Ikkyusan Restaurant

Hmm, all these average reviews of this sushi joint surprise me. My experience at Ikkyusan, at least fodder-wise, has always been nothing less than a culinary love affair. By the way, Ikkyusan is really more of a pan-Asian restaurant (Thai, Chinese, Malaysian, etc.) – which admittedly sounds ambitious but somehow works.

Ikkyusan is a heaven-sent for avid all-you-can-eat aficionados – such as myself. As far as I’m concerned, where (authentic) sushi AND a buffet intersects, I’m in.

I would award this venerable (merely by merit of their having a sushi buffet) Chinatown institution full marks but like previous visitors can attest to, the service department leaves much to be desired. (Although in all fairness to the waitresses, a likely reason for their grim-facedness upon my arrival could be due to trepidation of the prospect of having to serve me and my hearty appetite…mwahahaha.).  

Nonetheless, enthusiastically recommend!

I only go to this place for Shabu shabu, which is not that bad but not that good as well compare to what i have before. However, i think it's good enough for shabu shabu in London, which is hard to find. I would recommended for people who looking for something to warm you up during this coming winter. I guarantee that you won't regret.

The sunken flooring upstairs is a challenge. The service is light, verging on non-existent.

But they have pretty much every single popular (and not so popular) oriental dish in existence. I had an excellent beef and foie gras fried rice dish and we shared the awesome sushi dragon roll.

Gerrard street is confusing at the best of times. There’s lots of wandering about and uncertainty on whether your choice of establishment will actually be any good.

Ikkyusan was recommended, and it’s as good as you’re going to get here for the right blend of value and quality food. Just don’t expect decent service and you won’t be disappointed.

Went to this place with a friend last night before heading off to see a show.
The name of the restaurant is Japanese but the menu consists of an eclectic selection of Thai, Japanese and Chinese food.
Observing the dishes served at the other tables, the portions were quite generous.
I looked at the menu with the perception that it served mainly Japanese food and ordered pumpkin curry which said that it comes with dried shrimps. I had imagined a Japanese 'curry rice’ so was slightly shocked when I was told to order rice separately. When it arrived, I didn’t see any of the shrimps, not that I really missed them. The dish was very spicy and hot, and when I tasted the sauce, I realised I’d ordered from the Thai part of the menu.
My friend ordered Katsu-Don (pork cutlets on rice) from the Japanese selection, which had an “exotic” taste than what we’re used to, but was still interesting.
If you want a quick, satisfying stomach filler for under a tenner (which means you order tea for the drinks), then I would recommend this place.
Besides the food, I noted that the floorboards were a little bit wonky. Whenever the staff passed behind my seat, the floor seemed to dip a little, which was a bit distracting.
While decent and not overly exciting tastewise, the place has a laid back and welcoming feel.
I am keen to go back there soon and try out its hot pot menu.

Despite having sunken tatami mat seating and an overall nice decor, the food is no longer as good as it used to be. The sushi do not seem as fresh, and the dim sum are overly padded with the casings. It seems to be pricier now as well, with mains going at 10 pounds. Drinks aren’t cheap either at above 2 for a cup of coke.

The only reason I’ve gone back recently has been their sushi buffet, which is relatively good value at 15.50 pounds for unlimited sushi orders. Service is lousy when they are busy, and since they are almost always busy, well… you get what I mean.

There’s actually a new floor dedicated to shabu shabu apparently, but I’ve never tried it.

I went to Ikkyusan the other day after a great standup night near Piccadilly - it was freezing cold and we wanted something to warm our stomachs. Chinatown is quite often a good option if it’s late and you want a quick bite to eat, it was 10pm on a Saturday night as you know the service will usually be quite fast.

Ikkyusan is a 3 storey restaurant in the middle of Gerrard Street. On the ground floor, they serve up traditional chinese food (possibly dim sum and maybe a bit of thai?). The first floor is done out in a japanese style with tatami (not sure if it’s the real deal). You can eat japanese there, obviously. Finally, the third floor is where you go to for hotpot.

Hotpot - also known in japanese as shabu-shabu involves sitting around a pan of boiling soup stock and cooking your own dinner from a selection of raw meats, fish and vegetables. You throw everything into the soup and fish it out before chowing it down with a number of sauces they give you, including a home made chilli sauce. The meat is sliced very thinly, so it cooks very quickly. The soup can usually also be drunk, although it was somewhat flavourless this time for me.

Their ordering system always seems a bit complicated for me, as you can pick and mix the meat and soups so I usually go for the set meal at £18.80 per head. It sounds quite a lot, and it probably is, for Chinatown but you do get a LOT of food.

Service is variable. There was a huge party there on Saturday so the waiters were a bit rushed off their feet but they were polite enough.

For something slightly different - do check out the hotpot floor in Ikkyusan. I can’t speak for the food on any of the other floors but I can definitely say I always walk out full and satisfied after hotpot.

The problem with China Town is that, as someone without any expertise in Oriental cusine, you can often end up in the not-so-good restaurants as you generally go for one which you like the look of.

Ikkyusan was recommended to us which made the whole choosing a restaurant experience much more pleasant.

It’s on the main street in China Town, so very easy to find. We went in and there was a queue but we didn’t wait long to be sat.

Inside the decor is very cool. Trendy and modern but with a definite Oriental inspiration. Also, it felt quite intimate and private because of the lighting and high plants creating seperate areas for different tables.

Having just been paid for a big job we splashed out and ordered the deluxe set menu which came in at £36 for two people.

It was lush. There was a seemingly unending stream of dishes. And they were all pretty delicious. Sushi and sashimi was brought out first, then tempura, then some fishcakes and samosa-y type things, then curry with rice.

Yum yum yum.

We then had desserts which were not amazing. Luke bizzarely opted for coconut jelly, which resembled a solid gelatin breast, and tasted pretty similar.

All in all though, a great place for trendy delicious food in China Town.