I have heard great things about this place, but I was really underwhelmed. 1/4 of the tables were full and took us 20 minutes to get drink orders. The waiter only came to our table to take our order, drop off an appetizer, and drop off the food. I did not want to, but we ended up having to ask another waitress for the check. Food was super underwhelming... I 100% would suggest Kanji in OTR over this place – better sushi, better service, better atmosphere.
Ordered via DoorDash and the food was so good! I ordered the Dragon Ball and Million Dollar Roll. In just one order, they became my favorite sushi restaurant in the area.
This is a large and higher volume sushi restaurant, so be prepared for a bustling ambiance. Sushi is fresh, well prepared, and attractively plated (2 visits). Service can be scattered, inexperienced, or absent, although staff is willing enough if you can find them. (Let's face it, holding staff is tough during Covid.) Bottom line, I keep going back.
We ate here on a Monday, maybe the restaurant doesn't have their most experienced sushi chefs working on Mondays. The fish itself was fine, but there was definitely something lacking in the way the Nigiri and the rolls were prepared.
I love Ichiban. I grew up in Mt. Lookout just above the square and I've seen a lot of businesses come and go there. Ichiban has become a staple and a hallmark of the square though, not to mention the best sushi in Cincinnati. If you're thinking sushi, go to Ichiban!
I normally love this place, but I was disappointed when I got my food. I usually eat in, but I decided to get takeout. I order one roll of sushi, one miso soup, and one of the lettuce wraps. Sushi tasted great, but was very small. The miso soup, all I could taste was broth and seaweed. There was maybe one piece of tofu. The lettuce wrap looked like this when I pulled it out of the bag (see photo). I understand that we are in tough times right, but I was pretty disappointed. Food tasted good for the most part, but I was still hungry.
It's so crazy that the BEST and WORST sushi places are right next to each other! Ichiban has by far, the best sushi in Cincinnati... and is night and day over places like Cloud 9 (worst ever).
A great place!First off you can't beat the bang for your buck, so much food for such cheap prices! They have a half off sushi menu and with good options, not just "cheap stuff" additionally they have all night happy hours for alcohol. Really can't beat the pricing here.The food was also good, not just cheap. I had a lot of the sashimi cuts, the only thing I will question is the freshness of the fish. Not that it was "old" by any means, but it definitely wasn't day of catch.The service was just okay, maybe that's because I was sitting at the bar. Usually you have a constant person behind the bar but that wasn't the case so it almost felt pointless to be sitting there.
Best sushi in the city in my opinion!
Ichiban is a cozy local sushi joint in Mt Lookout. The half price sushi and rolls are hard to beat. Quality of sashimi is very good, especially at this price point. I would visit again