Had a recommendation for this place and it just became my new favorite Japanese restaurant. It's very high quality while being very affordable. I had the sukiyaki and it was delicious. Excellent and attentive service from all the staff. Good vibes and I will come again! read more

This place has been here as long as I can remember. Not much has changed in that time either. Dimly lit Japanese restaurant with soft spoken, friendly wait staff. It's really like a "mom and pop joint" for Japanese food. Typically I order the salmon teriyaki. This is a delicious option with a nice amount of sauce as to not overwhelm yet be tasty. Of course, I always add some shrimp and vegetable tempura too. Who doesn't love that? If you care to share there are many boat items, I really like the Ichiban Boat, which has my favorites, above, as well as other meats. You can swap out the salmon for some sashimi, if you like, instead. This menu item is charged per person and I think for 2 of us it was around $30 on our last visit. The Family Boat runs a close second. Sushi rolls are a decent portion and seem to be fresh, nothing too amazing just basically good. I did have a hearty steaming bowl of Chicken Udon, and I will definitely be trying that again on a future visit. Filled my tummy with warm love. Main dishes, noodle dishes, sushi, and rolls aside... this place has wonderful salad dressing! Normally the salads are just a skip through thing to eat while you wait for the main course, but the dressing on the salads here at Ichiban is out-of-this-world! They'll even send you home with some if you want. Thank you, Ichiban, for all of your years of making great dinners for us! We appreciate you! read more

Ichiban is our go to spot for sushi. Their toro sushi is to die for, it melts in your mouth and is unlike anything I have tasted. Service is always impeccable. read more

We were a small party, and were sat between 2 large parties. The service was extremely slow and the food was not warm after waiting almost an hour. I had not been for several years. It use to be one of our top places before the moved. Very disappointed! read more

This has been a staple in Brea for over 25 years. I think I have been coming here almost as long. Family owned and run with pride. They have the freshest selection and off the menu items. If you just want great sushi, with a mom and pop vibe this is your place. read more

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

Great food. Homely service. Tasty food. Thank you Masako, Memis and Tom. We sat on the second level, and enjoyed the ambiance and food. read more

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

This has been our family's go to place for outstanding Japanese food, especially the sushi, for over 25 years. We have tried almost everything on the menu and have been more than satisfied with the quality and quantity, not to mention the prices. Recently we have been trying other Japanese and "Japanese-style" restaurants, but we keep going back to Ichiban. The service has always been outstanding and visits from the owner, Masako, are very appreciated. In fact, this is the only Japanese restaurant I would take my Japanese mother, as she was very picky when it came to Japanese food. We tried others, but she would walk out as soon as she found out they were not Japanese owned or run. Our family highly recommends Ichiban and appreciate Masako and Tom. read more

Al fresco dinner date at our favorite eatery, where for 20 years I've been going for authentic Japanese. It is totally safe, even for this cautious person. Distanced tables outdoor, masks, everything clean... Open for takeout and outdoor dinners (no lunch hours) Drove 30 minutes for poke bowl, sushi dinner, rainbow roll and spicy yellowtail hand roll. It was WORTH it! The fish is just so high quality, and my poke bowl was almost the same price as I pay at poke joints...a little smaller but more oishii! My husband always orders the sushi dinner and rainbow roll, it's hard not to. Definitely went home with leftovers. Never had a hand roll here, so I tried the spicy yellowtail. It almost doesn't need wasabi and shoyu (soy sauce). My eyes rolled back in my head, yum! And I finally introduced myself to Instagram friend/owner Masako-san @ichiban_sushi_japanese_cuisine read more

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When my husband and I were dating many years ago, and lived in the Fullerton area, this was our go-to place for Japanese food. This was also the place where he had his first Japanese food experience. Besides Mexican and Italian food, Japanese dish is the only non-American/British and only Asian food my husband ever likes. Even so to this day, i still can't get him to eat other real Asian food. So, this place became his favorite Asian or non-American/British restaurant. The quality of the food at this restaurant has declined over the years. They've been in business since 1987, 35 years this year. They used to open for lunch and dinner, but now only open for 3 hours daily, from 5pm to 8pm. Yup, that is it. Service is still family-like, friendly, and prompt. However, the food is no longer great as it used to be. My husband and I recently visited this place just the two of us few weeks ago and the food was good. However, last week, we brought our kids and their cousins here for dinner, and the food wasn't that good. So, the food quality and freshness isn't consistent. 1st recent visit: We ordered the FAMILY BOAT, DRAGON ROLL, and UNAGI Nigiri. Everything tasted good! The Family Boat came with California Rolls, Beef and Chicken Teriyaki, Tempura Mix, and Chicken Karaage. Besides the Karaage, my hubby and I demolished the entire content of the boat. We were so pleased that even though they skimped on the side dishes that used to come with the boat, such as the Tsukemono, Moyashi, and fresh fruits, the main dishes still tasted good; no longer great, but still good for the price. I don't recommend selecting the Karaage for the Family Boat, as it turned out too salty. We didn't eat it at all. The Dragon Roll was delicious, and the Unagi Nigiri melts-in-your-mouth. Hubby and I were so pleased with these selections. 2nd recent visit: There were 8 of us in our party and we ordered the FAMILY BOAT for 4 , and the ICHIBAN BOAT for 4. We also ordered other dishes such as Poke Salad, variety rolls, and Salmon Wrap. I was so disappointed that the food wasn't as good as our first recent visit. The beef and chicken teriyaki were dry. Not only that, the Miso Soup that came with the boat wasn't hot at all. It was disgusting at room temperature! Additionally, the rolls that we ordered weren't as good as the last time. WTH! My husband and I were talking up this place to our kids, and they were so excited to try it, and it turned out to be a disappointment. Additionally, we wanted to order their Tempura Ice Cream, and on both occasions, they didn't have it. They recommended the Fried Oreos and Mochi instead. I understand why they recommend these, as they have a higher profitability margin on these items compared to the tempura ice cream. My gripe is that, if they plan to discontinue the tempura ice cream, then they should take it out of their menu. For sentimentality, I'm giving them 4-star. Read between the lines. read more

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Every time I'm in town I go out of my way to bring a friend here. The Food is excellent! You're spoiled for choice between the entrees, the numerous combination dinner specials, and the amazing sushi menu. The drink menu has a wide selection as well! The owners are the sweetest couple you'll ever meet! And the wait staff is beyond exceptional. (A big Shout-out to Memis for always providing amazing customer service!) The atmosphere is genuinely the most welcoming experience I've ever had at a restaurant! And when you pair all that with the amazing food, it makes this place the best Family owned business in Brea, In my humble opinion! Long story short, Ichiban is a MUST try for anybody stopping by the Brea/Fullerton Area! read more

Food taste fresh, great prices and the service is amazing. Everyone is super nice, even when busy. read more

Ichiban Japanese & Sushi Restaurant - Salmon & albacore sushi - Japanese Near Me - Brea, California

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I have been coming to Ichiban for many years with my family. Masako and Tom are great hosts and always make me feel at home. Taka and Masa, the sushi chefs, always make the best and unique sushi dishes and are hilarious and fun to talk to. The food is the best Japanese food i have had compared to many other places around them. I specifically enjoy their hand rolls. The fish is always fresh also. They always serve their food in a cheerful and timely manner. read more

This is my favorite Japanese restaurant, my family's too. The owners are a very sweet older couple. They always remember us and are always so happy to see us and so so kind. We've brought different family members with us here, but it's usually myself, my husband and my two kids. They've practically watched the boys grow here. Their food is exceptional and is Masako's very own family recipe for some of the dishes. I recommend ALL the sushi, the scallop tempura and the curry udon hands down. Everything is fresh, flavorful and carefully made. Service is always prompt and courteous. As I'm writing this, I think this is probably the 5th year we've been coming here. I'm ashamed of myself for not writing my review sooner, lol. Please do support this small family owned place, you won't be disappointed. It's a Brea community staple. I'm so glad they survived the pandemic. read more

Ichiban is hands down the best Japanese place I have tried In sometime. I would argue to say it's one of the best restaurants overall that I have tried in a while. Aside from the food, being fresh and tasty, The price of each dish is extremely fair. The service is what makes this restaurant a winner. From the moment we walked in we were greeted with a smile as if we came over to a friends house. The entire staff were kind and courteous to our son, which I really appreciate and you don't see as much nowadays. They have been celebrating their 35 amazing years in business, and with the steady stream of regulars that come in, it's easy to see why. The ambiance is clean, organized, and comfortable. This has become our new go to spot for sushi and when we are looking for a solid night out to dinner where we feel like we are part of the family, this place come to mind. read more

Ichiban Japanese & Sushi Restaurant - Sushi, dinner, seaweed, salad, and cucumber salad - Japanese Near Me - Brea, California

Amazing service, Memis was a great server, definitely going to come back! More than satisfied with the service read more

Great service. What no Gluten Free Soy Sauce? So food with out it. Disappointing. Take away 1 star thus only 4. Nigori Sake- good choice! read more

My kids love coming here and always ask for the calamari. The food and service have always been excellent. We are usually a large party, 7- 9 people, and our experience has always been positive. read more

I have been living around this area for 10 years and this is the first time I ate at this restaurant. I wish I knew about this hidden gem sooner. The service here is superb. The sushi chef and the owners were so friendly that they make you feel welcome when you first walk into the restaurant. We sat at the bar and Taka was so friendly and funny that made our dinner enjoyable. The food was so fresh and delicious. It was my bf's first time trying uni and he loved it. I would definitely recommend this place and this is now my go to sushi spot. read more

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We were a group of 11 people. We were greeted by the staff when we arrived. They were efficient in taking our orders, serving the food and attentive during the meal. The owner came by our table to see how we were doing. We ordered the Ichiban boat. The food was delicious and plentiful. It's a nice restaurant, where we could hear each talk and we didn't feel rushed. I highly recommend this restaurant. read more

This is probably the best spicy tuna I've ever had in California. The sushi master saw I was struggling and can't decide what I want from the menu so he asked me to describe what I want. He made me this simple roll and IT WAS THE BEST! Im going back! read more

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

Best authentic japanese food in the area!! They serve complimentary edamame and have a wide variety of choices. Their nabeyaki udon is awesome!! The owners are super sweet and attentive!! Love it!!! read more

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

I stopped in for an early dinner with a friend while taking a break from shopping at the Brea Mall. Right off the bat, the staff here was very professional and attentive. We were started off with some complimentary edamame while we looked over the menu. I ordered the Spicy Yellowtail Hand Roll ($5.95) and Tempura Soba ($10.50). The sushi plate was the first to arrive. I was filled with joy upon taking my first bite out of the hand roll. It was bursting with flavor and had just the right amount of kick to it. However, I do wish that the rolls were served immediately after being made, so that the seaweed could have still been crispy instead of soggy. The soba here was average. I was kind of disappointed in the dipping sauce. I've had soba many times, and the dipping sauce usually has a bit more flavor. The tempura that came with the dish was also average, though it was nice that they included a shrimp. I really enjoyed my visit to this establishment. The food was decent, the setting was classy and intimate, and I was very satisfied with the service we received. It would be a great spot to bring a date in the future. read more

Ichiban Japanese & Sushi Restaurant - Rainbow Roll 8pc ($13.95), Spicy Scallop Hand Roll ($5.95), Spicy Yellowtail Hand Roll ($5.95), and Tempura Soba ($10.50) - Japanese Near Me - Brea, California

Went there to celebrate a good friend's Bday. Food was tasting great and fresh. We ordered the boat dinner for 2. It was a lot of food. Thank you for the hospitality as well! read more

This restaurant has been here since forever. Came here with the family and always enjoy great food. Service always excellent. Try Latina, our favorite. read more

A hidden gem that I am so glad I discovered. Owners care about the customer you can feel it from attention you receive. There may be some wait because you have regulars that come to the place. You can tell it's because the food is great. Added to my bookmark of neighborhood restaurants. read more

I brought my daughter here to celebrate her birthday after seeing a play at The La Mirada Performing Arts Theatre. We received warm greetings from Tom who sat us by the window. We had a great young man as our server who helped us with our orders. Dinner starter was an order of a volcano roll. Yummy! Dinner was excellent.....teriyaki steak, tempura, gyoza with all the trimmings. The owner, Masako, came to our table and we had a lovely conversation. This is a gem of a family restaurant. I highly recommend you going there for a great dinner out. Masako and Tom we will be coming back next month! read more

Came here with a bunch of friends, everyone ordered the tempura and sashimi combo, no one commented so I guess it was alright. I ordered the chicken katsu curry which I thought was horrible. The rice was really mashy, and the chicken tasted like it was marinated in Teri sauce. The dish was sweet...service was good though. read more

Came here for a Friday dinner. Wanted to try Tempo Urban Kitchen, but the wait was too long, so Ichiban was our safest option bc they took reservations for party of 2. We ordered mostly nigiri sushi & no rolls because we wanted smthg simple & fresh. // What we ordered // *Seared Hamachi (4/5): our appetizer. Normally, I wouldn't order hamachi bc I'm not the biggest fan, but our server highly recommended it so we ordered it. I loved the ponzu & lemon zest in this dish. In fact, I asked for more ponzu so I can have it with my other sushi. Though hamachi was seared, it was still fishy, so I wonder if more ginger could've mitigated the fishiness. *10 pieces of Tuna (3/5): when we asked if they served toro or anything fatty, they say they didn't carry them. Sashimi to sushi ratio was not so great. *10 pieces of Salmon (5/5): again, they didn't have salmon belly as an option, but the cuts were thick & fatty enough so I didn't miss the belly! Sushi to sashimi ratio was perfect! *Inari (4/5): like "yubu-chobab" in Korean, but they were big and tasty. Nothing special, just ordinary inari. Served as a good palate cleanser. ***Sweet Shrimp aka Amaebi (10/5): our highlight of the night. I don't like cooked shrimp sushi, only raw spot prawns (amaebi) bc when they're cooked, the prawns are robbed of their natural sweet taste & creamy texture. Anyways, it took forever for this dish to arrive but we were so glad we waited instead of canceling it. The sweet shrimp sashimi was obviously high quality, and the head & body shells were crisped to perfection. What a special treat they were! I'm so sad we only ordered 10 of these... it's every sushi lover's dream, and if I ever return to Ichiban, you bet I'm going all in with the Amaebi. Now the only reasons I rated Ichiban 4 stars out of 5 (even though the quality of Amaebi was enough to average overall rating of food to 5 stars) are bc service was incredibly slow & options were very limited. +Re. Options - it was a surprise that they didn't carry sea urchin (uni) even though it was on the menu. I would've ordered 10 of them if they were available because I'm a forever fan of uni. Further, I wasn't sure if they didn't have any belly/fatty fish at all, or if it was only on this particular day. Personally, bc I love uni & fatty sashimi so much, the mere fact that those two were unavailable that day was a tad disappointing. +Re. Service - I noticed there were a a great number of waiters & waitresses who were truly attentive and kind, but the food came out reallyyyy slow and I was late to my next engagement. Waiting over 15 minutes for the bill seemed unreasonable and inefficient, all things considered. I hope the speed of service improves next time I visit so I can update my review to give it its well-deserved 5-star rating. +Random: edamame was surprisingly delicious! Amaebi is a must get!!! You won't regret! read more

I've never been here before and I took my boyfriend here for his birthday. It was amazing. The nicest people and the food were perfect. We will definitely be back again. And our bill was only $50. Such a great price. I can't believe I've never been here before. Thank you... highly recommend... read more

Ichiban Japanese & Sushi Restaurant - Sashimi, katsu, salad, pickled cucumber, and Kiran Beer - Japanese Near Me - Brea, California

I started off the year right with good food and good service. I would really rate this place a 4.75, but i rounded. I loved everything that I ordered except for the albacore nigiri, which had an aftertaste that I wasn't fond of. HOWEVER, everything else I absolutely loved! Other nigiri pieces that I got were salmon and yellowtail, which I would definitely get again. I loved how they put wasabi in between the piece of fish and rice, which I was told was the authentic way of making nigiri. The caterpillar roll was good with lots of eel sauce. Snake roll was delicious, but if you can't deal with spice, I would just take the Serrano pepper on the top off and you should be good to go. I think the roll I loved most was the tuna cut roll, which was just simple and super fresh. Lastly, I want to give a big shoutout to all of the staff, who were super friendly and attentive. read more

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Excellent place for Japanese fix. My fave: Spicy squid salad. Everything served was very good, fresh and priced right! Must return.... read more

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Man ! How did I not know this place was here after all these years ! This is a hidden gem ! Great food - authentic Japanese flavor. The owners are always there to greet you and make you feel welcomed . read more

So happy we stopped by for dinner, it was such a great experience. Husband and I tried the sushi dinner entree, rainbow roll, gyoza, combo dinner (shrimp and vegetable tempura/chicken teriyaki/california roll). The food was very tasty and fresh. It is slightly pricey but, you are definitely getting the quality for it. Everyone here strives to provide the best service and you can tell they care(owners servers chef ). It has honestly been a while since we have received service like this. It's absolutely refreshing. We felt like we could take our time here and truly enjoy. We will definitely be coming back! Definitely a special little place. read more

My boyfriend and I have been coming to this area for years but have never heard of this place. Tonight we happened to be craving Japanese curry and were lucky we found this place on Yelp, their curry is amazing (made from scratch too!) and the service is out of this world! I made a mistake ordering my entree and later asked if they could switch it, which they did without complaint and it came out quickly after my boyfriend's. Our server Memis was very attentive and even gave us some history lessons on the restaurant as well as recommendations. He even let us try the star of the restaurant, the Sashimi Latino for free, and boy is it popular for a reason! So fresh and tasty, it's a must try for sure. At the end we were given a complementary dessert out of Memis' kindness and this is definitely a place we would like to make part of our rotation when we come to Yorba Linda again! And just when I thought I was done writing this review, sweet Masako came by to ask if our meal was good and she also made nice conversation with us! The drawings you see of her advertising her dressing were also drawn by Memis, how amazing! Incredible food and wonderful, friendly staff are the things that make Ichiban a must go restaurant. read more

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We are literally leaving dinner and feel so happy and satisfied! The customer service was great and attentive !!!We truly left feeling like we found the gem of Brea! Definitely give their toro a try ! Melts in your mouth good. I'm sad we did not get any pictures because we were really enjoying everything. Will definitely come back when we're craving sushi again ! read more

Owners and staff are very welcoming. Have enjoyed eating there for years. The food is consistently delicious. Very yummy!!!!

It is an old restaurant. The foods are so delicious. And gave us perfect service. I will come in next time.

What makes a Monday night special, dinner with family and friends, especially when you know the owners treat everyone Iike they're family! The food, delish, the prices, atmosphere and overall vibe, amazing! What made tonight even more special? Jason our server! Jason, thank you for being welcoming, thoughtful, kind, humorous, considerate and providing us with an exceptional customer service experience! Looking forward to my next visit! read more

The food was good but the service was 5 stars. Staff is very friendly and took really good care of us.

My first time here and definitely coming back! All of the food was amazing! Everything tasted fresh, all in house made ingredients! Not disappointed by a single dish. The service by the staff was amazing. Nice place to go for dinner with a small group or large party! They can accommodate all! In one photo I took, I clearly devoured it before snapping a photo. But that's because it was so tasty! Clockwise: Chicken Teriyaki combo, veggie tempura, baked scallop roll, poke salad, garlic edamame, firecracker roll, baked mussels. All 10/10! Amazing hospitality by Tom and Masako! read more

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