Ichie Japanese Restaurant
“Last but not least, they have a $10-12 early bird special (I believe Monday through Friday) if you come before 7 pm.”
“Total must visit if you are in the neighborhood.”
“The hot towels are a great touch.”
Ichie Japanese Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
5 reviews
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Nice to have a good Japanese restaurant in the 'hood, but the prices are high, and the ambiance is nothing to write home about. The menu is vast, though, and the owners are very sweet and the right amount of attentive.
Good mom and pop place with good nigiri combo and rolls. Maybe a bit more on the expensive end, but this is NYC. I'm gonna have to learn to love this place anyway since it's the closest one to me!
Tea is good and they give you oshibori (hot towel) to start which is a sign of a nice traditional place.
Like most mom and pop places the sushi comes very slowly because there's one chef handling it all. So my biggest recommendation for you at this place is to order once; don't get hungry and order again.
My second biggest recommendation (only because it's more obvious) is to not order things that are not on the menu because you have no idea how much they will cost. My usual method in California for filling up after a sushi meal that was good, but did not make me full, is to order futomaki, which is a large traditional roll stuffed with pickled vegetables and fake crab and is usually very cheap. Not so here – it cost $17 which was more than any of the specialty rolls we ordered (which had real sushi grade fish in them!!)
I accosted the "pop" of the restaurant to ask him why the dragon roll we ordered was cheaper than the futomaki since the dragon roll had fish and the futomaki does not. He kind of avoided the question and basically said it takes longer to make.
It is possible that they do know how to make it, but didn't have the ingredients ready for it, so they specially made all the ingredients for it (e.g. you have to blanch spinach), which would account for the price. But a better restaurant would have warned me about this first.
So anyway, that left a bad taste in my mouth, but due to their exclusivity in the area, I'm probably going to have to give them a second chance.
Ichie makes a good effort. The fish is alright, but nothing special.
They provide good service. After we were seated, they gave us a couple of hot towels. The beer came with a small chilled glass, which was appreciated.
The food could be a little better.
The side salad wasn't bad, but had too much of that orange dressing.
The miso soup was a standard salty, cloudy broth with tofu & scallions.
We ordered Chirashi ($17) & Sashimi Regular ($16). They both come with soup or salad. There wasn't much difference between the two. Both are sashimi plates, except that Chirashi is served with rice. For the price, the plates seem a little too simple and lackluster.
Ichie is okay if you are in the neighborhood, since there aren't many other sushi restaurants nearby.
Sorry, but this is a ripoff. I don't mind paying for sushi but please, give me some fish. I shouldn't be paying $30 and still hungry. While the food tasted ok, I won't be returning. Heck, I'd rather go to Whole Foods. At least there will be fish in the maki!!
I was so pleasantly surprised by this place! Tucked into a tiny little spot on 106th between Manhattan and Columbus, Ichie is unassuming and easy to miss. I went almost on a whim, mostly because I was craving sushi and it was one of the few places both walking distance and open past 9. In all honesty, I wasn't expecting much when I went in, but I walked out feeling very differently. I only had 3 small items here so I can't give a very extensive review. However, those 3 were good enough that I'll certainly be back to try more!
There were a few people when I walked in, but overall it was quiet and not very busy. After sitting down, I was offered water, the menu, and a hot towel for wiping my hands. Polite, quiet service that I appreciated. Not feeling too hungry, I ordered a salmon and avocado hand roll, 1 piece of scallop nigiri, and 1 piece of ikura (salmon roe) nigiri. Keep in mind that unlike most places, their prices for nigiri are by the single piece rather than a set of two.
Scallop can be quite meh when it's not fresh, but this one was sweet and just soft enough. The ikura wasn't overly fishy and had just the right amount of briny flavor, and the hand roll was large, filling, and adequately filled with salmon til the last bite. I really have to emphasize that for someone who wasn't expecting much and wasn't even very hungry, I finished eating with the best feeling. It's always great when a place surprises you!
I can see this place becoming my local go-to spot for good sushi in a quiet, mom-and-pop type environment. It's nice to see that it's Japanese-run and that they emphasize quality while keeping price and environment understated. My total for the 3 things above was only $11, and I was a very happy customer. Truly a hidden gem around the Columbia/Morningside Heights area. I'll see you again soon, Ichie!