In my recent quest for Montreal's best Ramen places
Yakoto Yakobai was first on the to do list due to the amazing yelps. Unfortunately,the few times we tried to get in this winter the line - up was way to long. Last night,however, was the perfect opportunity and we were seated immediately in a new section of the restaurant called Ichigo Ichi. So good news for all the yelpers like me who hate long lines. Now is your chance to try this combination Ramen house and Izakaya as they have plenty of seating. Even better there is now a cool bar serving up very nice drinks where you can sample the best of the Ramen options and order off of the menu from the new Izakaya.
I complement the design and the decor of this entire restaurant. It is authentic and at the same time has a cool industrial look that's akin to one of the high-tech sets that you might find on one of the food channels. I think they went all out on their kitchen which you can see as you are served in the Izakaya part. It's simply great.
As for the food, the Ramen lived up to all of the great reviews. It was absolutely delicious and totally authentic. The noodles were of the highest quality and the savory and creamy broth was exceptional. Clearly the Ramen bowls here are made with a lot of care and love. The Izakaya items that we ordered were beautifully presented and had everything you would expect of the tastes of real Japanese cuisine.
The avocado and salmon salad tartare was just plain yummy and really pleasing as it was served on a glass block. It also contained some of the tastiest and crispiest Japanese rice chips that I've ever had. We also consumed a smoked salmon salad ,artfully presented with a great variety of lettuces and veggies on the plate, as well as scrumptious chunks of in-house on demand smoked salmon. The fried chicken Kara-age was right on the money and should be entered in a championship competition.
We went easy on the Japanese tapas so there was room for dessert. We chose a green tea tiramisu and a play on ice cream and waffles utilizing mochi and green tea ice cream. Both were satisfying, unusual and pleasing to the eye which is a good thing when one opts for dessert.
Hands-down this is the best Japanese place in Montreal. Its affordable, cool and hip. The staff were really friendly and they try very hard to please.
New York has Ippuddo and quite a few other Japanese greats and I'm happy to say now Montreal has this place. I hope you yelpers out there will be kind enough not to storm this place after this and the many other great reviews as I'm hoping there will be a place for me when I return sometime very soon.