Located in the spot previously occupied by Nagoya in the small strip mall in the southwest corner of Tropicana and Fort Apache, Ichiban West was dead inside when we arrived around 6pm on a recent Friday night. It's a nicely decorated, modern interior with a sushi bar and plenty of tables and booths along with a private dining room off to one side.
The food was decent but didn't live up to the stellar service we received. The yellowtail jalapeƱo had a much lighter color than typical yellowtail -- almost as if it was recently defrosted. The shrimp tempura roll was well crafted with ample spicy tuna and shrimp throughout. Arriving at our table next was the Hawaiian roll. I didn't know what to make of it when placed on the table. It was basically a roll with a salad on top. The menu said a seaweed salad, but it appeared to be regular lettuce along with onions and radishes. The spicy tuna in the roll was unusually hot, enough so that it had me reaching for water with every bite. The noodles and broth in the hot soba were well prepared with good depth in the broth. There was also plenty of dark meet chicken to go with it.
With decent food and great service, Ichiban might become a good neighborhood spot for those living in the immediate area, but they'll need to up their game to stay around for the long haul.