Let's just say that Scarborough has a lot of hidden gems and this one was surely a great find. I was looking for a decent sushi resto close to home so I decided to check on Yelp and came across Ichiban which I know that it's normally a franchised own business. The one I previously go to at Yonge and Sheppard does not compare to Ichiban Ellesmere! I've tried this place two times so far: take out and dine in and both have exceeded my expecatations. The fish is just so FRESH. Apparently this restaurant has been revamped with renovations, new owner and new menu. The Master Chef who works here is a top sushi chef from The Thompson Hotel. He brings not only superb quality and freshness to the rolls but the presentation is stunning! At today's dining experience, we ordered seaweed salad, mixed tempura, katsu sushi (14 pcs), xmas roll, salmon roll, and topped it off with their matcha green tea ice cream. I was so impressed with the freshness of their fish. The salmon literally melted in my mouth and rolls were just bursting in flavour.
The service was top notch. It was pretty busy on a Sunday night as the restaurant was full only able to accommodate 20 patrons so we decided to sit at the bar which we didn't mind at all. The chefs were so busy and forgot to make our sushi and roll set (katsu sushi) but it was ok. Immediately the master chef apologized and whipped up the platter in less than 5 mins. He even handed the finishes plate to us mentioning that he gave us 2 extra rolls. Overall, great service. All the servers and chefs were friendly and attentive.
I highly recommend this place if you're in the Scarb area but make sure you make reservations on a Friday or Saturday night.