Ichiryu Restaurant

I love their food!!! I’m really sad they’re closing down :(. My family and I came to eat here and here’s what I thought of our experience.
Food: SO delicious! Everything is around 6 – 7 dollars and they give quite a lot of food. I ordered the Mabo tofu (spicy), which was excellent! Normally, the Mabo tofu that is used at typical restaurants uses tofu that is so firm it’s almost rubbery. But ichiryu’s tofu almost melted in your mouth. I had leftovers for two extra days since they gave so much. Some other good dishes were the chicken katsu don and chicken katsu curry, which had a little kick to it, but not so much that your breathing out fire by the end. Gyoza, i recommend steamed, not fried, because it was a little undercooked when we got ours.
Service: overall, the ladies working there are extremely friendly, but once the line starts to pick up, they begin to panic and bark orders back and forth, sometimes to customers too. The establishment was also small, so I’d recommend takeout, unless you want people drooling over your shoulder while they wait for their order.
⁴⁄₅. Hands down a great establishment with great local Japanese food.

(read this review with the most Boyz II Men bass voice your mind can handle)
Baby, I miss you so much.
Your garlic chicken had that special touch.
Can you put your sweet, salty, spicy crunch
All over my bee-​stung lips as I crave lunch.
Pour not only sugar all over me,
I want your California Roll and your kimchi.
I didn’t think we’d meet so quick,
For me to only have a lick …
At the lollipop of happiness you brought,
Like a mistress, I’ve been caught.
Torn.
Forlorn.
Can it be that one day,
as you may,
come back to King St.,
where at your table we shall meet.
I want you bad.
Why did you have to close?
Now, not only am I sad,
But I can fit my clothes.
R.I.P. Ichiryu
For now great garlic chicken is few.

Enter the Dragon! My visit here was classic procrastinator syndrome. I remember in LA, Wicked ran for about 2 years, and then all of sudden, they announced its closing. Suddenly, everyone who lived in LA was rushing to see it… In the end, procrastinator’s paradise… you don’t care until its going.
Same with Ichiryu… I see the red yellow Dragon all the time from my seat on the bus as I come home down King… but I never thought anything about it. Then when I saw Les M. UYE and read his review aabout the garlic chicken just being an explosion of stuff in your mouth, I was like, ho damn, I better go.
With one other person I came and tried to make up for lost time. We got a mabo tofu, spicy ahi roll, garlic chicken, and spicy pork. Total, $ 26. Spicy pork was tasty. The meat was tender enough and the kim chee sauce was delicious. Spicy Ahi Rolls never let me down and as usual this one did not disappoint either. A nice temaki with good nori, some bean sprouts, and spicy ahi combined for a delicious. my friend had memories of the mabo tofu, and so that was a must try for me. Satisfying as well.
Ha, but really this review is about the garlic chicken. Seasame seeds, a light crunch, a sweetish sauce… honestly on the first bite I was unimpressed. But even though my brain was thinking unimpressed, the tastebuds found something it liked. Because my hashi was reaching for another piece, and suddenly there I am eating it. And then another piece, and another piece. The garlic chicken really grew on me, and my friend said too, even though she had to ride the bus home reeking of garlic, she wouldn’t mind be stinky for that garlic chicken taste.
The two ladies are a hoot too… I enjoy their chemistry with each other, and they really seemed to enjoy each other’s company and hanging out with their customers too. The talk and banter reminds me of a buddy cop movie.

I wasn’t going to do a review for Ichiryu since they’re closing tomorrow, Sept 13 :[ but omg their garlic chicken was better than i anticipated and let me tell you now, i went there thinking it would be awesome since everyone on Unilocal told me so. It wasn’t too hard like most garlic chicken at other places. Sadly, they wouldn’t let me make it spicy :[, but the regular garlic chicken was still good. Although it wasn’t spicy, it gave a nice kick. The kim chee and cucumbers they offer you with your food was delicious. I love how their kim chee was pretty spicy yet sweet at the same time.
My friend also got the spicy ahi so we were able to share and that was yummy too. It came with nori that you can use to wrap your ahi .at least I think that’s what it’s for: P. haha.
I’m so sad they’re closing down after tomorrow. I wish I discovered this place sooner. But if you see this before they close tomorrow and have time to head down for some yummy garlic chicken, DOOOO ITTTT!!! :D

Too bad, closing down (todays the last day), really nice people, good food hole in the wall place. Only enough room for 10 people, but you can order take out.
Got the garlic chicken (requested spicy as other Unilocalers have noted) Delicious, really light, crispy and flavorful. The spicy mabo tofu is Great! I usually don’t order mabo tofu because I’m always complaining that i can make it better myself. But this one was better! Lots of sesame oil makes it yummy.
Too bad they are closing, but i was glad that i got to give it a try before they did.

Whaaaat? You’re closing? Last day is today (9÷13÷11) instead of Thursday? Why are you doing this to us? *sobs uncontrollably*
It’s true, the last day Ichiryu will be open is today. Having found this out I of course had to pay tribute by going there for my last meal there yesterday for dinner. I stopped in right after work because from everyone’s reviews I knew I might experience some wait time. When I walked in with the fiancé the tiny restaurant was already practically full with the two out of the three tables occupied and one person waiting for their take out order. I ordered the mini garlic chicken, the fiancé had the spicy pork plate, and we shared one order of gyoza. As we waited for our food to come out (we just ordered take out) within a matter of 10 minutes the restaurant filled up entirely. By the time I left there were people waiting outside. I guess news travels fast in Hawaii! I certainly didn’t want to miss out on getting some good food before it closed.
The garlic chicken was very good! I was going to order the mabo tofu like I got the last time, but everyone said the garlic chicken was really good so of course I had to try that. I don’t usually like garlic chicken because some places make it too sweet but everyone was right, Ichiryu cooks up some mean chicken! And for a mini it looked like a regular plate to me. The gyoza was heaven and that dipping sauce just makes the dish. At first the lady that takes the order said they were out, but after some talking in Korean she said nevermind, they will make it for us (going out with a bang I guess!).
I’m sad this place is closing. I hope that the owner gets some much needed rest on her wrists (she had bandages around both wrists) and then re-​opens asap! People, if you haven’t gone to pay your respects I would do it while you can! This place will be missed!

If you didn’t see it yet, Ichiryu is closing up on September 13 (tomorrow)
. No, it wasn’t me that crossed out the sign and changed it from the 15^th to the 13^th, it was Ichiryu. The main reason why they’re closing is that Jin (the main chef) recently had surgery and has been having some pain in her hands =(
This was actually my first time eating at Ichiryu and it was PACKED! I got here around noon and the small little restaurant only had 2 four seat tables, 2 two seat tables, and a few stools. I luckily snatched me a stool at the counter near the register!
The wait was a lot longer than I expected, but when I looked behind the register I saw that Jin was the only one cooking! The other lady was just the cashier and waitress.
I got the four piece fried gyoza
for $ 2.99 and the garlic chicken
for $ 6.99. The gyoza wasn’t the prettiest but it sure tasted good! It was hot and had the perfect meat-​to-​vegetable ratio. Their garlic chicken on the other hand was flat out SPECTACULAR! I was so surprised by the light crunch from my first bite. It was perfectly deep fried with a thin light coat of batter and just the right amount of garlic sauce over some greens.
The wait was long (since it is their second to last day) but was totally worth it! I’m just a little sad and heartbroken to have just discovered Ichiryu and find out that they are going to close. The food is great and the staff is nice. I even got to chit chat with them in Korean for a little bit! It was so good that I told them I would do a take-​out tomorrow! I just hope Jin feels better and one day decides to re-​open.
Ichiryu, you will always be remembered for being the one to ruin Korean fried chicken for me!

I hate to sound like a stuttering buffoon/​broken record, but there is no other way to describe the Garlic Chicken that hasn’t already been done before. Being the creative mind that I am, I’ll reach into my bag of similes and pull out something… different.
The garlic chicken at Ichiryu tastes like «Delicious» and «Yummy» had a bastard child named «Delummy» who grew up and married «Tasty» in which they had a bastard child named «Delumasty»…
The garlic chicken at Ichiryu tastes like a bulb of garlic ejaculated it’s potent sauce all over the neck of a voluptuous chicken that was relaxing in a sizzling jacuzzi of oil…
The garlic chicken at Ichiryu tastes like a combination of the peak you get from an ecstasy pill, the height of a climax, the first time you went to Disneyland, your first french kiss and the time you got an NES for Christmas.
The garlic chicken at Ichiryu tastes like a million LMT’s are giving each of my taste buds a Swedish massage with a mixture of sugar and essence of garlic oil… happy ending included.
The garlic chicken at Ichiryu tastes like the entire universe condensed to fit on a plate, in the form of a $ 7 meal. Then, with a single bite, the universe expands and the second big bang occurs! You’ve just created a second dimension of galaxies, stars and civilizations… in your mouth
Yep, that pretty much sums up Ichiryus garlic chicken. The restaurant itself is tiny, so get your butt down there early if you want a seat… you may also want to get down there by Tuesday Sept. 13^th, because that’s the last day their awesome chicken will be available for you to create universes with.
* * * * *
^ stars… in your mouth
#Yelp 365 — ⁰⁴²⁄₃₆₅

Spicy garlic chicken is awesome, and way better than Sugoi’s. They use real chili peppers and the chicken is not greasy tasting. Ahi and spicy pork are also really great.
I’m really sad they are closing. I’m trying to get my fix in as much as I can. Not sure why they are closing, but I would definitely pay more for their food. It’s made to order and awesome.

GREAT VALUE! The recipies here are worth MORE than the prices that they charge you for. I had me their $ 4.99 KATSU CURRY MINI COMBO that came with unlimited sides of KIM CHEE and CUCUMBER that really filled me up. That and their 2 lady staff were very friendly and very approachable.
WAY BETTER THAN CURRY HOUSE

Getting there: Right off Pensacola and King St. There’s parking in the back but I haven’t had a chance to see how many stalls are available.
Ambiance: Very small diner as the tables and chairs are squished next to each other and the along the wall bar style seating. Still it’s very clean in the inside.
Service: Courteous and quick.
Food: Lots of options (rice and udon) and sides. I can vouch for the Spicy Ahi plate which comes with pickled veggies, kim chee appetizers, lots of fresh veggies, sushi (lightly vinegar-​ed) rice and spicy ahi. The spicy mabo tofu was just right and had a bit of ground pork meat.
Verdict and Takeaway: Great prices and food means I’ve found an awesome lunch option where very few exist. You get a lot of good food for the price. Gonna go with five stars since the takeout works when there’s no space to sit comfortably.

3 words «spicy chicken garlic plate» this is a must have dish… it does not say spicy on the menu but they will make it for you. It is better to order ahead of time… even if they have no customers this dish seems to take a good 15 minutes at least to make. With just a handful of tables I am more than happy to do a take out and eat in my car in the back parking lot… just so I can enjoy this dish in peace. The 3 times I have ordered this it seems to be the spicier part is on the bed of lettuce that the chicken is served on. I would try to mix it up a bit to even out the spicyness.

I finally persuaded my family to step outside of their comfort zone and try some place different for lunch.
I’ve always wanted to go to this place after driving past it for the past couple of months. FINALLY!
When entering, I noticed that it was a tad small. having only three tables and a small «bar» to eat at. Looking at how small it was, I highly doubt people are able to sit at the bar and at the table at the same time.
The menu has your typical food items, Mabo Tofu, Gyudon, Different types of curry plates, sushi and all that jazz. I got the gyudon, parents got the garlic chicken, sisters got the chicken katsu. The food, I thought was delicious but as my dad is so picky he thought it wasn’t that great. But since he’s picky, its ok.
Service was sub par. The lady taking our order seemed to have a really bad hearing problem and we had to repeat each of our orders 3 times (minimum).We’d say one thing and she would change it completely to what she thought she heard. After she told us she was new and it was her first day, so we let that slide. but still, cmon now, repeating ourselves three times? Even new people can hear you the first time.
Since there were only two women working, the wait for our food was horrendous. And they had other customers as well… They didn’t have much of their sushi selection so that was kind of a downer.
I did like the taste of the food however so I’m happy about that. so it kind of cancels each other out. maybe next time I will just order take out and place it an hour in advance.

Just had dinner at this place with a couple of friends. Yup, small place — they only had 3 tables, a bit of «bar seating,» and 2 ladies total making the place happen. We’d gotten there just after another party went in and all three tables were now full! Thankfully another customer graciously offered us the table he was at as he moved to the counter/​bar seating.
It seemed like most of the entrées were $ 6.99 and I thought the portions were rather large period, let alone for $ 6.99 however the two I was dining with had comparatively speedy metabolic rates so they did not think the same. Perhaps an additional order of gyoza or spicy ahi roll would have done the trick.
I ordered the «Korean Chirashi» which was two types of diced sashimi atop salad atop rice. There was a lot of good-​looking salad — the rice was completely hidden underneath it but there was much rice as well. The woman serving brought out what looked like a ketchup bottle and I’m sure explained what it was but I didn’t catch it and we instead decided to refer to it as «spicy ketchup» — it was a good hot sauce to go with the chirashi (then again I don’t eat my foods very spicy so it may not be up to some other folks standards of «a good hot sauce»).
All in all, I liked the meal and the ladies were really, really nice. They apologized profusely for how late my order came out (I did not really mind so I am not sure if it was just that they had to whip out a lot of orders in a short period of time due to the influx or if they forgot). I’d definitely eat here again.
The place is clean. You don’t have to be choosy about where you sit because all the seats and tables are nice-​looking. The shelf/​bar seats look uncomfortable though. Very narrow shelf.
Oh, parking! There’s a good-​sized lot right in back and the signs posted above the stalls say it’s only for «Precision Radio and _​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​.» You have to go up real close to see that says some restaurant’s name there but we assumed that was just the name of whatever used to be where Ichiryu is now. You should be fine parking there.

I can’t even put into words how much I like this place…
In my search for a place to eat during lunch time, I knew I wanted sushi but didn’t know where to go. Driving by King St. numerous times, I always wanted to try this place so today was that day! :D
It’s my first time here and I had no idea what to order. Looking at their menu, all I saw were «donbori» and plate lunch kine foods. After a few minutes looking over their menu, I decided to get the garlic chicken plate for $ 6.99 + 4 piece fried gyoza for $ 2.99. While waiting for my food, another customer ordered their spicy ahi roll! O_​o Hearing this got me EXCITED! I already placed my order and it was more than enough for just myself but I really really wanted the spicy ahi roll! 8 pieces for $ 5! … 2 minutes pass … then 4 minutes… «Hi, may I please have a spicy ahi roll». Another 5 minutes pass and my food is ready. *The Lady — «One chopstix or two?» ME — «Just one please». She gives me this LOOK O. O and says «oh this all for you»? Hells yess this is all for me! :P Yups, I’m a fatty.
Garlic Chicken — The chicken was nicely coated and fried to nice golden color, its also spiced well enough to give it a different spicy flavor than your usual mochiko chickens. The inside was very soft and tender! So good!
Fried Gyoza — Oh man the gyoza is good and stuffed with choke meat! Not sure what kind of meat but its very similar to the meat inside lumpia. Not your usual pork and veggies.
Spicy Ahi Roll — As you can tell by my pictures, the ahi is not thin at all. Or maybe because I asked for no cucumbers, she made it more thick? either way, it was really good! 8 pieces of spicy ahi rolls for $ 5 is cheap in my eyes!
This place is clean with lots of seating. Food is good and tasty and easy on your wallet. Highly recommended!

This is a tiny place with just three tables, and a handful of seats along a counter. passed by this little hole in the wall place many times without seeing anybody inside, so i was a little hesitant to try this place. after reading some positive reviews and seeing the delicious pics from this place, we finally gave it a try.
ordered the garlic chicken (6.99 $) and the korean chirashi (6.99 $)
the ladies working here are really nice and accommodating. my husband asked for no tilapia on his korean chirashi and had no problem at all getting only ahi on it.
as for the garlic chicken… it came out piping hot and crispy, but i would describe the taste more like sweet chilly than garlicky. nonetheless delicious !
will come back to try more of their other dishes.

This is another restaurant my mom told me to go to… if it wasn’t for Unilocal,I’d trust my mom to lead my nose in the right direction. She always finds hole in the walls and they’re cheap and delicious!
After waking up early to get my son to his 4 month pediatrician appointment, we were hungry and pooped! My mom suggested this little restaurant and since Ala Moana, where his ped is, is crazy to eat foods especially with a baby, we wanted to venture somewhere else.
I quickly remembered this place so we hurried over in case there was a wait or we couldn’t find parking. Ha! We had trouble with neither. There was plenty of parking since it was the weekend and the radio station was closed. Also, we were the only ones in the restaurant!
All the meals were $ 6.99 each, no matter which one you chose. They did have minis for $ 4.99 but honestly, my husband and I were so starving that we were like we need all the food we can get. We were dragging. We also got a spicy tuna maki. I got the chicken katsu curry and my husband got the unagi don. We couldn’t decide… which means we’ll just have to go back! mwahaha. The spicy ahi wasn’t too spicy so I liked it and my husband spiced his up with lots of wasabi. The chicken katsu curry was delicious! It had a little bit of spice but it was sooooo good. Do I dare say it was better than Jimbo? My husband’s unagi don was delicious too… the sauce was so good that if I slathered it all over my body would make me delicious to the most picky eater. That good!
Yes there will be a next time… with ample parking, delicious food, really sweet waitress/​cashier, and cheap eats… why not? Why go to Jack in the Box when there’s a cheaper better alternative?

A small restaurant with only three tables and some wall seating. What’s good is that there are a lot of healthy selections with vegetables one item I’d like to try next time is the Korean Chirashi but I ended u getting the Spicy Pork dish as that caught my eye. The pork although I opted for the spicy version wasn’t fire in the hole hot but it had good flavor so even though not really hot it was good they put the spicy pork on a bed of Nalo greens which was nice but I think I’d rather have it on the side as a salad, just my preference. What was also nice is they gave two small plates with some Kim chee and pickled cucumbers in addition to the plate. Everything is made when you order it so it takes a little while for you to get your plate due to the cooking time but not too long so it was worth the wait. I’d definitely be visiting them again as the prices are good and they are friendly.

To clarify: this is not the same as the Ichiryu Noodle restaurant on Pensicola and King. What is this place? A Korean owned tiny restaurant which has a bunch of Japanese food with good prices. I came here recently and noticed everything is served with rice. No shortage of rice here! They include it in their salads too!
Nothing here is over $ 7 so basically it’s very reasonable. The ladies are super sweet and take your order in the front and you can be seated in their small restaurant. I ordered the mabo rice ($ 7) and my guest got the Korean chirashi salad ($ 7) with a side of 4 piece gyoza ($ 3). My mabo was pretty good considering it was a hot day. My friend’s chirashi salad came with rice in the bottom of the bowl. Weird! My mabo was okay but could have been more spicy. The gyoza was disappointing. As soon as the waitress brought the deep fried unappetizing four piece gyoza to our table, my mouth dropped. She quickly offered to bring me the steamed version. Either way, it wasn’t memorable.
Nice ladies and the food was decent for the price. Free parking and credit cards accepted. I might have to pass this place and continue driving on King Street for more options.

All is right in life again. I’ve missed Ichi-​Ryu Noodle House since it’s closing and haven’t found a replacement until this Ichiryu opened. This isn’t the same place, the chef is a very nice Korean lady who learned how to cook when she was married to a Japanese chef. The quality of food and care of preparation is evident.
Even though it’s not the same, I’m happy that my two favorites from the closed Ichi-​Ryu have been been eerily duplicated. The chicken katsu curry and mapo tofu ramen is spot on. The generous portion of chicken katsu is nice and thick, and keeps it’s crunch even when topped with the curry sauce. The mapo tofu can be ordered over rice or ramen, and either mild or spicy; the spicy has a little more zip and the noodles give that little something extra. I didn’t find the spicy to be very hot, my 7 year old had no problem with it, so I would certainly recommend it unless you’re a total light weight.
The menu of 19 items consisting of ramen, donburi’s, and rice plates are just $ 6.99 or less! We were checking out the other customer’s food and everything looked equally delicious.
This is a tiny place with just three tables of four, and a handful of seats along a counter. The restaurant is very neat and clean, and also takes the extra step of serving cold filtered water. A bonus is the ample parking in the back.
I love mom and pop restaurants because they cook with love and really care for their customers. As we were enjoying our lunch, they offered us a sample of Korean mochi that isn’t on the menu. It looked like smooth solid rigatoni in a red Korean hot sauce. That made me happy because it’s that generosity of spirit of wanting to share with others that is found only in small family run establishments. We’ll be regulars at Ichiryu — a Japanese restaurant with heart and Seoul.