Ikkyusan

Ikkyusan is the perfect restaurant for those whose simply cannot decide what it is they are craving, or want to appeal to an entire groups tastes.
Consisting of Japanese, Tai and Dim Sum (can anyone say yummy Bubble Tea?). this fantastic all-​in-​one location boasts different chefs for their varied menu, which shows as every order was perfectly prepared/​spiced.
The sushi chef was fantastic and the rice was perfectly cooked, the thai order was more than amazing and reminded me of home and the dim sum (again) was perfection.
Orders come to the table in no time, while the staff are on the ball with which orders are fresh or not available. The décor is calming and relaxed.
I will most definitely be coming back for more, as often as my wallet will allow me to eat out!

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 appetitemwahahaha.).
Nonetheless, enthusiastically recommend!

The hotpot was lovely with a few options for your broth. The cooker is separated into 2 halves so you can enjoy 2 broths at the same time. Loads of options to choose from if you go for the buffet £25pp plus 10% service. Two of us we spent around 65 quids with 1 drink each. We didn’t finish the standard 3 premium and 10 normal items.
Overall I had a good experience but it seems a bit pricey. Could have tried selecting the broths and a few menu items (not the buffet) coz my friend is not a big eater.

A veritable pot-​pourri of Asian cuisine! I love sushi, I love dim sum, I can get both here at the same time!!!
I’m not going to say either are amazing quality but definitely good enough that if I want to combo size my asian selection and I’m in this area, definitely a spot to consider! Also not very expensive which is always nice :)

You can find this gem on the typically inconsistent yet consistent Gerrard St. Inconsistent quality food and consistent high pricing that is.
But Ikkyusan bucks this trend. This décor of the place is tasteful and there is no grease on the wall and no pesky flies to be spotted which do hang out in some of the nearby establishments. Lovely staff too who seem to be proud that they don’t work in the places suggested above.
Not sure what you want? Well this place is an indecisive persons nightmare. You can have Chinese, Malaysian, Thai, Bento, Sushi… you name it and your favourite asian dish is no doubt available. Gordon Ramsey would have a fit at the size of this menu.
It’s usually quite busy in the evenings but if you’re lucky you’ll get one of their recessed seating booths. Although you do have to have at least some yoga skills to get into them, they’re kinda cool and would impress mates and family alike.
I really like their pad thai and sushi platters.

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.

Blanket-​Asian place — sushi, thai, dim sum, etc.
Ambience: sort of cool, but then tacky when you see the christmas lights hanging in the back during the summer.
Menu = Dictionary. The thing was so long I couldn’t even flip through it all!
Service was okay.
Food: chicken teriyaki was fried and just not very good. Sushi was alright, just not very authentic (i.e. the sushi rice wasn’t great). Dim sum wasn’t really very good either.
None of the cuisines on the menu were really authentic, blech — I wanted Japanese food. Or at least good Chinese.

Chinese? Japanese? Thai? If you really can’t make your mind up what genre of oriental food to eat in Chinatown, head for Ikkyusan. They literally do everything.
The most recent addition has been a hot pot restaurant upstairs so they cover all the bases now. This flexibility is nice if you have a group of friends who have different needs and tastes.
The food isn’t bad but not up to the standard of the restaurants which serve just one genre of food. With so many new places opening at the moment, I rarely end up here.

A Japanese restaurant in China Town, um okay. As I’m a bit of a whore for sushi I’ll have it any time, any day, any where… so yeah that’s how we ended up at Ikkyusan.
Technically this place serves Japanese, Thai and Chinese, but we were only interested in sushi. This was fairly average, it didn’t knock my socks off but it wasn’t bad either. I can report the chicken satay was very tasty but the prawn and chive dumplings fell apart when I tried to pick them up. Once I reassembled them and shovelled them in my mouth, they were good too.
My only complaint was that the waitress lady was so slow in refilling my green tea, not great when you have eaten very salty but tender and gorgeous edamame.

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 décor, 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.

Ikkyusan is one of my favourite restaurants in Chinatown. This place is really peculiar as it serves Japanese, Thai and Chinese cuisine. As with most places in Chinatown, it’s usually quite busy during the evening but I highly recommend you check this place out nevertheless.
I’ve been here on a number of occasions now. The first time I visited was with my boyfriend and the staff and food could not be better. The choice was amazing and there was something to satisfy and cover all bases!
The second time I arranged a trip for 12 of my friends to go here and we really had a brilliant time. All my friends thought the food was superb and the prices were super affordable too, we also had drinks and it was just such a great place for a relaxed meeting /​group of friends. I couldn’t sing this place enough praises.
Although not the nest asian food in London, you pay for what you get and I’ve never left unhappy. Despite the busy vibe, the service has always been quick and efficient. This place is brilliant.

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 décor 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.