Ichiban Japanese Bistro

Dinner was amazingly good! Drinks are strong and service was great! Will be back!

Went back here for sushi and was very pleased. the Oshinko ( Japanese pickle) and Alaska (smoked salmon, cucumber, and avocado) rolls were incredible! Plus, they offer 30% off rolls at dinner! I definitely plan on going back!

We went to Ichiban for the first time on Sunday.  We wanted to do something fun to celebrate Christmas with our old friends and their children.  Ichiban was the perfect place!  The food was great and the show kept all four kids and the adults very entertained throughout!

As previously stated in other reviews, the restaurant is in an unassuming strip mall, but once inside, you are greeted with a dark, sleek and contemporary ambiance.  The restaurant is divided into the regular restaurant side and the side with the hibachi grills.  We made reservations prior to arriving, in case others were celebrating the holidays as well, but we probably could have sneaked by on a Sunday evening without a reservation.  

The hibachi dinner menu offers a variety of protein combinations.  I ordered the steak and shrimp.  My husband ordered the filet and our daughters ordered the child's portion of steak.  The prices were reasonable (mine was $20, husband's was $23 and the girls' dinners were $12 each).  For the extra $3, I would go with the filet.  It was wonderful!  We weren't offered a drink menu, otherwise I would have sampled one or more of their adult beverages.  The dinners all consist of (1) a delicious brothy soup; (2) a small salad topped with a ginger dressing (none of us enjoyed this but we are very picky about our dressings); (3) an appetizer of 2 shrimp; (4) steamed or fried rice; (5) our protein; and (6) vegetables.  Everything but the salad and soup were prepared before our eyes on the hibachi grill by an entertaining and skillful chef.  It's a lot of food, but we all managed to clean our plates.  

Given the fact that I'm not really a Japanese cuisine fan, I probably won't come here on a regular basis.  But for special occasions or a night of fun, the food and entertainment is definitely worth it.  Keep in mind though, if you are dining with a smaller party, you may be forced to share your grill with other diners, so that they can maximize the use of the hibachi chef.

I'd definitely go here over Benihanna.  A shorter drive (for me), a slightly smaller bill, less of a crowd and much better soup makes this a better choice.