Ichiban is hands down the best Japanese place I have tried In sometime. I would argue to say it's one of the best restaurants overall that I have tried in a while. Aside from the food, being fresh and tasty, The price of each dish is extremely fair. The service is what makes this restaurant a winner. From the moment we walked in we were greeted with a smile as if we came over to a friends house. The entire staff were kind and courteous to our son, which I really appreciate and you don't see as much nowadays. They have been celebrating their 35 amazing years in business, and with the steady stream of regulars that come in, it's easy to see why. The ambiance is clean, organized, and comfortable. This has become our new go to spot for sushi and when we are looking for a solid night out to dinner where we feel like we are part of the family, this place come to mind. read more

Ichiban Japanese & Sushi Restaurant - Sushi, dinner, seaweed, salad, and cucumber salad - Japanese Near Me - Brea, California

Amazing service, Memis was a great server, definitely going to come back! More than satisfied with the service read more

Great service. What no Gluten Free Soy Sauce? So food with out it. Disappointing. Take away 1 star thus only 4. Nigori Sake- good choice! read more

Man ! How did I not know this place was here after all these years ! This is a hidden gem ! Great food - authentic Japanese flavor. The owners are always there to greet you and make you feel welcomed . read more

I have been living around this area for 10 years and this is the first time I ate at this restaurant. I wish I knew about this hidden gem sooner. The service here is superb. The sushi chef and the owners were so friendly that they make you feel welcome when you first walk into the restaurant. We sat at the bar and Taka was so friendly and funny that made our dinner enjoyable. The food was so fresh and delicious. It was my bf's first time trying uni and he loved it. I would definitely recommend this place and this is now my go to sushi spot. read more

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This is probably the best spicy tuna I've ever had in California. The sushi master saw I was struggling and can't decide what I want from the menu so he asked me to describe what I want. He made me this simple roll and IT WAS THE BEST! Im going back! read more

Ichiban Japanese & Sushi Restaurant - Spicy Tuna - Japanese Near Me - Brea, California

A hidden gem that I am so glad I discovered. Owners care about the customer you can feel it from attention you receive. There may be some wait because you have regulars that come to the place. You can tell it's because the food is great. Added to my bookmark of neighborhood restaurants. read more

Best authentic japanese food in the area!! They serve complimentary edamame and have a wide variety of choices. Their nabeyaki udon is awesome!! The owners are super sweet and attentive!! Love it!!! read more

Ichiban Japanese & Sushi Restaurant - Nabeyaki udon - Japanese Near Me - Brea, California

We are literally leaving dinner and feel so happy and satisfied! The customer service was great and attentive !!!We truly left feeling like we found the gem of Brea! Definitely give their toro a try ! Melts in your mouth good. I'm sad we did not get any pictures because we were really enjoying everything. Will definitely come back when we're craving sushi again ! read more

Went there to celebrate a good friend's Bday. Food was tasting great and fresh. We ordered the boat dinner for 2. It was a lot of food. Thank you for the hospitality as well! read more

Came here with a bunch of friends, everyone ordered the tempura and sashimi combo, no one commented so I guess it was alright. I ordered the chicken katsu curry which I thought was horrible. The rice was really mashy, and the chicken tasted like it was marinated in Teri sauce. The dish was sweet...service was good though. read more

Owners and staff are very welcoming. Have enjoyed eating there for years. The food is consistently delicious. Very yummy!!!!

It is an old restaurant. The foods are so delicious. And gave us perfect service. I will come in next time.

This restaurant has been here since forever. Came here with the family and always enjoy great food. Service always excellent. Try Latina, our favorite. read more

My boyfriend and I have been coming to this area for years but have never heard of this place. Tonight we happened to be craving Japanese curry and were lucky we found this place on Yelp, their curry is amazing (made from scratch too!) and the service is out of this world! I made a mistake ordering my entree and later asked if they could switch it, which they did without complaint and it came out quickly after my boyfriend's. Our server Memis was very attentive and even gave us some history lessons on the restaurant as well as recommendations. He even let us try the star of the restaurant, the Sashimi Latino for free, and boy is it popular for a reason! So fresh and tasty, it's a must try for sure. At the end we were given a complementary dessert out of Memis' kindness and this is definitely a place we would like to make part of our rotation when we come to Yorba Linda again! And just when I thought I was done writing this review, sweet Masako came by to ask if our meal was good and she also made nice conversation with us! The drawings you see of her advertising her dressing were also drawn by Memis, how amazing! Incredible food and wonderful, friendly staff are the things that make Ichiban a must go restaurant. read more

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The food was good but the service was 5 stars. Staff is very friendly and took really good care of us.

I stopped in for an early dinner with a friend while taking a break from shopping at the Brea Mall. Right off the bat, the staff here was very professional and attentive. We were started off with some complimentary edamame while we looked over the menu. I ordered the Spicy Yellowtail Hand Roll ($5.95) and Tempura Soba ($10.50). The sushi plate was the first to arrive. I was filled with joy upon taking my first bite out of the hand roll. It was bursting with flavor and had just the right amount of kick to it. However, I do wish that the rolls were served immediately after being made, so that the seaweed could have still been crispy instead of soggy. The soba here was average. I was kind of disappointed in the dipping sauce. I've had soba many times, and the dipping sauce usually has a bit more flavor. The tempura that came with the dish was also average, though it was nice that they included a shrimp. I really enjoyed my visit to this establishment. The food was decent, the setting was classy and intimate, and I was very satisfied with the service we received. It would be a great spot to bring a date in the future. read more

Ichiban Japanese & Sushi Restaurant - Rainbow Roll 8pc ($13.95), Spicy Scallop Hand Roll ($5.95), Spicy Yellowtail Hand Roll ($5.95), and Tempura Soba ($10.50) - Japanese Near Me - Brea, California

I've never been here before and I took my boyfriend here for his birthday. It was amazing. The nicest people and the food were perfect. We will definitely be back again. And our bill was only $50. Such a great price. I can't believe I've never been here before. Thank you... highly recommend... read more

Ichiban Japanese & Sushi Restaurant - Sashimi, katsu, salad, pickled cucumber, and Kiran Beer - Japanese Near Me - Brea, California

The quality of the food is phenomenal and the staff was very attentive. Thank you Satoshi for recommending this place to me, the Pork Katsu Curry was fantastic. The owner Masako was very kind and her salad dressing was incredible. Thank you Ichiban for the good food! read more

Came here for a Friday dinner. Wanted to try Tempo Urban Kitchen, but the wait was too long, so Ichiban was our safest option bc they took reservations for party of 2. We ordered mostly nigiri sushi & no rolls because we wanted smthg simple & fresh. // What we ordered // *Seared Hamachi (4/5): our appetizer. Normally, I wouldn't order hamachi bc I'm not the biggest fan, but our server highly recommended it so we ordered it. I loved the ponzu & lemon zest in this dish. In fact, I asked for more ponzu so I can have it with my other sushi. Though hamachi was seared, it was still fishy, so I wonder if more ginger could've mitigated the fishiness. *10 pieces of Tuna (3/5): when we asked if they served toro or anything fatty, they say they didn't carry them. Sashimi to sushi ratio was not so great. *10 pieces of Salmon (5/5): again, they didn't have salmon belly as an option, but the cuts were thick & fatty enough so I didn't miss the belly! Sushi to sashimi ratio was perfect! *Inari (4/5): like "yubu-chobab" in Korean, but they were big and tasty. Nothing special, just ordinary inari. Served as a good palate cleanser. ***Sweet Shrimp aka Amaebi (10/5): our highlight of the night. I don't like cooked shrimp sushi, only raw spot prawns (amaebi) bc when they're cooked, the prawns are robbed of their natural sweet taste & creamy texture. Anyways, it took forever for this dish to arrive but we were so glad we waited instead of canceling it. The sweet shrimp sashimi was obviously high quality, and the head & body shells were crisped to perfection. What a special treat they were! I'm so sad we only ordered 10 of these... it's every sushi lover's dream, and if I ever return to Ichiban, you bet I'm going all in with the Amaebi. Now the only reasons I rated Ichiban 4 stars out of 5 (even though the quality of Amaebi was enough to average overall rating of food to 5 stars) are bc service was incredibly slow & options were very limited. +Re. Options - it was a surprise that they didn't carry sea urchin (uni) even though it was on the menu. I would've ordered 10 of them if they were available because I'm a forever fan of uni. Further, I wasn't sure if they didn't have any belly/fatty fish at all, or if it was only on this particular day. Personally, bc I love uni & fatty sashimi so much, the mere fact that those two were unavailable that day was a tad disappointing. +Re. Service - I noticed there were a a great number of waiters & waitresses who were truly attentive and kind, but the food came out reallyyyy slow and I was late to my next engagement. Waiting over 15 minutes for the bill seemed unreasonable and inefficient, all things considered. I hope the speed of service improves next time I visit so I can update my review to give it its well-deserved 5-star rating. +Random: edamame was surprisingly delicious! Amaebi is a must get!!! You won't regret! read more

So happy we stopped by for dinner, it was such a great experience. Husband and I tried the sushi dinner entree, rainbow roll, gyoza, combo dinner (shrimp and vegetable tempura/chicken teriyaki/california roll). The food was very tasty and fresh. It is slightly pricey but, you are definitely getting the quality for it. Everyone here strives to provide the best service and you can tell they care(owners servers chef ). It has honestly been a while since we have received service like this. It's absolutely refreshing. We felt like we could take our time here and truly enjoy. We will definitely be coming back! Definitely a special little place. read more

I started off the year right with good food and good service. I would really rate this place a 4.75, but i rounded. I loved everything that I ordered except for the albacore nigiri, which had an aftertaste that I wasn't fond of. HOWEVER, everything else I absolutely loved! Other nigiri pieces that I got were salmon and yellowtail, which I would definitely get again. I loved how they put wasabi in between the piece of fish and rice, which I was told was the authentic way of making nigiri. The caterpillar roll was good with lots of eel sauce. Snake roll was delicious, but if you can't deal with spice, I would just take the Serrano pepper on the top off and you should be good to go. I think the roll I loved most was the tuna cut roll, which was just simple and super fresh. Lastly, I want to give a big shoutout to all of the staff, who were super friendly and attentive. read more

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Excellent place for Japanese fix. My fave: Spicy squid salad. Everything served was very good, fresh and priced right! Must return.... read more

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What makes a Monday night special, dinner with family and friends, especially when you know the owners treat everyone Iike they're family! The food, delish, the prices, atmosphere and overall vibe, amazing! What made tonight even more special? Jason our server! Jason, thank you for being welcoming, thoughtful, kind, humorous, considerate and providing us with an exceptional customer service experience! Looking forward to my next visit! read more

My first time here and definitely coming back! All of the food was amazing! Everything tasted fresh, all in house made ingredients! Not disappointed by a single dish. The service by the staff was amazing. Nice place to go for dinner with a small group or large party! They can accommodate all! In one photo I took, I clearly devoured it before snapping a photo. But that's because it was so tasty! Clockwise: Chicken Teriyaki combo, veggie tempura, baked scallop roll, poke salad, garlic edamame, firecracker roll, baked mussels. All 10/10! Amazing hospitality by Tom and Masako! read more

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Delicious Japanese food in family (locally) owned Brea restaurant behind IHOP on Imperial: going to Ichiban is like going home to Have dinner with family! Service was amazing, even on Mother's Day (with a reservation). The food is YUM, we started with complimentary edamame, then had the teriyaki and katsu chicken, and the boat with the most perfectly crisp shrimp tempura I've ever had. Most of all, the service was incredible. The owner, her husband, and all the staff were so friendly and gave the visit a homey feel. The brown rice green tea was perfect to complement the meal. You can tell they know all the regulars. Thank you for an amazing meal and making us feel so welcome! we will definitely come back! read more

Excellent food, owners are always making their rounds making sure everything is good. Can't say enough on how this restaurant treat their customers like family. Masaka and Tom are the best... We make it priority to come in once a month to have dinner. establishment. James read more

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Used to love this place but recently they have drastically increased prices. Will not be returning anymore

I loved this place. Super traditional authentic sushi spot. The service is great and the food is even better. Super clean and accommodating. You must try the sashimi Latina!! read more

The sushi was so fresh and delicious! We even tried their pork katsu and teriyaki, both of excellent and fresh! The thing that stood out most was the welcoming ambiance of the restaurant and server from everyone who came to our table. They were so incredibly nice. We will be back! read more

Amazing home cooked Japanese food. Felt like home. Beef Sukiyaki was my comfort food. Masako was the sweetest. Best Japanese restaurant that reminded me of my Mom's kitchen. Highly recommend. read more

My boyfriend and I were so excited to go here as one of his friends recommended it. I've been eating sushi since I was 16 years old I am now 56, I ordered the spider roll which is a softshell crab roll ,hand roll I asked for gobo ( little pickled carrot root that is a Japanese staple used to be in almost everything) to be put in it , the server did not know what it was and when asked for it to be put in my spider roll the sushi chef said we don't have it . Wow , I've never been to a sushi bar in my life that didn't have gobo. My boyfriend told me to drop it as he's not a huge gobo fan as I am ,he didn't really know what it was . He then googled gobo and found out for himself that it is a major Japanese food . Because of this Ichiban was a one and done for us . read more

Ichiban Japanese & Sushi Restaurant - The Sapporo was good as was the edamame! - Japanese Near Me - Brea, California

We love this place. We eat dinner here after seeing a movie. The staff is attentive and the food is fresh. There menu changes but I always find something to eat. Love their scallop tempura. Love their salmon and chicken teriyaki. Would recommend read more

All I can say is CONSISTENCY! You don't know it's a good place until you've been twice and the food taste equally as delicious. The owners and servers are genuine, friendly, and care about the quality of food. It is the cutest, quaint restaurant and we have officially become regulars. It is clean and the music is fantastic. You definitely need to come and enjoy their food. The sashimi was fresh and tasty. My families, favorite appetizer was the sampler platter and the house salad! The dressing is phenomenal. read more

Ichiban Japanese & Sushi Restaurant - Sashimi Latina - Japanese Near Me - Brea, California

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The service was exceptional and quick. The food was delicious. We ordered miso soup, a variety of rolls, salad and Soba noodles. Great flavor to everything. The rolls were fresh and a great balance of texture. We will definitely be back! read more

Not the best pictures because we started eating before the phone, but this has to be one of the best restaurants in the area. From delicious food to amazing service, this place has it all. Their prices are reasonable and the quality of their food is to die for. The sushi was fresh, the meats were tender and flavorful, and the tempura was fried to perfection. Besides the food, the customer service was top notch. The owner and her husband are most kind-hearted people you could ever meet. They constantly check up on you to make sure you're satisfied with their service and love making small talk to connect with their customers. My family and I went here for the first time yesterday and we would definitely come back just to chat with them. You can really tell they care about their customers and try to create an amazing experience for each and every one of them. This is a definite must if you're around the area or just craving some Japanese food. Wonderful restaurant and even more wonderful owners. read more

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We came from Chino to dine in. Thank you OC and Ichiban for being open. The owner Tom is very nice. We were sat promptly inside. Got a spacious and comfortable table for 4. Their food is really good. Huge menu with a lot of fun choices. I got their firecracker roll. It was outstanding. One of the best rolls I've ever had. Service is really good. Servers are friendly and attentive. Try the owners salad dressing. Yummy! I purchased a bottle to go. Please support this local, family business. Highly recommended. read more

Ichiban Japanese & Sushi Restaurant - Firecracker Roll - Japanese Near Me - Brea, California

My wife and I recently moved to Brea and were admittedly a bit spoiled when it came to Asian food, due to growing up in the South Bay area of LA. One day after deciding not to cook, we discovered Ichiban, and boy does it not disappoint. The staff is super friendly and very attentive (shoutout to Memis!). We also love their Green Tea Arnold Palmers. Definitely recommend to anyone looking for good sushi and Japanese food in the North OC area. read more

Been coming here for a while now. Almost 7 years. Covid took two away however. So great to see this sweet and traditional venue thriving again. The hours have adjusted but the food and service is still top notch!! Sashimi Latina is my dish of choice and I prefer hamachi. The sushi chefs tell amazing stories and lots of jokes and happy to cheer a toast or two with you and yours. The management team and the serving crew are professional and courteous always. Love this place read more

Previous post was 3 stars due to a decrease in service. However, after the owner reaching out and inviting me back, what a turnaround! 100% customer service change and for the better! My boyfriend and I got to try the garlic edamame (which is delicious) and the seared halibut sashimi (yummy and had a lemon zest to it). Our second time experience was wonderful and will become one of our go-to sushi restaurants. I was pleasantly surprised to meet the owner in person when I came in and she said she remembered me from before. She was very apologetic for the prior service and made sure to check on us multiple times during our meal. I'm glad I gave this place a second chance and will definitely be coming back! read more

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