ichi ni nana izakaya

the ambience and the staff were great and friendly. however what took me away from the overall experience were the price of the food did not match the quality of the food. i was expecting more as i dined in at ichi ichi ku and it was amazing. what i ordered here at ichi ni nana were ( soft shell crab maki, pork gyoza, angus beef set, chicken karage) soft shell crab were falling apart and that made it hard to eat. pork gyoza wasn’t as nice as the one in ichi ichi ku as it wasn’t juicy enough. angus beef were dry and the brown rice were dry too. chicken karage were too sweet and way too less meat. i was quite sad as i felt like i wasted my money. please improve the quality of the food i’m sure that will make everything better.

overall the ambience is good and service is great . however, the quality of the food despite that it’s in the afternoon and there’s only my friend and i. the food wasn’t hot enough. i felt cheated having to pay so much with such low quality of the food. soft shell crab maki were falling apart makes it hard to eat, brown rice was way too dry to eat. the angus beef set, beef was disappointing and too dry despite that it was medium rare. chicken karage was too sweet that my friend and i got sick of it. it doesn’t worth the money at all and definitely won’t be coming back.

came here the other night for my birthday with a group.. they put us downstairs in a booth which was nice/away from the busy area upstairs. the food was pretty yummy!! however, the service was terrible.... took about 15-20 mins just to get our drinks served to us (not even cocktails as well just beers and wine...) also the waiter would comment on our choices from the menu saying "no not that one, that's terrible" "that's tasteless" this was a surprise to us.... and then once served, waiter would just put the meals on the table and leave without describing to us what it was/who ordered it. this was very frustrating for a group like us that had vegetarians and vegans.. probably would not go back.

there was something about this place that i just didn't love. the food and service were perfectly acceptable, but the vibe was just off. too many people in one place just made it lose its x factor. it's like the fitzroy social - just one massive space filled with brunswick street types. add to that the fact that the tables near the entrance cop a massive freezing whack every time the door opens in winter, and you've got yourself a fairly average night.

this place is the right choice for a night out with friends. the food is punchy, the vibe is bustling and it’s packed to the rafters. the food? loads of choices, all of them well thought out and presented with pride. our fave is the lobster rock n roll. great drinks list too... japanese with a melbourne soul 🍣

we selected this place based on the reviews.
the ambience was nice until 8.30ish, then it got quiet loud.
the food and the pricing didn't match. we had:
- fried chicken which was the only solid dish.
- tempura prawns (soggy prawns and the tempura was too oily)
- field mushroom (in the menu it shows two, we only got 1... it was a nice dish but 1 mushroom with salsa on top for $8 sounds like a lot, plus it's completely misleading to have a photo of that dish with two mushrooms that we thought we could share )
- cha shu pork kakuni. (an ok dish. nothing bad about it, nothing outstanding)
- and two more dishes which we really didn't like (one of them was supposed to be crispy tofu that was all soggy and seemed tasteless to me).

having tried 6 or 7 dishes and only liked one, i would not go back or recommend.

i was very surprised knowing the great reviews i read before choosing this place.

also, found the customer service very average as they did not even realised when we were ready to order or ready for the bill (which also surprised me given the reviews!)

definately one of my favourite japanese restaurants! this is my third time back and it never fails. the food here is delicious! my favourite is the fried chicken, sashimi and the dragon roll. will definitely continue coming back here. i am always amazed by the fast service and friendliness of the staff.

arrived in a group of four, and we were shown downstairs to a booth... a good start we thought. the restaurant was fairly busy but there were still some vacant tables to be seen. our service was slow, it took far too long to order our drinks and again too long a wait for the menus to be handed to us. oh and it was stiffling hot down stairs, a sentiment shared by other patrons that could be seen fanning themselves for a bit of relief. the food looks great, really well presented and served on lovely and interesting crockery. serving sizes are more than adequate and we could not fault the food... but it did come out too slow and it was a constant battle to get the attention of one of the waiters. would i go back? not for the service, the food yes.

excellent decor, service, food and cocktails. we ordered a range of tapas and everything was cooked and served well, with almost all plates being totally cleaned.

the nasu dengaku was so tender, i have never had eggplant that just explodes with juiciness. yakitori were well cooked but on the smaller side, order a couple of different ones to be satisfied. i loved the pork bao and how crunchy the bao was! it had been deep fried i think so the outside had a crust but the inside was still soft and fluffy, this added a great texture to the dish.

will be back to try the sushi.

beautiful menu.food presentation as pictured.service? oh my...i think they are way over their heads with the restaurant's reputation that they can't be bothered with good service.
would i go again? would one pay for such food which many other japanese restaurants can do well equally or better and with even better service?
the answer is pretty clear.

this place is awesome. had dinner and drinks here a few weeks ago and the vibe was great. food was fresh and delicious and the drinks were off the charts. great place for a dinner for 2 or a large group. this is a place you take people if they want a real melbourne vibe dinner

what a pretty, pretty, pretty venue. can easily miss the place as their sign outside is prrtty small. place is huge and thr courtyard is so nice. got the dragon roll which came out well-presented. fresh, light, with a some chilli sauce/mayo as well. the roe.. really good! a bit on the pricey side but i enjoyed every dollar

everything is amazing here i think this is my favourite japanese restaurant in melbourne ! don’t forget to try the sliders ! they are to dieeee for !

ive had alot of japanese food from different parts of the world including japan. this is up there with the very best i e ever had! everything from decor to cocktails and service is great! cant ever get enough of this place!

delicious food, great service and excellent prices. my friend and i were blown away at the value and variety of food that we could get. thoroughly enjoyed our time and the incredible ambience. i’ll be back!