Ichika Izakaya

Place is a rip off!
Go to Amami on El Camino, so much better value!
They only give you one piece of Nigiri for what every other place charges for two.

The food was very good. I ordered Beef teriyaki, Chashi Raman, sushi and California roll special, cherry sushi.
Beef was tender, juicy and good seasoning. Perfectly salted. The sushi was cooked well with good seasoning on the raw fishes.

After having been to their sister restaurants in Brisbane and Milpitas, decided to visit this restaurant which is their newest location. Booked reservation in advance by calling the restaurant directly. Upon arrival we were seated promptly at a table.

Food:
8 course Omakase included oyster, small bites, sashimi, chawanmushi, yakimono, nigiri, soup, and dessert (matcha tiramisu). Overall the food was tasty and with nice variety, I was pleasantly surprised with the grilled sea bass which was meaty and delicious. Only thing I wish there was more of was uni!

Yakimono (grilled skewers)
Bacon Lychee: sweet and savory balance was just right and tasty
Kurobuta Pork Belly: another tender pork belly that was tasty
American Wagyu Beef: not as tender as Japanese Wagyu but still decent

Drink: Yuzu sake is perfectly balanced with just the right amount of sweetness and cannot taste the alcohol

Service:
Wait staff are friendly, courteous and attentive. Food came out quickly and efficiently for each course

Ambiance:
Casual vibe with contemporary dark interior. Air conditioning was not really working on a hot day so they opened the front door.

Parking:
Plenty of free parking in shared lot in business plaza

Do yourself a favor and order the fried corn, omakase, kamachi, tuna bites, oyster shooters and a few bottles of hot sake. This is what my girl friends and I ordered when we came.

Came on a Friday night after work and we were the first party at the restaurant. As the night progressed all the tables started to fill. The waiters were tentative and the food was quick to come.

My favorite thing was the fried corn, oyster shooters and the kamachi.

Hidden gem in the plaza. Can't wait to come back to try some of their izakaya/ skewers.

This Chawanmushi was Michelin quality. It almost made me forget the fact that this restaurant is in a strip mall in San Bruno. Eating this crab and roe Chawanmushi made me feel that, for a second, I was in Las Vegas or something. Simply outstanding dish.

Their fried corn, though it sounds simple, was sweet and packed with tons of flavor.

You know how I always complain that fried food or hot food isn't hot? Not here. Everything was fresh, hot, and fried food was freshly fried.

Their oyster with uni was great. Not briny or stale. Their nigiri had fresh fish. Their spicy tuna over rice had just enough spice.

Their sunomono salad was a great balance or sweet and sour.

Their flan was amazing. The perfect dessert.

Their softshell crab and prawn tempura could have used some sauce. Also, it's weird that the prawns are like popcorn shrimp prawns lol. I would skip this next time.

Their beef tataki which has a longer wait time (see menu) and was a no-go. Think of some kind of medium rare cooked beef at a Chinese banquet with that soy sauce...this wasn't a Japanese beef tataki served rare. Wouldn't order this again.

Overall, I liked almost everything we ordered.

$2 charge for tea, just warning you. They said it's their own tea with matcha blend. Tastes regular to me. Wish it was stronger, really. Reminds me of a light Chinese tea.

Service was attentive and great. Music was even better. They had some remix Maroon 5, Drake, etc tunes on.

Just comes to show that you can get some great Japanese food in a boring strip mall.

Wow!! My favorite sushi restaurant in the area. It is the sister restaurant to ichika sushi house, but is very different in concept, hence the izakaya name. I actually think it is better than the sushi house. It is twice as much as it though, but I will say this place is better than nobu in terms of sushi.

The sushi is top tier. The sushi rice is really amazing and is some of the best I've had in a while. The fish is very fresh and very tasty. The sear on the chutoro adds a yummy texture and flavor. I order at least two every time I go- it's my favorite. I also tried their sushi rolls which are very good as well. If you've ever been to sushi Maru in San Jose it's comparable to their sushi rice. The only down side is they charge per nigiri piece. Each of them are about 5-10$ which is definitely on the expensive side.

The skewers are good as well- wagyu is my favorite I always order one. But again, pricey $8 for one.

Corn tempura is good and fun to eat if you're looking for a filler.

Their marinated eggplant cold appetizer was so good, I'm not sure if I would pay $7 for it again.

Miso soup and green tea is good quality.

Overall, I love coming here to spend a pretty penny. The food is wonderful but for the price I'm not always inclined. It's good to try out for a date night but it doesn't give off the most intimate or romantic vibe. Just like any other Japanese restaurant.

My sister and I took advantage of not having my kids around and decided to have dinner here one night. It's not our first time eating here but it was our first time ordering their Omakase set dinner ($168). (Previous dinners here were great as well). We decided to sit at the sushi bar which I'm so glad we did, it was a slow night so it wasn't too loud. Sushi chef was amazing and I could tell he really enjoyed his work and I loved that he asked our opinion on what he created. The sushi served was phenomenal (excellent quality) and the amount of food was perfect.

Delicious and creative Japanese style food!

The service here is very attentive and friendly. We were seated immediately, even though we didn't have a reservation (on a Thursday night).

The uni is wonderful! Creamy and silky smooth texture, and lightly seasoned to bring out the nuances of the uni. I appreciate that everything is dressed for you already.

The Bayhill roll is so delicious! The texture of the tempura is so delightful in how light it is, but still filled in flavor.

The tuna tataki was very supple in texture. Especially with the onions, the acidity really makes this a palate pleaser. The avocado wrapped it all up in a smooth bite!

We got their special of the day: baby hamachi. The texture had a nice bite to it: it was both tender and firm. The fish is so fresh!

The hamachi collar was so tender and flaky, it falls apart when you tug it gently. The flavor is very delicate.

Lastly, the flan pudding is a surprising hit! The sweetness and suppleness of the flan has a light sweetness to it. Many thanks to the wonderful staff who comped our dessert for us!

Overall, I would love to come back to try more dishes off the menu!

This place is super chic inside. From the outside you can't tell because it's in a strip mall and there is heavy tint on the windows. Inside it felt super chic and modern with the sushi bar and seating all throughout the restaurant.

I tried the chicken katsu curry but didn't think it was anything special. I don't remember it being super flavorful or anything.

The Ikura was weird - they basically packaged the ikura separately. They also used brown rice which doesn't taste right with this kind of sushi...

I got my husband some sushi (Dragon Roll) and he was complaining the sushi didn't taste that great. He seemed pretty upset that it wasn't fresh.

I'd be willing to try it again but would need to try different dishes.

Had my birthday dinner here. Really enjoyed the dinner. Server is extremely friendly and they deliberately space out the serving of dishes so that we can enjoy our conversation.

These are what I ordered:

Geso karaage - awesome
Grilled Beef Tongue - today is slightly chewy but still good
Nasu Agebitashi - very refreshing
Prawn & crab tempura - not the typical tempura you'd expect
Asari Sakemushi - awesome
Duck breast - must try
Scallop butter yaki - must try
Bayhill Roll - spicy and fresh

Pork belly - super yumm
Mountain yam - very very refreshing
Chicken heart - great
Chashu Ramen - not the highlight of the night.

Highly recommend yelpers to hangout here.