If you've had real Japanese food, you'll steer clear of this place. Disorganized service and terrible food with a high price tag slapped on.
We ordered a-la-carte, Tako Kimuchi (Kimchi Octopus), Uni Sushi, Negi-toro roll, Shrimp Tempura Soba, Salmon Collar and Cheese Isobe.
Here's how it came out (in order):
1) Tako Kimuchi ($7.00) - a small bowl of sliced boiled octopus with kimchi sauce and raw cucumbers. A tasty combination but an overpriced appetizer.
2) Uni sushi ($8.00 for two pieces) - I'm a big fan of uni, and while I'm biased just to the basic flavour, I sadly had to acknowledge that it wasn't very fresh at all. For the same price, I recommend trying the uni at Japango. Amazing.
3) Negitoro roll ($8.00)- chopped fatty tuna with green onion - everything EXCEPT the fish itself was good. Premium Japanese sushi rice but sadly, the toro could not be tasted at all. Very disappointing.
4) Shrimp Tempura Soba ($15.00) - three pieces of shrimp tempura sitting in soba and hot soup. For the hefty price, I was expecting hand made soba or at least tasty broth... something on the level of what you would get (for half the price) in Japan. I applaud them for using real dashi stock in their broth, but otherwise there isn't anything positive to say.
About this time, nothing was coming to our table. We were still waiting for the Cheese Isobe and the Salmon Collar. We asked a waitress about them and she said they were coming. Shortly afterwards, the Cheese Isobe came.
5) Cheese Isobe ($4.00) - Four pieces of Philli cream cheese, wrapped in seaweed, then rolled in bread bits and deep fried. Yeah, this was probably was a bad choice on our end but as soon as we saw it we felt a little bit sick. Let me say, this is not very Japanese and was ridiculously rich. It reminded me of something you could order at a Chinese run all-you-can eat Japanese establishment. One bite was enough.
An hour after we had ordered, we were still waiting for the grilled Salmon Kama. We were sure they were preparing it since we had checked with the waitress and she had previously mentioned that it was coming. But to our surprise, 15 minutes after the fried cheese had come out, the waitress gave us the bill. We were surprised and disappointed with the disorganization and rudeness of the service. Never mind not getting the Salmon Kama, we hadn't even asked for the bill. And with empty tables everywhere around us, we were wondering why they were in such a hurry to make us leave.
The staff were confused and were sure they had served us the Salmon Kama. But when we insisted we never got it, she ran over to a neighbouring table and looked at what they had been served. Although she never said it, we suspect that they had mistakenly given our order to another table.
FIrst and last time we will ever step into this establishment. If you have lived in Toronto for a wee bit of time, or have done your research, you know there are tens of (actually authentic) Japanese restaurants at the same price level that will out-do Ichiriki by light years. So so so disappointing, especially after reading all the positive reviews.
The verdict - Ichiriki is a gimmick and preys on customers who think they are getting the authentic Japanese experience because this establishment is Japanese run. You pay for the 'upscale' environment and jazz music and the illusion that this is the real stuff. For the same price, go to Japango.