been, you’re missing out!

The rolls were fairly decent, though lacking a bit in stand-​out flavors. The actual fish was rather meh — good thing we opted for an «Americanized sushi» night, as I would be highly disappointed if I came here for nigiri or sashimi.
Staff was very attentive and very friendly. My giant cup of Diet Coke never went dry.
This place is surprisingly busy. I think they had like eight sushi chefs (no exaggeration) at once. Not bad for a random spot that we just happened to notice sort of hiding behind Ralph’s.

This use to be a sushi restaurant not many people know about since the bigger chains get more attention. I’m glad this place is more popular now! I love how they play a song in the whole restaurant & give free fried banana with ice cream if it’s your birthday. I don’t think I’ve been here without them doing so. It’s a popular place for a birthday! It’s a nice formal ish yet casual place with great prices!
Service: The servers are always super nice. Always the same workers! They always are willing to help and come to the table quickly when you want to order or have a question.
Food: They give free miso soup if you want in the beginning of the meal. I love the bento box combinations for lunch and dinner! It’s so worth it. You get a bit of everything and they give a generous amount of meat. It also comes with a side salad, rice and a roll for Combo B. I’ve gotten the soba noodles with salmon before and it’s SO good! They gave me a big salmon so I was happy! Hahah, the soba noodles were slightly sweet and the flavor was on point. My favorite sushi here is avocado and eel roll, california rolls & cucumber rolls! All tastes so fresh! I recently tried the cucumber salad and it was pretty & super refreshing. The cucumber was cold, crunchy and definitely satisfying.
Parking: Easy to find a spot! You can park closer to bank of america or on the other near Ralphs. Never a difficult time to find parking.
You can make reservations here if you have a large party so you don’t need to wait. On weekends, you may need to wait a while because it can get packed. And I don’t like to wait when I’m super hungry :(
I think this place should expand because they totally deserve it!

Was greeted by a staff as soon as I walked in. That’s always nice way to start your meal. :)
I must’ve been hungry because I ordered sashimi combo B which comes with three of tuna, salmon, albacore, yellowtail and izumidai and halibut sushi, tiger roll, rainbow roll and spicy tuna. Thank goodness I have my cute date that brought his appetite tonight. :) The waitress came by to refill the soda just before I was planning to ask for more. Everything tasted pretty fresh. Although, I wish they put little less ponzu sauce over the tiger roll.

When I first started eating sushi, we would always go to Kabuki. Then somehow we migrated to Gin because everyone likes their lobster rolls. Now, I finally got the chance to try out Ichima. I haven’t been back to Gin in a long time but I am approved of Ichima that’s for sure! It’s hidden behind a Ralphs, so you won’t see it driving on Foothill.
We arrived on a Tuesday night a little before 8 and surprisingly we got seated right away. They made sure to take our drinks down soon after that and brought each one of us miso soup. Love it when we get soup on the house! What we ordered:
|Charashi| $ 12.95 Dinner
For the amount of fish they give, I thought it was a good price and the fish was very fresh as well! It comes with tuna, salmon, yellow tail, shrimps, yellow egg, and I don’t know the name of the other one. Salmon was definitely the best out of all! The cut was thick too.
|Seaweed Salad| $ 4.95
It was mixed with some arugula salad which I didn’t mind at all. Its just that it was soaked in dressing so the seaweed was too wet. Other wise, it was not bad I guess.
I didn’t try my friend’s bento box nor dragon roll but everything looks delicious! We agreed that Ichima make their rolls really tight. It doesn’t fall apart easily once you pick it up.
Service was really awesome for a semi busy night. Each time I ask for something, they’d bring it out right away. And they came by to refill our water without asking. Their lunch menu doesn’t seem too bad either so I’ll come back to try more rolls from them!

Ichima is probably the best place to get Japanese food because their price is pretty cheap for good quality fish. I myself haven’t tried the fish because I’m a vegetarian, but all my friends and family members have told me that their fish quality is surprisingly really good. An added bonus is that they’re also cheap compared to other Japanese places around here.
I suggest you come for lunch rather than dinner because they have really good lunch special prices. I always get the two item combo: vegetable roll and vegetable tempura. I always ask them for just the broccoli tempura because I don’t like the other veggies and they are able to accommodate to me. The bento box also comes with rice and salad.
They also give you free miso soup so make sure you ask for it! This place can get pretty crowded on the weekends for dinner, so I suggest you go early. If you tell them it’s someone’s birthday, they will give you a free dessert and embarrass you in front of everyone by singing super loud. Oh and they will blast a birthday song on the speakers, it’s pretty funny.
This place is located right next to the bowling alley, it’s kind of hard to spot because it’s all the way in the back.

Place is pretty good. I wouldn’t say great but good enough. Have been here a few times and staff is fast and attentive, the language barrier can be tricky at times but the rolls and ramen are simply good.
Tried a few rolls, they came in a good size, one of the rolls fell apart but it didn’t stop me from enjoying. The ramen was decent but not spicy at all as they claim it is.
Celebrate a birthday here and you get a free dessert for the birthday person, they use to sing now it’s a recording.
The parking is about average but they share it with the bowling lanes across the way.