A small place which gives into an intimate ambiance. Great place to have some cocktails and catch up with friends. It was pretty busy in there so we were seated at the bar which meant that the bartender had to serve us. She had a lot of drinks to make so she wasn't really ontop of filling our water glasses, or asking us how our food was. Food is pretty tasty. A lot of things to share. We decided on two seared sushi as well ast the takoyaki. The food came out a little slow, but when it did it was tasty. Our sushi paired well with the sake we were drinking. Takoyaki was delicious. In general I wouldn't run out here to eat and have a drink, but a nice place if you are in the area. read more

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Let me tell you how excited I was for takoyaki Wednesday, with the impression that it was still 50c per takoyaki ball. I was a spirited, young energetic soul that was VERY excited. After being presented the bill with it being $1 per ball, I may had to do some breathing exercises. With their social media blasting this message, this NEEDS to be cleared up. Although, it was my fault for not doing my research beforehand. It might have just been a little promo. they had on. An extra $6 that could have gone towards my Starbucks addiction was gone. Anyways, with my broke student budget, I still managed to get my bill to a close $35, with a drink ($15), 12 pieces of takoyaki ($12), a split Cheese On-Yakko ($3), and a split taiyaki. Now that price is cleared and I am not clouding my own judgment, let's get on with the main course of this review: food and service. Service: I was greeted very warmly and was seated quickly, as there was seating on the bar area. Food was brought out at a reasonable time and I got everything that I would have wanted. This included: drinks, utensils, and attention to when we needed more food. Space: Everyone should know one thing about Ikki (that it deserved its own little section), that this place is SMALL. When you Google the wait time and it says it's busy, it is because the tiny space they have is all filled. From my perspective, I say you could fill the space with 35 people MAX, being generous. It is honestly a hit or miss. I was lucky that when I went, it was a hit. Food: I did enjoy every dish that I had received. I will give Ikki props to the food I have eaten. What stood out to me the most was the texture. -The drink I got was the melon Caipico soda, which is alcoholic. It contained the Caipico drink and melon liquor. My opinion, it was great if you really enjoy sweet drinks and it is SUPER easy to drink, as it literally tasted like juice. The size of a drink was a standard pint. It also included ice. For the price, I do not see the value in it. -The takoyaki was crisp on the outside and soft, but not a gross mushy, on the inside. The octopus also had a depth of flavor that I have not experienced in any other takoyaki that I have ever eaten. My mind was blown. Other than that, the traditional topping was standard. -The Cheese on-Yakko was the thing that was the "new thing" to try, for my friend and I. It was a silken tofu with cheese on top. Surrounding it, was a pool of soy sauce. To our surprise, we really enjoyed how the bland smooth tofu was flavored with the salty soy sauce and sweetened with the cheese. It just worked. You do have to eat it as soon as it comes out, though. Once it cools down, the salt from the soy was more dominant in flavor. -The taiyaki ended us on a high note. For me, I am a HUGE texture and temperature person. It impacts my tastebuds quite heavily. What impacted me from the Taiyaki was the crispy waffle exterior, with a sweet and warm red bean filling. Which was heavenly paired with a mochi green tea ice cream. I was IN LOVE with the hot and cold, crispy and creamy dessert. Overall, I am so in love with Ikki. I love the idea of sharing tapas with friends, and when you share, your bill could be so much cheaper, and you try more things. HOWEVER, it is not a place to go for drinks. Drinks are just flat out expensive. Unless you had a special occasion to have some sake, I would just go for the food. read more

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Wednesday isn't just for wings. Takoyaki special at Ikki Izakaya if you want something different. Although wings are good any day of the week. Takoyaki is grilled octopus dumplings with takoyaki sauce and mayo. It's delicious here and it's topped off with shavings of dried fish. Suh gud. You need to order a drink to get the special and this Green Tea Float was the tits. Haven't had a float like this before and it's refreshingly good. Squid karage was one of the specials and it was satisfying when dipped into the spicy mayo. Only wished there were a little bit more squid on that dish. Ikki is located on Jasper and 119, and is a cozy restaurant. Service is kinda slow on Takoyaki nights and it becomes busy later in the evening. Need to check out thursday special with yakitoris. Good drinking spot with good food. Sal says: Just Try It (3.2/5) read more

Ikki Izakaya has joined the ranks of the city's beloved Izakaya Tomo, bringing the Oliver community a space to visit after work. Serving up smaller shareable plates and offering a wide selection of imported sake, Ikki Izakaya is a casual drinking establishment to hang out with family and friends. Locally owned, this isn't the Ishikawa family's first go at it. Grandma Takako Ishikawa's concept of healing the soul and providing energy from good food and drinks is key to both successful restaurants in Thailand. The new space is tight, with ten or so seats at the beautifully done sake bar and twenty table-side seats are reservable, with a great niche in the back for a more private event. The family has paid attention to even the small details, like the shelving slots on the walls to hold orders and beautiful woodwork above the bar and back-lighting displays to showcase their selection of Japanese sake. The menu is divided out into cold and hot tapas, sushi + sake sets, and dessert. For the night, there was a Grand Opening Special ($28) that allowed us to sample a majority of the dishes. Joe's Ikki Caesar ($12) turned some heads as the sake-based cocktail came out in a slanted glass and complete with shrimp and bacon. Loved the shichimi spiced rim! Cold tapas came out first, bites of the Takowasabi, Hiyayakko, Shrimp Spring Roll, and Veggie Bites. The Takowasabi was the most memorable of the four, a strong hit of wasabi marinade with the raw octopus. I also enjoyed the Hiyayakko, a cold silky tofu served with bonito flakes, green onions, and dark soy sauce. The Shrimp Spring Rolls were made with fresh vegetables and served with a creamy sesame sauce and the Veggie Bites were served on a skewer with miso. We also wanted to try the Beef Tataki ($12.75), thinly sliced mid-rare beef with a citrus ponzu sauce. I'm a fan of thicker slices of beef and don't mind the sear on the edges although I know a lot of people will disagree and prefer their beef cut razor thin. This was one of my favourite dishes of the night. Hot tapas came out next although by the time it reached us, most items were lukewarm. The yakitori (read, Japanese chicken skewers!) didn't have a nice char as I would have liked and were heavily covered in a sweet yakitori sauce. The takoyaki, grilled octopus dumplings, were on the smaller side, had great flavour, although a little soft in the center (dough-y). Corn croquettes and a (claimed) spicy chicken wing also made an appearance. Overall, I was a bit disappointed and was expecting something more creative or with bolder flavours. As with the cold dishes, we felt that the hot tapas plate was missing an essential item to try: the Motsuni Stew ($7.75). I had done my research before coming and this was the dish that made Grandma Takako Ishikawa successful. As one of the most authentic izakaya dishes in Japan, the motsuni stew had slow cooked pork shocho (stewed giblets or innards) with silky tofu, leeks, and ginger in Ikki's famous sweet mixed miso. The intestines were definitely slow cooked and had a softer texture than what I'm use to, but was delicious and unique to Ikki Izakaya nevertheless. And if the small plate isn't enough or for those who just want a free "I Love Sake" t-shirt, take the Motsu-don challenge! Finish the large bowl within 45 minutes for the compensated bowl and your prize! Fail, and it will cost you $50. A selection of sushi rolls left our table wanting more, the dense and almost too-sticky rice had an odd consistency. Perhaps not their strongest dish although a 2oz sake drink is included in the $15 price tag for rolls. One of the more memorable moments of the night was the sake. And to be honest, I think that's what Ikki Izakaya's main focus is on. Sake sommelier Toshiki Uehara from Calgary's Sake Gami was there to give us the night's sake brewery's history and tasting notes, something I've never actually never had explained to me before. We tried a delightfully sweet plum sake that got me thinking perhaps I should start collecting and drinking sake at home! Learning more about both sakes was the highlight of my night! Overall, I think Ikki Izakaya has a few kinks to work out and needs to hone in on their small menu. Despite having a great sake selection and a fantastic space, I think great food is still one of the main components for a memorable dining experience. With a majority of tables ordering the Grand Opening Special, plates were coming out at a slower pace and perhaps backing up the kitchens. The price point for Ikki Izakaya is actually on the reasonable side for an izakaya although could potentially get expensive if you're aiming for a full dinner. I would return for late night drinks and trying some more harder-to-find sake bottles. Kampai! to Ikki Izakaya on their grand opening! I'm rooting for them to solidify their existing menu and hope to find my personal favourites one day: agedashi tofu and kara-age! read more

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This is my favorite late night snack place to go to. It's a cute little place in the Pearl Tower. They're usually open late on the weekends. Every week they have a little contest on instagram where they give away a unique Japanese snack item that can't be found here. Service is great and quick. The owner is very friendly and always chats with the regular customers. Their menu is small and is tapas style meant for sharing. There is a hot and cold side of the menu. They have daily specials and happy hour specials posted on the board that you can see right when you come in. I've tried most things on the menu and everything has been pretty tasty. There is an extensive sake menu but I've only tried their cocktails. read more

A fantastic place to visit with friends. The atmosphere, price, and drinks were great, but the staff was the best part of the experience. For example, our waitress, Jessie, was the highlight of the night. I highly recommend visiting this place if you can. read more

What a great little gem! I came here on a date and we both enjoyed what this restaurant had to offer. From the cozy ambiance, to the food and service, we were satisfied. I really enjoyed that the menu is unlike any other Japanese restaurant that I have been to in Edmonton. I guess "Izakaya" is a type of causal drinking place where you can hang out with friends and family that offers small shareable plates to be enjoyed with sake. And sake they had! We didn't sample the sake that night but we did share a few plates. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures and the menu has changed slightly from what is on their website. I will do my best to describe what we had. First we shared this amazing soup that had the thick soba noodles in a most delicious broth. It was perfect to share with the cold weather. We then shared the Okonomi-Dog which was amazing! It is a pork sausage hot dog topped with cabbage, nori seaweed, green onions, mayo and mustard. I was told that this was right up there with the Japadogs you can find in Vancouver. I would say that this was my favourite dish of the evening. We then shared a curry poutine that was new on the menu and it also didn't disappoint. The curry was flavourful and didn't overpower the dish, however, the fries were getting a little soggy at the end. To finish, we had the Taiyaki which is a Japanese waffle filled with red bean and was served with mochi ice cream. The waffle came in the shape of a fish. It was good but a bit on the dry side for me. Service was attentive and we had a wonderful evening. I would definitely be coming back and trying the sake too! read more

Ikki Izakaya is a great little spot to grab a quick bit. We visited here on a Wednesday, and contrary to the other reviews, there were a few people, but we were able to find seats. This place is small (ie: approx 30 seats), so if there are a couple reserved tables then seating is going to be very limited. Walked in, took a table by the door. We had the standard Japanese restaurant greeting. We were quickly greeted by our server. Ikki has a great selection of Japanese beverages, every thing from Hitachino Nest beer to some Japanese whiskies. The menu is fairly small, but Izakaya is basically the equivalent of pub food. We ordered a few dishes, and slowly but surely the food came out. There wasn't the onslaught of everything coming at once, but instead, it was almost perfectly timed. One dish would show up, we'd finish it off, then the next and so on. We tried the Tuna tartar, and I love the fact that they incorporated apple into it. We had a California roll, no surprises there. We also had some shrimp salad rolls, and even though my wife liked them, I thought there was just a bit too much salad and not enough shrimp inside the roll. The atmosphere is a bit stark, so it can be loud in there if there are groups of people. Overall, everything was very tasty and service was very good. I like the variety on the menu and the portion sizes were excellent for 2 people sharing. Location is good, and street parking wasn't an issue either. It's a solid place with good food... I'll be going back ! read more

Ikki Sake Bar - Tuna tartar - Japanese Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

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Best Takoyaki in town! Find me here every Wednesday because that is Takoyaki day! amazing service too! you walk in and you feel like you're in a bar In Japan, Even the people at the back come out to greet you sometimes. and even after you paid your due, there service doesnt change. They have the friendliest staff! and it just makes me want to come back everytime read more

Oh Ikki, I had such high hopes and anticipation for you. Another Japanese izakaya opening up in town is a blessing in disguise right? Well, high expectations was mistake numero uno. We decided to check out Ikki Izakaya for their grand opening (mistake numero deux). The place was absolutely packed with people (aka. Asians galore) when we arrived Saturday evening. Our reservation was for 9pm and luckily, we were able to snag chairs at the bar because no one was leaving and people were swarming the door. Apparently my two friends got dirty looks when they walked in. Haha, that's what happens when you show up late(ish). Well, it didn't get any better. None of the waitresses seemed to want to take our order. We eventually were able to flag one down. Then proceeded to wait over an hour to get food. I get that it was their grand opening but come on, the food they were bringing out wasn't even that intense to put out. - Sake sampler ($10.00) - three kinds of sake. My friend M ordered the sampler to try. The sake was actually pretty interesting to try. The only thing was my friend had to ask about it a couple times because they forgot about it...even though we were at the bar. Yikes. - 2x Grand opening special ($28.00) - we ordered two of their specials which had a hot dish sampler, cold dish sample and sushi. The corn croquette was bland, takoyaki dry, wings chewy and chicken skewer cold. From the cold dish, the tako wasabi was better but the hiyayakko (tofu with bonito flakes and green onions) had an odd texture. Mushy, not a good combo. The veggie bite was the worst - cucumber with miso paste on top and a daikon radish on a skewer? Just baaaaaaaaad. Let's not even talk about the sushi - rice was poorly made, texture was gross (tasted like sushi you get from a grocery store) and no flavour to speak of. - Beef tataki ($12.75) - thinly sliced mid-rare beef w/ citrus ponzu sauce. This is what one of my buddies, who came earlier, recommended. Easily the best dish of the night but the portion is small. The ponzu sauce was tasty. - Spicy chicken wings ($7.80) - chicken wings with honey sriracha sauce. Honestly, this wasn't spicy at all. Not even worth ordering. Okay, this review is long enough. You get the picture. Hope they can work out the kinks and get it together. I wouldn't order food here but maybe come here for a drink and sake. Not what I think of when I think of izakaya's. Izakaya Tomo is hands down the spot in town if you want real izakaya food! read more

My boyfriend and I came here on a whim tonight (Friday night) around 8:45pm. We had no reservations but asked if they had room for two when we arrived. We were informed that yes we could be accommodated as long as we left by 10pm. No prob! We were offered a choice between sitting at the bar or at the long table in the back, which already had another couple dining there. We decided to sit at that long table as there were still two empty seats between us and the other diners. Well that's all I can tell you about this place because as we sat there patiently for a good 10 min not a single server came to greet us, bring us menus or drinks. The couple beside us had a waitress who would check on them and clear plates during this time but not even a hint of acknowledgement came from any server. By this time, we were upset over the negligent service and walked out. Even on our way out not a single server, even the one who sat us, acknowledged our walking out. Terrible!! I've never had this poor of service before. Yes the place was packed, but it's SMALL!!! And there were 3 servers we counted! Inexcusable and disappointing. Needless to say we will NOT be returning to this establishment even if we live in walking distance. Instead, my boyfriend and I hopped on over to Japonais Bistro right across the street where we had great service and great food to boot! read more

Passing through Edmonton on a business trip and staying in a hotel downtown I luckily came across this hole in the wall gem. Popped in here tonight with a couple of friends - a very nice experience. I have lived in Tokyo and Osaka for a few years during my previous work assignments so I became pretty familiar with the Japanese pub/eatery (izakaya ) vibe, I proclaim that this place hits home with the REAL Japanese feel. It's not too often that I've been into a Japanese establishment in Canada that has the authentic izakaya aura to it, but this place seemed to pull it off bang on. A liiiitle bit small inside, but such is to be expected in an izakaya. We didn't eat too much but what we had was tasty and arrived promptly from a smiley polite waitress. Seems we concentrated mainly on drinking, Various sake, Sapporo beer, and some other beer that I hadn't experienced even during my time in Japan. They said it was some sort of Japanese home brew and it was mint. Definitely a nice perk to my night out in Edmonton and I'll be sure to check this spot out next time I'm here :) I would have given this a place 4.5/5 stars but I can't figure out how to fill half a block o_0 My first Yelp. read more

This place is completely adequate. Decent sake, very nice. Okay food, though some people have told me they were unimpressed with the freshness of the tuna. I, personally, thought the tuna was totally average. I enjoy the octopus balls the most, and they have deals on Wednesday, that makes it very worth it. Otherwise, most of the food is too little food for too much money. I enjoy the music, and the friendliness of the servers, even though service is super slow, especially considering they are very small and on weekdays often very empty. One server even just totally forgot to put in half my order. I had a completely average time at this middle of the road place. read more

A cozy izakaya.. if I lived nearby, I think I'd definitely frequent this place for a drink or two. The general consensus was the sake was good (expected), but the food was ok. Service and ambiance were excellent. We ordered a lot of different items from their menu: Shrimp salad rolls, Takoyaki, Japanese Poutine, Motsuni Stew, Unagi Don, Maccha Foundue. Unfortunately for us, nothing stood out enough for us to rave about relative to other izakaya's (in Edmonton and abroad) that we've been to. read more

Worst meal I have ever had. As an avid fan of Japanese food, and having read a lot of the positive reviews of this restaurant, I was shocked by the poor service, horrible food combinations, and the amount of soy sauce dumped on every dish. The food was also incredibly expensive when compared to the quality. The most memorable disaster was the tuna tartar, which was served with avocado and apples, and was drenched in soy sauce. A close second to the tuna tartar was the takoyaki, which neither of us could even get down because the texture was so awful. I can not emphasize enough how awful this meal was. If you are looking for a good Japanese meal, go across the street from Ikki, and go to Japonais Bistro. read more

Uh, I am a really infrequent reviewer, but the fact that this restaurant has 2.5 stars is kind of an injustice. My boyfriend and I ordered about 5 of the hot and cold tapas dishes, and I have never had better authentic Japanese dishes anywhere in Edmonton. They also incorporate neat fusion-dishes like the japanese poutine (EAT THIS FAST, it's poutine, what do you expect?!). The Sake specials were phenomenal and honestly this is the first place I have had sake and have not actively disliked it (in other words, the sake was good enough quality to not have to be served hot! Yay!). They have food challenges which make this place a great choice for buddies to go for a drink, or a super intimate place to go on a first date (Don't do the challenges on a first date, you have been warned!). The seating is such that we struck up a conversation with our neighbors, which was delightful. The servers are also adorable, seriously, super sweet and super attentive! Fantastic! The point of all this is that in my humble opinion the other reviewers are (in a word) misguided about their perceptions of this place, and that anyone reading this should really go check it out! read more

I really like this little restaurant. The place is tiny but as my friend and I noticed tonight, it feels like you are in a larger city, like Vancouver or Tokyo. They have such a wide selection of sake including their house brand. I tried a yummy fruity sake cocktail (first one on the menu that I forget the name of), had the tuna tartare (which was unreal), some rolls and an interesting tofu dish. The staff are all very friendly. read more

Kind of drove by this place and went in on a whim. Really great little spot with some fantastic traditional Japanese izakaya. Plates were small, definitely more "family style" sharing here. The servers were friendly and pretty helpful with suggesting menu items. They don't have a huge sake selection, but the ones they had were so on point. Overall had an great time there. Atmosphere was good and the food was good. Will definitely be back. read more

Visited recently late night after work! Service was friendly and attentitive! Drinks selection was huge (which all delivered to be great)! Everyone at the table tried different menu items, all which were enjoyed and left empty plates! Will definitely be back and bring more friends! read more

The food is great and well priced but the customer service and vibe is why it's a favourite spot of mine. I enjoy coming in for a late night drink and eats, accompanied with good conversation with the bartenders and other patrons at the bar. They know how to make you feel taken care of for sure. Definitely recommend the matcha-tini for those with a sweet tooth, it won't disappoint! read more

I first went about a month ago and I was very satisfied with everything. Overall the drinks were excellent as was the food. It was not so busy when I arrived around 5 but slowly started getting busier when I left. Basically best to arrive earlier. I would recommend trying this out especially for a relaxing drink and meal. read more

The takoyaki that we ordered was served hot and fresh, but we had to wait for 15 minutes for that order. Also, I wish the place was bigger in order to accommodate​ more costumers. There are only 4-5 tables, imagine the place during dinner​ rush! In terms of service, I would give it 3 out of 5. Since there were only two employees at that time, we had to wait 5 minutes before we got the menu. Other than that, it was a pretty decent Japanese​ place. read more

Disappointed. Not a single course was "wow". We had six dishes and nothing stood out. The octopus dumplings were void of octopus. We had high hopes but only the drinks came close to meeting our expectations. I am truly disappointed. read more

Really cool place tucked away in the Oliver area. I've been to many Japanese restaurants, and this one is certainly one of the better places I've tried. The rice balls and wide variety of sake were my two favourites for sure, but there is a pretty decent sized menu with lots of options. Friendly staff, and a great atmosphere. Check it out! read more

Happened to be close by and since I've heard about the place quite a bit thought I'd try it out. Unfortunately the quality of food was so bad I'll definitely not return again. Portion wise, it's what you would expect from an izakaya, kind of expensive for its portions. We ordered 4 items: 1. Yakitori Chicken, 7 dollars for 4 skewers, there's a few pieces of small chicken on each skewer with onions in between. Sauce was a tad too sweet, and sad to say this was the most pleasant dish of the night. 2. Motsuni Stew, 8 dollars. DO NOT order this ever. Came in a pot/dish about 10cm in diameter and an inch deep. The pork intestines were NOT prepared properly. The whole soup was VERY BITTER. Tofu was good, but we didn't finish this dish because it was just so bitter.. and the sweet miso didn't help with the bitterness at all, it was just bitter and sweet at the same time. yuck. 3. Octopus Karaage, 8 dollars. Part of their one year anniversary special. I was very disappointed with this. The batter was very thin, dry, and most of all it was BURNT, and it tasted burnt. This is the first time that I've ever had burnt food served to me, it felt like ikki izakaya didn't even have a chef cooking for them. 4. Ochazuke + Salmon flakes, 6+1 dollars. This was delicious but definitely not worth the price. The dish was literally a ball of rice with Japanese tea over it. Very small portioned. The 1 dollar extra for the salmon flakes was even more of a disappointment, I could barely tell that there was salmon flakes added, definitely not worth the dollar. Needless to say I will not be returning to ikki izakaya or recommond it to anyone. The service was good, but the food is way below par. read more

I know everyone loves izakaya Tomo and I do too. But I definitely love the atmosphere at ikki izakaya way better. It feels more authentic and just like a Japanese bar with good food. That's what I love in an izakaya. read more

I don't usually write reviews, but my wife and I actually felt this review was worth taking time out of our date to write. As a fan of decent food and decent service, my wife and I were deeply disappointed with our "meal". We had the "signature" stew, which the meat tasted like boiled processed sandwich meat, with an un-identifiable after taste, the recommended specialty pork sausage pork hot dog (which was essentially a Costco hotdog with Japanese garnish), and the croquettes which again obviously came from flash frozen Costco'ize bag (although the accompanied bean curry was excellent). The tempura shrimp roll (i.e. dynamite roll) was passable, but easily the lower end of quality compared to similar style restaurants/sushi bars. That, two Sake's and a beer ran $75 for a very sub par meal. My wife and I finished our date at another tapa's restaurant (104 st and 101ave) which made me realize just how bad our meal actually was! As I have already wasted enough of our time on Ikki, I won't comment on the service, with the exception of it matched the food! We both highly recommend passing this place up and finding another! You may not know it, but you would be happy you did! read more

Nice little restaurant had parking in the front which was a plus for me since its downtown. I have to say that I didn't like the experience. We waited a while for our food, and when we got our takoyaki, it wasn't hot anymore which is weird since some of them had burn marks and tasted burnt. Kinda wished they gave their new customers more attention rather than the regulars because thats what we saw there. Aside from that. The food tasted ok. read more

Dropped by here last night and was pleasantly surprised. Service was excellent and prompt. The food was delicious and came out quickly. I also quite enjoyed the atmosphere and decor. I would definitely come here again. read more

My friends and I tried Ikki last night since they had their yakitori for $1. Glad we went as the food was tasty and the drinks were delicious. Service was top and all servers were very attentive. read more

I came here for the third time since it has opened. Love the food and atmosphere. My favorites are the motsuni stew, takowasabi, and tuna tartar. It's a small place, which I think adds to the atmosphere. They have tons of drinks to try, still trying to make my way through all the Sake that they have! read more