ichi ni nana izakaya

worst food i’ve ever had. cancelled my
order for mains after my four entrees

beef and tuna tataki : they were both drowned in one of the most disgusting sauces i’ve ever tasted. i had to literally wipe it off to eat any.
the beef was rock hard, and white fat lines that would be nice if you ordered wagu...but no it’s porterhouse steak which is insane to use for beef tataki. legit the worst dish of my life. the tuna not far behind.

the karage chicken was fine except the four times i had to spit out gristle that was rock hard.

the salmon entree was okay, but again the sauce was so sweet it was sickening. the fish quality was alright tho.

cancelled the rest. left wanting to throw up.
also over priced
venue is super nice tho

this place is very hit or miss but lately it’s been very miss. the order came out in a very weird order, the food was cold and the staff said it was because they were busy. i’m sorry you can’t bring edamame after you bring the mains! manager was a flog as well, very rude at the beginning.

overall: 4/5

walked into a magical place that does not resemble the streets of fitzroy nor the lanes in tokyo. great mysterious vibes, vibrant and nature-themed decor with intimate seating.

staff are super friendly, especially the waiter who apparently is the son of the restaurant’s owner.

very pricey, but food was overall worth it. drinks, however is unreasonably expensive, but i guess it’s the restaurant’s way of profit since you can’t enter here without tempting yourself for a drink!

sushi sashimi platter (5/5): looks expensive, but we were half full by the end of it and already so satisfied excluding the sides that we ordered. sashimi melted right in the mouth, tasted so light and fresh. the sushi maki rolls were on another level. the ratio of rice to filling, the balance of sauces that elevate the flavour of the sushi bite, the presentation and the quality of the meat/seafood is enough for me to say it was worth it, almost on par as those luxury japanese dining experience. that triangle shaped cheesy sushi roll would be my favourite. highly recommend!

lobster taco (5/5): flavour bomb! such a refreshing and explosive bite. lobster was cooked perfectly, the creamy sauce was satanically good which paired well with the crispy nori taco shell.

okonomiyaki - japanese pancake (4.5/5): presentation was complete opposite to the platter, but flavour was amazing. that drizzle of thickened sweet sauce with the creamy mayo, layered on the crispy vegetable pancake was finger-licking good. i even dipped the chicken karaage and gyozas in that sauce too.

chicken karaage (4/5): karaage in general is whatever to me. it was seasoned very well though. good side to enjoy. coating to chicken meat ratio was perfect.

pork gyoza (3.5/5): oozing with hot minced fatty tender pork and liquid inside, still maintaining a nice slight crisp, but a bit too salty.

will definitely return for a nice fancy yet casual night out.

food: 4
value: 4
ambience: 4.5
service: 4.5

the absolute worst japanese we have ever had just spent $50 on a salmon donburi and a wagu bento -which was highly recommended got a few old overcooked slices of salmon and some slices of tough meat that we ended up giving to our dog - best part of dinner was the rice - give this place a miss its terrible-

not even remotely close to being worth the money they change.
1 milliom dollars for small appetizers.

very bad service. we were sitted directly under the sun while there is other available empty tables under the shade beside us. when asked to switch tables, their answer was no because it will mess up their computer system.

first time back since covid, and it was a huge disappointment. we have been here a few times in the past, but we won't be back again.

service was very bad, where we had 3 waiters rotating and constantly rushing us to order every 3 minutes. there was no communications between them either, so there were just a lot of double and triple handling info and interruption of our convo.

food was sub-par compare to the past. sushi rolls were falling apart as we pick them up with chopsticks. the nori tacos and the pork belly baos were terribly expensive for what they are, and overall just disappointing texture failures. also some of the produce is not as fresh as we expected. the prawns were tough and a bit fishy, although we did not get sick. overall, there was no attention to details with the food.

management was also not up to standards, where we had to wait on the host to finish his personal convo for a solid minute before he can seat us. also sitting plan is very unusual where all the guests are pushed to the wall, yet there are absolutely no social distancing between tables.

we understand the difficulties they face with covid, lockdowns, and the new wave of staff and sourcing ingredients, but with no care from management, the guest experience is left to be desired. we left with hungry stomachs, a long list of things they could improve on, and this is what we had left in mind after 3 days. just to give you an idea of how bad it was.

food was nice/average but extremely small portion and expensive... for what you get
(4pp total 300) for 75 ea
6ea. -- lotus root fries (25g)
3 ea. -- slices of sashimi (15g)
4-5 ea. -- spicy prawns
3ea -- sliced beef as thin as paper (7g total)
3ea. -- dumplings (maybe 75g)
3 ea. -- slices of chicken (80g)
2 ea. -- sushi rolls (80g)
1 ea. -- chocolate spring roll size of a small 3rd finger and 1 scoop of ice cream between 4 ppl and a quarter of a strawberry to share.

agedashi tofu wasnt nade with dashi both but a beown sauce with sour bamboo shoots?? the tofu was firm not not smooth, the batter is raw i could taste the raw batter. a complete fail.

the ebi mayo was the best that ive ever had out of all restaurants.

sashimi was great.

everything else is good, but not amazing. cool decor, good vibe and service is great. seats are not very comfy. good for groups.

will i go back? probably not at this kind of price range.

another impressive night at ichi ni!!
the service, food and ambience were first class. we shared a large variety from the menu where the sashimi, prawns and bao were a standout. left very satisfied after squeezing in desserts.

this was the worst japanese food we’ve had in a long time if not ever. the equivalent of buying japanese at a seven eleven but still paying exorbitant prices. the only thing fun about this place is the ambience. if you like japanese, go somewhere else.

great vibes and service! i find that there is more value when we order more 'unique' fusion items that you can't get elsewhere (particularly the ichi ni roll) rather than the standard sushi/ japanese side dishes that you can find in other restaurants as they are tasty, but not amazing and you're definitely still paying a premium. overall though i really love this place!

such a welcoming atmosphere and just a little different in an edgy way. the service staff are excellent and very agile. we had a table of 12 and everyone got their delicious meals promptly.

terrible service, terrible table, well over priced, we all left hungry paying $900. wouldn’t let us order more food. not going back

this place used to be one of my favourite japanese places. now it seems they are cutting corners to recoup lost profits during covid .. menu is now limited and has increased in price with portions now smaller
gyoza - ordered prawn - they were filled with water, so with every bite you would get fishy water bursting in your mouth so you had to squeeze them before eating.
the itchi ni rolls were served warm instead of cold so it was impossible to pick up with a chopstick without it falling apart ..
the larger meal being salmon served on a bed of rice.. i wouldn’t call this large .. the salmon pieces were quite small and lacked flavour .. this was more of an entree size..
it’s quite upsetting to see greed and sloppiness take over .. as a previous regular customer, i can see the vast difference and will now be looking for a local japanese restaurant that will pride themselves on their food instead of cutting corners!