I came here last week to take my son for his birthday. I wanted to try it out because it's been in service for 35 years and nothing but great reviews. It's definitely a family restaurant and kid friendly. When you walk in you are automatically greeted. Seems homey and like you stepped into the 90's. We came right at 5:00 when they opened The owner Masako was the one who served us and she was Great! For some reason we felt like we have known her for awhile. She suggested their most popular dishes as well as asked what kind of items we liked. We got what we wanted but also explored their popular dishes. I was surprised that they did not use Imitation Krab in there rolls. They used real crab and we love that. We had Baked Mussels (kids fav), Yellowtail Kama (cheek) Super fresh and delish and Soft Shell Crab (Huge) for starters. All three were great and I highly recommend. Then we had this sashimi carpaccio type of dish that had Salmon, Tuna and Yellowtail Sashimi in this yummy ponzu sauce topped with herbs and Serrano chill. We then ordered typical rolls for our kids like Crunchy and a Baked Scallop roll. For the Adults (me-hubby-mom). Ordered Nigiri . We ordered a good amount and all was so yummy and fresh. They had typical items to choose from. My fav is Sweet Shrimp and that was good. They didn't have Uni that day which is a bummer but it didn't run my experience. The owner kept coming by and asking us how we were and was friendly to the kids. We had small talk and really had a Nice conversation. This restaurant is casual and is only opened for 3 hours 5pm-8pm on the weekdays and 5-9 on the weekends. I use to go to Matsu in HB and love the place cuz of the ambiance and food is good too. But I think I would come here more often cuz I like to support a family run business. Nice service and you feel like home when you enter. I wish I took photos of the food but I was enjoying my time so much. We really felt comfortable and at the end we sang Happy Birthday to my 9yr old. Came out with deep friend Oreos and Ice Cream. He had such a big smile and was happy. That's all that counts right? Thank you for a wonderful experience!! Will be a repeating customer. read more

Great service Memis and Owners!! After many years of coming here we always have a great time!

The food was great and the staff were really nice. The customer service in this place is AMAZING. They were really nice and made checked up on us to make sure we were doing good. Plus there was plenty of appetizers while we waited for our food. Totally recommend! read more

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AUTHENTIC LOCAL SPOT!!! I first tried this restaurant after my mom's work friend, who also lives in the area, recommended it for sushi and Japanese cuisine. Let me tell you, did NOT disappoint! I've frequented this place several times during covid, and at one point, I was coming here twice a week to get my fix. They have a lot of really amazing dishes here, and some pristine sushi skills!!! Definitely can tell when you first open the box - the quality is visible, the freshness and lack of smell, thickness, cut, and they all have that buttery fish texture. I have frequented A LOT of sushi spots and to be honest, I'm a bit of a sushi snob, I totally own that. I'll pay for quality and skill when I really want. And if you're in the mood for a really special sushi experience try their Spanish Mackerel or Uni, in addition to the usual suspects like Salmon and Yellow Tail. I'd also recommend the Yakatori, Gyoza and sashimi Latina! Good luck trying to take a picture before your taste buds take over!!! read more

Ohh I love this intimate spot. I love getting their bento box shrimp tempura w/ teriyaki steak. The staff is welcoming & friendly. They keep the restaurant very clean read more

Best Sushi hands down. Authentic Quality Sushi is what you can expect from Ichiban. Masako and Tom not only run an amazing restaurant, but they are amazing people. If you are looking for a traditional restaurant this is your place. If you want amazing food, made by top Sushi chefs this is your place! We ordered one of most things, enjoy the photos. read more

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Masako and Tom were amazing hosts. The salad dressing created by Masako is delicious. Very fresh fish...definitely get the toro. We had such a good time at this local gem that has been in business for over 36 years. Thank you and we will definitely be back. read more

The restaurant is very well maintained and the food is very good. Masako-san is very personable and came to our table often to bring us dishes to try and joke around with us. The prices are very reasonable and the wait was not long at all (we had reservations for a group of 5) and were seated within 5 minutes. This is a hidden gem in Brea with ample parking. I had the Ichiban Special with chicken teri, beef teri and tempura. Also had the Sashimi Latina, Volcano Roll and Spicy Tuna Roll. All of the food was delicious. read more

My family and I have been going to this restaurant for several years and the service has been amazing, especially this time around! Today my parents and I went for our birthday and we were able to get a free dessert, so I chose the tempura Oreos! Those are amazing! I've never tasted anything so delicious and mouth- watering in my life! I can't wait for the next time we come here! Highly recommend ! read more

The service was great, very friendly staff and owners. The sushi can out pretty fast. The entrees are huge and all is very tasty. read more

Ichiban Japanese & Sushi Restaurant - Caterpillar rolls, spider rolls, and Alaskan rolls - Japanese Near Me - Brea, California

This is the date spot hubby used to take his old gfs when he was in college, ;p First time he took me there, we wanted to sit at the sushi bar, we love to drink with sushi chef. :) Loved this small sushi place. Seatings are crowded but comfy. Complimentary Edamame to start, they have very good sushi, sashimi, cut rolls and special rolls menu! food we ordered: Cucumber, seaweed and marinated raw squid in ponzo sauce: the squid was so tender, very delicious Halibut sashimi on ice: so fresh, almost melted in my mouth! It tasted so yummy with special house sauce Sashimi Latino salmon: so delicious with Jalapeño! Yellowtail and albacore sashimi: fresh n yummy Sea urchin and Spanish mackerel sushi: fresh and yummy Steak teriyaki with miso soup and salad: I liked the salad, hubby liked the steak. Sushi chef gave us complimentary small plates, fried halibut with seaweed and cucumber, and fried halibut tails, the tails were so crunchy and delicious! Fresh orange slices were perfect desert after too much drinking. :) We bought Kirin beers for sushi chef, he was so happy drinking and chatting with us, it was late, some servers started to chat with us, we had 3 bottles of sake and a few beers, we were having good times with sushi chef and servers until they almost closed, we were the last customers. They have very small sake selections, but customers can bring their own bottles there, we will do that next time! Should be fun! Great food, fun sushi chef and servers! We had a fantastic sushi night. Tab was $113 with many plates and drinks. :) read more

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I've been coming to this place for 15 years! Great food and customer service. The owners really make you feel welcome... sushi and combination bento's are on point. Definitely a restaurant staple in the city of Brea and has left a lasting impression on my family and I. read more

AMAZING SERVICE. Wow I would come here 10000x over! The food was delightful! I wish I had heard about this place earlier

Cozy, unassuming little spot, what you would imagine as your local spot where they know their regular customers by name. Even though we were new, they treated us like regulars. Amazing, friendly customer service by all staff members. They all made sure we were happy customers. Sushi hit the spot too, fresh, beautifully presented. read more

Ichiban Japanese & Sushi Restaurant - Futomaki - Japanese Near Me - Brea, California

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They are open for takeout. The people were very nice. We had the family boat meal. Tempura was lightly fried. Chicken and beef most flavorful and juicy. A big plus. The only bad thing I had to say was the karaage chicken was way deeply fried. Someone forgot to take it out of the fryer. They were hard to eat. We had to discard. Overall, the food was delicious . We will be back. read more

Walking into Ichiban is like walking into your families on any given celebration. They welcome you with a warm hello and absolutely everything coming out of the kitchen is fantastic!! Taka is so talented and amazing!! Bomb.com! I will never stop coming to this place the food is burst in your mouth with flavor type of food! read more

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A scrumptious meal every time. The service is first class and our server Memis, made sure that our experience was more than just good food. This establishment is stellar. read more

First time coming here and it was a fantastic experience here. Had the Family Boat, and all of it tasted amazing. Huge shoutout to the staff, Memis was very attentive along with the owners and their very friendly attitudes. The location is a hidden treasure with its reasonable prices and vast array of options to eat. Will be coming back again soon! read more

The first time I came here I thought: This place had outstanding service. It really did. Our server was wonderful and bubbly and eager to please... the manager walked over to say hello and ask if everything was going well with a huge smile on his face. Such a loving atmosphere! I was ready to place my order! My second time here.. wow! The owner is such a sweetheart & our server Taylor was amazing! We were seated right away and placed our order.. even though we are very particular, they made our dreams come true. Taylor was great at suggesting her favorites and we just had to try the sake.. well worth it. Both pineapple and blueberry are delicious and come in an awesome glass. Let's get to business.. the sushi. The freshest fish around, the seafood boat was just the stuff of dreams.. Delicious, not oily, vegetable tempura with a side of its dipping sauce, fresh slices of your choice of sashimi, and the piece de resistance, teriyaki salmon. Oh my goodness.. That's a huge portion of food but we needed some sashimi Latina too.. I needed the spice. Yum yum yum! Everything was delicious! Please come and enjoy this wonderful family's fresh seafood made into delectable dishes. Thank you again! read more

Ichiban Japanese & Sushi Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Brea, California

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WOW WOW WOW. I can not explain how absolutely incredible my first visit at Ichiban was. Their service was quick, kind, and so sweet to us! We felt so spoiled and loved on. I seriously don't have words for how great this restaurant is!! From the down to earth owners, to the amazing tasting food.... this place is one of a kind! We will be back as soon as possible!!! read more

I bookmarked Ichiban 8 years ago when we moved to Brea, and visited for the first time tonight. I don't know what took us so long! Every place we have lived, there's always a go-to Japanese restaurant, and we FINALLY found ours! We have tried many in this area, and this is the place for us. As soon as we walked in, we were welcomed with smiling faces. They checked on us often to make sure everything was ok, and that we had everything we needed. We are a family of 4, and ordered the family boat for 3 ppl, along with 3 cut sushi rolls, and everything was perfect & delicious. Plentiful portions, so we ended up taking some home. Ichiban is celebrating 35 years of business, and now I understand why they've been around so long. Congrats Ichiban, and may many more years to come! read more

Awesome service, unique setting, restaurant inner plaza area Yes, I am a sushi snob. This place has the best service I've ever seen in a long long long time. Probably #1 on my list right now on checking up on us and making sure everythings tasty and such. Food: Salmon CA roll is good, but I can't say much for the cooked rolls. Restaurant is medium size and I love how unique the architecture of this place is layerd...sushi bar area, side and booth areas... then the step higher area where you can have window view outside of store to other stores in the plaza. Note this place is a little chilly so bring a sweater? Great place for date night or chit chat with friends. Not sure if its a good place for a big party though. Americanized Sushi place but has good sashimi? Plenty of parking in the lot and this place is right by the Brea Mall -- have fuN! read more

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Fantastic service! We came with our 3year old autistic son and our 6 month old baby. You can imagine how nervous and not relaxed we are at restaurants - I'm always concerned about my kids behavior and ready to swiftly leave at any moment. But I didn't want to cook and I was craving sushi so I braced myself for the stares and went in (it took a good 5 mins just to get him in the door and out of the planter out front). Anyways, we were treated with such warmth. I don't usually write reviews but I wanted to say thank you to the staff. The host came over to check on things several times. The waiter was nice. And a woman came over to chat a few times. I have a feeling she was the owner. She talked to us about parenting and brought some rice and chicken for our son (on the house). Then later she brought us a free dessert. I never told her my son is autistic, but it was almost like she knew we needed some grace. He was under the table. Took his shoes and socks off. Climbed all over the chairs. I was on edge and am always trying to not disturb others restaurant experience but no one batted an eye or looked at us funny. We felt so welcome. Oh and my son actually ate and tried something new! Thank you Ichiban! We will be back. read more

I now have been here literally 20-40 times and every time I'm so happy to have my special little sushi place. I wrote this review a couple years ago and I appreciate this place even more. Here is my first review: I have been coming here for a couple years now and it is consistently really good and I think their prices are very reasonable. It is family owned and both owners are super friendly. I het the family seafood boat often and it comes with such a great selection and variety. Their sushi always is fresh and their garlic edamame is one of my favorites. It's a little tucked away so you have to look for it but it's worth th read more

Everything was excellent! The food was delicious! Service was amazing. Such friendly and attentive staff. So glad we found this restaurant. Can't wait to come back! read more

Ichiban Japanese & Sushi Restaurant - Family boat- DELICIOUS! - Japanese Near Me - Brea, California

We just were introduced to this sushi place... simply put. It's our new go to. They have Japanese cooks. They are Family owned. Their service is old school, meaning they visit tables, check back often and even chat if you care to. The Sushi is great as well. read more

JAPANESE IMPERIALISTIC RESTAURANT ALERT! My friend and I were in shock today because of what we were told by a server at this restaurant. As we were paying the bill, a male server asked us if we were Korean. At first, his pronouciation wasn't clear but he persistently asked if we were Korean. We said we were Taiwanese, he goes "TAIWANESE WERE JAPANESE TOO". WTH??? We were so shocked and speechless when we heard this. We didn't mind talking to the manager or the owner because we assumed that they are the same way anyway. This was just not appropriate in so many ways and definitely offensive to us. Food: mediocre Japanese food. Nothing special. Not authentic. My sweet shrimp had weird smell- possibly not fresh. You can find many other Japanese restaurants in the area that are way better without such offesive service. Bottomline is- I would not go back and I would not recommend this place to anyone else. read more

Ichiban is excellent and an institution in North OC. Before sushi was trendy Ichiban was serving wonderful and authentic Japanese food. This is probably because the owner is Japanese. Here you can get items that most places do not have. Besides the sushi, I love the Tako-Su and the Japanese style curry. Over the years I have had sushi many times in many places and always come back to Ichiban. The staff is friendly, the food is great and the prices are good. and the owners Masako and Tom really put their heart into it and make you feel like family. This is a place you can go to on your own at the sushi bar, on a date or for a family dinner. They know how to accommodate children and while I never hear loud kids making a fuss, you do see a lot of families here. Highly recommended! read more

The food is always delicious. I can't recommend the scallops enough. Even if you don't like fish, you can get the chicken karaage but make sure you get something that includes the salad. It comes with Masako's house-made dressing that won't disappoint. The service is always very nice and ready to give you a refill on your drink. Tom and Masako are always here and remember us every time we come in. read more

My boyfriend and I went here on a Friday night for the first time and we absolutely loved it! To start off, the owners were incredibly nice and genuine! I love supporting local businesses and it's even better when you can see how involved the owners are in their business by building relationships with their employees and their customers! It really shows they care! Next, the waiters were all so polite! It's absolutely refreshing! I've been to many restaurants in CA and to be quite frank people are usually not very friendly but here everyone was so nice! Our waiter took our order in a timely fashion and was never annoyed of us asking for anything! My boyfriend accidentally dropped his chopsticks and the waiter picked it up for him and didn't look bothered at all and this made me really appreciate the customer service provided! Now onto the food! It was soooo good! We ordered nigiri, sashimi, spicy scallop handrolls and we ordered the snake roll, crazy roll, baked scallop roll (I forgot the name) and some more sushi! But it was all soooo good! My favorite is the snake roll, I highly recommend it! Also the spicy scallop handrolls were so good!!! We also got their hot green tea and I must say their hot green tea is so good! I wonder which brand they use here! I would love to have it at home haha Lastly, we got a mango and a green tea mochi! They tasted so soft and yummy! I was so happy! Nothing is worse than eating old mochi that's all hard and not chewy anymore! So when I bite into these ones I was so happy it was fresh, soft and nice! I will definitely return here! It's no wonder they've been in Business with same owners for 30 years! They're amazing! read more

Ichiban Japanese & Sushi Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Brea, California

Been here a couple times and loved it both times. They give you free edamame for an appetizer and eclairs for dessert. The rolls and sushi are good and the service is superb! read more

This place is amazing. Food superb, atmosphere relaxing, staff excellent. This is a feel good place and you know it when you enter the doors. Privately owned and it shows in the way the customers are pampered. read more

Food has always been good and fresh. I've been going for 29 years. The last few years it seems to just be run down. We went yesterday for the last time. It was so filthy. The carpet, the walls, the bathroom the chairs.. ugh! Awful. If the parts we can see, look like that, I can't imagine what it looks like where they cook. This is a picture of the carpet. read more

Ichiban Japanese & Sushi Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Brea, California

This is my favorite spot for sushi. They get to know what you like and how you like it, friendly staff and excellent food. read more

Ichiban Japanese & Sushi Restaurant - Debbie's favorite Spicy Tuna roll topped with baked Scallops - Japanese Near Me - Brea, California

I always love coming here to eat! Not only do they have great service, I love the sushi and sashimi here! But my all-time favorite is the fried Karaage with their famous dressing! I have never eaten anywhere else that has Karaage as good as Ichiban's! Also, Masako and Tom always greet you with a warm smile and great service! They are the sweetest people I know and they always make me want to come back read more

Food and service are excellent here. Latina sashimi was very fresh and delicious. Servers were all very attentive here and super friendly. It has a family type of atmosphere eating here. I will definitely come here again read more

Ichiban Japanese & Sushi Restaurant - Latina sashimi - Japanese Near Me - Brea, California

Food is delicious. Service is great. Would highly recommend. Plus, the restaurant is a staple in Fullerton.

I recommend the Volcano roll,along with this soft shell hand roll,of course a nice cold Sapporo to wash it down. Great service from the second we walked in the door, immediately got seated. Staff is super friendly,and by far very attentive to all the guests. Our 1st time here came because I bought a Restuarant.com gift certificate back in 2012,and it doesn't expire! Will definitely be back. Great place to refuel after 2 hours of retail therapy! read more

Ichiban Japanese & Sushi Restaurant - Hand cut crab roll with a nice cold beer,yummm - Japanese Near Me - Brea, California

Really good food and service. Have been eating here for years. Sushi quality is really fresh!

More like 3 1/2 stars. We got 3 3-item combinations. The miso soup and vegetable and shrimp tempura were all very good. We each got different teriyakis. The salmon teriyaki was delicious but we would never get the beef or chicken teriyakis again. Very small portions and we didn't like the taste either. Also why was the edaname served cold? Would definitely go back to try different menu options. read more