ichi ni nana izakaya

ichi ni nana izakaya is a popularrestaurantin fitzroy, with modern vibes blended in nicely with japanese culture. we arrived early (around 5pm) and were seated promptly at our own private booth. therestaurantis relatively large (i assume) but is comprised of several areas that are sectioned off, making it seem a bit like a maze to navigate (it was relatively dark inside as well). in general, staff were friendly and reasonably helpful but didn't check on us much. 

we ordered the $150 ichi ni nana platter (a huge plate of assorted sashimi) to share between two people. the food was very aesthetic - however the size of the dish was quite overwhelming for the two of us - i recommend sharing between a large group. the fish was quite fresh and i liked how they used brown rice for the sushi. the highlight for me was the cut-up sushi rolls with spicy sauce (i'm not quite sure what to call them). the sauce was delicious and the vegetables also complemented the fish very nicely. 

overall, i thoroughly enjoyed my experience at ichi ni nana izakaya - will definitely be back to try out the other dishes here.

i used to love thisrestaurantbut i feel like it's going down hill. it was not a busy night. the wagyu beef sizzling came out literally in 4 minutes after i ordered which means they simply reheat the meat on the pan? the chicken skewer was a bit dry. ebi mayo the prawn was soggy which means it was not freshly fried. portion size was small as usual. two of us ended up spending $100 and still hungry... for the price i pay i expect more delicate taste

i think this was my best experience in a melbournianrestaurantso far. everything was excellent. the staff girls were the most friendly, helpful and cheerful i've ever seen. the food was just superb! we tried some crab and dragon rolls as well as the large chef platter. the dishes were presented and explained as they came to the table, and this is something you don't usually encounter. i also loved the decoration there, somewhere between modern, minimalistic and kitsch. it's a great place to eat great food. don't think, just go :)

ichi ni has to be one of my favorite japanese restaurants. have been here 5 times and was lucky enough to be seated in the ski lift my last visit which was very unique.

therestaurantitself is quite dark inside which i don't mind with plenty of seating available in tables and booths. the service from the staff here is great, their always happy to recommend dishes and are very helpful with the menu.

having tried a variety of dishes here, the must haves for me is the karaage chicken, lamb cutlets, soba noodle salad, pork gyoza, dragon roll and finish the dinner with the delicious banoffee as dessert.

highly recommend ichi ni whether it's a catch up with friends, with your partner or a large group of friends, it caters for all.

hope to see you guys again soon!

definitely had some high expectations coming to therestaurantfrom friends and having read reviews online. the food was good (however quite overpriced in my opinion) but it did not matter because of the terrible service. drinks took longer than 30 minutes to arrive, even after asking twice for the order. we were led to believe that the waiter did not actually put the drinks order through and only had when we asked for it the second time. some meals did not take long, however, they all arrived at different times. we asked the waiter about it and turns out he had lost our docket, claimed he remembered everything on it, and only put through our order a lot later compared to when we ordered. once we finished the first set of our meal, we proceeded to ask about two dishes that never arrived. turns out he had forgotten those two dishes. we arrived at the venue at 745 and only got all of our meals and drinks at around 915. absolutely would not recommend thisrestaurantand will not be visiting again. i am usually lenient to service staff on saturday nights, however, this was absolutely unbelievable.

friends of mine invited me here and i am glad they did as i must admit this place was not on my radar.

therestaurantfit out is really cool, we sat in a booth which was comfortable and gave you some privacy.  a solid menu with many great options, staff very helpful and friendly.

we ordered so much food!! haha all were very delicious but the stand outs for me were the hand rolls, in particular the dragon and ebi tempura rolls, they were just so tasty. the soft shell crab was also amazing. the ingredients on all the dishes were fresh and of good quality, presentation was outstanding. 

a definite must if you are keen to try this place out, i thoroughly enjoyed the food here.

getting rushed out of arestaurantis not how you want to end a night out celebrating. we were celebrating my last ever medical exams (after 13 years of study). we arrived on time, ordered some drinks and then quickly decided to go for the feed me menu. now you think the restuarant would love this, for a 2 hours sitting they can plan ahead and make sure we get out in time for the next sitting to come through. less fuss and far less work for the wait staff. instead it took ages between dishes (they even apologized for the delay at one point), we had to try catch their attention to order another drink and with 30minutes left and 2 dishes still to go we got told that they were “very sorry” but our dessert was now coming out in 5minutes and we had to leave asap. previously we had to work so hard to catch the waitress’s attention, now she was coming over every 3 minutes reminding us that we had to leave is t- however many minutes. it put a really dampener on the night and ruined the celebration. i would not recommend. over priced and poor service.

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 japaneserestaurantthat will pride themselves on their food instead of cutting corners!

absolutely loved the presentation of their dishes. the sashimi was very fresh and dragon roll was flavourful. really greatrestaurantfor group gatherings or events! the only downside is that it is a little bit on the pricier side. but the aesthetics and vibe makes up for it!

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a popular japaneserestaurantin fiztroy - one of my friend's favourites so we decided to visit. as soon as you enter, you will be amazed by its beautiful courtyard and decos which completes this mysterious funky vibe. we ended up ordering chef's selection plate that came with assorted nigiri and sashimi. overall, it was good - food was decent and presentation was overwhelmingly beautiful. however, i did get the impression that they focused more on the presentation of their dishes than actual foods. the presentation in deed was excellent and did make it more enjoyable to dine but considering how it was a $100 platter, i expected more in terms of quality and taste. if you are looking for a proper sushi dining experience, i wouldn't recommend this place. but if you are hoping to drink and dine with your mates at a cool funky venue, i can't think of anywhere else other than ichi ni nana izakaya.

we have wanted to go to ichi ni nana izakaya for a little while now, so when the weather cleared up we decided to head here to try out a well received and recommended sushi restaurant.

as we entered, we were greeted by enthusiastic japanese chefs which brought some warmth- and whilst some staff didn't reciprocate this sentiment as much, we were still served promptly and respectfully throughout our meal. today we ordered the pork belly, soft shell crab and salmon rolls (chef prepared). the pork belly was a little dry, however had an amazing sauce that we would drink in a cup if we could haha. the soft shell crab is definitely higher quality than most; good texture and taste, whilst the salmon rolls were gorgeous. very high grade salmon with a wonderful sauce, tasting very delicious. one of the better sushi rolls we have had.

an overall goodrestaurantexperience hosting some very good quality sushi. whilst price is a little on the pointy end, you pay for the experience and quality of sushi.

food: 4/5
service: 3/5
ambience: 5/5
value: 3.5/5

overall: 4/5

i came here on a thursday night and wasn’t expecting it to be so busy! the vibe was really great, especially sitting in the covered courtyard section which was just stunning.

there is a really wide variety of both food and drink options to choose from, all of which are presented beautifully. taste wise, there were definitely some stand out dishes for me, which i’ve highlighted with a * below.

we had the:
- renkon chips // lotus root chips with shichimi salt, served with sweet potato and yuzu pepper dip
- * ebi mayo // battered prawns tossed in spicy japanese mayo - this was simple but one of my favourites. the prawns were fresh and crunchy, and the dressing was creamy with a slight wasabi kick.
- maguro tataki // thinly sliced seared tuna with soy, yuzu and shallot dressing on shredded daikon
- * wagyu rib // boneless slow braised, charcoal grilled wagyu ribs with sautéed seasonal vegetables and yakiniku sauce - hands down my favourite dish of the night! the meat was so incredibly fall-apart tender!
- wagyu shabu shabu roll // inside out roll filled with prawn, asparagus, and avocado topped with thinly sliced wagyu beef and coated with sesame ponzu
- volcano roll // inside out roll filled with asparagus, salmon and prawn, coated in flamed spicy scallop sauce
- green tea & biscuit ichi licks
- * banoffee // banana and caramel pie on an oreo base topped with mascarpone cream - i love banana desserts and this was no exception. perfect end to the meal.

whilst the service was friendly, it was a bit off at times. twice there were dishes brought to our table that we didn’t order, and when we enquired about what the special flavour for the ichi licks was, the server didn’t know. for the price we were paying for our dinner, i would expect service to be at a slightly higher level that that. but otherwise it was a very enjoyable meal, although i have definitely had better japanese meals in melbourne for a lot cheaper.

also, as a side note, for the love of god get public transport here if you have a choice! i spent a good half an hour or more pulling my hair out trying to find parking on a thursday night. i don’t think i have ever seen so many permit zones in my entire life. thank goodness therestaurantwas very understanding and still held my booking even though i was half an hour late (i did call to let them know my situation).

arrived in a group of four, and we were shown downstairs to a booth... a good start we thought. therestaurantwas 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.

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

such an incredible japaneserestaurantwith a huge list of options on their menu. great for birthdays and small catchup with a beautiful interior! i love the sashimi platter we ordered and the entrees and matcha dessert. everything was fresh and tasted amazing with great flavours! they also take bookings online or by phone.