Ichibon Japanese Seafood & Steakhouse

So disappointed. Service was good, but the food was far from that.
Miso soup was VERY salty. Yes, I know miso is salty to begin with, but it shouldn’t taste like it was made with a cattle salt lick block.
The salad tasted good, until I got 2/3’s through, and saw it was swimming in dressing, making it look more like a cold vegetable soup.
The hibachi chicken, while cooked to a delicious looking golden brown on the outside, was still raw in the middle.
Edamame, can’t comment since it never made it to the table.
The fried rice was very interesting. It was sweet, as if the vegetables were steamed with the rice, then tossed in a wok quickly to add the soy and seasonings.
The highlight for me, which is why there are two stars instead of one, is that the place was clean. It did not smell like old tempura oil as most other Japanese Steakhouses I’ve been to.
Would I ever go again? More than likely not. Would I recommend it? Less likely than going again.
Would I discourage anyone from trying? No. Other customers seemed to be enjoying their meals. Maybe find out what they got, and limit your meal selection to that.

Great sushi at this place. And if you get there by 7pm for their happy hour, you can gets lots of different items very inexpensive. The portion sizes are awesome for the price they are charging. The sushi chefs are lightning fast. The place can be pa led and boom you still have your order in no time.

i’ve been here only during the dollar sushi nights, disclaimer…
Wednesdays from 4−10pm you can get many kinds of nigiri sushi (tuna, salmon, escarole, mackerel, etc) for only $ 1. 1 piece = $ 1. there are a few kinds that are more expensive (eel for instance, is $ 1.25). They have a special order form for Wednesday sushi.
If you couple this deal with the happy hour apps and drink specials that run from 3−7pm (7 days a week), you can get a decent sushi meal on the cheap. We paid $ 25 for 2 people tonight and we were stuffed.
What they lack in quality and ambiance, they make up for in price.
protip: sit at the bar for quick service!

It’s just occurred to me not one guy behind the bar speaks English. They are all Mexicans working making sushi? Better sushi at Kroger. Disappointing for sure.

Not sure that we will be back to this place. It used to be one of our favorites but after this last visit and the surprise my 6 year old daughter received on the top of her ice cream was just disgusting. There was some kind of large flying bug on her cherry. Not sure I have ever seen a big like this before. It also most appeared to be some type of wasp.

OMG I love this place! Lunch is a must here during the week! Their sushi is pretty delish and prices are decent. The lunch chicken gyoza bento box is about $ 7 and comes with 5 chicken dumplings, rice, tempura veggies, 2 sushi pieces and a big piece of melon! Dont forget they include soup and salad with the lunch! So much quality food for a great price! We always sit on the sushi side and the service has been outstanding. I have already been here two times and am so glad we finally tried this place out! The only reason we didn’t try it sooner was because of the bad reviews. All I can say is the prices are good, food is good, so we love it! Can’t wait to try the hibachi side sometime!

If you’re on the verge of hunger and anger… Do not come here… But if you’re in for delicious food come on by! It literally took 45 minutes for our show to begin and I was so Hangry by that time that I ate almost every starch I had lol. Anyhow, I’d give them a 5 on the flavor and the amount of food. I would recommend a roll with the experience to add to the carbs lol.

Horrible service. We waited an hour to sit behind the cook in a table mixed w/​ppl we didn’t know or show up with. And I watched another group of ppl go ahead of me just bc they had more ppl in their group!

Love this place! Both the sushi and hibachi have always been great. Friendly people. Good food.

Started out HORRIBLE but got a little better. Please allow me to explain…
First, we came for the sushi, not the hibachi. We have been trying to get together with another couple for a few months. As we all know, life is busy. We finally decided on Ichibon in Kemah primarily because it was in the middle. We live in League City and they live in LaPorte. They are sushi novices so I suggested this place. I’ll preface this by saying it had been several years since I have been here. As a matter of fact, the last time I came here, I was still in the «California Roll» stage of my sushi life. Then, when I was a newbie, I thought Ichibon was pretty good. Since I am now a self-​diagnosed sushi snob, it failed to meet my standards. Was it great? Definitely not. Was it good? Not really. Was it edible? Let’s just say the importance of getting together with friends was more important than the food. Would I come back if it were free? Only if I were in the area and had nothing else to do. So, if you are a sushi aficionado, don’t bother eating here.
Now, please allow me to rant for a moment. If you recall, I started this entire review stating it started out HORRIBLE but got a little better. Please allow me to explain. ATTENTION PARENTS!!! PLEASE DO NOT ENCOURAGE YOUR KIDS TO PLAY CHASE IN THE DINING AREA OF PUBLIC RESTAURANTS. PLEASE DO NOT LET THEM SCREAM AT FULL VOLUME AS THEY ARE CHASING EACH OTHER AROUND AND AROUND (Yes, I know I’m typing in all caps. I was/​am aggravated). IT IS NOT THE KIDS FAULT FOR DOING THIS. IT WAS THE OBLIVIOUS PARENTS TO OTHERS IN THE RESTAURANT. Did I mention the parents were ENCOURAGING IT??? Give me a break!!! I kept thinking they would stop. I kept thinking that the parents would do something. Boy, was I wrong! After about 20 minutes of this (and I am NOT exaggerating), I finally got up and asked to be moved. Here is the problem. We were in the only dining area. The hibachi is on the right side of the restaurant, the bar is in the middle and the sushi dining area is on the left. We had no where to go except to leave. You could tell that even the employees were shocked at this behavior. Why management did not ask them to stop was beyond me. When the parents saw me get up to look for another table they had the AUDACITY to say, «Oh, we’re sorry. We didn’t know it was bothering you.» Oh, you mean you didn’t notice your children running around like banshees disturbing everyone’s dinner plans? What has our society become that people think this is acceptable? I firmly believe that we have become so open-​minded that our brain has fallen out!!! So how did the dinner which started out horrible get better? THEY FINALLY LEFT!!! Words fail to describe how ridiculous this was. My only regret is that I failed to video it so I could post it. Actually, that is my second regret. My first regret is coming here for sushi in the first place.
If you found this review to be useful, funny, or cool, please let me know below. I do not think it was funny but then again, I was the one that actually experienced it. You, on the other hand, can feel free to LOL!!! Thanks for reading.

Came to Ichibons for the first time for a Valentine’s dinner. From the outside it doesn’t look as pretty but inside the lights are dim and there are pretty little lanterns around. We ate at the hibachi table which makes for a whole fun experience. Our hibachi chef was hilarious and very skilled, and we shared a meal for $ 20 which was very filling! My husband really enjoyed it and the entertainment they give while preparing the meal. They have happy hour everyday for sushi and appetizers till 7pm which makes for some good yet inexpensive appetizers to eat while you wait for the meal to be prepared. We had an over all enjoyable experience at this location!

Went to this location last night, with my boyfriend and my friend! The food was pretty good but the service was HORRIBLE! the server forgot to put in our sushi appetizer roll. we had to ask her 2 times about it, and it still never came out. She had enough time to sit back and watch the chef on the hibachi grill do his «show» then she said oh maybe you can have a few drinks on the house… NOPE. no manager came over no money off NOTHING! then it took her about 20 minutes to bring us the ticket. Im a former restaurant manager and my friend is one currently and we couldnt believe the horrible customer service there. The food is already overpriced and theres an upcharge for everything so you’d think the service would be great… NOPE! all the other tables looked like they were receiving good service tho. Im not sure id ever go back and if i do i certainly dont want the same server.

Bad service, long wait, and food was not worth it. Won’t be going back. Ichibon on fair not puts this one to shame.

Quick service. Food (sushi rolls) was about as average as you can get. Good HH prices.
Certainly not a bad restaurant, but not particulary amazing either.

This was a great spot and right by the Kemah boardwalk. The service was great and the food was amazing. We ordered some sushi as appitizers and they were amazing. I believe we got Rock and Roll which is a favorite. I ordered a bento box and it had a little bit of everything. It came with rice, salad, soup and much more. Ichibon’s house salad was something I never had before. It had a unique dressing and was just delicious. Overall this place was really good and I can’t wait to go back.

My only other experience with the Ichibon chain was in Florida, which was pretty delicious, so decided to try the one in Kemah. Got there 20 minutes before closing to place an order to go. The hostess was very friendly and showed me to the bar area where the people were pulling the food out of the display cases to wrap up for the night. One of them handed me a menu to look at.
Imagine my surprise when an old woman comes out the back acting hostile because there was only 20 minutes left till close. I explained I only wanted a few rolls to go, to which I was basically told to hurry up. Normally by that point I would have walked out, but I had been at work all day and was starving, not really feeling waiting somewhere else, so I made my order. It was done in a little less than 10 minutes, way long before the restaurant closed.
The food is the ONLY reason I gave two stars. It was great, fresh and exactly what I remembered from my previous visit in Florida.
Unfortunately I more than likely won’t visit this location again.

I wanted to try JAPANESE food and Ichibon name just sounds like it. Nothing Japanese about it! I guess if you haven’t eaten any authentic Japanese food, you’d say it’s good. I ordered the Scallops which was blah. Then the veggies were the same, just like Chinese food.

I first visited here with my husband and friends, last Monday! The sushi, «snow crab roll» and the «Kemah crunch roll», and the Habachi were all, excellent; very entertaining as well! We will definitely be back!

I was reading the reviews of this place and was pretty disappointed with the results. Do not come here if you are looking for AUTHENTIC Japanese cuisine. First of all, I should’ve known that this place is not authentic at all since their restaurant name is not even Japanese. I assume it’s supposed to be the word «Ichiban» which means «number one» in Japanese.
In addition to its non-​authenticity, their yakitori WAS NOT yakitori. It just tasted like regular bbq. Although it wasn’t bad as bbq itself, but as «yakitori» it is terrible. Also, the miso soup is very salty and why do they give you so much side salad?!
Maybe it’s because I didn’t experience the hibachi dining, but overall I was not satisfied with the quality of the food. As for service, our waiter was alright. She would check on us to pour more iced tea/​water etc. However, I do not plan on coming back here when I visit Kemah because I was pretty disappointed with its lack of authenticity.

I sprung for the sashimi platter. Large chunks. Their maguro (red tuna) was way too fishy, but everything else was excellent. My favorite was their salmon and tako (marinated octopus sashimi). The tako, which was served separately, retained alot of the marinade/​brine, which was very tasty. Arguably the best tako I’ve had.
However, if you spring for the chirashi bowl, the tako is cut so thin that it doesn’t retain much moisture and won’t be as yummy. The other cuts of fish within the chirashi weren’t as enjoyable as the full sashimi order.
Spicy hamachi roll was pretty hot. After taking a few bites, you have a nice kick in your mouth that tortures you for quite awhile (kind of makes you wish they served milk).