This place has never disappointed. Must get: spicy green beans, cumin lamb, crispy spicy chicken Also, eat it in the restaurant, not delivery. Nothing beats the fresh, hot, crispy, green beans that are straight out of the pan. We cycle through something new each time, but always order one or two of the list above. Not everything is our cup of tea, but that's part of trying new things. Overall, this place has become a go-to when we want something we're sure to be excited to eat. read more

My party of 2 stopped in on a Friday night. It was busy but there was no wait. The dining room is pretty spacious and it was bustling. The server warned us that it might take a little while to get our food, but it was actually really quick service. There was also someone regularly coming around to refill water, and I appreciated the attentiveness. My partner ordered the vegetarian mapo tofu and I got the sesame tofu. Both were tasty. The sesame tofu was not as sweet as some other places I've been to and I liked that. Overall a good experience. It was delicious, affordable, and I love that they have vegan options! read more

Ichiban Sichuan - 81. Vegetarian Mapo Tofu - Chinese Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

See all

We actually ordered DoorDash but I wanted to leave a review. My kid moved here recently and raved about the lamb cumin. We ordered that as well as the chicken w vegetable sauce and jelly salad. The food was outstanding. Everything was also well packed and arrived hot. We are roughly 20 min from the location. Plenty of flavor in the lamb cumin. The chicken with vegetable sauce has plenty of white meat chicken and fresh vegetables in a velvety brown sauce. I did not try the jelly salad but my kid loves it. Also plenty of rice and utensils. Al's the garlic green beans are DELISH. Make sure you shake the container upon arrival to toss and coat the green beans read more

See all

I've ordered the General Pso from here a few times and unfortunately the chicken has a pretty chewy texture.

Very good service and the server was friendly when explaining menu items. Food is good. Glad they are there.

This place has a wide variety of Chinese cuisine offerings. Being our first time here, it took quite a while while to read through all their menu pages to decide what we wanted to eat that night :-) We decided to try out their fried Lemongrass chicken wings and Sliced Lamb with scallions. They both tasted pretty good and quite good portions as well. The place was quite casual with ample seatings. We didn't had to wait to get seated on a Saturday night dinner. Overall a nice authentic Chinese restaurant to try out if in the mood for this cuisine (they also had an American Chinese section if in mood for fusion) read more

See all

So so so good! Cute establishment, good service, the food was so great. Mapo tofu (vegetarian) was perfect -- cooked to perfection?, not too much sichuan where the numbing effect affected other flavors, but just enough to feel some heat. String beans were amazing, udon was great, scallion pancake was pretty good! read more

For an early dinner, my friend and I ordered lemongrass chicken wings, three delight pot stickers, scallion pan-fried cakes, rice noodles with hot and sour soup, and spicy and crispy shrimp with white rice. Everything was fresh and cooked to order. I enjoyed the scallion pan-fried cakes and the lemongrass fried chicken. I have tried scallion pan-fried cakes from three different restaurants and the city and Ichiban had the best ones. My only complaint about the lemongrass chicken is that I wished it was broiled or grilled to get more of the lemongrass flavors. The three delight pot stickers were ok. The hot and sour soup was too oily for me. The spicy and crispy shrimp were not spicy but were crispy. Overall my food was ok, next time I will try the spicy and crispy chicken. Pro Foodie Don't park in front of the restaurant because you will get towed. read more

Ichiban Sichuan - Chinese Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Probably one of the best places in Madison for Chinese food. The food was good, and the spice was there. When it said spicy it was spicy. We got seated pretty quickly, but by 7 the restaurant started to fill. We went for Thanksgiving. Sliced Lamb W Cumin Flavor - 10/10 I love lamb and this dish was doing the most. It had the right amount of spice and the Lamb was cooked to perfection. When this hit the table it was gone in 3 mins. Spicy String Beans - 10/10 Pretty hard to mess this dish up. It was really good. The string beans were cooked to have a soft on the outside hard on the inside Smoked Duck - 7/10 it was good but the duck was kind of dry so it was hard to eat a lot Shredded Potatoes with Capsicum Pepper - 9/10 - it was more oily than it needed to be. The spice was a good amount and the potatoes were cooked well General Tso's Chicken - It was a good Chinese American dish, very suitable for people who need something sweet. Twice Cooked Pork - 9/10 it was pretty standard nothing bad nothing amazing. read more

See all

Service was great! Ambiance very nice. Food could be a little more flavorful, otherwise nice prices. read more

Ichiban Sichuan - Chinese Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Good food, good portions, not that spicy - wish it was a little spicier. I ordered take out and the service was quick.

Really great food, got take out here while at the SSM hospital, so can't really speak to the service or interior-- we got the Spicy and Crispy Fish and Eggplant with Chili Garlic Sauce which were both top tier. The fish was light, crispy, and flavorful, while the eggplant had great flavor and really hit the spot for my Chinese food craving (eggplant w/ garlic sauce is probs my go-to dish at Chinese restaurants). Will likely come here again to eat-in. read more

Ichiban Sichuan - Spicy Crispy Fish and 79. Eggplant with Chili Garlic Saucegarlic - Chinese Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Food is always delicious. Never disappoints, especially given the portion sizes and the quality of the food. Menu is very large which can be overwhelming, but once you find your favorites you will keep coming back. I recommend the crispy Szechuan chicken! read more

This place was recommended to me, so the next time we visited Madison we really wanted to check this place out. We decided to stop in on a Saturday for lunch. We were greeted promptly and shown to a table right away. For a weekend, it was kind of busy but not super busy, which was nice because we were really looking forward to enjoying some Sichuan food. We ordered the Spicy String Beans (very well-seasoned and tasty), the Shredded Potatoes with Spicy & Sour Sauce (a bit heavy handed with the vinegar but cooked perfectly), and the Spicy Crispy Chicken (very crispy and not too spicy). Overall, for a Sichuan restaurant, their spice level was actually on the milder side. I would have preferred a bit more kick in their dishes but other than that all the dishes we ordered were delicious and hit the spot. Service was casual but friendly, and our food came out only a few minutes after we ordered. We were pleasantly surprised by how fast our food arrived because we were hungry and ready to eat. They don't have their own parking, so you will need to resort to finding street parking. Would gladly come back again. read more

See all

Food is amazing. Service is great. Wish their sichuan flavor was a bit spicier but it still hit the spot for me. Their boiled spicy beef soup and crispy pork intestine were my favorites. Parking is limited as it is all street parking but he atmosphere is warm and welcoming. Out of our visit, i wished i paid closer attention to our tab. Gratuity was already applied to our total and without knowing, we tipped an additional 20% on top of the 18% that was already in our total. No where in tune restaurant or menu stated that gratuity would be added right away. read more

We meet up with my mom once a month in Madison and usually try a new place each time. We love places that we can order several different dishes and then share. Ichiban is a great restaurant to do this and as usual we ordered way more than we can eat, but then we always have yummy leftovers for later or for lunch the next day. We maybe went a bit overboard today and had to move to a larger table so all of our dishes could fit on the table. Everything we ordered was delicious with our favorites being the twice cooked pork, spicy string beans, spicy crispy chicken, and the pickled pepper style with shredded beef. The dishes were all pretty mild and wish they were spicier. The menu is huge and they also have a Chinese American section. read more

I love sichuan style chinese food. Every time I order the Spicy & Crispy chicken --- my mouth is on fire. The essence of the spicy chili stays with every bite and eventually my lips go numb. Haha. My friends and I always get the Ma Po Tofu. Highly recommend that and also their green beans. We always want to try something new but always end up our favorites. Parking: plenty of street parking and side street parking. I would carpool if you are going with family and friends. They seem to get a lot of delivery and carryout orders. This place is always busy when I go which is a great sign. read more

I came here with 6 others for a group dinner and was impressed. I did not expect to enjoy the meal since it is difficult to find good Chinese food in Madison. The spice levels were decent. I expected it to be spicier but it was still good. I would also say their food was pretty oily and salty but that is pretty common I think. They had probably over 100 different dishes to choose from. My only complaint is that they gave us the wrong dish, and then charged us for that additional dish. My other experience at restaurants is they would give it free of charge. We didn't order the dish and it was their mistake so I was upset we had to pay for it. Overall, I would come here again. read more

Ichiban Sichuan - Chinese Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Ichiban is set up for delivery and pick up. They have a table set up in their entryway for pickup orders; their staff stays on the far side of the table and leaves the orders there for customers to come in and pick up. Ichiban has a pretty large menu, and there are probably so many other dishes I should try. But I usually get their eggplant dishes. I love eggplant and theirs is usually done perfectly and their sauces are so flavorful! It's also a really great deal - they are hefty portions! I appreciate how many vegetarian options they have and that they are being so considerate with their covid precautions. I will definitely keep coming here. read more

Ichiban Sichuan - Order pick up - Chinese Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

I'm honestly not too much of a fan of the family style dishes here (a personal 3 stars for me, see precious reviews), but recently tried some of their other dishes which were amazing! I had the beef noodle soup and their dry braised beef hot pot. They were both fantastic. I enjoyed the spiciness of the hotpot and generous portion. The beef noodle soup was also a huge portion and was just perfect: probably the best one I've had in Madison. The beef hotpot has such delicious ingredients and I'm still thinking about it (if I were to change one thing though, it would be to ask for no pork intestine, since I'm not a fan of the soft texture in this dish). I'll definitely be back. read more

See all

Was invited here with a group - one person had been before. Definitely glad that I went! It was my first experience with hot pot and it was very good. We had the dry braised lamb but I'm sure the others would be solid choices! I'm not the best with spicy food (don't eat it often) but the rice definitely helps to offset the heat without detracting from the flavor. Service was so quick! I also highly recommend the spicy dumplings and spicy string beans - if you have a big group (5+ people, I'd probably order two of these since they were so good). The food was all very reasonably priced. We were pleasantly surprised to see the check. read more

Spicy crispy chicken is one classic dish that we order almost every single time from Ichiban. I'd say to be careful of the this dish if you can't handle spicy food but if you're looking for a dish to wow your palette, then this is the one to try! I ordered some beef noodle soup and that came out in a giant bowl full of beef and noodles. The dumplings we ordered as appetizers was also equally as delicious. Overall, Ichiban really has some authentic Sichuan Chinese food. There's bond to be something on the menu that you'll like! read more

See all

The food is loyal to Chinese cuisine. This restaurant also has several American-Chinese dishes, but I recommend ordering outside the American Chinese menu; but if that's what you're looking for, the American Chinese food is made just as well. I enjoy the twice cooked pork, but the fatty beef dish was my absolute favorite. I tried the Mapo tofu here as well, but it was outshined by the pork and beef dishes. I haven't had anything I didn't enjoy here, so I wouldn't worry too much and just order what looks good to you. This is my new favorite Chinese restaurant in the area. The menu is sizable, so I look forward to trying more dishes every time! read more

Ichiban makes authentic tasty Sichuan and Chinese dishes! We recently got takeout again and the bag and text on the receipt was such a neat touch. We ordered Walnut Sauce with Shrimp, Spicy Crispy Chicken, Braised Bok Choi with Shiitake Mushroom. The walnut shrimp is like candy and comes with fresh broccoli. I can't stop ordering it! We loved the flavorful crispy chicken too, but this dish has a lot of dried Thai chili peppers that feel weird to eat as they are thick almost like paper, so we picked some out. Still an amazing dish. The bok choi was super saucy with really strong flavorful mushrooms, which we loved. We will definitely keep ordering and trying new things from Ichiban. read more

Ichiban Sichuan - Chinese Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

My first time having szechuanese food since basically the start of the pandemic, I came in hopefully and had all of my expectations exceeded. I came for dinner with a big group and was pleased to learn we would be dining family style. The menu is large and has many choices from Americanized Chinese food to more traditional regional Chinese food. We ordered about a dozen dishes. My favorites were the sliced fish with sliced pepper, cumin lamb, three pepper chicken, braised pork, garlic eggplant, and wood ear mushrooms. Everything was excellent, and I mean that. There wasn't a bad dish in the lot. The serving sizes were giant. The quality maybe wasn't the best I've every had but I was certainly satisfied and I caught myself smiling at the food multiple times. Some of the presentations and textures were a little off/different than what I'm used to, some dishes more oily, nothing to put a damper on my fun. I do wish they had featured szechuanese peppercorn a bit more prominently. The service was slow and forgetful but not enough to ruin the experience, and it was a big group so some of the errors are understandable. I would absolutely come back. read more

Ichiban Sichuan - Sliced Fish with Sliced Pepper - Chinese Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

See all

Best mapo tofu in Madison, full stop. Although Park street is far from where I live and parking is tricky, I make the trek to Ichiban in the rare times I leave the west side. Delicious food, reasonable prices, and decent service. No frills, nothing fancy. Just delicious, affordable, authentic food! read more

See all

We came here because the place next door only had carryout and no seating. The things I liked were the availability of real Chinese cuisine. Especially they had Taiwanese beef noodle and spicy won ton and Dan Dan noodle. The complaints would be the fat cap on the sirloin in the soup. (I know in Taiwan you may see a bone) the broth was top notch. I was disappointed that they used spaghetti noodles over fresh noodles. Overall it's a legit Chinese place (no orange chicken). The serving sizes are very large. I would come back and try their hot pot. read more

See all

Several non-Chinese colleagues suggested ichiban is the best Chinese restaurant in town. I was so confused since Ichiban is Japanese yet Sichuan is Chinese. We ordered a few dishes and had to disagree. The stir-fried noodles were swimming in oil; the beef in Taiwanese beef noodles soup were super chewy and couldn't even eat them. We ordered dumplings as appetizers yet it came the last. The skins were so doughy and overcooked. Still very puzzled why this is called the best Chinese restaurant in Madison. Food is edible and service is ok. It's very sad to hear that this quality is the best that Madison has to offer. read more

I've been here about 4 times now through the past 4 years and each time has gotten worse. I first came here about 4 years ago during our drive to Chicago. The food was solid and delicious. The water boiled fish was spicy and very flavorful. Each year, I would stop by. When I stopped by 2 years ago, noticed the restaurant underwent some remodel and taste didn't feel the same as the first couple times I went. It was lacking flavor. This time I went, we got the dan dan noodles, water boiled fish and spicy schezuan dumplings. It was very disappointing. It was completely lacking flavor. The dan dan noodles were too strong on the peanut side. Schezuan dumplings were tasteless even though it was drenched in chili oil. The water boiled fished was also not really spicy and had not much flavor as well. This place has gone down hill over the years and I'm sad. It used to be really good, but it seems maybe they underwent some different ownership or maybe different chefs over the year. I probably won't be coming back here anymore. read more

See all

My boyfriend and I enjoy this place. Honestly, I used to come here often with my family, but somehow we agreed that the food changed, so we stopped going. After a couple years, I decided to give this place another try, and I'm glad I did. The food is oily and salty, but I think that's pretty expected from this certain cuisine. Overall, the hotpot was so good. It's definitely good for a huge party. One of my faves is the tendon in chili oil. I wish I took a photo of it, but sadly, I didn't. The noodles are also super good. They're my boyfriends fave. Definitely do give it a try. I would definitely go back again. read more

See all

The food options were solid. Had a lamb dish and also tofu dish. I have ordered takeout and dined in at this restaurant, and it never disappoints. read more

Authentic Sichuan food! Brought a friend of ours from Beijing to eat with us. He ordered and was so happy to have food from home! We enjoyed the experience and staff! read more

Absolutely the best Chinese in Madison. I have tried 12 different Chinese restaurants and takeout places Ichiban is by far the best for food quality and authenticity. This crispy spicy chicken and the crispy spicy green beans are phenomenal. Stop buying mediocre Chinese go to Ichiban Sichuan It's worth a drive. read more

Best in the State. Tailored with care toward authentic exquisite taste and natural flavorings packed with delicate absence of excessive saltiness. read more

My favorite local Chinese restaurant. Every time we have guests, We bring them to ichaban. They serve Sichuan style dishes and the portions are huge. I love that their dishes are flavorful and delicious. We always order the broil spicy fish. It's super tender and falls apart in your mouth. We also like their dry braised meats. And of course we always try a new dish every time we are here. It's a must try, if you are in the area. read more

See all

Great food with great price, I ordered few old traditional dishes and tasted as the same I had. The sweet and sour spareribs are good. Be prepared that the dish are spicy. The service is good and friendly. The only downside is "where to park the car". I strongly suggest this restaurant. The CP valve is good read more

Ordered to go from here, off food alone not too great. I got the dan dan noodles and they weren't made authentic (sweet sauce, wrong noodles). read more

We were wanting real Chinese and this rocks! Friendly staff and good service. Try the potato strings in hot sauce appetizer. The tomato and egg and Hong Kong style seafood soups were uniquely flavorful. Order a bit of each and share. As another reviewer said this and Fugu Asian are the real deal. We will be back. BTW, if you aren't adventurous there are plenty of items on the menu that can work for you. read more

See all

It must be hard choosing which Chinese restaurant to go to in this area. Only because there are so many. I haven't been to all of them or really any of them, but we decided on going to Ichiban. The menu is overwhelming to say the least. It probably helps if you're Chinese. Follow-up thought: why is it called Ichiban when it is a Chinese restaurant? I mean there are a few "Thai" options, but really it's just your standard curry dishes and Pad Thai. But I don't think I saw any Japanese dishes. Weird, huh? Anyway, we ordered the Shanghainese Spring Rolls. They were pretty good. I guess I personally didn't care for the mushy filling. For my entree, I ordered the Spicy Braised Beef Noodle Soup. Holy crap, it is a giant bowl of soup. It took me 3 meals to finish it. Great for leftovers for sure. And it was only $8.95. I wish they had put more bok choy in it but the soup, noodles, and the beef were great. My SO had ordered a Thai tea but he never received it. They were nice about it and took it off the bill. Service was pretty quick. The food came out strangely fast but it was good. read more

It's funny that the 'Americanized' dishes, like General Tso, are buried in the menu on a page toward the back. Ichiban is 5* for me because it is so rare to find such vivid, diverse, exciting food, exactingly prepared (and the extensive lunch menu is a great price). Today the hot and sour soup was far more hot than sour - - very spicy; and loaded with chunky goodness. It was an extra $1.75 in addition to the $7.50 lunch special ma po tofu, but this is way above average fare, so it is fitting that the lunch special isn't the standard 'Americanized' eggroll/eggdrop/entree ritual. It wasn't the top ma po tofu I've had, but a solid second. This follows on a dinner a couple months back, with 7 of us sharing some of the more interesting dishes on the menu, and they were MOST interesting. Virtually nobody liked the beef tendon with chili sauce appetizer, but I thought it was one of the most fascinating and extreme things i've ever had - - the thin slices of tendon were like pappardelle noodles, but the concoction was stunning sensually - - it effectively numbed the mouth - - textures like nothing else - - it was like opium for the palate. Only a couple people enjoyed the fish soup dish, but I thought it was knockout, and so pleased that I could take the vast amount that was left untouched home. And the dry braised mixed mushroom in spicy hot pot - - intoxicating. The more standard dishes we shared were, well, more standard. Ichiban offers fascinating, exciting dishes, prepared with great care and precision, covering a flavor palate that most of us never encounter. (And since it is Sichuan-centered, the dishes can have some serious heat, but also a mellow numbing character). This will put off some people, but it should intrigue others a whole lot. Really worthwhile. read more

Ichiban Sichuan - hot sour soup $1.75 at lunch - Chinese Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

See all