Ichiban Williamsburg

The food is phenomenal every time I go! The service is also amazing. The variety of sushi makes us so happy. And I can never say no to the orange chicken. It’s perfectly crispy and not overly sweet. The sweet tea is even good. The atmosphere is very nice too. They have a more formal dining area as well if you have a larger party or want to do something nice there.

Ichiban wants to be a Japanese restaurant, I think, but they do too good a job on Chinese food—and the entire Peninsula has been suffering for good Chinese food since Steve Hsieh died and the Ming Gate in Hampton shut down a-many years ago now. So I have I think always ordered Chinese food at Ichiban—and usually Peking Duck, although today the price is through the roof at $49.00, AND apparently now you have to make an ADVANCE RESERVATION if you want to order it. Which I found out Monday night, January 10, 2022, when Sheila and I arrived hungry and cold and grateful to find a good restaurant open on a Monday night. Also on the menu BUT NOT REQUIRING AN ADVANCE RESERVATION is Ichiban’s House Special Crispy Duck with Chinese Vegetables, with sides of fried rice and wonton soup. So I ordered that, and Sheila ordered Moo Shu Chicken, which was accompanied only by the traditional pancakes. All the food was very good, and it was comforting on a cold night to be dining once more at Ichiban, which has always proved dependable, and occasionally inspired. I sense they are painfully understaffed during the plague, but the waiter raced around most energetically, refilling our cups of very good green tea twice during the course of the evening. I only noticed my deep-fried Crispy Duck chunks were warm rather than hot when served, but Sheila’s Moo Shu Chicken was quite hot, so that was all right! Both dishes were quite generous in size, but I was very hungry and ate everything on my plate. Sheila was satisfied to take half of her food home for later. Mention was made by another reviewer of the “old-fashioned” interior, so I did take one photograph to give you an idea of the present dining area layout. Ichiban is scrupulously clean and all the staff wear their masks as if they were well aware of the value of keeping themselves and their customers healthy. A nice place to visit!