Ichiban Sushi House

This is one of my favourite Japanese restaurants in Toronto. I find that the sashimi is always fresh, and the prices are reasonable. The portions are pretty decent as well. I have never been disappointed by this place.

Overall — Quite like this place! Great for lunch takeout. Haven’t sat in yet though.
My continued sushi conquest took me to this location. As it would happen, my new work location is littered with sushi joints. And with several of them heavily under-​performing to my expectations (maybe I’ve just become a sushi snob), I decided to test my luck out with this location.
From first perspective, I noticed that the restaurant had different names. Kyu Sushi, Ichiban sushi, etc. Other reviewers have mentioned a change in management/​names along with rather low rating, so I did what I could to lower my expectations accordingly.
The restaurant is very pleasing visually. Very large with several seats available. Definitely a plus on my side. They had a lady dedicated to take out orders (which makes sense during a busy lunch rush), and even provided a take out discount if cash was used.
I ordered myself a salmon lover lunch set which included a spicy salmon roll, 6 salmon sushi, and 6 salmon sashimi, for ~$ 14, and I must say it was the best sushi meal I’ve had among the sushi restaurants I’ve been to around these parts. Their spicy salmon roll was (finally) not a slurry consisting mainly of tempura flakes (there was still a good a mount of tempura in it, but at the least it was tasty). Their sashimi is something else, though. Very fresh, their salmon was extremely delicious and flavourful. I believe the fat content of the salmon they used for sashimi was higher than other places, providing a richer texture.
The quality of sashimi was so good, I came back another week to try out their sashimi dinner combo (yes dinner for lunch, I’m a baddie.) To my surprise, they included a rather expensive salmon roe to the platter! And while the menu states 18 piece plate, I counted at least 20 pieces of fish (picture attached)! Definitely the most delicious sashimi platter in these parts.
All in all, this will probably be my go to location for sushi in the Yonge/St.Clair area. the fish was really delicious and their portions were more than adequate. For under 20 dollars for what I got, I’d say this place is a real treat.
Definitely give this place a try, regardless of what they’ve changed their name to!

I stopped by here for a late lunch after a doctor’s appointment. I ordered the lunch combo: dynamic roll and spicy sushi roll. Because I was hungry, I ate it all and it tasted delicious, but the sushi was rolled sloppily. And too much fried stuff made for some unpleasantly tasting wasabi-​soy sauce mix.
I would like to say the service was efficient and professional but unfortunately, the only server on staff was busy texting, so it took a while to settle my bill.

I was in the area and forgot my lunch so did take-​out from Ichiban Sushi House or Kyu Sushi Bar (they seem to have two names). It’s quite busy at lunch; the restaurant is quite big so there’s a lot of seating. They have your usual rolls — California, Dynamite. The rolls are on average about $ 10 — they’re full of rice so quite filling. Parking is hard to find around here (even within the Green P lot). You’re better off TTCing it here.
Good for: lunch

Been here twice for dinner, and both times it was mediocre experience.
I have tried their seafood udon which was down right terrible with barely any seafood or taste. Second time around I ordered beef Don which was actually quite good, but it wasn’t too authentic as beef itself bulgogy (Korean swt beef) not Japanese style.
Portions were quite small, service was quite poor as well. Both times we have been there, there were only couple tables occupied, yet it took a long to order and get our food.
It’s too bad, because its only minutes away from our place.
With many other Japanese restaurants in the area, I recommend to look else where.

Ohaiyo Gozaimas! Irasshaimase! Again.
Sadly this is no longer the Ichiban Sushi House that I recommend to folks when they’re in this part of town. Sad, as this was one of my favourite mid-​end range place for sushi.
The staff just didn’t seem like they cared.
After a sip of our Miso that tasted like a salt lick, we told the server, and he said, «oh» then went away.
The seafood Udon my friend had barely had anything in it. One mussel, one shrimp, one piece of what we think was squid.
My sushi/​sashimi platter was nothing to write home about. most of the pieces were still frozen in the middle.
*sigh*
That’s really too bad. Ichiban? More like Make-​inu.

I’ve been to this restaurant twice, and have had an enjoyable experience both times.
I ordered a bento box, which comes with a miso soup and a wakame salad to begin with. Usually I am not a fan of seaweed, but this was out of this world.
The bento box came with beef, which was done perfectly, three pieces of average sushi, three pieces of california rolls, tempura, and rice. A bit expensive for $ 22.
For dessert I ordered a green tea ice cream which was nicely presented.
Overall this restaurant is great, but I find everything on the expensive side — I guess it’s because of the area.
I remember on a previous occasion, the rolls were out of this world. The bento box was good, but nothing exceptional. They had a groupon of some sort a while back, and wish they would have another one.
I’d come back, but really can’t afford to all that often.

I had lunch with some colleagues today. They wanted to go to a Japanese restaurant. I’m a fussy eater and this is one of the worst places for me to eat. But I verified that yes, they have teriyaki chcken and rice so there was something I would eat. Yay!
We went to Ichiban Sushi House, which is near our office.
We were served salads and miso soup as starters.
Three of my colleagues shared some plates. They said it was delicious and were delighted with the amount of fish vs rice ratio (there was a lot of fish and not much rice).
Another colleague and I are less adventurous and ordered Chicken Teriyaki bento boxes. All I ate from mine were the chicken and the rice, which were okay.
The service was very quick. Our server was there to take our drink and food orders shortly after we arrived. Mere minutes after the sushi pizzas were dropped off, our meals arrived.
If you are a lover of Japanese food, this is probably a good place for you to check out.

1. The décor is truly amazing. Stands out even for this neighborhood of high (er) end restaurants. Love the dark wood interior.
2. Cheap beer! 3.99 during the summers!
3. The food isn’t as great as the décor or the beer, but still passable. No surprises here, you’ll get the Toronto standard for Japanese food. BTW, the teriyaki should be avoided… it’s like cardboard over here, the chicken is really really dry.
4. All in all, love this place for what it is. A nice place to take someone you want to impress for dinner. Or a great place to get a drink at night after work.

The no-​seafood sushi eater strikes again! But first things first…
The atmosphere is lovely — very clean, very open, and just the right amount of quiet. Every time I’ve gone, it hasn’t been too busy (I don’t know why), but perfect for chatting with friends (check), first date (check…), or a ‘work’ dinner (check)!
The service was average, very friendly but not the most attentive. Our server disappeared towards the end of the meal, leaving us to flag for the check BUT the food & tea was brought quickly. Take the good with the bad…
The food — really delicious. For those who don’t like seafood (I know, not many of you would frequent a sushi joint), the chicken teriyaki rolls are AMAZING. The avocado/​cucumber maki roll are tasty (and a good price), and the golden chicken rolls (deep fried), also very good.
Lots of options for a picky eater like me! Four enthusiastic thumbs up
Oh, and fairly extensive menu & average prices!

Our first time here was with a groupon and the groupon did what it’s supposed to do – we’ve come back several times. Best part of the menu are the huge, complex, diverse rolls, 2 will be plenty for a meal. They aren’t cheap (range in price from $ 8-​$ 12) but they are full of wonderful ingredients like soft-​shell crab, lobster, in addition to the usual suspects, each roll has about 10 monster bites. They have 2 kinds of tataki (paper thin sliced rare beef or tuna) served with raw onion and a piquant sauce, a nice choice if you are counting calories. Another delicious starter: the shitake mushrooms grilled in butter and served sizzling and earthy. Miso soup above average in flavour, edamame hot. A large saki came in a teapot with double the capacity of the large container one would usually get, for $ 20. But we were four and went through it handily. It would have been a bit much for two, though.
We found the service perfectly attentive, but it was a Tuesday evening with plenty of empty tables. This place is a cut above the Bloor sushi corridor both in price and variety, and worth it.
Park behind in parking garage, or walk 2 minutes from St. Clair station.

Cute place to go for sushi in the Yonge and St. Clair area. Love the décor. They have good lunch specials as well. Haven’t ordered from their regular menu, but I’m sure it is always good.

Is it just me or is the name Ichiban (translation #1) completely overused for sub-​standard sushi joints? I mean you could probably go to the far reaches of Uz-​becki-​becki-​becki-​stan-​stan and there would be an Ichiban sushi there too I bet!
My mission at Ichiban is to meet up with a good friend to catch-​up on some good olé girl talk. Getting here early may have been a mistake as I sit alone while observing/​cringing at the décor fail that unfolds before my eyes. If I could assign a theme, it’d be the Arabian nights (drapey sheer curtains and dim lighting) meets the OK Corral (lotsa wood panelling). Maybe a resto makeover is not in the cards, but if I can put a suggestion out there I’d say Ichiban needs to focus on one theme at a time.
My lovely friend arrives and we engage into a flurry of conversation as it’s been a while since we’ve met. At this point, we keep getting hasty service as the cute but curt Korean waitress keeps interjecting every minute between our conversation to ask in her best Engrish «you ready to odah» delivered with an insincere perma-​smile and if I could translate her inner conversation it would sound more like «can u fuckin’ cut the chit chat and order already!» I wouldn’t mind if it was busy, but the resto was pretty empty so it did become a little annoying.
My DC orders the sushi appetizer which she swears is fresh and very tasty and me being the «banana» I am order the Chicken Teriyaki Rolls which is grilled chicken, avocado, cucumber, red onion and lettuce wrapped, and topped with teriyaki sauce and red pepper sauce. Wasn’t to keen on it as the chicken tasted like it was day old or thawed out from the freezer, in fact the one good thing about the roll is the red peppery flavoured sauce drizzled atop it.
Save for the great time I had catching up with my friend, I’d say the food/​service at Ichiban was lacklustre. Maybe instead of Ichiban they should change their name to Hyaku-​ban (100^th place) or maybe I just need to Japan-​up and get the nerve to actually eat sashimi for once… hmmm…yeah, not gonna happen!

A good ol’ run of the mill sushi place.
Their vegetarian maki was fine.
Their tea was fine.
Their edamame was fine.
One of the better places to grab lunch as far as bang for your buck is concerned if you are also avoiding your work lunchroom.

3.5 stars
I’m not a particularly big fan of the Ichiban chain in Toronto and can’t say I’ve had more than a ‘meh’ experience on the average visit.
I lugged myself to St. Clair with some friends a little while ago and was happy to see this location stood out from the rest.
The Sashimi platter as has been mentioned before was simply excellent! I’m definitely not a big fan of Sashimi at any medium range restaurant, but I was surprised to find how fresh, and tasty the various cuts were. For once, the white tuna stood out (and as rare as it is in Toronto, it was real white tuna!), while the shrimp was not the best I have had.
Not too much stood out from the typical maki rolls and in fact the spicy rolls were definitely lacking ‘the kick’. One roll I would definitely suggest though is the Green Volcano roll which comes with a dip that basically looks and tastes like guacamole! As odd as it sounds, it tastes fantastic and I would definitely order it the next time around.
Overall above average food, and very decent cuts of fresh fish for the price. Service could do a lot better but the food makes up for it.

Where can one go for jazzy sushi? What is jazzy sushi? Quite simply, it’s sushi with swanky jazz played in the background and the place is Ichiban Sushi.
My friend and I ordered the sushi and sashimi plate, a sunshine roll, a spicy salmon roll and upped the amount of miso soup and salad so we both could enjoy. I came in anticipating ordering a bento box but they were quite expensive given offers I’ve seen elsewhere. The presentation was beautiful. Fish has never looked so pristine and rolls have never looked so magnificent. I was thoroughly impressed by the maki, very fresh and a good size. The sunshine roll was inventive with pink tempura bits and salmon on top but the sauce on top was too mayonnaise-​y and it was virtually impossible getting the entire thing in my mouth at one. And I know you’re not supposed to bite!
Don’t shoot me for not knowing the specific white fish on the sushi and sashimi plate but whatever it was, it was still frozen. It was sad, I know we’re in Toronto but just let me live under the guise that everything is fresh and caught from Lake Ontario down south.
Up in St. Clair area, the venue is very nice. I came here during really random hours (think: 3pm on a Sunday) and people were still eating and enjoying their meals. I like that it’s the kind of place you don’t have run out of. I actually spent a while just sitting and chatting after the bill had came and unless they are all very good actors they seemed happy with our presence. In short, a good, comfortable spot to be.

I came to know this restaurant at this location through Groupon. The restaurant is large and spacious. Once we sit down, the waitress comes to ask for our drinks. We have not decided what to order, so the waitress comes and go a couple of times. Finally we decided our orders and show our Groupon.
The miso soup is average. We order a lobster maki roll which may not be found in other Japanese restaurants. It tastes very good though a bit expensive. The food is unlike these days with lots of buffet style Japanese restaurants, every dish is well prepared. The sushi and sashimi are thick slice and very fresh. The tempura is well fried not with lots of dough.
This is definitely not a cheap Japanese restaurant. I can say it is going for higher end and try to distinguish itself from other less expensive all you can get Japanese restaurants. If you are in uptown nearby, give it a try.

After reading some of the reviews on here for Groupon users, I was a little worried so I showed my Groupon at the end of our meal. But for evening dining, my group of three had a great time.
The décor was lovely as my table was placed along a long seat shelf with pillows and liquor bottles.
The waitress immediately ordered our drinks as she handed our menus and was very polite and patient as we took the longest time discussing on what to order.
We ordered one: small sashimi boat (had a variety of fish, all fresh with excellent portion sizes), shrimp tempura entrée (light, crispy, delicious, and the tempura sliced pepper was surprisingly good), miso soup and salad (came with tempura, both good), lobster fantasy roll & catepillar roll (both good), and beef yaki soba (deliciously savoury with convenient bite sized veg and meat).
I would definitely come back again if not for the great service, then for the great food.

I got a Groupon for this place and was not impressed.
It’s a good looking place that in my opinion has overpriced sushi without an excuse. That being it’s not any fresher than other places, the service is no where close to acceptable and sashimi pieces are fairly small.
Won’t return

Walking into Ichiban I noticed right away this is not your basic cheap and cheerful sushi lunch spot. The room is big, bright and airy, and today it was not crowded at all.
The service was warm, attentive and professional too. I was already impressed.
The food was well-​priced, delicious and the portions were big. I ordered the Sashimi lunch special, which was $ 10 and said it was 12 pieces of sashimi served with house salad, soup and steamed rice.
Well, I got that and MORE! The sashimi was sliced generously, the soup was hot and flavourful and the salad was fresh. I also got 2 fried dumplings and a california roll. That was a lot of food for $ 10.
I recommend Ichiban, for the neighborhood, and the price, it can’t be beat.